Opinion: Revamp offers new pathway

Rotorua rugby clubs Waikite (black and yellow) or Kahukura (blue) will likely move up into the Baywide premier grade next year following changes to the competition format. Photo / Ben Fraser

The Baywide club rugby rift has been settled. A new Baywide club format will be rolled out during the next couple of years and was agreed upon this week between the three sub-unions (Central, Western and Eastern Bay). Rotorua Daily Post sports reporter Gary Hamilton-Irvine gives his reaction to the new format.

Positives
Something needed to change in the Bay of Plenty rugby landscape.

The Steamers have been awful for the past two years and the club rugby competition, at premier level at least, was heavily based in Tauranga. So change was definitely needed at club level.

While the changes do not seem to address everything, there has been some positive changes made for the good of all three sub-regions in the Bay of Plenty (Central, Eastern and Western Bay).

The revamped competition will see one more premier club from both Eastern Bay and Rotorua added for next year, with a long-term focus of better pathways for clubs into the top grade.

Also, communication between the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union and the Central/Eastern Bay sub-unions seemed to be almost non-existent only a couple of months ago, so for everyone to be able to sit down and agree on something is a massive positive.

Negatives
From 2016 onwards the premier grade will only realistically feature seven rounds before the playoffs. In comparison, this season it took 18 rounds to find the semifinalists.

The top 12 teams and bottom 12 teams at the start of the year will play two seeding competitions.

Teams are ranked and broken into the premier, division 1 and division 2 competitions, with competition points wiped and re-started.

They then play a round robin to make the semifinals in each division (seven rounds).

This is not too big an issue, as it will add a lot of importance to each game during the back end of the year, but it does seem like a short period to come up with your finalists.

WinnersFrom a Rotorua perspective: Kahukura and Waikite.

One of those two Rotorua clubs will likely play Baywide premier rugby next season.

I would imagine Whakarewarewa and Rotoiti will easily qualify for the premier grade in 2015 leaving one premier spot left from the Central Bay. Kahukura and Waikite were the next best clubs this season and one of those two clubs should step up to the premier grade in 2015.

Is it enough?
There will still be a lot of people in Rotorua who would rather a complete split from the Western Bay. But I think staying as a Baywide competition is for the best.

My only concern is about the changes made - are they enough to reinvigorate rugby in the Bay of Plenty? And especially strengthen club rugby in Rotorua and the Eastern Bay?

I honestly can't answer that for sure, it will take time to see. But hopefully we will see more strong Rotorua and Eastern Bay clubs in the future.

Changing competition
*Baywide rugby format 2015: First round played as local competitions in Eastern Bay, Central Bay and Western Bay regions. Top six teams from Western Bay and three from Central and Eastern Bay then play one full round for the Baywide title, starting on May 2. Development teams from these 12 clubs will play a Baywide competition alongside the premier teams.
*Baywide rugby format 2016: Premier grade 12 teams and first division 12 teams to play first a seeding round to find three groups of eight - premier, division 1 and division 2 to play for championship titles, with semifinals and finals in each division.
*Baywide rugby format 2017 onwards: All 24 teams hold rankings from the last season breaking into top 12 (premier) and bottom 12 (division one). They then repeat 2016 format.