RIP Otago Rugby Union 1881 - 2012

Rugby died today in Otago.

Actually the Otago Rugby Union died today - rugby is still very much alive in the region thanks to the Highlanders and community rugby will still continue under the guidance of the New Zealand Rugby Union.

The Otago Rugby Union's perilous health had been clear to see all these years with mismanagement of players and funds resulting in debts of $2.35 million - which seems pretty pathetic compared to the debt the likes of Portsmouth and Rangers find themselves in but huge in the scheme of things in New Zealand.

The Otago Rugby Union has been one that has been stuck in past glories, one that never quite figured out how to move with the changes to the provincial game.

The success of Otago rugby in the 1990s was down to the fact that the likes of Hawkes Bay, Southland, Taranaki and Manawatu were in the 2nd division for much of the time and the fact that the most talented emerging rugby players went down to the university to study and play their rugby.

With the advent of professional rugby and the subsequent expansion of the NPC to have pro/semi-pro teams in those regions, suddenly the kids stopped coming to Dunedin to further their rugby career. Otago rugby was now scrapping the barrel with local bit players from a population base that is one of the smallest in the country.

Otago ultimately got relegated from the Premier Division in 2010 and struggled in the Championship Division. Yes, they got players like Buxton Popoali'i and Ben Smith but the rest of the team was a shadow of its former glories.

The fact is Otago rugby board should have seen the signs coming but failed to do much, still priding itself on the university and polytechnic being around for convenience rather than actually trying to use those gifts to boost itself. The team's development stalled.

Chris Noakes epitomises what has gone badly wrong in Dunedin. He studied at Otago Uni and played for University but was underused at his own province. He eventually left for Bay of Plenty to take over the vacant spot left by Mike Delany and impressed resulting in a Highlanders contract. Ironic how Noakes ended up at Dunedin's Super Rugby franchise after leaving one of its servicing home unions. But Noakes isn't the only one.

Remember Hayden Triggs, Michael Witt, Sean Romans?

Yes, other unions have been hit hard financially - the champion Canterbury rugby union itself is in big financial strife following the Christchurch quakes and Super rugby taking precedence, Southland was also on the verge of liquidation and even big timers, Auckland are in financial trouble. But no where has the local game been run so badly than in Dunedin.

My hope is that a new union will emerge and be more frugal and smarter about running the game. The days where 19-year-old future All Blacks coming down to Otago to study and advance their All Black chances have come and gone. It's time to now develop young players from Dunedin, Balclutha and Alexandra in a way that the Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Canterbury, Waikato and Taranaki unions have done with their rural regions. The fact is there is plenty of talent in the region but the union has been so badly run that players just pass through its gaping holes.