Makos swap rags for riches [Nelson Mail]

In 2008 the Tasman Rugby Union was saved from extinction.

Now six years on, the Tasman Makos are bidding to become the best provincial rugby team in the country when they take on Taranaki in Saturday's ITM Cup premiership final in New Plymouth.

It's been an astonishing rags-to-riches story for New Zealand's newest rugby union and for one man in particular, it's provided some genuine vindication for the decision back then to lock horns with the New Zealand Rugby Union and fight for Tasman's survival.

Peter Barr was Tasman's chief executive in 2008 when the NZRU announced that Tasman and Northland would be relegated from the competition after failing to meet a set of criteria, including financial stability.

Tasman had first entered the national provincial competition two years earlier as an amalgamation of the Nelson Bays and Marlborough unions.

But with the axe hovering over them, the Makos partially silenced their critics by recording four wins and a draw to finish the season seventh on the ladder.

Their improved 2008 performance, coupled with public pressure - notably a media-driven Save the Makos campaign - encouraged the NZRU to reverse its decision and announce that Tasman and Northland would remain in the competition as part of a 14-team format, six weeks after publishing a draft proposal to cut it to 12 teams.

There were casualties along the way, with Tasman chairman Max Spence resigning in a bid to ease considerable tensions between the Nelson Bays and Marlborough sub-unions and keep the Makos in the Air New Zealand Cup. Barr quit his role in 2011 but as the Makos prepare to do battle at Yarrow Stadium on Saturday, allowed himself to reflect on how far the union has come in such a short period of time.

"We always thought that we could get to where we've got to today way back in 2008," Barr said.

"The whole purpose of the amalgamation was to keep players in the region and we've managed to do that and through our success over the years, we've managed to attract new players to town. That was always the aim and it's just wonderful that it's come to fruition.

"But of course, all good things don't come easy and when I cast my mind back and think about the battle we had with the New Zealand Rugby Union, plus the battle between the two towns, it was a pretty stressful time.

"But no-one gave up, we always were strong in our vision."

The man seen to be leading the charge against Tasman was NZRU chief executive Steve Tew. However, despite the apparent animosity back then, Barr said that Tew was just following his brief.

"Steve had a job to do and he was coming under incredible pressure from the bigger unions who only wanted 10 teams.

"So I didn't hold any grudges towards Steve," Barr said.

"His concern was that the smaller unions weren't going to survive and they were spending beyond their means - and that wasn't good for New Zealand rugby."

As for the Makos, Barr's still an avid supporter.

"There's a couple of things about the team - one is they're just a great bunch of guys and they're humble, they understand the need to support their sponsors and the community.

Once of their strengths is obviously their unity and also the incredible fitness they have - and their fitness trainer [Glenn Stewart] can take a lot of credit for that."They're not big-headed - and they're athletes.

"But on top of all that, you can't do it without the coaches and Kieran [Keane] and Leon [MacDonald] are outstanding.

"They work well together [and] obviously Kieran with his experience as a coach and Leon with his experience as a player at the highest level coming though as a coach is great to see."

These days, even Tew's sold on Tasman - both the union and the team.

"We're delighted for them," Tew said.

"They've worked incredibly hard on and off the field and obviously managed to get the off-field stuff right, because that was critical.

"They appear to have built a bridge over that hill that sometimes separates Nelson and Marlborough and they've got a team that plays with a lot of pride and is certainly very well coached and well led.

"I'm delighted they're in the final. I'm looking forward to it.

"They play a game that suits the skill set the players have got and they play with a lot of pride in that jersey.

"It's hard to fault a team that beats Canterbury twice in three weeks."

- The Nelson Mail