RUGBY - Behold the last stand of the Taniwha in a hypocritical world

Northland rugby administrators are bracing for bad news when the new Air NZ Cup rankings are released tomorrow, an order of merit that seems destined to toss the Taniwha down to Heartland rugby. Sports editor Tim Eves explains why.
If you're struggling with the hypocrisy of it all, don't worry, you're not alone.
By this time tomorrow, unless some fierce backroom lobbying has somehow infiltrated the wall of silence at New Zealand Rugby Union offices, Steve Tew, the NZRU chief executive will announce that Northland has been dropped from the Air NZ Cup and sentenced to Heartland purgatory for their sins.
Who knows what shape his announcement will take, most likely it will be via all the usual channels available these days, webcam, email, tele-conference and maybe even a text message.
If reports that Tew has chosen to be absent for the announcement by attending to other NZRU business in Hong Kong are correct, then it will probably be the latter.
Sry, U bin axed, chers- tewey.
What can almost be guaranteed is that Steve Tew will not arrive at Okara Park any time soon, ask for the microphone, stand in front of the grandstand and tell the Northland rugby faithful that, in his opinion, Northland rugby ain't worth it.
Apparently the Northland rugby pedigree does not stand up to scrutiny. The Northland Rugby Union (NRU) has lost too much money, lost too many games, doesn't have the facilities and has not produced enough rugby players of note to be worth a place among the provincial elite in this country.
Despite being comparable in almost every one of the "assessable criteria" to other unions given a reprieve - such as Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Counties-Manukau, Taranaki and even a now cash-strapped North Harbour - they have somehow decided Northland is the one to go.
But it is here that the topic gets murky.
The "assessable criteria" laid down at NZRU headquarters have not separated one of these unions from the others. So the decision seems to have come down to personal opinions and emotional reasoning, and will subsequently be open for legal debate.
No matter who gets cut in tomorrow's D-Day announcement, legal action is now sure to follow.
As it stands, Northland and Tasman are set to go. But the NZRU decision to be rid of Northland smacks of hypocrisy.
Northland's pleas repeated - almost word for word - reasoning the NZRU used to convince the International Rugby Board (IRB) that they were the ones who should host the Rugby World Cup 2011. As in, ignore the money, the lack of stadia and the relatively small population base, but remember the contribution the All Blacks have made to the game and bear in mind the potential benefits for rugby in Aotearoa hosting the RWC 2011 could provide.
That was an argument good enough to fit their cause when they wanted to use it. But it isn't good enough to hear from a union that has been left to struggle with outrageous player wage bills determined by a salary cap set by the NZRU and burgeoning compliance costs fixed - you guessed it - by the NZRU.
No room here to acknowledge past deeds of the Going brothers - Sid, Ken and Brian. No recognition of Ranfurly Shield history or the 24 All Blacks the province has produced. If that is dusting too many cobwebs off the bookshelf for them, how about finding Rupeni Caucaunibuca, David Holwell, Justin Collins, Fetu Vainikolo, Rene Ranger, Derren Witcombe and Bronson Murray? How about turning out coaches like Bryce Woodward, a world under-20 championship winner? Donny Stevenson, who won the Pacific Nations Cup with the NZ Maori this year? Or even the current head coach Mark Anscombe?
There is a chance though, not a strong one admittedly, but a chance all the same, that some NZRU board members can be swayed to veto this decision before the recommendation is rubber-stamped next month.
The strong Maori player base in Northland may be a trump card, and the negative impact on one of the biggest rugby playing populations in the country another. But for now, 2008 appears to be the last stand of the Taniwha, at least on the paddock.