ORFU crisis

Board members Dick Bunton and Russell Cassidy say they are sympathetic to the plight of people owed money by the Otago Rugby Football Union.

Otago rugby fans say they are prepared to dip into their own pockets to help save the Otago Rugby Football Union.

Eben Joubert says he did not realise Otago rugby was in such a bad state. The concerned captain, who is in England for a few months, wants to be a part of the recovery plan but wonders if he will get a chance. He sent this message home yesterday.

The Highlanders would not be affected by the potential no-show of Otago in the ITM Cup this season, but there would be medium- and long-term impacts, franchise general manager Roger Clark says.

At least two Otago business leaders are offering financial help for Otago rugby, and an appeal for support from the wider business community is expected soon.

Revelations the Dunedin City Council is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent by the Otago Rugby Football Union are "just not good enough", a furious Cr Lee Vandervis says.

Players chief Rob Nichol says it is unfair to blame "overpaid" players for the financial mess in which Otago rugby has found itself.

Shocked but resolute. That about summed up the feeling in the Otago camp yesterday.

Hindsight and a hard-headed perspective suggests it should not have been, but despite the rumblings, the incremental revelations, the headlines and the persistent, worrisome grind of the rumour mill, the impending extinction of the Otago Rugby Football Union (ORFU) came as a surprise to many.

Dunedin Venues Management Ltd chief executive David Davies says he is prepared to work with the Otago Rugby Football Union (ORFU) if it is struggling to pay for the cost of playing at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

The money was not spent wisely. Alhambra-Union chairman Gary Wheeler was critical of some of the players contracted by the Otago Rugby Football Union last year.

The Dunedin City Council seems set to join a queue of worried creditors after confirming it is owed more than $400,000 in unpaid rent by the Otago Rugby Football Union.

The Otago Rugby Football Union will go into liquidation on Friday.

The future of "private sector funding" for the Forsyth Barr Stadium may be thrown into question by the shock announcement last night the Otago Rugby Football Union (ORFU) could fold by the end of the week.