They’ve got a bus to catch

Chris King had to delve deep into his memory bank to recall his last bus trip from Christchurch to Dunedin.

The 37-year-old Canterbury prop figured it was about 20 years ago, but that changed last week due to New Zealand Rugby’s new travel policy for the Mitre 10 Cup, a result of the organisation’s wider budget review. NZR has increased the threshold for bus travel to six hours or less – up from four hours or less – saving a ‘‘significant amount’’ of money on air travel, head of provincial rugby Steve Lancaster confirmed.

Taranaki bussed 295km from New Plymouth to Rotorua to play Bay of Plenty in round one, Bay of Plenty travelled 287km from Rotorua to Napier to play Hawke’s Bay in round four, and Waikato got to enjoy their Shield victory against Taranaki on the road, after bussing the 241km between New Plymouth and Hamilton, the same week.

NZR consulted the New Zealand Rugby Players Association, and impacted teams, during what Lancaster called a ‘‘pretty straightforward’ process.

‘‘We spoke to all teams that were affected by it. In a couple of cases we listened and said, ‘no, you’re right actually, the risks around delays are too great, so let’s just leave that as a flight’.’’

Canterbury were chipper ahead of their road trip to Dunedin last Friday and, as the self proclaimed ‘‘old hand’’ in the team, King was quick to claim the back seat.

The reigning champion red and blacks won 47-25.