Northland boss won't concede drop is inevitable

There would be no reason whatsoever why a player couldn't be selected from the first division, either as a professional to play Super Rugby or if they were good enough, to be in the All Blacks, but that's up to the selectors.Steve TewNorthland fans were greeted with "Stop the Drop" banners at Okara Park on Friday night, with naming rights sponsor Toll United giving up their sponsorship space around the park  to drape them.
Northland Rugby Union chairman Andrew Golightly isn't conceding that Northland will be playing in a revamped first division.
He says - and  many fans agree  - show me the details.
He has questions about who will be in the new division, who will broadcast it and whether it would be cheaper than the current model.
And he says until more detail is known any changes  are still up in the air - contrary to what NZRU chief executive Steve Tew may believe.
"He [Tew] has said recently that it will be down to the board to decide and, although he's very adamant, I took that as an acknowledgement that it's not a certainly yet and if they want to do it they'll have to get on with it," Golightly said.
"After speaking with the Hawke's Bay officials - they are supportive of the 14-team model - and others around the country, there are big questions about how much money the change will save and some other critical issues, so I believe there's growing support for the status quo."
Golightly admires Tew for his willingness to appear  and explain his position. Tew was at another threatened union, Tasman, for an Air New Zealand Cup match  in Blenheim on Friday night.
On Friday, he also spoke to the Advocate about the NZRU's plans.
Any chance of a late reprieve, to keep the current structure for another year?
"[No] ... There will be four unions who go down to division one - we have some sympathy for those unions who will go down and have been working hard to avoid that plight but it goes back to a request by the unions made at the beginning of the year."
Not everyone agrees with the method of selecting the teams (for demotion).
"If those unions are so sure they should have a team in the top division then it's just a year away. The main thing to remember is that if you are one of those four unions - and I can't discuss who they might be - the incentive for their fans to stick with them the following year and continue to support them is that if they win the division one competition next year - which is likely to be for the Meads Cup - then they will be back up in the premier division
the following year, and all they've got to do after that is to avoid being last."
So there will be no return to the days of promotion-relegation matches?
"No, automatic promotion was agreed to by a majority in May Not everyone agrees ... but in a genuine attempt to make division one as meaningful as possible, if you win the final - you're up - and how much interest will there be in that game?"
The local union is worried about protecting their players. Can a player be picked from division one for an All Black team?
"One would hope so - there is no reason why not. This All Black squad that's going away on Sunday has been chosen from 10 unions - I think that's the largest spread of representation we've had for some time - it just underlines how incredibly important this competition is. There would be no reason whatsoever why a player couldn't be selected from the first division, either as a professional to play Super Rugby or if they were good enough, to be in
the All Blacks, but that's up to the selectors."
The lack of a television deal is seen as a sticking point for Northland. What's the hold-up?
"There's a very complex commercial discussion going on at the moment with the three Sanzar counties and broadcasters worldwide and we need a bit of clear space behind that process to discuss the detail inside New Zealand, and there will be a natural moment when we have that opportunity. It's just not presented itself yet.
It's obviously pretty important to Northland, they reckon they could lose a big chunk of sponsorship if they don't get regular television coverage.
"There's no doubt that the commercial value of a union's jersey and signage is enhanced if there is 100,000 people watching television on a Saturday."
Is this restructure going to help New Zealand rugby balance its books?
"The restructure of this competition is not a silver bullet for the financial pressures the NZRU finds itself under. The reality of the situation is, over the  past 10 years and certainly the  past four or five, the cost of the professional side of the business has grown exponentially and that is very common in professional sport, where costs almost always rise to match and sometimes, and this is the case with us, exceed revenue. And when revenue comes under
pressure, and in this case that's partly because of how we present the game and partly the global recession, it's very hard to get your expenses to match your revised revenue opportunities. We're confident that we can get a better financial position for New Zealand rugby in total over a medium term period but, as part of that, there's a different player payment model to be looked at. That's subject to the collective agreement that is being negotiated now.
"The salary cap is in the mix, how unions contract the players themselves - all those things are there - and we see it as part of a natural step in the growing maturity of professional rugby in New Zealand."
So it grew, it had to contract, when will it change again?
"One thing we're conscious of this year is because we've been conducting a number of reviews ourselves over a period of time and ... there's been a certain amount of uncertainty in our business for the  past year or so, so we would hope - and this has not been discussed by the board at this stage - that once we've settled on a new competition structure then it would have a run of five years or so, so it can settle, and we can see how it works and let
those who are competing know what the targets and what the rules are.
Change often creates enemies doesn't it?
"It burns up energy, time and money and goodwill and we need to get through this process and make the final calls and then set about working really hard at the game together, ensuring that we've got the future of the sport in mind and do the best we can for 2010 and onwards, noting that we've got a very exciting opportunity in 2011 [for the World Cup]."
So what happens now?
"We have already asked for the information and we need to have it by  November 20, so the playing results will be fed into the system and the financial results will be sent in by the unions. They'll be processed by the end of November and there's a board meeting on  December 10-11 where a final decision on the four teams [who will drop] will be made.