More hoops, less hoopla

One of the first things Bruce Robertson did after being appointed Counties Manukau coach was make a fashion statement from the past.

Robertson may have been closeted away at that icon of Rugby Corp, Eden Park, for the past decade but to use that old line, you can take the boy out of Counties Manukau but you can't take Counties Manukau out of the boy.

So it was out with the new and in with the old for Robertson, whose team face Hawkes Bay in tomorrow's second division final in Napier.

He promptly ditched the team jersey - undoubtedly an object created so lovingly by some corporate clone whose next assignment might have been designing tablecloths - and resurrected the famous Counties clobber of yesteryear.

He didn't quite go all the way. There was a time when Counties, as they were called then, scooted around the field in a jersey that not only had a gigantic number on a white square on the back, but also the front. It is the kind of quirky tradition that people should hold on to dearly, but of course some smart arse in an office will always get in the way and prove their worth by chucking out anything that's more than a couple of years old.

Robertson, without doubt the most famous player to have ever worn the black, red and white hoops of Counties, decided that traditions do mean something.

He unashamedly brought back the old jersey, and hallelujah for that.

Of course, that was the easy bit. Trying to recreate the success of the past simply isn't possible. The New Zealand Rugby Union has seen to that by blessing five provinces with Favoured Union Status - ie a Super 12 franchise.

The rest can stew in their own muck - only to be wheeled out every now and then as some sort of publicity stunt in the name of heartland rugby. Basically the rugby season begins with the Super 12 and ends with the Super Five.

(The NZRFU thinks so little of its own "flagship" competition that it can't even be bothered organising video referees for the thing. Hey, what's a few dud tries between friends.)

Counties are definitely not in the Super Five, and their definition of success is now just being able to compete in the top division, something they are not doing this season.

All is not lost however, according to their manager Alan Dawson.

If anyone knows about playing for Counties it is Dawson, who performed the feat 201 times.

When I rang him this week, Dawson was not only full of praise for the way Robertson had organised his foray into NPC coaching, but actually found it invigorating riding in the team bus to Thames, visiting Marlborough, and generally getting off the corporate rugby track.

"At least it's a level playing field in the second division," he says.

"The supporters in those places are so genuine and enthusiastic. Our supporters have been great as well."

Dawson quickly acknowledges it is vital for Counties Manukau to get back into the first division, but says the second division could also be a good place to re-build a side.

If the Steelers fail to win promotion, he even wants the team to spend a week or so in the South Island next year, rather than rushing in and out for the matches there.

"Spending time away together like that is the way to build a side," says Dawson, who recalls one of the Counties teams he was in beating Canterbury, Otago and Southland in the space of eight days.

So Counties Manukau still remember their past as they contemplate a difficult future.

In a sport that has become a slave to the dollar, it's refreshing to still hear some common sense.