Mexted supported by ex-ABs

Murray Mexted is not alone among former All Blacks in his championing of the  Air NZ Cup remaining as a 14-team competition. Journalist Paul Verdon, author of titles such as The Power Behind the All Blacks, the Untold Story of the All Black Coaches, decided to conduct a survey on whether former All Blacks thought the New Zealand Rugby Union should cull the NPC to 10 teams, as they have proposed.
"I decided to do the survey because 'time was running out' concerning the NZRU decision on the NPC," Verdon said.
Mexted - who played 72 matches for the All Blacks and has spent 17 years as a rugby commentator - reportedly ran foul of his bosses at SKY TV recently for his decision to speak out against the NZRU's decision to reduce the competition to 10 teams for next year.
In Verdon's survey however, 97 per cent of the former All Blacks he asked, also favoured the retention of 14 provinces in the championship, including Northland's Ritchie Guy.
The former chairman of the NZFRU Council and NZRFU Board, who oversaw rugby's move to professionalism in 1996, said, culling the competition to 10 was a bad idea.
"If 'four million people' are to continue at the top of world rugby we cannot place people on the scrapheap."
Other greats to oppose the proposal in the survey included Sir Colin Meads, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sam Strahan, Ian MacRae, Laurie Mains and Grahame Thorne.
The NZRU is due to announce a decision on the subject about December 12. Verdon said his questionnaire was mailed to 250 former All Blacks.