Rugby: BoP celebrate promotion

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

The phones will be running crazy today as the jubilant Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chase down players for their long-awaited return to the NPC first division.

After two rejections in the past, Bay of Plenty, last season's second division winners, finally got the nod yesterday for promotion to the top grade next year.

After losing a handful of stars at the end of the season, the race is now on to sign up class players to make sure the team can foot it.

While there was champagne and pizza at the BoP headquarters yesterday, there was only disappointment at the Nelson Bays Rugby Union, who lost their attempt to break into the first division.

Nelson Bays, runners-up to BoP this year, failed to meet the "competitiveness" criterion. They could not prove they had the player depth to be able to compete at the elite level.

BoP met all three criteria set down by the New Zealand Rugby Union - the other two related to financial position and population base - yet they know they must still hunt down more players for their return to the first division after nine years.

BoP have already lost some big names - midfield back Justin Wilson and flanker Craig de Goldi poached by Auckland, the union who loaned the Bay stars Rico Gear and Jason Chandler for the season.

But BoP chief executive Jon Brady is confident they will keep the nucleus of the winning team and pull in new players from outside.

"It was tough. We couldn't do a lot before we found out if we had been promoted," he said.

"Players weren't going to commit if they didn't know which division we were going to be in. But we weren't idle, we got some contracts out.

"And we told them that if we made it, we would be on the phone the next day."

Brady expected to inherit players from Auckland and Waikato, after those unions sent letters of understanding that they would help to provide players for the BoP squad.

BoP will also target second division players from around the country. Donovan Nepia, of Wanganui, King Country's Hayden Martine and Waikato players Glen Remnant and Dave Dillon are rumoured to be on their wanted list.

"We'll have the makings of a strong squad. Our team last season would have given most first division sides a run for their money," Brady said.

"We've got four New Zealand under-19s and five under-16s. Now we can tell these guys they can make it here - they don't have to leave."

It seems certain that Gordon Tietjens will return as coach for a seventh season. He made it clear that he was not interested in staying on if BoP were held back again.

The NZRFU described the BoP case for promotion as "an excellent one," after the union turned around a $120,000 loss in 1999 to rake in a profit this year expected to be around $200,000.

An extensive review of all three divisions will be carried out before a decision is made on the NPC structure from 2002.

Nelson Bays coach Bill Liddell said that he was gutted for his players.

"Something doesn't add up when we do everything we need to do ... on the paddock, yet we always seem to keep getting kicked in the guts."

He hoped that at least next season's Ranfurly Shield challenge would keep the players motivated.

Chief executive Peter Barr said it was odd that by creating an 11-team first division and the second division remaining with nine teams, both divisions now had byes.

"The interesting situation is they've actually extended the first division at a time when they're saying the top players are playing too much rugby."

Barr said he was particularly disappointed for the players who had worked hard to try to earn promotion and feared that Nelson Bays were now open to player poaching.

Hawkes Bay's application for promotion was also turned down, because they had not made the second division final.