It's a new season, and with a new season comes a new format for rugby in the regions as Central and South combine halfway through for a Heineken Cup-style competition which kicks off this weekend.
The format was proposed, voted upon and unanimously accepted via the Otago Country Rugby Board, which is made up of members from both Central and Southern regions.
Central Otago chairman Peter Gallagher believed the decision was made to try to improve the quality of rugby and give more opportunities to Country players.
However, Gallagher said the decision created unrest among some clubs in the Central region which were totally against the new format.
"Some of the clubs were upset because they thought it would take away the local derbies," he said.
The new format will essentially work by having the first three games in each region as seeding matches for the countrywide competition.
From the grading games, two pools will be made up of the top and bottom four from each region.
The countrywide games will be played in the middle of the normal regional round.
Both Central and Southern teams will play the same number of games as any other year but with just one round within their own region.
A countrywide format has not been seen since 2008.
In the first round of Central Otago rugby this weekend, games to watch out for will be Arrowtown v Cromwell at Jack Reid Park, where the White Horse Cup will be up for grabs, and 2010 competition winner Maniototo taking on Matakanui in Omakau.
