Rugby league: Code turning fortunes around

Rugby league has just wound up for the season but already some clubs are gearing up for the next campaign.

The mud has barely had time to dry but the boots will be dusted off for a five-week regional tournament which begins this weekend and the spring competition which is slated for an August 20 kick-off.

Southern zone general manager Steve Martin told the Otago Daily Times three Otago teams will play four teams from Southland in a combined club competition which will culminate in a final between the top teams from each region.

"And as we did last year we will also offer a spring competition," Martin said.

Four teams have confirmed their entry but as many as another six teams could enter, with some rugby union clubs showing interest.

"There has been a huge amount of interest expressed from the wider sporting community but specifically from rugby clubs."

The spring tournament had seven teams last year and Martin is confident those sides will return, with possibly the addition of two or three new teams.

That would represent a big turnaround for the sport. Organised rugby league went into a two-year hiatus until a spring tournament was launched last year.

Winter rugby league made its comeback this year with four teams contesting the competition. The Kia Toa Tigers claimed the honours with a 34-14 win over the South Pacific Raiders in the final last month.

"We were pretty strict on the criteria that teams had to meet to enter the winter competition so that it was organised and we could be confident the competition would run without teams dropping out.

"We are confident the winter league will grow from the four teams now that it has been established and run well."

Martin said the challenge for the sport was to turn some of the interest in the spring competition into interest in the winter competition. But from where league was two years ago the sport had certainly bounced back, he said.