'Tastic Tasman!

There will be plenty of feel-good sports stories to look back when New Year's Eve comes along later this year.

One of them has got to be the rise of Tasman Rugby Football Union, i.e. the Makos, as a force in provincial rugby.

In terms of population, Tasman is fighting it out with Southland for the title of smallest provincial union in New Zealand although Tasman could argue that it has just as much rugby heritage as Southland courtesy of its sub-unions Nelson Bays and Marlborough - the first rugby game was of course played in Nelson.

Even so, the top of the South Island has never been a rugby powerhouse in the country even with the amalgamation of Nelson Bays and Marlborough in 2006 to compete in the new professional Air New Zealand Cup. In fact, the marriage was heading for a quick divorce not dissimilar to the ill-fated Central Vikings union of the 1990s, as the global financial crisis along with the tiny population base threatened to end Tasman before it even could get going.

Alas, the New Zealand Rugby Union stepped in to intervene and save Tasman and after years of consolidation in the lower reaches of the provincial rugby, Tasman really came alive when the ITM Cup split into the Premiership and Championship thanks to some great young players who have since gained Super Rugby contracts, i.e. Joe Wheeler, the Marshall brothers, James Lowe, Marty Banks, Shane Christie and Tim Perry.

Tasman's success has not really come down to its academy although James Lowe, Tom and James Marshall and Marty Banks can claim to be local boys, but rather picking up experienced players who can't quite fit into the salary cap of the bigger city provinces, attracted by living in quite a nice part of New Zealand, along with their free, underdog spirit that has seen them win their fight against extinction.

Tasman have always played a very attractive brand of rugby - helped by near-Mediterranean conditions at the top of the South Island in late winter and early spring - and now backed with a good forward pack, they've emerged from Championship strugglers to potential Premiership champions.

In an era of provincial rugby where the provinces have got the wood over the cities, it shouldn't be a surprise to see a side from the countryside ahead of the usual suspects of Canterbury and Auckland. Perhaps, it is a surprise to see a newcomer to the Premiership, a side that a season ago was least expected to be promoted to the Premiership to play the likes of Auckland, Canterbury, Waikato and Wellington in the top flight.

Why wouldn't you want to play your rugby here? 

Alas, that is the story of this fledgling union in a region experiencing economic and population growth - if things continue, the unions will have to convince the Nelson City and Marlborough District Councils to upgrade Trafalgar and Lansdowne Parks respectively to take advantage of the surprise rise of the region as a provincial rugby power.

Even if Tasman don't quite pull off winning the Premiership the season after winning the Championship, they can still call this season the best in their history and hopefully a stepping stone for things to come.