RUGBY - 'Crisis meeting' resuscitates Mangakahia

A community's cry for help may have saved a Northland rugby club from extinction - but there's still work to do to ensure they stay afloat.
Mangakahia Rugby Club was facing financial ruin and the possibility of not being able to field a team in any junior or senior competition this year.
But a "crisis meeting" on Thursday resulted in renewed interest in supporting the rural club, to the relief of its president.
It's one of a number of rural rugby clubs who continue to struggle to retain players and volunteers, the Northland Rugby Union says.
Mangakahia club president Forbes Roxburgh said an average of just three people have attended three pre-season trainings, and resignations of several committee staff have left just a few people trying to hold the club together.
Mr Roxburgh said the three core families that have contributed to the success of the club have either retired or decided to pursue rugby opportunities not available in the second division - which had a big impact on the Mangakahia player base.
"The subs base has shrunk, and we can't afford to continue that," he said.
Last season the club finished the year with a little money and no debt, but this year Mr Roxburgh predicted it could end up worse unless they got more support.
He said a small group of determined locals had volunteered and given time and effort for many years, but they needed more otherwise they would get overloaded and the club and facilities would suffer.
Mr Roxburgh didn't want to speculate on why the club was lacking support, but said the traditional farming community was changing and more people had more connections with Whangarei city.
The club's request for a co-ordinator of junior rugby resulted in two parents replying to enrol six children, but no one who was keen to help co-ordinate or coach.
Thursday's meeting, with team members, club committee members and members of the public was "uplifting", Mr Roxburgh said.
"We haven't cleared up all the problems by any means, but I'm a lot more confident than two weeks ago."
Senior team members had shown renewed interest in ensuring their survival in the competition, while a new group of parents who had previously taken their children into town to play rugby pledged to support the Mangakahia club instead.
"My goal is for the club to be run by the club," Mr Roxburgh said.
Northland Rugby Union operations manager Greg Shipton said struggling rugby clubs like Mangakahia were an ongoing issue, and not just in Northland.
He said the numbers of player in Northland was, in fact, increasing, but most clubs struggled to retain players from the junior into the senior levels.
"It's a fact of life that rural clubs are struggling. What's happening in some places is we've got quite a few players at a young age, but in the 14-25 age bracket, they're looking elsewhere.
"We've got to try and make clubs the hub of the community again," Mr Shipton said.
The Northland Rugby Union had club liaison officers who were available to "help clubs help themselves", by showing them where to apply for funding, for example.
"If people are expecting the rugby union to do all the work, then what happens if we do offer to do it? They'll just sit back and expect the support to continue."
Many clubs who used "old-fashioned" fundraisers, such as sausage sizzles or the Mangakahia club's community dinners at the area's Sports Complex, actually fared better than clubs who relied on donations like Pub Charity, Mr Shipton said.