Ramon Sutherland enjoys modern Makos' style
Ramon Sutherland, the most-capped Marlborough rugby player, was behind the Tasman concept from the beginning.
As the Tasman union moves into its 10th year of existence, one of Marlborough rugby's most respected figures can sit back and look at the previous decade with quiet satisfaction.
Ramon Sutherland, who played a record 177 games for the Red Devils and captained the side during their famous 1973-74 Ranfurly Shield reign, was an instrumental figure in the formation of the fledgling union, backing the often controversial concept from the outset.
He spoke in favour of the amalgamation of Marlborough and Nelson Bays at a series of public meetings across the provinces, his unparalleled record as a player, coach, administrator and life member adding weight to the often-heated debate.
"Although I was a little apprehensive about it, the main thing in [the formation of the Tasman union's] favour was the opportunity it gave players to move forward, which we didn't have before. That was the main advantage I could see."
Sutherland felt support on the Marlborough side of the Whangamoas for the amalgamation was "about 50-50 in the early days" but he felt confident it was the right path to take. "I knew there was going to be a lot of teething problems, which took a long time to bed in, but the higher standard of rugby was certainly going to make a difference for our players."
Once the decision was taken to amalgamate, the first few years of the union's existence were fraught with acrimony, especially over financial matters.
"I think there were a lot of mistakes made early", said Sutherland. "They never had enough funding to start with, there should have been a fundraising scheme … they went in with too many staff initially and paid players too much."
As temperatures rose on both side of the hill, several meetings between Tasman officials and interested parties from Nelson and Marlborough were staged to try and find agreement. One such meeting, at Rai Valley, almost spelt the end of the new partnership. Sutherland remembers it well. "It was very close there at one stage, Marlborough were going to pull out [of the Tasman alliance]. We were basically voting to carry on … it was 50-50 there for a while but finally Marlborough swung in behind it."
Some accounts suggest Sutherland's calming influence among the Marlborough contingent had a lot to do with that decision, but the man himself is more modest. "I just thought it was worthwhile sticking with it," he explains.
Although fingers were pointed from both sides of the hill, with blame being bandied around, the new union was put under intense pressure by New Zealand Rugby Union stipulations which Sutherland now sees as unfair and overburdening.
"A lot of our early problems were due to the New Zealand union's conditions. They didn't need to go ahead and spend that much money on that [western] stand, it has never been filled yet. It just put a lot of extra pressure on the union and they didn't have the money. That was the problem."
Despite their difficulties, Tasman survived to fight on. The sale of Lansdowne Park in July 2008 allayed their immediate crippling financial obligations and the national body, who had threatened to kick Tasman out of the top provincial ranks, saw fit to allow them to continue in the Air NZ Cup. Prudent planning and careful budgeting in recent years has seen the country's newest provincial union begin to live within its means.
However it is on-field achievements, particularly in the past two seasons, which have played a huge part in turning around the union's fortunes, says Sutherland.
"Success is the main thing. If the team's doing all right it makes a hell of a difference. If we were languishing at the bottom of the table we'd probably still be having problems … the type of rugby they are playing is definitely helping."
Like so many rugby fans, Sutherland has enjoyed watching the Makos strut their stuff over the past few seasons. "They are playing the best style of rugby in the country. I like the way Joe Wheeler has developed, Tim Perry is right up with the best of them, and Shane Christie. The better coaching has come through and we are developing a better core of players, so it's starting to pay dividends."
He has also noticed a softening in attitude towards the Tasman concept among his acquaintances, some of whom were not initially thrilled with the idea. "[The amalgamation's] definitely a lot more acceptable now than it was say, five years ago. It's a lot better than what it was, but it could still be better."
Sutherland sees coaching continuity as one of the keys to future success. "Once Kieran [Keane] and Leon [MacDonald] move on we have to make sure we have excellent coaches in their place to keep the standard up.
"It won't be easy. The standard of club football is too low and we don't have enough teams in the region. Trying to sustain a side with 11 [division one] club teams is going to be difficult. There are a lot of other unions who have double that. We will always have to rely on some import players.
"But the future is bright if we can keep the momentum going. They are on the right track. We have just got to get more support … bigger crowds to the games. If people don't turn up to watch this side play, they never will … ."
