Colin Jackson once said you needed to have fairly thick skin to be the chief executive of a small rugby union in New Zealand.
He now has the hide of a rhino after 20 years at the top of the North Otago Rugby Football Union, a remarkably long period — he is the second-longest serving provincial boss after West Coast stalwart Mike Connors (31 years and counting) — given the stresses of the role and the fact that whatever decision you make, it is guaranteed to annoy some people.
Jackson, 66, will tomorrow turn off the light in the windowless office at the back of the grandly titled Thames St Arcade that has been his second home for two decades. He will enjoy the North Otago rugby awards evening. Then the king’s reign will end.
He is a big man with a voice that can boom and a gaze that can cut through steel, but Jackson acknowledges feeling plenty of emotions as his tenure winds down.
"It comes and goes. Some days I’m very much, you know, enough’s enough and I’m tired. And other days you think, oh no, I’m going to miss this.
"But yeah, emotional a little bit."
He never imagined spending 20 years in North Otago when he followed Ian Patterson into the chief executive’s seat.
Jackson grew up in Dunedin and recalled viewing Oamaru as a bit of a backwater when he was billeted in the town for a week while at a schoolboy cricket tournament.
"There wasn’t a lot happening back then. But there are great people here. It’s a good town to bring kids up.
"It’s a good place. But it’s also, you like to get out of here as well. You like to see what else is going on in the world.
"I’ve enjoyed the job and the job has had its challenges. There’s not one moment that you don’t have a challenge."
The walls of Jackson’s office tell the story of his 20-year tenure.
There are photos of some of the great teams — the Old Golds won the Meads Cup in 2007, 2010 and 2019 — and visual reminders of the ambitious little union’s trips to Canada, Japan and the Pacific Islands, and time spent with people like Wallabies great George Gregan and peripatetic coach Eddie Jones.
Mixed in, of course, with the fun memories are the recollections of the battles with New Zealand Rugby (more on that soon) and the endless challenges around resources, both in terms of bodies and bank accounts, when it comes to running a small union.
It was hand-to-mouth stuff these days, Jackson said. North Otago was a small province with limited playing numbers and commercial opportunities. Making every dollar go as far as possible was essential.
Still, it was a badge of pride that the district had six premier clubs when he arrived and there were still six — plus the Waitaki Wahine and the Union club in president’s grade — when he prepared to leave.
"I think all of the clubs, except Valley, at one stage or another have hit the wall. And we’ve had to prop them up with maybe at times four or five overseas players in a club.
"Last year, we didn’t have a problem at all with numbers in any of the clubs. The clubs are recruiting far better for themselves. I think we have a club competition that we can be so proud of and can be a shining light to the rest of New Zealand."
Jackson said he worked out quickly that a union boss could not be seen to be making all the decisions about club rugby.
Critical to that approach was getting the club council, traditionally (and perhaps unfairly) seen as an agitated bunch concerned only with their own club, on side.
"I’m really proud of the work that club council have done, and continue to do. They sit around that table, and they argue, and they bang the fist on the table, and they’re all there.
"They’ve gone from just being there and caring about their own club, to actually seeing the big picture. And it’s really refreshing."
Good luck getting Jackson to express similarly positive sentiments about New Zealand Rugby.
He arrived in North Otago in time to see the Old Golds fighting at the pointy end of the old NPC second division, but his evangelism for promotion-relegation started when he was coaching the Bedford club in England.
Bedford had been relegated from the premiership. They were third in the second-tier championship at Christmas but failed to win another game. It came to the last game of the season, and they needed a result to avoid a second straight relegation.
"I’ve never, ever known so much pressure in my life, and that convinced me that there is never a dead rubber when you have promotion-relegation. There is never a dead game. And there is as much meaning at the bottom as there is at the top.
"Why they canned NPC 1, 2, and 3 ... God only knows the decision-making process behind that.
"The NPC now, it’s a tragedy. It is only lit up by Ranfurly Shield games. Outside of that, no-one’s got a clue who’s in what. And Heartland is ring-fenced and going nowhere.
"Why on earth haven’t we gone back to three divisions and promotion-relegation? They’ve always given me lame, stupid excuses as to why they won’t look at it."
Jackson highlights the fact NPC games are now regularly played at smaller stadiums because of plummeting crowd sizes.
He believes the major unions are against a return to three divisions with fluid movement because "they’re all so afraid to end up in Heartland. But it wouldn’t be Heartland — it would be NPC second and third divisions."
