KEY POINTS:
The national union's charm offensive will do well to persuade the provinces this year's Air New Zealand Cup is something to be enjoyed rather than endured.
Quite how flawed the tournament is has become apparent with the forecast that Auckland, the defending champions and country's richest province, are forecasting a loss of almost $1 million this season.
Auckland can handle that loss in 2008 as they have deliberately built cash reserves for such a rainy day. They have also made a commitment to pump around $750,000 into the amateur game this year and refuse to compromise on that payment.
Chairman Ken Baguley, said: "We can handle things this year. But it would become a problem if we were to lose money like this every year. It is not sustainable for us in the long run."
Other unions don't have Auckland's ability to absorb the inevitable losses they will incur. Last year there were big casualties - Bay of Plenty lost $750,000, Northland $350,000 and Otago almost $1.5 million.
Some exceptional circumstances pushed those numbers higher but without a fundamental change in the structure of the competition, most unions, even with a prudent approach, are not expecting to report good news.
There are now grave concerns about how financially damaged provinces are going to be at the end of this campaign.
Already, Tasman have had to pull out of a pre-season warm-up game with Southland because they couldn't afford to travel. Others have trimmed their squads and put the squeeze on player remuneration. Northland even had to make staff redundant.
Relief will come next year in the shape of a major revamp of the competition but by then, some unions might be dead on their feet. They might not be in a position to be part of the new landscape.
"For us it is business as usual," said Southland chief executive Roger Clark. "We have been at this for 12 years. Times are tough. Our main priority has been to keep the team competitive as possible and I'm hopeful that we will see a more exciting and even competition.
"I think everyone agrees the competition in its current format is not sustainable and we need to change it next year. We hope to find out what shape it will take in September.
"In November and December that we will see unions assess whether they want to be part of that."
What form that revamp will take remains a mystery. The overriding goal is to create a new competition that is financially viable while engaging the fans, sponsors and players. There are some unions that believe the NZRU has to be ruthless; that there needs to be a reduction in both the number of teams and the salary cap.
If Auckland can't make ends meet then there is no possible way the competition can be deemed sustainable. The core factor that has pushed unions deep into the red is not declining gates nor falling sponsorship revenue, it is player costs.
Inflation has been rampant, driven by demand outstripping supply. Some unions believe that if the salary cap is dropped from its current level of $2m to $500,000 a season, the corresponding drop in individual payments will increase the number of players who view the provincial competition as a one-year trial to secure a more lucrative contract overseas.
If the number of teams is reduced to eight or 10, a lot of the inflationary pressures will be removed and there will also be a higher percentage of players already on the NZRU payroll through Super 14 contracts.
Cutting the number of teams remains contentious as the removal of some unions from the premier division will kill the pathway so many have worked so hard to build for young players.
Counties-Manukau chief executive Nick Shepherd says that since his union gained a place in the Air New Zealand Cup, they have stemmed the exodus of talent.
In the old second division, Counties saw the likes of Casey Laulala, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Stephen Donald all leave the instant they were noticed as talented youngsters.
"The last player we lost of that quality was Kieran Read," says Shepherd. "We still lose a few schoolboys to the bigger Auckland schools but we have become much better at retaining our talent.
"We have also been able to lure players like Kristian Ormsby back to the region and we are hoping that this season we will see a lot of the local talent we have been developing over the last few years come through.
"We want to be part of whatever competition is in place next season."
The other unions, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu and Tasman, who came up from the old second division in 2006 make similar claims. Hawke's Bay in particular have been a real success story, reaching the semifinals last year and providing several Super 14 players, including the hugely promising Zac Guildford.
Given the contribution of those promoted unions as well as the heritage of the likes of Northland, Bay of Plenty and Southland, there is a reluctance within the NZRU and around the country to cull teams. Instead, several unions would rather see the salary cap come down and a range of other initiatives introduced such as an effective player draft system.
Whatever the final decision, it won't affect this year's competition which, for most unions, will be an exercise in survival.
The NZRU can be as charming as they like but it won't change the fact that no one really wants to be in 2008 - they will bunker down, get through it best they can and then hope they are still in a position to be part of things in 2009.
