Bay of Plenty rugby historian Brent Drabble believes rugby may never be the same in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.PHOTO/FILE
Bay of Plenty rugby historian Brent Drabble believes rugby may never be the same in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.PHOTO/FILE
The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union is taking a business-as-usual approach to next season's Baywide club rugby competition despite no assurance it will involve clubs from the Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty.
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chief executive Mike Rogers said the union had so far been unableto verify whether all the clubs in the Central and Eastern Bay of Plenty were on board, with the looming presence of a split in the camp. No timetable had been set for resolution, he said.
"We are continuing to work on planning for 2015; we felt that there was some very good progress with club rugby this year," Rogers said.
"The premier and division one competitions were very even and clubs indicated an increased spectator attendance at games, along with eight clubs represented in the Steamers and the same number in the development teams."
He said it was always going to be difficult to keep such a large number of clubs of different sizes happy.
"When you have close to 40 clubs that have different views it is impossible to meet the demands of everyone. Our view is to try and provide the best competitions for our players and coaches."
Rotoiti's Jesse Acton is an exception in a team referred to in some parts as the Western Bay of Plenty Steamers. PHOTO/FILE
Despite the walkout of some Eastern and Central clubs from a recent meeting and the potential for the union to split into sub-unions, Rogers said progress had been made with clubs.
"Overall, based on feedback received as part of our strategic directions consultation, I would say our relationship with our clubs and schools is moving in the right direction.
"We view all our clubs as Bay of Plenty clubs. We will continue to work on improving our communication and relationships with all our clubs and schools."
He then deflected a question about what would happen if there was a split.
"We are committed to Baywide rugby competitions. I think if you ask the players, regardless of what club they play for, they want to play against the best competition they can. I think it is important our players have competitions that give them this opportunity."
He pointed to Whakarewarewa and Paroa's successes as proof the Western Bay of Plenty did not dominate the union, but that discounts the fact only four of 31 Steamers squad members come from clubs outside the Western Bay.
Whakarewarewa manager and Bay of Plenty rugby historian Brent Drabble said rugby in the province has not been the same since the union's headquarters moved from Rotorua to Tauranga in 2002/03.
"We had a good competition ... but as soon as it all shifted to Tauranga club rugby began to change a bit and everyone started going over there."
Drabble believed irreparable damage may have been done - especially in the Eastern Bay of Plenty - which is not represented at all in this season's Steamers squad.
The life member of the Bay union spoke fondly of the days when the Eastern Bay of Plenty clubs provided the measuring stick in the region and a good deal of representative trainings were held in Paengaroa - basically as close to the centre of the triangle that binds the three sub-unions together as possible.
"I used to love going to Whakatane Marist, Kawerau and Te Teko, but I don't think I'll ever go back because I can never see them getting back into the premier division," Drabble said.
"I don't think it will happen in my lifetime unless something drastic happens."
