Radical rejig in pipeline for NPC

New Zealand's domestic rugby landscape could be radically altered beyond 2005 following the announcement yesterday of a major review of the NPC.

The NZRFU is poised to make the most significant changes to the NPC since the competition began in 1976.

A review of the competition and the role of provincial unions will be carried out following the termination of the News Ltd professional contract in 2005.

The review will investigate the optimal number of divisions (at present three) and provincial unions (27) - figures that have been virtually unchanged for the competition's 27 years.

It will investigate the makeup of provincial boundaries, the relationship between the NPC and Super 12 rugby, and the intricacies of the player transfer market.

Stand-in NZRFU chief executive Steve Tew said details of the review could not be discussed until the new board was elected this month and the review process established.

"People will say, 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'," Tew said.

"But the NPC is a very important competition in New Zealand and we have a responsibility to fine-tune it. We're not prepared to just let it run its course."

The direction of the changes have possibly been signposted by initiatives brought into this year's first division.

The changes were made to improve the prospects of non-Super 12 franchise base unions, creating a more even competition.

"It is not to flatten the competition by bringing down the top teams. That would be easy to do - we could just bring in a lot of rules," Tew said.

"We're trying to raise teams to the top bar, whether that be [champions] Canterbury or whoever."

This year the NPC will cost the NZRFU $6.6 million to run.

A minimum payout of $10,000 for every first division player who was not a Super 12-contracted player was introduced.

Thus, if a squad of 26 had no Super 12 players, they would receive $260,000, and if a squad had 24 Super 12 players, they would receive just $20,000.

Also, the five non-Super 12-based teams - Northland, North Harbour, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Southland - each received an additional $110,000.

That was for the cost of extra resources such as trainers, physiotherapists and video technology which was already available at Super 12 bases Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago.

All provincial unions must sign a statutory declaration that they will not lure a player from another union by promising a Super 12 contract.

"If we can prove a union has done something to that effect, then they've broken the law. It is even punishable by jail," Tew said.

From next year a "rocket payment" of $30,000 will go to any team promoted from the second division to help get them up to speed quickly.

Transfer regulations will be changed so when a first division player transfers "down" to a lower division, a transfer fee will not apply.

Whether the changes have the desired effect remains to be seen.

Figures from last year show that the smallest first division unions spent about $250,000 on their team above their NZRFU funding, while the leading provinces were close to $1 million.

Also, provincial unions received annual grants totalling $8 million depending on their number of registered players.

The smallest unions had to receive minimum grants of $150,000.

Tew said the NZRFU had to take up the middle ground in running a "complex and unique" competition.

It had to ensure the NPC did not turn into a lop-sided table such as the English premier soccer league or America's Major League baseball, where the top sides got stronger each year.

But it did not want to be a "left wing-style" controlling body.

For example, after lengthy discussions with provincial unions, it had rejected the concept of a player draft, which would deprive players of the right to play for the province of their choice.

A "province of origin" concept was considered as a means of making the competition more representative of each union.

However, the NZRFU deemed such a concept would be almost impossible to apply in a fair, consistent way.

The first division B competition was to continue next year, subject to budget approval next month.

It was recognised that a meaningful B competition was important because 70 per cent of New Zealand's registered players came from within first division unions.

- NZPA