Try: A Lutui.
Con: G Jackson.
Pens: Jackson (5).

August 18, 2003

Doug Rollerson
Chief Executive
North Harbour Rugby Union
Private Bag 302-145
North Harbour 1330

Dear Doug,

Each year I eagerly await the start of the National Provincial Championship so that I can once again follow the fortunes of the North Harbour team. Each season heralds another opportunity for North Harbour to shrug off the tag of perennial under-achievers and prove to their handful of devoted followers that they are a team worthy of such adulation.

It was with a sense of optimism that myself and another faithful fan travelled to Tauranga yesterday to watch North Harbour's first game of the 2003 NPC. As all and sundry are now aware, this optimism was very obviously misplaced. To say that the performance of the North Harbour team yesterday was a disgrace is to put it mildly. It is extremely difficult to defend your beloved team from their many, many detractors when they provide the performance I sat in the driving rain and watched yesterday.

I sat and I watched and I waited for North Harbour to show some of form that they often promise but regularly fail to deliver. I realise you are not responsible for the team tactics and strategies but would it be possible for you to check with Russell Jones that we did in fact have a game plan that we had practised to? I realise there have been some difficulties with regards to the coaching of the backline this year but surely we could have come up with something other than a simple midfield crash as an attacking option.

While we are talking about the midfield could someone please remind Scott Adams that a midfield back is supposed to tackle the opposition players (ie. the ones wearing yellow and blue in yesterdays game) rather than pat them on the back and point them in the direction of the try-line. While a revolving door may look very nice in the lobby of a large corporate tower it has no place in rugby back line.

I have now seen Tusi Pisi play a number of games for North Harbour (one was more than enough) and I would not feel comfortable picking him to play for my local Senior 2nd side let alone at NPC level. For a fullback he shows a glaringly obvious lack of ability to kick the ball off either foot and a seeming willingness to be caught out of position. I would hope that if he is paid (and this is the subject of another great debate) to represent our Union that he is paid electronically, as he would just as surely drop any paycheck handed to him as he did any ball that was passed or kicked to him yesterday.

Having spent the last 25 years both playing and watching the game I am well aware that I am no All Black and I certainly don't know all there is to know about our great game. I am however pretty certain that a halfbacks job is, to put it simply, to pass the ball to the first fives (or any other first receiver's) hands. Could someone please let Chris Smylie know that this is the case as he seems to favour the bounce pass to the boots of the first five or the high lob over the head of the first five. Perhaps his skill base is better suited to the centre's roll in netball and a late code change may be advised.

While it is admirable that our jersey is now free of the burden of a sponsors logo (there to remind us all of the ever-present influence of the mighty dollar on our great game), if Bay of Plenty can attract a sponsor why can't we? It would perhaps be a prudent time for Stu Wilson to take a quick look at his business card and confirm that he is the Business Development Manager - and then he could even look at working to secure us a sponsor. Although after yesterdays game I do have a little sympathy for him, as I would imagine his job just got more difficult. While I am very aware of the power of the media in today's society I do not think it is appropriate to place the following advertorial at the end of an article in Sunday News: "Potential North Harbour sponsors should send e-mails to doug@harbourrugby.co.nz". To me it sounds like the desperate pleas of a drowning man. I am sure you would probably agree that few, if any substantial sponsorship deals are concluded after being featured in the by-line of a Sunday tabloid.

Perhaps I should have known it wasn't going to be our day when the local sitting directly behind us said "you've come a long way for a hiding boys" to which my travelling companion replied "not really, we've travelled much further than this for a hiding in previous seasons".

I am very tempted to demand a refund from yourself of the expenses I incurred yesterday in travelling to support our beloved team. If we took the match ticket, match program, a couple of quiet Lion Red's with lunch and during the game, another after the game to sob into, not to mention a full day of my time, I am sure I could reasonably demand a fair sized refund. However given the publicly stated precarious financial position of our great union I think that I will just write these costs off to "experience" as I have done on so many previous occasions.

Of course if we can do the now seemingly nigh-on-impossible and beat Auckland in the Battle of the Bridge this Saturday night and go on to avoid relegation from the First Division all will be forgiven. Having said this perhaps you now need to be looking to professional sports in other parts of the world for examples as to how coaches continued employment is related to the performance of the teams they coach. As the English Premiership often illustrates, there is nothing like an early season sacking of a coach to put the team on notice that an improved performance is required. If the unthinkable but highly likely loss to Auckland eventuates this coming weekend you can be sure that you have this fans complete support if you decide to dismiss Russell Jones from his position.

For now I will have to consol myself (as I always do in times like this) with the memories of standing on the bank at Onewa Domain on a sunny day in 1994 and watching North Harbour put fifty points on Canterbury in an NPC Semi-Final. The only problem I have with consoling myself with these glorious memories is that it reminds me of what little progress we have made since those halcyon days.

Sincerely,
Disgruntled North Harbour Fan