THE FORMER PLAYER’S VIEW:
Downing tools and fleeing for the Heartland Championship isn’t the answer to Southland’s woes, chief executive Brian Hopley insists.
Deep in a record 17-match losing streak which kicked off almost two years ago, there have been numerous calls from the rugby public, including from their own fans, demanding they take the plunge.
On the field, these are dark days for Southland, a union which needed a $1.5 million cash injection to haul them out of a financial crater in 2011.
Not only is it rapidly closing in on two years since they won a game (October 8, 2016), they’ve come out on top in just four of their past 36 fixtures in New Zealand’s provincial competition.
Many Stags fans have had enough, wondering whether their side would even be able to foot it with Heartland top-dog Wanganui.
Hopley feels their pain, but doesn’t think the Invercargill-based team should run for the hills.
‘‘Not from my end, not at this stage. I can’t speak for 10 years down the track, but at this stage, no,’’ he said. ‘‘We need to hang in there and stay in the Mitre 10 Cup. And it’s not just from our point of view, it’s also from the point of view of New Zealand Rugby.
‘‘We’ve got to look at the whole scene. Mitre 10 Cup is a development stage, it’s a pathway to the All Blacks. If you start reducing the number of players competing at that level, then you’re going to reduce your pathway.’’
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) head of provincial rugby Steve Lancaster shut down a possible switch, telling Stuff there were no plans to review the composition of the provincial competitions.
‘‘We don’t have any immediate concerns around Southland or their performance. We’d like to see them getting some more wins, for their own sake and the sake of the competition, but I don’t think they’re far away from it."
Southland, who have lost all six of their matches this year by at least 16 points, are two defeats shy of Northland’s 19-match losing streak between 2014-2016. Only North Otago (21), East Coast (27), West Coast (33) and East Coast (39*) have been through a more rotten stretch.
Last September, after a 57-0 towelling to Bay of Plenty, Rugby Southland issued an apology to
‘‘We need to hang in there and stay in the Mitre 10 Cup. And it’s not just from our point of view, it’s also from the point of view of New Zealand Rugby.’’ Brian Hopley, Rugby Southland chief executive
Seventeen consecutive losses and counting – each of them a dagger blow to former Southland hooker Jason Rutledge.
No-one has played more games (138) for the Stags than the 40-yearold, who isn’t short of an opinion when it comes to the embattled union and its on-field issues.
Southland, who challenge Waikato for the Ranfurly Shield today, haven’t won in almost two years and are staring down the barrel of a third consecutive wooden spoon finish in the championship section of the Mitre 10 Cup.
Rutledge last played for the Stags in 2016 but still puts the boots on for Woodlands, one of five surviving clubs in the Southland premier competition.
‘‘No, it’s really struggling,’’ he said when asked if club rugby was on the rise.
They’re ominous words for Rugby Southland, who last year pledged to improve the standard of premier club rugby in a bid to create competition for spots, and to produce players fit to play in the provincial competition.
‘‘I’m on the rugby advisory board down here and it’s quite scary when they start chucking out the figures,’’ Rutledge said.
While Southland’s premier competition consists of six teams, one of them is a combined team from Gore and the surrounding area.
Rutledge, who is closing in on 250 games for his club, plans to play again next year. However, the fact he and other grizzly veterans would do so was telling.
‘‘You’ve got players like myself who are still playing who are getting older and older. So the premier teams are getting older and older their fans, sponsors and funders, labelling their team’s showing in the competition as ‘‘unacceptable’’.
The statement listed a string of reasons why the team was struggling to compete, including the battle to retain promising young players, and targeted a few areas they needed to improve, such as the standard of club rugby in the region.
It also stressed the importance of increasing the team’s player salary cap, which is based on a percentage of their commercial revenue, and topped $2 million before it all came crashing down in 2010.
In 2016, Southland spent $650,000 on player salaries. That’s now increased to $800,000.
‘‘We’re probably similar to a couple of the other smaller unions. I’m not totally privy to what they are, but I know another couple of smaller unions are about the same now. I think the bigger unions have got a bigger commercial income so they can afford to go a bit higher. But if you compare us to Otago and Manawatu¯ , we’re very similar,’’ Hopley said.
When Hopley replaced Andrew Moreton in February to kickoff his second tenure as Rugby Southland boss, Moreton told Stuff Rugby Southland needed to find another $250,000 per year to be competitive in the Mitre 10 Cup.
Easier said than done in today’s commercial environment, but Hopley said there is positive news off the paddock.
The union recorded a $107,000 surplus last year, keeping them on track to repay their $500,000 loan – a third of their 2011 bailout package – from NZR next April, freeing up funds for areas such as player retention and their high performance programme. ‘‘It’s [the union] sound. It’s tough, because it’s a tough market place. But it’s sound and we’re working towards trying to improve that.’’