It's a grim day for Northland and Tasman fans, as they face the reality of no longer having a team to support in the Air New Zealand Cup.

Yesterday, the NZRU announced that the two provinces have been cut from the competition, and from the end of this year will no longer have teams competing.

The announcement has come as somewhat of a surprise to us - especially with regards to Northland, who have been playing at the top level of provincial rugby for some time now.

Tasman, too, have been surprised by their axing, which comes only days after their amazing last-minute win over Waikato.

And didn't Northland beat Waikato in the opening round?

Hmmm - our conspiracy theory minds have jumped into overdrive.

Players from both regions will now be on the hunt for new clubs, which could bode well for teams like Counties-Manukau and Manawatu, or even Otago, who always seem to struggle to lure players down this way.

Fetu'u Vainakolo would be a great asset for both Otago and the Highlanders...

We would have liked to have seen one of either North Harbour or Counties-Manukau get the chop, simply because both are based in the Auckland region, giving the area three clubs. The axed club could easily have merged with the other two clubs.

Bu,t we're just going to have to get used to the Air New Zealand Cup without the Makos and the Taniwha's.

Expect a few fiery performances out of them before they hit the scrap heap.