Christmas joy unlikely for unions

Hopes that the format for next year's Air New Zealand Cup rugby competition will be known before Christmas are fading.

The New Zealand Rugby Union had planned to announce the 10 teams that will play in the 2010 national first division, as well as the six provinces in its premier division, following a special meeting of unions on December 10.

Its plan, as forecast, has struck trouble after Tasman called in its lawyers and appealed the NZRU's proposal to cull the four lowest-ranked teams under its complicated criteria system.

Tasman is one of the teams predicted to fall to the premier division, along with Manawatu, Counties-Manukau and Northland, although all are expected to lodge appeals.

Among Tasman's arguments for retaining top-flight status is its view that the NZRU does not have a mandate from its provincial unions for its plan and its decision to cull four teams was not the subject of enough discussion.

While NZRU chief executive Steve Tew remains inflexible in his view that the only way to bring down spiralling costs of the Air New Zealand Cup is to cull, New Zealand Players' Association boss Rob Nichol is singing from a different song sheet.

What is apparent in all the mess is that Nichol and his association are essentially the king-makers in the whole deal.

Nichol is at present locked in collective bargaining with the NZRU on behalf of the players. He has said publicly that unless the six-team premier division appeared meaningful, as promised, it would not sign any deal.

Negotiations, he said, could be over in a month or roll on for another year.

Without the signature of the players' association, there is no way the NZRU can move ahead with its 10-team plan, strengthening rumours that a reduction to a 10-team format could be put on hold until after the 2011 World Cup.

The uncertainty surrounding the whole process has left a large number of unions in limbo.

Taranaki rugby boss Mark Robinson was not keen to go on the record about it this week, but did confirm that the union had not yet received its ranking from the NZRU.

While it is in no danger of being ranked in the bottom four, the uncertainty swirling around the competition's future makes planning for the 2010 campaign difficult. As it stands it is not free to negotiate with players from the endangered unions, while those on the fringe of being offered extended deals are left hanging.

It all begs the question as to why it is taking the NZRU until December 10 to finalise plans and serves as another reminder that it created this rod for its own back when it went against popular opinion and included 14 teams instead of 12 in the expanded competition.