Since then though, well, some massive wins over the might of the likes of Manawatu and Hawke's Bay have been about the lot for the Bay supporters.

With Herb in charge, can we expect great things once again, or will normal transmission be resumed, with no Bell to ring to get off the bus (ha like that one, lame I know, but a start).

The players will already know his philosophy towards rugby (to an outsider, he looks to me like a more polished Big Vern, less four letter words, but the same meanings getting conveyed I am sure), and will knw what he expects from them, so that has got to be good.

Not so good is his not being part of the set up when the poaching season was open - there might have been some players out there that he knows of and would have wanted in his set up, but now he'll have to make do with what has already been taken and what is already there.

So when the Bell goes for the start of this season, let's hope Herb and his boys come out fighting.  Let's hope they get the job done, and reward themselves, and their fans, with some wins over the big boys.  Just like the season of 2003, when Otago, Waikato and Wellington were punished at Bay Park, and Canterbury pushed to within metres of a winning result for the boys in blue 'n' gold.

Lets hope the fans turn up too, and the Union promotes this by making the prices a bit more realistic for Mum, Dad and the kids...