With 16 players in Super rugby, Otago appears to be in a much healthier position than a few years ago.
In 2012, it had just five players in the Highlanders squad and was struggling to make an impact. In the years before that, the union was bringing in players from outside the area
But as depth has grown, that has led to players looking elsewhere and Otago coach Cory Brown has concerns this is impacting on the standard of the club competition.
Pirates captain and loose forward Josh Clark has made the move to Southland club rugby in a bid to get a spot in the Southland representative side.
Zingari-Richmond midfield back Lachie Moore, the club player of the year in 2014, is also moving south and is looking at playing club rugby in Gore, for the same side for which Clark is turning out.
Harbour centre Aleki Morris is also said to be considering a move south.
Brown said he could understand why players looked around for opportunities and some of them moved on.
‘‘We can only sign a certain number of players. We can't sign everyone who plays club rugby,'' he said.
‘‘It is up to the individual on what they want to do. What happens is other provincial unions get in their ear and try and attract them to their union.
‘‘All that does is it weakens the club competition here. We don't want it to happen as you always want as many good players as possible playing the game.''
Brown said he had talked to Clark and offered him a place in the Otago training group but could not offer him a contract. Clark did not take up the offer, Brown said.
Moore had been playing overseas and had decided to head south to try his luck. He hails from South Otago.
Although Moore is a handy player, Otago has plenty of options in the midfield and some talented players coming through.
Brown said it was disappointing to lose a player of the calibre of Clark but Southland was clearly watching club rugby in Dunedin closely.
‘‘Obviously, we would like to keep everyone here and playing for their club team. Every week, every day, I get overseas clubs getting in touch for players.
‘‘You do not want to push them [players] away, as it weakens our competition. Players can have those overseas experiences but the trouble is, they never come back.''
He pointed to the plight of the Zingari-Richmond side.
The side lost 10 players over the off-season. Many of them went overseas and did not come back to the club this year.
