Rugby: Died-in-wool Mooloo man has vision for Waikato

By Chris Rattue

The new chief executive of the Waikato Rugby Union wants to see the province
held in the same regard as the other top unions.

Gary Dawson's goal for Waikato rugby is simple.

"I want to make it the number-one rugby province," said the 44-year-old Dawson, who has just been appointed Waikato's new chief executive.

"People always seem to regard us as the fifth province. OK, the Chiefs may have struggled. But we hold the Ranfurly Shield and we were in the NPC final.

"I think Waikato needs its profile lifted, so it is regarded as one of the top two or three. I'd really like us to be regarded as number one."

Some All Black selections this year certainly added fuel to Waikato's fire of discontent.

The elevation of the unproven Xavier Rush to the test side ahead of Deon Muir and the late Aaron Hopa seemed to support the theory that playing for Auckland gives players a leg up.

Whatever Waikato might achieve, they will still be good ol' country boys on a bit of a roll. Nothing too serious. Just a mere blip before Auckland, Canterbury or Otago take over again.

One of the first steps in Dawson's master-plan is to get a stronger voice within the New Zealand Rugby Football Union.

And the planned 35,000 seater stadium to replace Rugby Park - fundraising is under the wing of the Waikato Stadium Trust - will be vital.

Dawson hopes the stadium, on virtually the same site as Rugby Park, can be
completed within two years.

He believes that will give Waikato the right to hold test matches, another significant step in raising the province's status.

"We've got a large population base, and our stadium will be about the same size as the new one in Wellington," he said

"The new stadium is fundamental to the future of rugby in this region and I certainly don't see any reasons why we should not hold major test matches there."

Dawson speaks with the sort of pride which comes naturally to a committed Waikato fan. Unlike the growing trend in sports executive appointments, where the game is just another product run by someone who could supposedly sell a house to a nomad, Dawson is a yellow-black-and-red man through and through.

Although he has been living in Auckland, with a home in Mt Maunganui, he attended all Waikato's home NPC games this year and the final - via Christchurch airport and a hire car after striking problems flying directly to Dunedin.

And he has not been averse to arranging business trips which coincide with the Chiefs' matches in Australia

"People in Auckland and Tauranga got sick of me ramming Waikato down their throats. I am a fanatic," he said.

"You need to have all those business skills - promoting the brand and all that stuff.

"But I also believe you need to have a real feeling for the sport you're involved in."

Dawson was born and bred in Tokoroa, graduated with a bachelor of social science degree from Waikato University and a diploma of teaching from the Auckland Teachers' College.

After 12 years in education, he spent the same amount of time in the computer industry, rising to top executive positions.

He was involved with New Zealand's part in Compaq Computers' takeover of Digital Equipment, becoming Compaq's director of customer services this year.

Dawson makes no claims to have any playing prowess. He quit as a club loose forward at the age of 22 after spending 10 days in hospital with a back injury, but he had plenty of involvement as a coach and administrator at the Tokoroa club, where he was club captain in the mid 1980s, and Forest View High School, where he taught for nine years.

(His wife, Sheryl - they do not have children - is the organiser of next year's world netball championships in Christchurch, and an international netball delegate).

A key part of Dawson's plans for Waikato involve boosting the communication with and support of club rugby, or the amateur game, as it is now called.

"I'm not saying the club workers should be paid, but maybe they should not have to spend their Friday night's selling raffle tickets any more," he said.

He comes into the job at a time when New Zealand rugby is undergoing massive upheavals and among the issues to be faced is whether the Super 12 teams will become true franchises rather than thinly disguised divisions of the central rugby union.

For now, Dawson is undaunted.

"People say I am walking around with a smile stuck on my face. It is a dream opportunity for me to run a rugby union, one that doesn't come along too often."