Dunedin City Council staff are in danger of being shown a yellow card for overconfidence, after starting to organise a Ranfurly Shield victory parade days before today's clash between Otago and Southland.
The Otago team is not due to take to the field at Rugby Park in Invercargill until 4.30pm today, but council staff began drawing up plans for the parade as early as Wednesday, the Otago Daily Times has learned.
Freelance photographer Chris Sullivan, of Dunedin, was among those phoned by council events team leader Marilyn Anderson on Wednesday and asked to cover a victory parade to be held at noon tomorrow.
A contact list was sent out by email, containing the names of all those - including Mr Chin - set to take part, he said.
Then, on Thursday, another email arrived from Mrs Anderson, advising the event had been "cancelled following a missive from the [Otago] rugby union".
Contacted by the ODT yesterday, Mrs Anderson insisted there was "nothing on the table in the way of a celebration".
"If there's a win, the powers that be from this organisation, the ODT and the rugby union would put their heads together on Sunday to come up with a plan," she said.
However, asked if an email planning an event had already been sent, she replied: "I would prefer not to answer that.
"We have had a missive from the ORFU that to pre-empt anything would upset the team. It came in yesterday."
Asked if the email was prompted by the council's own email, she said: "I can't answer that."
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt was understood to have been made aware of the plans, but could not be contacted for comment late yesterday.
