Mahony said they confirmed their strong support for the board and staff and expressed serious concern at the actions taken by the directors who have resigned.
"The union's focus now is in working with clubs via a special general meeting to fill the vacancies created by the recent resignations."
Mahony expected the meeting to be held early next month. However, he said it was up to the clubs to call it as the union's board did not have a quorum until the vacancies were filled.
"We are excited by that prospect and look forward to working with the new board members for the good of the game in Hawke's Bay. Indications are that our clubs are going to nominate excellent candidates with a diverse range of skills and experience and the time to devote to make a full contribution for the good of the game of rugby in Hawke's Bay," Mahony added.
Reacting to Mahony's claim last night, Tremain, said he did not stand for the chairman's role at the March board meeting in an attempt to take over the board. It was part of the process to get better governance.
"Yes I am keen to lead Hawke's Bay rugby. It is time for some change and hopefully my resignation will help get some change."
A son of former All Black and Magpies legend, the late Kel Tremain, Tremain, indicated he could return as a director in the future.
"I am still a massive supporter of Hawke's Bay rugby both financially and as a supporter of the Magpies. I will encourage and work with some good people to get involved with the board."I am a little bit concerned about some of the transparency at board level and I'm also a little bit concerned about the relationship between the chairman and CEO," Tremain added.
When Atkinson and Druzianic announced their resignations earlier this week they urged the Bay clubs to call for a governance review including the appointment of at least six new board members. Atkinson, who had been on the board for 19 years and delivered 17 consecutive surpluses before handing the financial reins to Druzianic, suggested representatives from Sport New Zealand be approached to be involved with the review with support from the New Zealand union.
"I hope as part of the review the four of us who have resigned are given the opportunity to discuss the issues we see. I'm prepared to contribute my time to get the union back to a very strong position."
Two club delegates, MAC's Anthony Morley and Maraenui's Doug Laing, who have both spoken to some other club representatives this week, said last night immediate steps would be taken to call an urgent meeting of club leaders and delegates, at an independent venue with an independent chairman, to get the required one-fourth of clubs to requisition a special general meeting, and agree on the purpose.
Morley said he believed clubs would want more than "simply the replacement of those members who have resigned".
"There is a considerable amount of dismay and concern over the way governance has been handled over quite a period of time," he said.
"Clearly there has to be a special general meeting, but we would want to include our business - not just the board's business. We would at least also want a constitutional review."
■ Magpies coach Craig Philpott will be among four people interviewing the final four candidates early next week for the co-coach berth vacated by former All Black halfback Danny Lee. Union chairman Brendan Mahony said the union was hoping to make an announcement on the successful candidate by the end of next week and he was impressed with the calibre of applicants.
