Rugby: Chiefs in danger of Super 12 sack

By CHRIS RATTUE

The head of the Chiefs franchise, Gary Dawson, has admitted they do not have a guaranteed future in the Super 12, and that Hamilton could lose its status as the franchise base.

The continuing failure of the Chiefs to be a threat in the Sanzar tournament and draw anything like a decent crowd has created major doubts about their future.

The Chiefs have been hampered by the antipathy between former main partners Waikato and North Harbour, the subsequent change in boundaries, and because they do not have a central province in control as exists with the Crusaders and Highlanders, in particular.

But even those problems do not explain away the continuing lack of performance and the extremely poor crowds they draw in Pukekohe and Hamilton.

While the Chiefs had a crowd of just 2500 at Rugby Park in Hamilton to watch the match against the Waratahs, Australia is pushing for Melbourne - the sporting capital of the Southern Hemisphere - to have a team in the competition.

The Chiefs play the Bulls in Rotorua tonight and a big crowd at the International Stadium could increase speculation that Hamilton no longer deserves to be a franchise base.

While Waikato rugby officials are confident that Rugby Park, a relic of another sporting era, will be redeveloped, Hamilton is skating on thin ice as a Super 12 base.

Dawson said he understood that $4m was about to be spent on redeveloping the Rotorua stadium. And there are also plans to build a new stadium in South Auckland.

Dawson said the Chiefs board accepted that they did not have a guaranteed right to stay in the Super 12, although he did not believe the moves by Australia to have a fourth team presented an immediate threat.

"No one said it would be easy and it has been a pretty tough year," said Dawson, the chief executive of Waikato and the Chiefs.

"We certainly don't feel that there is a guarantee that the Chiefs will always be here.

"I believe the Chiefs will remain, but it is not an automatic right. We have got to do all the right things from now on.

"We not only have to prove to the people who run the Super 12 that we should be here, but also to the people of this region that we can compete at this top level."

The Chiefs board will have another meeting today to work out strategies. Dawson said the franchise had never been particularly good at identifying and developing the best talent in the area.

But he admitted that some new top-line players were needed immediately while the franchise waited for its long-term plans to bear fruit.

Dawson said they wanted to work out protocols between the Counties Manukau, Waikato, King Country, Thames Valley and Bay of Plenty unions on the development and movement of players.

It is understood that those looking ahead to the formation of next year's team have identified four areas which need strengthening.

They believe the Chiefs need a test-class prop, an openside loose forward to back up and pressure Glen Marsh, a first five-eighths who can control matches, and a quality outside back - particularly as the No 1 fullback, Todd Miller, never plays on Sundays.

There must also be doubt about coach Ross Cooper's future. In the three years he has been in charge, the Chiefs have failed to be a semifinal threat.

He has another year left on a New Zealand Rugby Football Union contract, but coaches' positions are under review.

Dawson refused to indulge in any speculation about Cooper's future.

But it may well take a miracle run of polished performances to save his place with the Chiefs, and it may already be too late.

* Unwanted Chiefs utility forward Api Naevo has been given a late registration by Japanese rugby which allows him to take up a two-year contract with the Kaneka club. That means he will not be able to play for Counties Manukau.