ORFU board may have to stand down

Speculation is mounting the entire Otago Rugby Football Union board will be asked to stand down on Monday night.

A New Zealand Rugby Union board meeting in Wellington today featured a lengthy discussion of Otago's problems.

The ORFU is technically insolvent, with negative equity of $2.2 million, and it will reveal a loss of several hundred thousand dollars on Monday night.

NZRU boss Steve Tew said Otago's situation was "extremely serious''.

While reluctant to say the ORFU board would have to stand down, he pointed out Otago was in a similar position to Southland, which got into strife last year and was lent money from the NZRU on the condition the board resign.

For more, see tomorrow's Otago Daily Times.