Rugby: Strong interest in vacant ORFU board positions

Last year's Otago rugby Union board members from top left clockwise, Adrian Read, Simon Spark, Andrew Rooney, Keith Cooper, Dr Sue Bidrose, John Faulks, Kelvin Collins and Doug Harvie. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

The Otago Rugby Football Union was teetering on its last legs a year ago and was in danger of going into liquidation. But its fortunes have been revived over the past 12 months and there is a positive approach for the future.

This has been reflected in the number and calibre of the applicants who have applied for the two vacant positions on the ORFU board.

''We are very pleased with the response and we have some interesting applications to work through,'' ORFU chairman Doug Harvie said yesterday. The new board members will be announced at the annual meeting of the ORFU on March 18.

The board will follow the procedures outlined in the constitution to select the two new board members.

''The board selection committee will convene and they will go through the process,'' Harvie said.

The applications closed on Friday ''We forwarded them to the board chairman who is in the process of bringing the panel together to organise a short list and then conduct interviews from there,'' ORFU general manager Richard Kinley said.

''We have had strong interest in the positions from some strong applicants. We are pleased with the number and the level of business acumen and experience they bring.''