Northland, Tasman counter the 'axe'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:33
Northland and Tasman, the two teams set to be axed from the Air New Zealand Cup competition next year, have formally lodged objections to their forced demotion.
The two provinces forwarded submissions to the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) on Friday, as they challenge the decision by the NZRU - which informed the two unions that they would be axed from the competition in 2009 as the number of teams will be cut from 14 to 12.
The NZRU confirmed on Friday that it has received feedback and submissions on the Air NZ Cup review from a number of unions - including the two condemned outfits.
The draft Final Report on the Air New Zealand Cup Competitions Review was published last month and proposed a reduction in the number of teams from the current 14 teams to 12 from 2009, along with other changes to the season and competition structure.
"We have received submissions and feedback from the Crusaders Franchise and 10 of the Air New Zealand Cup Provincial Unions, including Northland and Tasman," NZRU Chief Executive Steve Tew said on Friday.
"The feedback will now be considered before the NZRU Board meets on September 25 and 26 to finalise the review decisions."
The NZRU assessed provincial unions on a number of criteria, from population and player numbers to financial performance and administration, with the bottom two facing relegation to the second tier Heartland Championship.
Northland chief executive Wayne Peters said he expected to meet NZRU officials on or before that date to articulate Northland's case for retention.
"Our submission has been filed detailing why we consider the decision was flawed. We have also set out our business case for the next three years," Peters told NZPA.
Peters said Northland scored poorly in the NZRU's assessments in areas such as finance, governance and player development.
"We were perceived to be weak in those areas but we were not correctly assessed."
Tasman's shaky financial standing counted heavily against them when they were earmarked for relegation.
An amalgamation of the former Nelson Bays and Marlborough provinces, a cash-strapped Tasman were this month given a NZ$340,000 handout from the NZRU to enable their players to be paid fully this season.
Tasman chief executive Peter Barr said his organisation's player wages bill totalled NZ$1.2 million this season, a figure which would need to be reduced in future.
"It's no secret that the salary cap needs to be reduced."
Like Northland, he said Tasman did not believe they had been assessed fairly by the NZRU.
"Some of the assessments were subjective and we don't believe we have been fairly assessed," Barr said.
"We also do not believe our relegation will be in the best interests of rugby in our region.
"Players are likely to leave in their droves, and it would not provide a pathway for our young talent to come through to play for the province at the highest provincial level."
Tasman's predicament is complicated by the fact that Marlborough want to withdraw from the amalgamated union and play in their own right in the Heartland Championship next year.
Barr said the Nelson Bays' constituents remained fully supportive of a Tasman team remaining in the Air NZ Cup.
