KEY POINTS:
They might not have won a game all season but to Counties Manukau just being in the national championship is a cause for celebration.
Coach Kevin Putt may have chucked in the towel in frustration at winning just one of 19 matches in two seasons but chief executive Nick Sheppard is taking the long-term view.
Being in the top flight had already allowed Counties to retain promising young players it would otherwise have lost to bigger unions. The fruits of that retention would be seen in years to come, he said.
"Look, we've come 12th and 14th, so the results aren't startling," Sheppard said.
"But we've said from the beginning that we are in this for the long haul. We have been treading water waiting for the young talent that we identified a few years ago to come through to the top level.
"These are kids we would normally have lost."
Counties had by far the lowest wage bill in this year's competition and that situation would likely be repeated next year, Sheppard said.
"The bottom line is that we spent all we could afford to spend.
"We weren't prepared to put ourselves in a situation we couldn't afford.
"And we are not going to be world beaters in 2008.
"We will have to cop a lot more on the chin as we go along.
"But, if we can give our young players the opportunity to play at that level and then hold on to them, then there is no reason why we can't be more successful at that level in the future."
The benefits of the expanded competition outweighed the negatives, he said.
"In terms of what it was set out to do, to make it a game for all New Zealand, it has been a success."
