Fresh start for Mulipola . . .
Lucky Mulipola's departure, bringing an end to one of the less glorious chapters in Otago rugby history, is the right move for both the player and the province.
Mulipola's scrapes with the law - he lost and drove without his licence, lied to police, was convicted of assault and has another assault charge hanging over him - were as frequent as his dropped balls.
He had pace and strength, clearly the two main attributes that encouraged Otago to sign him a couple of years ago and which are valued by the Crusaders Reserves.
But he also had a tendency to drift out of a game, he was a defensive liability and his hands often let him down.
Flashes of good play were inevitably followed by long periods of what could only be described as sub-standard effort.
Mulipola's contribution over three years is a poor reflection on Otago's recruitment policy.
But it's extremely rich for the Crusaders Reserves to make a snide comment about the player lacking "sufficient support" in Otago. Utter rot.
Highlanders and Otago rugby players are surrounded by supportive coaches, managers, professional development managers, doctors, physiotherapists, trainers, baggage men, nutritionists, media liaisons and a legendary masseur with great listening skills.
If Mulipola struggled, it certainly wasn't for lack of support.
. . . and for Otago
Otago is hardly overloaded with quality wingers - though, potentially, Karne Hesketh and Fetu'u Vainikolo are equipped to perform special feats - but it made sense to offload Mulipola.
The interesting thing is what the union does now to bolster its stocks.
The Otago Rugby Football Union has had a big year, clearing its debts and getting rid of the millstone around its neck by selling Carisbrook to the Dunedin City Council for $7 million.
With few star players and a slim squad, there must soon be a point where Otago has some cash to throw at two or three new players.
Assuming the Air New Zealand Cup is actually downsized, there will be plenty of decent players on the market.
Otago should start waving those dollars and increase its depth at prop, halfback and the midfield.
The rich get richer
As I write this, the prospect of boom Hawkes Bay outside backs Zac Guildford and Israel Dagg signing for the Crusaders is just a rumour.
But I'm already feeling sick to my stomach.
Ask yourself these questions:Do the Crusaders need more help?Does the NZRU seriously want five competitive Super 14 franchises?
The bonus comes into play
We've often, with good reason, criticised the Highlanders and Otago for not accumulating more bonus points for scoring four tries.
But let's now give praise to Otago, which might have lost three of its five games but leads all teams with five bonus points, and was well placed at fifth out of 14 teams before this round started.
Perhaps time for a change
The story goes that, when Nick Evans confirmed he was taking his wondrous talents out of Otago, a local official urged for calm, as the next great first five, Chris Noakes, was waiting in the wings.
Indeed, you will find many in Otago convinced that Noakes' smarts and speed and boot are just fine, thank you very much. Not me. I think Noakes has been disappointing this season.
His tactical kicking has been poor, his goal-kicking is no better than average, his passing can be laboured and his general direction has been lacking.
I'm at the stage where I don't quite understand why coach Steve Martin keeps Noakes in the starting XV.
Surely, it's time to see what Glenn Dickson or league convert Michael Witt can offer.
Kings of school rugby
All sorts of wailing and gnashing of teeth has accompanied the discussion of Otago's poor player development.
But stop for a moment to give some praise to Kings High School, which has supplied a good chunk of this present Otago squad.
Jason Macdonald (1995-98), Ben Nolan (1997-2001), Glenn Dickson (2000-04), Ben Smith (2000-04), Luke Herden (1991-96), James Kenny (1996-2000) and Sam Young (1992-96) were all educated at the school.
Albion sets the standard again
It's mad to think we're already in September and the cricket season is only just around the corner.
About this time, every year, the annual report of the venerable Albion Cricket Club turns up on my desk.
The club - the oldest continuous cricket club in Australia or New Zealand - is 147.
Coincidentally, that is also the number of times club stalwart Warwick Larkins has told the story about the time he played for New Zealand.
Albion's report is as conclusive as any produced by a major association.
It's packed full of scores, statistics, obituaries and photos, and is an absolute credit to the club.
Shooting for the top
A belated congratulations to the team from the Dunedin Clay Target Club that won the coveted Bodkin Shield in Alexandra recently.
I'm told the Bodkin Shield was presented by Sir William Bodkin in the 1920s and is considered one of clay target shooting's premier trophies.
The Dunedin Club has won it four times in the past five years.
Dunedin shooter Tim Cleminson also claimed the W M E Barrett Memorial Trophy as he was named "high gun" for smashing an extraordinary 179 of 180 targets.
