Otago RFU to go into liquidation - update 14 March, bailout agreed

From here, the Otago rugby union is to go into liquidation with debts of over $NZ 2,000,000 (over £1,000,000).

Not good at all.

Sad times for Otago. It wasn’t that long ago that they had the best team in the NPC and should have won the ‘99 Super 12 too. Most unions are running at losses in NZ. The NPC must be retained but it cannot bleed the provinces dry

Hopefully the NZRU can at least keep club rugby in the province running, and hopefully they can keep an Otago side in the NPC.

The Otago union's income nowadays is I think almost entirely derived from their share of the Highlanders' profits* - I think the proceeds of selling off Carisbrook got sunk into the new fancy stadium, that is mostly owned by the Dunedin City Council - and the debt DCC incurred on building the thing is going to take years to pay off.


* i.e. nothing

Yeah not good. Someone has to be to blame for over borrowing on Carisbrook. Perhaps they have a store of 1905 jerseys they can auction off?

Not good at all...

I'm Aussie born, but have been living in the Otago region for a great part of my life. It's my adopted province and I'm extremely passionate about them.

This news is very saddening, but I don't believe it's the end for the region. All the talk locally is that we may be looking at the first privately owned regional union model in NZ.

Maybe I'm being optimistic and unrealistic, but watch this space. Otago has 3 weeks to declare what they're doing for next season.

Either way Otago is but the tip of the iceberg as far as mismanged unions are concerned. This problem isn't even solely isolated to rugby. Football teams and American sports teams are all fighting this battle. A small few manage a profit or break even, but as a whole the management of professional sports is in a dire state.

Latest news, the Dunedin City Council has agreed to write off the $400k it is owed by the ORFU, in return for the NZRU-owned Highlanders signing a long-term agreement to play at the covered DCC-owned Forsyth Barr stadium.

It is understood that the NZRU has assumed responsibility for the debt owed by the ORFU to the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), the ORFU's major creditor. The BNZ has major sponsorship arrangements with Super Rugby.

Didn't the NZRU nick Dagg from the Otago Union and put him at the Crusaders?

Dagg was at Otago through the draft initially. Under the old system, as a Hawkes Bay player he should have been with the Hurricanes but at the time I don't think we had the space for him with other wingers/fullbacks available.

Dagg chose to sign for Canterbury, he wasn't told to go there.

I thought the NZRU controlled the movement and signings of players on your two islands? Seems like they didn't give a hoot about helping develop New Zealands lowest placed franchise.

p.s. haven't watched one Super 15 match yet, regrettably. Is SBW with the Highlanders?

Not anymore. What used to happen was that coaches of Super 15 teams had first dibs on players within their own boundaries. If you weren’t picked up you would go into the draft and another franchise could pick you up. In this case, Dagg should have played for the Hurricanes but wasn’t picked up so he moved to the Highlanders. After two seasons, he ‘signed’ with Canterbury NPC and was loaned back to Hawkes Bay for the NPC thus making him eligible for the Crusaders but leaving him to play for his home province.

I think it was last year, S15 coaches were able to recruit direct to the franchise without the player having to change his NPC province. The NZRU pay for all contracts at S15 level.