KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Rugby Union is bracing itself for legal action after deciding to axe two teams from next year's national championship.
The union yesterday announced the details of the competition's new structure but delayed naming the culled unions until Tuesday.
Chief executive Steve Tew admitted the move was at least partly designed to allow the union to consider any potential legal obstacles before going public with its plans.
"We are making sure that we've got any detail we put to the board completely nailed just in case there is any chance of any kind of appeal or legal process," Tew said. "We accept that that is a possibility. Legal recourse is always the final step for anybody to take.
"We think it is appropriate to take a deep breath, get the communication right and make sure all the documentation is 100 per cent and make an announcement next week."
All 14 unions were to be informed of their fate yesterday.
Tew hoped the NZRU's decision would be kept private until Tuesday.
"There is already considerable speculation but I'm not expecting there to be a leak [from] inside our organisation.
"There are obviously three or four unions who are admitting they are in financial difficulty. And people are obviously aware of the political rift at Tasman. There are any number of indicators."
With Marlborough wanting out of their costly alliance with Nelson Bays, Tasman will almost certainly be one of the axed teams. Northland, Manawatu and Bay of Plenty are the other teams most under threat.
The NZRU will hope the dangled carrot of an annual promotion-relegation match between the bottom Air New Zealand Cup team and the Heartland Championship winner will help sooth the disaffection of the culled unions.
The match will be played at the ground of the Heartland union, a measure designed to aid that team's chances in a contest that historically has favoured the top tier union.
The run of shock results at the weekend suggested the competition had levelled off more quickly than expected but Tew was adamant the need for a reduction in teams remained.
"The reality is we can't afford 14 [teams] and we can't fit a 14-team round robin into the competition window.
"The cost basis is not sustainable over time. We need to get back to 12 teams and that means there are two who are casualties."
The NZRU has also proposed a change to the Ranfurly Shield, with the holder to put it up for every match after four successful home defences. A majority of submissions received by the union favoured the change but it would only proceed if ratified by a majority vote at either the AGM or a special general meeting.
"We are incredibly mindful of the unique place the Shield plays in New Zealand's rugby history folklore," Tew said. "Any rugby administrator would fool with that with great caution."
Tew also played down suggestions some of the bigger unions were seriously contemplating forming a breakaway transtasman competition.
"We have made it clear that as long as we are committed to Sanzar we believe we have to have a New Zealand only-based domestic competition. It is part of our competitive advantage and we want to protect it."
The clandestine nature of the discussions between the bigger unions was disappointing but he didn't completely rule out the idea of such a competition if the rugby landscape changed. "It might be plan B. We can't predict everything that is going to happen in world rugby."
RUGBY 2009
* 12-team competition with full round robin followed by semis and final.
* Starting in mid-August and ending in early October.
* Bottom team to play promotion-relegation match against Heartland champion.
* Salary cap to be slashed, with limitations placed on demands that can be made on semi-professional players.
* Proposal for Ranfurly Shield to be put up for every match (except semis and final) after four home defences.