Jackson fears for the overall future of domestic rugby, and is concerned about a growing divide between the professional and amateur games.
There needed to be pathways, and small unions were an important part of that.
"I don’t think Heartland rugby has got the recognition or the fair go that it should have got. It’s like we’re the cousins from the country. We are a thorn in the arse of New Zealand rugby.
"There’s a real lack, I think, of respect towards Heartland. That has been the most disappointing thing for me over my time.
"They value what we do in the community, but they don’t value that All Blacks come out of our regions. And now I’m seeing the same in the women’s game. They’re making the same mistake.
"For me, high-performance rugby in the women’s game do not care one bit about Heartland. And they don’t see Heartland as being beneficial to supply girls through, which is a big mistake.
"Those kids that come from small towns, they come out of good culture. They often do a lot of travelling. They’re hard-working kids with their sleeves rolled up."
Jackson feared England and South Africa, with vastly higher playing numbers, would bolt ahead of New Zealand in the next decade.
He also lamented the impression given by some schools around the country that they did not feel it was worth having a serious rugby programme.
North Otago has generally taken things very seriously during the Jackson era.
It might be one of New Zealand’s smallest unions but it has been ambitious and tried to be as professional as possible. The Old Golds have leaned on smart coaching, canny recruiting — both from Dunedin and overseas — and an eclectic mix of hard-nosed rural blokes and Pasifika talent to generally be among the heavyweights of Heartland rugby.
Jackson said the platform was laid by revered coach Glenn Moore, whose Old Golds made back-to-back-to-back second division semifinals before the NPC was tinkered with, and his good work was continued by Meads Cup-winning coaches Mike Mullins, Barry Matthews and Jason Forrest.
North Otago made the playoffs for 24 consecutive years, a streak that sadly ended last month.
"But it’s gratifying that the culture this year was fantastic. Jason and Barry did a terrific job making a team, making a squad for the future. And I think that squad can go on and build.
"I’d hate to see that unravel. We’re fragile, we’re vulnerable — because of a lack of experience. So it’ll be a defining year for North Otago next year.
Interestingly, while small rugby unions face an uncertain future and are constantly fretting about their budgets, Jackson could have ended up in an industry in much the same place.
A graduate of the Wellington School of Journalism, he had a spell working for the Otago Daily Times before heading overseas for 15 years.
Cricket was his first sporting love. A grunty right-handed batter, he played for the New Zealand Brabin XI (under-20) for a couple of summers, was 12th man for the national under-23 team, and served as manager of the Cornwall club.
That sport took him to the Netherlands to play and coach professionally. He then coached rugby both there and in England, had his own sports management company, and spent four years as chief executive of the Bedford club.
His other sporting pursuit is tennis and he is looking forward to some more time on the court in retirement.
Jackson went through radiation for prostate cancer last year and remains on a course of medication. That helped him decide it was time to put his health and family first.
Jackson, who has two daughters in Melbourne, and partner Stephanie have bought one-way tickets to Europe, where they recently bought a house in France and loosely plan to spend six months each year.
He has a reunion at the Dunstablians rugby club in England in April. The team he coached went unbeaten in the 1999-2000 season, and won the National Intermediate Cup at Twickenham.
Having rhino-thick skin suggests not being bothered about one’s legacy, but Jackson hopes the community he leaves behind will say a couple of things about him.
"That they got a straight answer. And that he cared."
Colin Jackson
His thoughts
WHAT HE WILL MISS
"The day-to-day contact with people — rugby people — and the staff. There’s good people out there. Some days, there’s a lot of conflict, and people are passionate. That’s club rugby: it’s tribal. I think just meeting good, honest, caring New Zealanders ... I’d much rather talk about rugby than talk about politics."
THREE MEADS CUPS
"They were all different. Three different coaches. To have three finals and beat Whanganui every time at home ... that’s something special."
HEARTLAND—NPC
"In their infinite wisdom, New Zealand Rugby decided to put up a fence between them. With a moat around it. For me, it’s singularly the most stupid rugby decision that’s ever been made."
NORTH OTAGO’S FUTURE
"We’re a union with some money in the bank, and we’ve made a big commitment to the events centre. That’s a good community project."
SENE NAOUPU (HIS REPLACEMENT)
"She loves North Otago. I see already that she’s extremely passionate. She’s been in the professional rugby world. And the one thing about her is that she’s already busy. She realises that it’s not just turn up, sit behind the desk and it all ticks over smoothly. You live the life."
