They are said to be doomed but Tasman officials are not throwing in the towel yet.
The union from the top of the South Island, Otago's opponent in an Air New Zealand Cup match tomorrow in Nelson, is one of two - Northland is the other - set to be cut from the competition.
But that decision, announced last month by the New Zealand Rugby Union, was only a draft and as far as chief executive Peter Barr is concerned, Tasman is not yet out of the competition.
It, along with the other 13 unions, put in a submission on whether it supported the culling of the two teams and the future shape of the competition.
Not surprisingly, it was dead against its own demise, with Barr saying the national body was flawed in the way it assessed the Tasman union.
"We just believe it will seriously damage rugby in the region. There will always be rugby in the region but not to the level the players aspire to play now," Barr said.
He said the NZRU was subjective in looking at the governance and administration of the Tasman union when appraising it.
Barr said the merger between Nelson Bays and Marlborough, which came about to create the Tasman union in 2006, had not been easy.
"That was the decision which was made at the time. The only way forward at that time was amalgamation. But it was not easy. Past experiences and parochialism does not go away quickly.
"We've got people here who are still against the merger between Golden Bays and Motueka, and that happened in 1969."
Marlborough administrators had given an indication they wanted to go it alone and go back and play in the Heartland Championship.
Barr said Marlborough had to be included as Nelson did not have the stadium, the population and the playing numbers to meet the criteria in 2005.
Debts had ballooned to $4 million but all but $150,000 had been paid back, although the players were being paid to the end of season through NZRU assistance.
Barr said $2.5 million of that debt had to be spent on upgrading Lansdowne Park in Blenheim to meet NZRU standards.
Yet spending that money had got Tasman into trouble over financial performance in the latest review.
A final decision on which teams get cut is due later this month.
"This area is a breeding ground for players. There are 13 ex-Nelson College players and six ex-Marlborough College boys playing in other teams.
"That's a team. We've got to keep a team here for those guys to aspire to," Barr said.
