KEY POINTS:
Marlborough said today the resignation of Tasman Rugby Union (TRU) chairman Max Spence will do nothing to alter a desire to quit its merger with Nelson Bays.
The discord between the two sub-unions, which merged in 2006 to form TRU, is threatening its participation in the top tier Air NZ Cup domestic competition.
Spence has told Marlborough he will quit at a TRU board meeting on Tuesday.
Marlborough chairman Peter Heagney said this morning it would not make an iota of difference to his body's stance.
"We heard about that last night (during our meeting)," he said.
"It's his decision but at the end of the day, I suppose you can live and die by the sword.
"I don't think it will make any difference (to the situation) at all.
"My personal opinion is that the organisation is crumbling a wee bit."
The simmering feud boiled over in recent weeks when seven of the eight Marlborough clubs voiced a desire to split from TRU and return to the second tier Heartland championship.
Marlborough's dissatisfaction is rooted in the loss of its home ground, Landsdowne Park, to clear a $3.5 million TRU debt and its perception it was the forgotten "step-child" of the merger.
In August, Tasman and Northland were threatened with relegation from the Air NZ Cup but were granted a conditional stay of execution last Friday by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) for the next two years. Both unions were required to prove their financial viability.
Marlborough held a meeting last night in Blenheim attended by TRU chief executive Peter Barr, who was given a month to produce a convincing business plan for the cash-strapped union.
The terms and conditions of Tasman's submission to the NZRU last week pleading for Air NZ Cup survival, and the NZRU's subsequent decision to grant a stay of execution, were discussed at the two-hour meeting.
"The TRU want the opportunity to formulate a business plan for us and a budget that we can have a look at, and see if it's viable for the TRU to go forward," Heagney said.
"At the moment, the Marlborough sub-union board are waiting to have a look at that business plan and financial budget - we've said to them that we'd expect that to be given to us before the end of October, so the board can progress in whatever way we feel fit.
"That decision will have to come from our stakeholders as well."
Heagney said the decision would have to be made with the head and not the heart.
"It's not just about wanting to play in the Air NZ Cup - it's got to be a viable proposition," he said.
"This is where sometimes players get a bit emotional about it. It's nice to have players playing in the Air NZ Cup but if you can't afford it, what's the sense?
"You know how much we've lost in the first three years - do you carry on losing money, and where does it come from if you want to keep losing it?
"It's a business you're running, and it's got to be viable."
Tasman needed a $340,000 loan from the NZRU to compete in this year's Air NZ Cup, where it is currently 10th in the standings.
- NZPA
