Country cousin plight persists

By CHRIS RATTUE

Hayden Taylor was a disconsolate figure after his opening assignment as Northland's rugby captain, as he contemplated a 42-3 defeat by North Harbour on Saturday night.


It left Northland pointless after six rounds, and firmly in promotion-relegation territory.


"Once we sort out our turnovers, other teams will have to watch out for us," Taylor claimed optimistically.


It's a sentiment Northland rugby's chief executive Peter Fergusson would echo.


Turnover is a problem for Fergusson - the dollar and cents type, that is.


In terms of world sport, rugby union in this country might be nickel and dime stuff. Even so, Northland - with the most clubs of any province - is trapped in the second tier of first-division teams where life is more hope than glory.


Northland is the lowest first-division earner with a turnover of $1.6 million, much of which is in contra deals.


"When we prepare the turf each season, a local person supplies 80 cubic metres of sand and in return he gets match tickets," says Fergusson, who played briefly for the union in the mid-1980s.


"If I could pay people in buckets of sand it would be a lot easier. Unfortunately, people prefer New Zealand dollars."


Fergusson works out of a first-floor office which runs a staff of 12. It's a far cry from when he started six years ago, just after local businessmen were called on for a fighting fund to retain players when Ian Jones and Con Barrell departed.





But despite advances, Northland are hardly in the big league.


They share a street sign with a chartered accountant, and the entrance to their modest offices is jammed between a curtain shop and a vacant shop.


The street door is red, a colour more at home with New Zealand rugby's juggernaut in Christchurch. But that's where the comparison ends.


Northland's cash sponsorship is under $500,000, whereas Canterbury - believed to be the country's biggest earner - gets something like five times that amount.


The Super 12, which helps draw the best players to the big cities, is hardly generous in return. Northland has averaged $15,000 a year in payouts from the Blues and Chiefs franchises.


Big cities always had natural advantages, but those now seem fixed into the rules of the game.


The transfer system doesn't help smaller unions grab idle talent either. The official transfer period is in November, yet it's months later before players know if they will be selected by their own union. To make things worse for Northland, Auckland refused to lend players this year after Bay of Plenty had fielded loan players against Auckland last year.


Northland had benefited through borrowing Aucklanders such as James Arlidge and Samiu Vahafolau, but it was to be no more.


Northland coach Bryce Woodward found out from his union only a couple of weeks before the NPC season that the loan deal had been scrapped.





The province also sought to sign Manawatu midfield back Matt Harvey, but he found Taranaki more attractive. Woodward says Taranaki, a union of similar standing to Northland, gets more Super 12 franchise support than they do.


"The Hurricanes stepped in to support Taranaki getting Matt Harvey and we don't get that same support here," he said.


"Geographically, we're also disadvantaged. Taranaki is surrounded by other unions but it is a much bigger move for someone to come up here."





Not only do Northland have trouble attracting players, they can't keep the good ones they've got.


At first five-eighth alone, they have lost Richard Le Bas (England), Tony Monaghan (Japan) and David Holwell (Wellington) in recent years, and Jared Going has become a sevens specialist. Some even younger players take up offers elsewhere, including overseas, all of which has - according to Woodward - seriously reduced the club competition standard.


A significant number of the Northland team still have fulltime jobs - including farmers Brett Waaka and Allen Tubbs - which limits the amount of individual and team training time, although Northland have increased their sessions from two to three a week this season.


According to Fergusson, Northland calculated they contributed the second-highest number of players in New Zealand's Super 12 teams. But only seven are still Northland residents.


The New Zealand Rugby Union has tried to balance the equation by giving first-division unions $10,000 per non-Super 12 player in their squads of 26. This year, Northland scooped $180,000, a drop in the ocean, although at least they now employ a full-time trainer, the benefits of which might be seen next season.


Fergusson says clubs are disgruntled because they had expected a trickle-down effect from professional rugby.


Not that the clubs always help themselves. The NZRFU's token gesture a few years ago gave each about $1000. Yet a third of Northland's 64 clubs didn't bother applying for it.


"Clubs are annoyed that some of the development they see at the top is not getting through to them," says Fergusson.


" ... giving clubs money isn't necessarily the whole answer either. I work on the theory that a third would do the right thing, a third would do the average thing, and a third would pee it up against the wall. Still, they need more resources and support."


It's not all doom and gloom for Northland rugby, particularly as the region's farm-based economy is booming, and forestry projects suggest good times will remain. There is some money about.


But professional rugby keeps clawing away.


Northland half expect that Taylor will be the next player to go. He was due to join an Italian club this year, but stayed when the Blues gave him a late call-up.


"I'm happy where I am right now," says Taylor, when asked about his future.


But Northland rugby is hardly happy. Barely 6000 people watch Northland these days in the 40,000-capacity ITM Stadium, formerly Okara Park.


And among the laughs and the beers in a corporate box, comments started flying as North Harbour ran up the points on Saturday night.


One character probably summed up the mood when he announced: "We're looking very second-division, I'm afraid."