KEY POINTS:
Apprehension levels are on the rise at the New Zealand Rugby Union.
Next month's conference of provinces to discuss widespread issues in the sport was billed originally as a summit meeting but that portrayal has been downgraded to a forum. The semantic alteration occurred recently after NZRU staff met with provincial representatives to canvass the idea.
The rationale? The NZRU worried it had amplified the influence of the meeting, worried about its ability to find solutions to the diverse range of provincial rugby problems.
The meeting will discuss the Air New Zealand Cup, its financial implications, the number of teams, the timing of the series and the sport's future.
Rugby struggled last year after the All Blacks in the Cotton Wool Club were excused Super 14 and provincial duty, absences which affected television viewership and crowds.
A meeting of provincial officials heard how Super 14 attendances dipped by nearly 4 per cent while Sky suffered a 20 per cent drop in viewers. In the provincial series, attendances were down nearly 11 per cent and television viewers dropped 31 per cent.
Many of those provinces have now revealed their financial predicaments as the NZRU, anxious about offending the provinces further, works out how best to pitch its promised two-day workshop on the sport.
Meanwhile Canterbury revealed a $428,000 loss (compounded by settlement of a historic $582,000 taxation dispute) in the latest financial year to follow revelations from Bay of Plenty about their record $759,000 plight.
Those figures follow Otago's $1.5 million loss, a situation which new chief Richard Reid described as "challenging but fixable". He said $600,000 was depreciation on Carisbrook and a further $500,000 was interest on the loan for the same ground.
A March 17 decision on whether Dunedin goes ahead with a new stadium will allow the ORFU to then decide on the future for Carisbrook. But Reid did have some strong words about the cost of player payments in his area and the financial drain of the Super 14 and Air New Zealand Cup.
"There is no room for two tiers of professional rugby," he said.
Chiefs chief executive Gary Dawson offered similar sentiments, saying New Zealand's sports economy was not large enough to sustain two professional series and the variety of crises had come as no surprise as he surveyed a Waikato loss of $55,000.
Contrasting views comes from Hawkes Bay, Counties Manukau and Manawatu after their return to the bigtime. "There has to be a geographical pathway for players and it would be a tragedy if we put a cross through rugby in some areas," said Bay chief Mike Bishop, revealing a $62,284 profit.
"It has been a delicate balance but we did well with our gates and had a small surplus of $5145," Manawatu chief Hadyn Smith said, while Counties were on track for a $30,000 profit, a result that chief executive Nick Sheppard said showed they could manage their business.
Other provinces in the black were Wellington with a likely six-figure result while Auckland and Taranaki were heading for small surpluses.
Elsewhere it was not so rosy. Northland's income problems mean they will post a $350,000 loss, North Harbour will struggle home with a $50,000 deficit and Southland are heading for a $40,000 financial dip.
