'Bozos' behind Northland dumping, says Mayor

The decision to dump Northland from the Air New Zealand national competition next season was a classic example of the NZ Rugby Football Union's "apparent intent to prove its own incompetence," Far North Mayor Wayne Brown said today.

"If this is the measure of top-tier thinking, about all I can suggest is that NZRFU is being run by a bunch of bozos totally out of touch with the realities the provinces face on a daily basis.

"How can anyone have any remaining confidence in a Board of Directors which continues to come up with such stupid ideas. Seemingly they haven't learnt anything from that series of embarrassing World Cup debacles including the decision to reappoint a losing coach and letting Australia pick up Deans- a decision that not one business leader in NZ would have made," Mayor Brown said.

The information he had was that the Northland union had addressed and was already well on the way to recovery from last season's financial deficit, while its on-field performance in the current season showed the Cambridge blues were a force not to be taken lightly.

"The provinces are the foundation on which competitions such as the Super 12 and the national sides are built and the players and administrations should be nurtured not knee-capped.

"The approach that has been taken strikes me as just being plain dumb! This is a bit like Bush taking the USA into Iraq and is likely to have just as complex consequences.

"Northland is a massive geographic area in comparison with some of its metropolitan counterparts. It is hard enough to get young players to travel huge distances to train and represent their province at a national competition level without denigrating the incentive by demoting competition to that of a second tier participant," he said.

In the Far North half the young male population was of Maori ethnic origin with limited financial resources and if the incentive of a national provincial championship was taken away, it would spell the beginning of the end for Rugby in the region.

Mr Brown said he had played senior club Rugby in Northland, Auckland, London, Dublin and Capetown and felt entitled to an opinion. And as Far North Mayor he had a direct interest in the fate of Rugby with current proposals for a $13 million investment in Okara Park, several million of which would come from the pockets of local ratepayers.

"The decision is really off the wall, coming at this particular time with NZ due to host the next World Cup series. We already have had the England administration testing out the Far North, and the Bay of Islands in particular, as its base for their cup campaign. What sort of message are we sending offshore?

"If the NZRFU really wants to reduce the numbers, what is the justification for three Unions within the greater Auckland area –two of which have been performing little better than Northland in spite of their population base," Mr Brown said.

"Unless the Northland decision is reversed immediately there will be unnecessary social and economic damage to the north, let alone the impact it will have on Rugby as a sport,' Mayor Brown said.