RUGBY - AB giants vent fury at ruling

Two former All Blacks have joined a chorus of criticism aimed at the New Zealand rugby administrators just as the Northland rugby officials prepare to take the fight for survival to Wellington on Friday.
The Northland reply to the news their status as an Air NZ Cup team is set to be cut, a comprehensive document that Northland Rugby Union (NRU) officials believe underlines their right to remain in the top flight, arrives in Wellington on Friday.
A powerful NRU rugby delegation is heading to NZRU offices later this month to present their submission to the full NZRU board. Primary among a number of concerns are worries the NZRU has devalued Northland's role in developing Super 14 players and completely ignored the strong Maori player base in the region.
It is the NRU's only opportunity to try to convince the NZRU that Northland need to stay in the professional ranks. The last-ditch plea will fail unless NZRU board members can be convinced the huge emotional public response to the recommendation is being backed up with cold hard cash and a dramatic change of direction from Northland administrators.
Northland failed miserably when assessed on finance, player development and governance. The Northland board has been scrambling to counter the findings, chairman Wayne Peters even hinting that he was prepared to take the case all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In a timely boost for embattled NRU officials, All Black legends Ian Jones and Alex "Grizz" Wylie have both come out bagging the move to ditch Northland.
Jones labelled the decision "disgusting" and said the recommendation to cut the Taniwha ignored the fact that Northland earned their place in the top grade after battling the odds to win promotion from second division.
"Northland has a proud tradition as a rugby nursery and has a huge base of community support that some of the other unions just don't have." Jones said. "I couldn't believe the news when I heard it, it just ignores the fact that Northland is a vital part of rugby in New Zealand. Northland have battled to stand on their own two feet for years while other unions have had handouts from the NZRU to stay afloat.
"They haven't relied on handouts, they have relied on the support of loyal supporters to survive."
Wyllie was equally scathing, saying the decision could just as easily axed any of the rural provinces, including Southland.
"To take either of those two teams away is heading for disaster because they have been around for a long time and have proud histories," Wylie said. "The NZRU doesn't seem to help itself at times. Rugby's taking a fair bashing from lots of areas and to do that to an area like Northland with that depth of history is going to be to the detriment of the game completely."
The rugby union seemed to be more worried about what the All Blacks were trying to achieve "and they haven't done that bloody well with them either," Wyllie said.
The Northland Rugby Union hopes its submission will force a radical rethink.
The best chance of saving Northland from an enforced demotion from the top league may yet be a bid to try to get the proposed 12-team format expanded to include Northland in a 13-team championship.
Failing that they hope to get the NZRU to defer the decision until the Super 14 review due in 2010.