Provinces relieved over unchanged rugby format
BY DUNCAN JOHNSTONE
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Relieved Counties-Manukau and Northland coaches Milton Haig and Bryce Woodward welcomed the decision to stick with a 14-team top division of New Zealand rugby, saying they now had certainty to start planning for next year.
The two unions, along with Tasman and Manawatu, had looked set to be axed from the premier ranks and thrown into a middle-tier championship with Mid Canterbury and Wanganui.
But the NZRU has shelved plans for its proposed 10-6-10 split and decided to retain the 14-team top division along with the 12-team Heartland championship.
"It's great news for Northland rugby," Woodward said.
"It will help with our planning. We can get on with things now."
That included retaining leading players like Jared Payne and Rene Ranger.
"They have had a lot of pressure on their shoulders. They have tried to forge a career at the very elite level and they have to be in the top division. So this is great news for them, it's great news for the wider Northland rugby public.
"We have a new stadium to open early next year and we will have one of the best facilities in the country so it's fitting that we are in the top tier for that."
Haig had similar sentiments for a Counties-Manukau side that finished last this year.
"It gives us some continuity for the next couple of years and that's important. Our mindset is about getting the job done and continuing. We have put in a lot of planning this year and made some improvements, everything has hinged on being there next year.
"The results never really reflected the work that went in and sometimes you have to take a step backwards to go forwards. But we are in a place now from a players' point of view where we feel we are in a position to really springboard.
"From a union's point of view we have done some good work this year to get the finances right and try and get the structure right.
"We still have some big challenges but hopefully the work of the past 12 months has been justified with this decision.
"We are excited about this decision and it gives us the energy to refocus and get on with it."
Both conceded that the NZRU decision was effectively a stay of execution with changes looking certain further down the line.
Northland and Counties-Manuaku would remain vulnerable to those changes unless they could produce some major improvements with their results next year.
With that in mind, Woodward and Haig felt it was important that any second division planned for the future needed to be "a meaningful competition".
Woodward believed the 7-7 split of the top provinces being promoted by the players' association provided that.
And he maintained his belief that the criteria needed to be largely performance based as long as a union was financially viable.
"It's a load of nonsense," he said of the complicated criteria that was being used to put the microscope over the unions this year.
"It's about being financially viable - if you can pass a solvency test and you finish in the top split then that's where you should be."
Haig said the criteria going forward needed to be transparent.
He said the key issue was to generate a competition that would help New Zealand win the World Cup. New Zealand was blessed with a strong provincial structure that should allow that.
Tasman Rugby Union chairman Nick Patterson said the union was delighted about the decision.
'We think it's certainly justification and recognition of the position we've taken on this over the last six months or so.''
He said it had been a difficult time for both Tasman's players and the union, which was thankful for the support the players and the public had given it while they awaited a decision.
''It has been a difficult time for both the players and the union.''
- © Fairfax NZ News
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I think the politicians among the big heads have realised that this product is in the public arena more than in the labouratory. I think this exercise can be a valuable lesson to other government agencies...
Come to think of it, only Murray Mexted risked standing up for grassrppts rugby
Lets do it with petrol and electricity...
A great common sense decision. Now NZRU has a further 12 months to sort out meaningful next tier competition complete with promotion/relegation. In places like the Taniwha region, rugby is so much bigger than the A side, it's a complete social web with the team in the middle. Naki supporter can give Jason Eaton back to the Turbos any time he likes as that's where he debuted his first class rugby career. None of this would've come about if the Super 14 hadn't expanded. Why should we care that Aussie hasn't any first class rugby on their TV's between June-August, they need to sort themselves a meaningful competition. NZRU now need to negotiate 50% of gate receipts from every end of tour match played by AB's, and get the All Blacks back to club rugby to get crowds back and we'll be in a strong position to WIN RWC 2011.
Last 2 points are wishful thinking but that to me would be NIRVANA.
terry#64
Gee mate don't you think that by excluding All Blacks and many super-14 players the playing level isn't already level?
The status quo, and against that context, leaves the Air NZ Cup more than just a bit artifical.
Seriously if all Provisional teams were at their full strength, the fairytales would not occur. The truth is the smaller provincial centers are playing B teams from the big-5, until the play-offs when those teams are totally transformed.
I just think the competition ought to have more integrity than what we have at present.
Crowd numbers in the main centers have significantly fallen off because we field a B-team and our top players are not involved and that isn't being addressed by the NZRU.
One year from now we can all reconvene again and listen to the smaller unions bleat about how they are now bankrupt. Still, it's what they wanted.
For me the real issue has not been addressed and that is very simply how can the NZRU ensure that all All Blacks and/or Super-14 players will play Air NZ Cup from week one through to the final.
It's not lost on me that the South Afrcans can manage it.
dudes if you want an even playing field shift to the best sports managed city in NZ..do I have to say where? Its like telling Man United to spread all the players around the premier league - get real!
Oh well looks like we are in for another year of boring rugby,I for one wont be watching any more of this type of rugby,The NZRU had an opportunity to change things a bit and have chosen not too, just look at the empty seats at most of the games in the last season , this will be happening again in the coming season and with the RWC coming up in 2011 they will need lots on bums on seats,all I can see is more people leaving rugby behind for other interests.
so stoked for this, funny how the pathetic anti-rugby killjoys come out early! go and read the financial pages and stroke your egos over there. this year's NPC was great to watch and i personally don't care for having the AB's back at all, it's awesome to watch real kiwis playing the game they dominate worldwide, in every area of new zealand.
Real kiwi rugby!!
Look at Aussie, Rugby is only their 4th or 5th most popular male oval ball sport, so has their 4th or 5th rated players playing it. Even their football has a massive competition which outdoes our domestic rugby scene. They still manage to beat us far too often! Aside from Super competition, they only have a mediocre club competition, not even State vs State across the board Embarrassing really, and we think we're so good!
A pretty GUTLESS decision by the NZRU board in the end. And as for Tasman and Counties they insisted change needed to be made, got big hand outs from NZRU, and then threatened legal action against the very hand that fed them. They sowed the seeds of their own demise so not sure what rights they thought they had to stay in this competition.
The only reason this years comp was so interesting was because of the threat of 4 teams getting cut which shows that our NPC must have Promotion and relegation. This means every game couints and the fans stay interested right until the end. It is inevitable that we need 3 divisions to reduce the gap between each so NZRU are only delaying the inevitable.
As for Kobe #7 if you don't care about rugby why are you visiting this site and reading (and posting) on rugby issues.
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They'll change their mind again in 5 minutes. Leave it the way it is and give it a chance to succeed instead of fiddling with things every year. People want a bit of tradition and pride, not some new competition. That's why the super 14 is failing.