KEY POINTS:
The introduction of professionalism to rugby in 1996 always meant that those parts of the game unable to foot it in financial terms would be left behind.
That's the issue the New Zealand Rugby Union is facing as it considers the future of its top provincial competition.
Soon the NZRU will be advising provincial unions that have struggled in the new professional Air New Zealand Cup competition created in 2006 that they have limited chances to participate in its future.
Ironically, the desperation of unions to be involved stretched financial and player resources. Unions realised if they weren't included they would never again get the chance.
Aware of the political risks of excluding provinces, the NZRU exercised leniency for unions that didn't meet all its criteria for equity base, broadcast and stadium facilities and age-group player numbers.
Instead it placed the onus on provinces to demonstrate that they deserved their place.
But the reasons behind the NZRU's latest review are clear. Its capacity to keep fostering rugby by injecting many millions into the provincial game (more than $22 million in 2005 alone) is mitigated by the costs of competing internationally.
After 12 years of professional rugby and amid a turbulent mix of exchange rate fluctuations, the limitations of our small economy and the exodus of top players to England, France and Japan, the NZRU knows that without changes to its domestic game it will find life on the global stage increasingly fraught.
It needs more of its top provincial unions to become self-sustaining, while still providing meaningful career paths from club rugby to Super 14 and the All Blacks for the best rugby talent. Encouraging unions to set up professional management structures to manage the local game was seen as the best means of achieving this.
In 2006, the NZRU provided a three-year trial period for the Air New Zealand Cup competition. But encouraged by an inflated salary cap that boosted average player payments, unions recorded financial blow-outs never seen before in provincial rugby.
The decision the NZRU is sweating on is how many of these struggling unions can it afford to keep in its top competition. Despite the hype around the All Blacks, provincial rugby remains the bedrock of the game.
As well as participating in the national competition, provincial unions administer club, social grades and touch-rugby competitions. They work with schools and manage age-group competitions that identify up-and-coming players.
Unions also make substantial contributions to local economies and their identity. Professional management structures make this work easier and provide the commercial imperative to encourage more people to play and watch the game.
Nevertheless, the unions also need consistently competitive matches to keep fans coming - not lopsided and predictable wins by the Super 14-franchise bases over teams struggling to remain viable.
The issue is not just about cutting one's cloth to meet the needs of the competition.
It's more the realisation that when a union is forced to step back into the amateur heartland competition, there is little likelihood it will ever return to the game's top echelon.
Without the opportunity to host games against top teams, and at a time when interest in soccer and league is high, the ability to motivate school and club players to take up or continue playing rugby takes a massive hit, weakening the province's on-field competitiveness and off-field contribution.
The union itself starts to rely on volunteers to administer the game and investment in terms of money and time to maintain infrastructure becomes harder to find. Admittedly, the history of New Zealand's provincial game is based on volunteer support. But for some provinces, that is literally a generation ago.
The NZRU's decisions will be hard to swallow for some. A weak provincial game hamstrung by financially struggling unions is not good for rugby. Nevertheless, all the teams introduced to the top competition two years ago have their merits for continued participation, be it due to a proud local history, a surprise win here or there or, in the case of Hawkes Bay, an over-performing team with bustling local support.
But possibly the only one of these with a solid future is Counties-Manukau.
While presiding over some of the country's best rugby talent (who could just as easily be playing league), it kept its player salaries lower than most and, although losing virtually every game it played, still kept its books in the black.
In the professional era, sustainable financial success is far more important than on-field success (although the latter does tend to follow the former). It also means Counties-Manukau has a future in the top competition, while other, more fancied unions face a very difficult time trying to convince the NZRU that they can keep up.
What will be doubly irksome for some is that the restructuring of the provincial competition comes when unions are pitching to the 2011 Rugby World Cup's organising company to host World Cup teams and/or matches, which would provide a massive boost to their province.
But without a presence in the top competition and the professional management structure this entails, the chance of meaningful involvement in 2011 will be remote.
New Zealand rugby boasts a proud history of classic provincial matches and rivalries that contributed to our self-identity. It is at the provincial level that rugby loyalties still run the deepest. But the glitz and glamour of the Super 14 now provide the far greater instant appeal. Inevitably the professional game has sucked the best out of provincial rugby to provide a valuable international broadcast product that earns the revenue to keep the All Black players in New Zealand and manages the local game.
But for punters without deep rugby loyalties, it is now harder to attend provincial matches because the interest in the history and traditions of the game is largely obscured by the Super 14. Regular restructuring of the provincial competitions doesn't help.
To their detriment, some unions have tried to attract fans by trying to mimic the hype of the international game, on far smaller budgets and with lesser-known players.
It's far from easy and, despite the introduction of a new provincial competition, will become harder as the Super 14 legacy lengthens. But that's the nature of the professional game. Provincial rugby will still prevail, but not in the way that many might prefer.
* Gerard Martin is a part-time rugby academic. His masters thesis, The Game is Not the Same - the History of Professional Rugby, was published by AUT in 2005.
