By CATHERINE MASTERS and NZPA
Grassroots rugby is likely to bring about the downfall of the entire New Zealand Rugby Football Union board when provincial chairmen meet in Wellington next week.
Most provincial unions want the board to stand down and face re-election.
The 27 provinces will thrash out this curly question when they meet on Tuesday.
Northland wants it within two months; Auckland says seven months is soon enough.
But Auckland, with North Harbour and Waikato, also wants the constitution overhauled on how national board members are elected, in order to avoid another "shambles".
Provincial boards are gunning for the national board members because of anger over the handling of the World Cup hosting rights and the consequent loss of the cup to Australia.
The Canterbury Rugby Union this week called for a special general meeting to put a vote of no confidence in the NZRFU.
Only a third of provincial unions would need to agree to hold a special meeting, with then a 75 per cent vote in favour of no confidence.
Unions supporting the call include Taranaki and Marlborough, Hawkes Bay, North Otago, Horowhenua-Kapiti, King Country, Mid Canterbury, Otago and South Canterbury. Other unions want to bring the annual meeting forward from April next year and the board members to face re-election.
North Harbour chairman Laurie Margrain said last night his board and stakeholders meet tomorrow and "almost certainly we will be pushing for radical change at the NZRFU board level".
Chairman Rob Fisher, who took over from Murray McCaw, has not ruled out the whole board resigning.
"We don't know what's going to happen on Tuesday. Until yesterday there was no formal request made to the union for a special general meeting."
Counties Manukau and Bay of Plenty unions would not comment. Bay chief executive Jon Brady said that although the board had decided its stance it was not telling until Tuesday. "They don't think it's anyone else's business at this point."
Waikato union chairman Michael Crawford said the board met this week and there was unanimous support for NZRFU board members to face re-election.
Mr Crawford believes the earliest this could happen is November or December.
But if board members resigned now an interim board could be put in place with two representatives from each Super 12 franchise and the constitution could be urgently reviewed, he said.
Northland chairman Warwick Syers is also on the national board and would not comment. Chief executive Peter Fergusson said Mr Syers had indicated he would resign if requested.
The NZRFU has said the board will stand down over the next two annual meetings but Northland wants it, with the exception of new members Mr Syers and Paul Quinn, to stand down in two months.
Mr Fergusson said it was possible one or two would be re-elected.
Auckland chairman Ken Baguley said club delegates and lifetime members unanimously supported the Auckland board in a call for an urgent review to the constitution as it applied to selecting directors and voting, to be completed by mid-November.
It wants board members to seek re-election at "the earliest practicable date", but no later than February, and will call for provincial chairmen to be formalised into a council with two members automatically going on to the national board.
Sir Thomas Eichelbaum's full report