RUGBY - Administration to blame for NRU relegation - manager

Governance, administration and poor finances were the main reasons Northland's premier rugby team has been fingered for the drop from the Air New Zealand Cup, a senior rugby official says.
The New Zealand Rugby Union announced last week that Northland and Tasman were both likely to be cut from the cup, leaving them to play in the Heartland Championship from next season.
The `draft' decision is expected to be formally approved at the NZRU board meeting on September 25-26, giving the region just weeks to overturn the drop.
But NZRU professional manager Neil Sorensen laid the blame firmly at the door of the game's Northland administrators.
Mr Sorensen is in South Africa for a SANZAR meeting and could not be reached for further comment, but in two radio interviews he said the key reasons the region was facing the drop were administration/governance and finances.
The NZRU used six criteria to weigh up each province's merits - population (10 per cent of the overall score); 2007 registered male players (15 per cent); 2006-2007 playing history (10 per cent); financial position (30 per cent); player training and development (20 per cent); and governance and administration (15 per cent).
Northland scored 30.1 per cent of a possible 100, earning only 3.8 per cent for its financial position and 4.3 per cent for governance/administration out of a possible combined 45 per cent.
Mr Sorensen said the Northland Rugby Union also failed to make a submission on the proposed new structure, despite it being "the most important decision it faced" in 100 years.
In the financial performance and position category, the NRU scored 3.8 per cent from a possible 7.5 per cent for its equity value of $920,000 and equity ratio. It scored nothing out of a possible 15 per cent for its working capital and quick asset ratios, and, with $50,000 cash in the bank, scored nothing out of a possible 7.5 per cent for cash at bank and debt servicing ration.
In terms of appropriate governance processes and policies, the NRU scored 3.9 per cent out of a possible 5 per cent. But in the area of cost management, overall financial performance, quality of information provided to the NZRFU, degree of unity and effectiveness and relationship between the NRU chief executive and chairman, Northland scored a mere 0.4 per cent out of a possible 10 per cent.
NRU chairman Wayne Peters wanted to see transcripts of Mr Sorensen's radio interviews before commenting, but said to say the NRU failed to make a submission on the proposal is incorrect.