RUGBY - Support Taniwha or axe may fall

Northlanders keen on keeping the Taniwha from being wiped from the rugby map are being asked to dip into their pockets and get down to the game in a show of solidarity for their flagship sporting team.
A revamp of the Air NZ Cup rugby championship is now under way and a draft report from the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) has heralded a move to cut two provinces from the premier grade.
One of those teams is Tasman. Marlborough, one of the provincial partners in the existing Tasman merger with Nelson Bays, has opted out. There are drumbeats from Wellington suggesting Northland is the other province in the gun.
But just who will be dropped and consigned to play community rugby in the Heartland Championship will not be announced until Tuesday. The final decision won't be ratified until late September, but Tuesday is looming as one of the most important dates in Northland rugby history.
The Northland Rugby Union (NRU) needed to gather enough support, some of it financial, to convince the NZRU board that they deserved a place at the main table, said NRU chairman Wayne Peters.
Without it, Northland stood to be cut from first division, the Northland business community would lose economic benefits estimated to be worth more than $6 million a season, and hockey and golf would be left as the only two mainstream sports in the province competing at the elite provincial level.
"I think we have got ... to show people outside of Northland what we desire," Peters said.
"We need to have a solid show of commonality in the Northland union that we want to be part of this competition. We need a critical show of support and a sounder commercial base.
"The NZRU need to know where we stand as a union."
Boosting crowd numbers for Northland games at Okara Park was the first step, getting businesses to back the Taniwha brand was the next, then the NZRU would be able to recognise the support base the Northland rugby team had in the province.
The decision is sure to be controversial no matter who gets axed, but is a situation NZRU chief executive Steve Tew says is unavoidable. Speaking to the NZ Herald, Tew admitted there would be fallout, but change was inevitable.
"The reality is we can't afford 14 [teams] and we can't fit a 14-team round robin into the competition window. The cost basis is not sustainable over time. We need to get back to 12 teams and that means there are two who are casualties," Tew said.
Peters is due to address the council of clubs to discuss the issue and is calling for the Northland business community to get behind the union. It is an obvious indication that the NRU feels threatened by the impending NZRU decision.
The other unions in the gun, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu and Counties-Manukau, are also feeling the heat although Manawatu chairman Tony Murphy said he was "absolutely certain" they were safe and Bay of Plenty's NZRU appointed interim chief executive, Jeremy Curragh, was confident they had met all NZRU requirements.
Counties Manukau have the advantage of a big population base, which leaves Northland battling to hold their first division status.
But all four unions have financial problems that make them demotion targets. Tasman have lost $4 million, Bay of Plenty recently laid off staff after declaring a $900,000 deficit and the NZRU was forced to appoint Curragh in a caretaker role to keep the union operational. Manawatu and Counties Manukau are battling to meet budget, as well.
Northland declared a $350,000 loss last year but have since cleared all debt and hope for a modest profit this season.