Big-league dream tall order for tiny union

East Coast are just too small to make the first division, even if they win Sunday's second-division final, writes CHRIS RATTUE.

The second-division title dream is alive for East Coast, but there is almost no chance of the country's smallest union competing in the first division next year.

National rugby union chiefs, though delighted that the Ruatoria-based side have achieved so much, say it would be a "tall order" for them to qualify financially.

Even the East Coast union say they have little chance of meeting the criteria and do not believe their tiny union is ready for the big jump.

But though this might not be the time for the big leap forward, East Coast believe they can one day foot it in the top flight. For now, the on-field hurdles are big enough.

Joe McClutchie's team can beat Hawkes Bay in Sunday's final in Napier - East Coast only lost by six points there in the first round.

But both finalists face an enormous task to beat Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty or Southland away in the promotion-relegation game.

East Coast rely on powerful forwards skilled at retaining the ball, who crash relentlessly upfield, and on their kicking first five-eighths Mano Flutey.

But their fitness and limitations would be sorely tested by a first division side prepared at a higher level.

Should an East Coast team backed by thousands of supporters at the 20,000-capacity McLean Park win the final on Sunday, they will still play the promotion-relegation game. It will give them a guide to their capabilities, but that is where the journey will end for now.

It will be the promotion-relegation match you have when you're not having one, leaving their opponents safe in the first division before the opening whistle.

There are similar precedents. In 1998, the New Zealand Rugby Union contemplated a 12-team first division, but ruled that second division finalists Central Vikings and Bay of Plenty did not qualify.

East Coast chief executive Anthony Nelson said yesterday: "We weren't ready for promotion to the second division in 1999 and waited another year, and this is not the right time to consider going up to the first division. We want to be really sure.

"But if I really pulled my finger out I reckon the money is there ... playing in the first division is not a mad dream."

The team is built on whanau, drawing its players almost exclusively from the Ngati Porou tribe.

Nelson said top Ngati Porou players such as Rico Gear, Rua Tipoki, Matua Parkinson, Paul Thomson and Ron Cribb could be lured if the finance was there.

But for now, East Coast are a long way from having the first division readies.

The NZRFU has removed certain criteria, such has needing a player base of 6000, and ground seating for 6000.

The East Coast - with a population of 6000, just 500 players and a 250-seat grandstand at Whakarua Park - would have been well short. But a minimum $300,000 in the bank is required for the player payments necessary to be competitive. East Coast have about a tenth of that in reserve.

They must also satisfy the NZRFU on things like profit projections. Nelson Bays, a union with more than 10 times the population and five times the players, were turned down by the NZRFU.

Anthony Nelson is sure the Ngati Porou team theme could one day survive at the top level, though his chairman Bill Burdett is more cautious.

"We would have to sit down with the team, sponsors, and the executive," Burdett said. "We can aspire to first division, but there are dangers. We don't have a corporate base, and bringing in players could disrupt the make-up of the team."

* The NZRFU has confirmed that television match officials will be used in the semifinals and finals. North Harbour's Steve Walsh will referee the second division final and Canterbury's Kevin Rowe the third division final between North Otago and South Canterbury in Oamaru. Both games will be live on Sky Sport.