Former All Black Marc Ellis says a one week reprieve for the Otago Rugby Union is a positive sign, but the board and management need to be changed.
Ellis began his NPC career in Otago and says he is still a passionate supporter of Otago rugby.
He says fans would struggle to accept it if the union was to go into liquidation and a new entity took its place leaving many small businesses out of pocket.
But he says the union needs to clear out its board and management and make them more pro-active.
The union has until next Friday to put together a rescue package.
It has unpaid debts of $2.35 million, including $1.2 million to the Bank of New Zealand and $750,000 to trades. Dunedin City Council is also a creditor.
This week the union posted a sixth consecutive loss of $862,000.
