Ian Arthur says it is a complete myth that players are no longer coming to Otago to play rugby while studying.
Arthur (54), who is moving from producing rugby players to producing sandwiches, having bought the Subway franchise in the Meridian Mall with former Highlanders assistant coach Murray Roulston, said players were still coming south to play rugby.
"Of the 17 guys we've got here in the academy, all but two of them are studying. I still get inquiries from lots of guys wanting to come down here and study and play," he said.
"People have to remember it was a golden era in the '90s. Of all those players who came down here - not many of them were stars before they arrived. They shone when they came here.
"But what we are probably finding now is that those guys who may have come down here and struggled to study and play rugby will now just stay in their own province and link with their own academy."
The academy evolved within the union in the late 1990s, first under Roulston, and then Arthur, who said, contrary to what had been bandied about, the academy was producing players for Otago.
Of the players through the academy, 68% had gone on to play for Otago, while another 30% had gone on to play for other provinces.
The academy was set up to produce players capable of playing in the national domestic competition within three years of their initial intake.
"We bring players into the academy and then get them to a certain stage where they are able to be selected for Otago. It is up to others to pick up these developing players. Some coaches have decided to call in talent from elsewhere."
Arthur said decisions made four years ago by Otago rugby officials had made an impact on coaching and playing development at lower levels, and that was filtering through to higher grades.
Ever since then, he admitted he was considering his future.
Although he did not want to say, Arthur was pointing to the decision to reduce the number of rugby development officers in the community.
But he said there had been some good work in the past year to improve coaching skills.
He said there was always a place for an academy, and people did not appreciate what they did for players.
He felt the academy system may be in for an overhaul and become franchise-based, mainly because of economic pressures.
The academy had ticked all the boxes set by the New Zealand Rugby Union, which supports the 14 academies spread throughout the country.
But there was one message not getting through to some players.
"They miss out on how to be a hard bastard. I look at the performance of the All Blacks against the French at Carisbrook and that was one of the softest efforts I've ever seen from the All Blacks. That is the result of us being too nice.
"I do keep an eye on them but these guys have to experience life. And maybe that comes from playing with those old guys and experiencing a good club season.
"We teach these guys good life skills from what is relevant to their life at the moment. But we don't baby them. Some of these guys are straight out of boarding school, where they have been told what to do all day, every day."
Arthur said he had always loved the job, and seeing players mature from boys into fine provincial players or even All Blacks.
He may go back to coaching at his Alhambra-Union club, and helping out at the colts level.
"Although I'm leaving, I told all the guys I'll be keeping an eye on them. They can always call me and they'll know I tell them straight."
• Ian Arthur on players he has had through the academy
Best player: James Ryan. - "Just for attitude, focus on where he wanted to be, James was fantastic. I first saw him as a 16-year-old playing for Christs College up at Littlebourne and slipped him a piece of paper. Lucky he wanted to come here to do law. Because he was in all those age-group teams he never had an off season for his body to recover."
Best attitude: "For approach and work ethic it would he hard to go past George Whitelock. But there are guys like Tom Donnelly, Alando Soakai, Andrew Parata and Hoani Matenga who have a great attitude."
Names for the future: Prop Liam Coltman (Alhambra-Union) and lock Tom Franklin (Southern).
The Otago Rugby Academy has produced six All Blacks and 28 Super 14 players.
