Where to from here? – how to restructure Australian rugby
Roar Guru
By Gatesy, 19 Nov 2007 gatesy is a Roar Guru
It seems ludicrous to me that on one hand we are saying “where are all the big props going to come from?” while on the other hand virtually ignoring the potential for expansion of the game if we can’t get away from that private school thinking, and develop the clubs as regions in their own right.
Obviously this is difficult, depending on where you live. For example, in Canberra, where I live the schools and clubs play in the same competition and the schools dominate. While you could say that there should be fewer teams playing for the schools so that some of the kids could be released to play for the clubs it is a fact of life that kids want to play footy with their mates, and not against their own schools. At least, in Canberra, each of the Premier clubs now has its own junior talent Squads, made up of kids from that region, (even if not playing for that club), which then feeds into the Brumbies Talent organisation and ultimately the Academy.
It seems to me that you take a top down base to apex approach where the Premier Clubs in each city, are the key, feeding into the ARC and State structures, similar to what Cricket does. Just like Cricket, it should be every players aspiration to make first grade in his Premier Club, before he can expect to go on to higher honours. The idea of players playing for their State before they have even played in Colts, just seems silly to me, and we are narrowing the base too much and, in my view, devaluing the worth of the Clubs.
The structure should be the same in every state, whether we are talking NSW or Tasmania. The only thing that would differ would be the numbers in the structure.
It may be that the Subbies competitions in the large cities could be organised along regional Premier club lines, so that they act as feeders to the Premier Clubs and then have all of the eSchools in those same regions feeding in as well. More high schools should then be brought into the fold so that there is a dual development pathway with schools playing mid week and allowing a lot of those players to play for clubs on weekends. This would, of course, necessitate unprecedented co-operation between different organisations, and we all know how hard it is to dislodge people from their individual power bases. it would virtually mean that you would have to have amalgamation and then very strongly run District organisations, with the Premier Club as the apex of the organisation. All of those District organisations should then answer to their respective State organisation.
If the Schools want to play each other in their own competitions, that is fine, too, but not so as to exclude themselves from the main stream.
I would prefer to see the Schools organisations feeding also into State-based rep sides, so that you don’t necessarily have an elite pathway that excludes many potentially good players, at the Junior levels and which probably assists Rugby League to get its hands on good, talented young players, before they get anywhere near a Premier Club.
This whole exercise needs absolute leadership and dogmatism from the very top down if we are to push the game ahead on a national level. Players need to see pathways that are achievable.
While all of that is going on we should be working the ARC into the mix so that it is a wholly meaningful step beyond the Premier Club structure, and so that it becomes a recognisable brand for all Australian Rugby followers and I believe that possible the best way to achieve this is to take one team out of Sydney and base it elsewhere (say North Queensland, or Adelaide for example), so that ultimately you have a national competition similar to the Basketball or Cricket. I knwo that there are financial problems with mounting that competition, but enough good minds should be able to think their way through that issue.
The District/ State Cricket model seems to me to be a perfect model to follow and no one can argue about the strength of Australian Cricket.
This is a job for strong and determined leadership, which puts all parochialism behind it.
Then the Premier Clubs could look at setting up Talent squads and academies to further enhance their value to the region. Whilst I am a great admirer of the Sydney University Club, I agree with the first post in this thread re Sydney University. Surely one of the criteria for being recognised as a Premier club must be the Junior Structure, the talent squads, the pathways and Academy concept and its overall commitment to being the focal point for Rugby development it its respective region.
That kind of structure is where the talent will be unearthed. If we keep it to a narrow focus we will always be in the position of not having a guaranteed stream of talent coming through in all positions.
We have to get away from some of the old notions of parochialism, because if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got.
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Reg said | November 19th 2007 @ 7:43am | Report comment
love it love it love it.
Well said.
AR U Joking said | November 19th 2007 @ 8:34am | Report comment
Agree,
you have nailed the issue. From a NSW viewpoint I also offer the following.
It is important that the junior club teamsd are fostered. Bring them through the club age ranks, into age district representation onto colts etc.
All school competitions should be played mid week and those boys then sent back to club footy for the weekend. I know that historically the GPS and some catholic competitions will find this statement abhorent but the fact is we currently have too many pillars involved in talent development and selection.
There is consistently clashes of time committment between on NSWJRU and ARU schools .
Also the extra rugby coaching the schools give the boys will be of great benefit to the club teams on wekends. I am not saying disband the school comps just reschedule.
In Sydney, as an example, such a move would allow junior rugby to return to playing Saturdays from u13 to u17. This will also have the benefit of keeping players, who have left for league, as league is a saturday sport in these age groups. various reasons from religion to social issues result in many juniors being lost to rugby until later in life.
Ross Mativenko said | November 19th 2007 @ 8:46am | Report comment
Excellent Article,
The amazing thing is the simplicity or your proposal. It’s quite sad that nobody has had the common sense to carry it out.
The talent search simply has to be widened. This is true in all countries, especially nowadays when athletic, strong youngsters are just as likely to end up playing League (and AFL in Oz).
Over here in England, I have to say that for the most part, the Academy setup is relatively strong. My gripe is with Schools Rugby. Part of the problem with Rugby Union in England is that it is percieved as a ‘posh boy’ sport. The fact that Rugby at schoolboy level is only really heavily promoted in Grammar Schools does very little to quash such a myth.
In England, we’re very much playing second-fiddle to Soccer. The kids see the ludicrous salaries commanded at the top level of the round-ball game, and even given their youth, they are keen to shoot for the stars. However unbelievable, or impossible such dreams may be.
Paulmc said | November 19th 2007 @ 9:32am | Report comment
Speaking only from a Sydney perspective – most of the schools that play Rugby do son on Saturdays and are in the “elite” category. I cannot see them changing as its more than a rugby issue – it has to do with the total curriculum requirements of the school and the compulsory teaching hours per subject. Inter- School rugby involves up (and over) to seven teams per age group – it is played over a whole day. To do it on a weekday would be a logistical & legal nightmare (OH&S, transport supervision).
School also play sports other than rugby.
Also – these same schools play Saturday cricket – is this not a counter to the underlying premis?
Further – it is the exposure of many students to rugby in each age group that in the long term supplies the players in the “subbies” competition – In this regard most subbies play for the love of the game – those who are seeking a career go to colts and grade.
Saturday sport will remain
Al said | November 19th 2007 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Fact is that the “posh” schools which provide rugby with its well heeled supporters (and money) in Australia arent going to switch to mid-week competition because the ARU wants them to. If the ARU decides that mid-week rugby is the way to go then these schools will go for AFL/soccer even RL even more than they do now. The school that I went to actually switched from RL to RU so that sport could be played on a Saturday when the HSC came in so that they could focus more on studies. They also dropped out of the Waratah Shield (having won it in the previous five years) because the mid-week games disrupted the boys classwork.
Before the ARU (which im sure they wouldnt do anyway) decides to change things they should think about the unintended consequences. That being said most state and systemic Catholic schools do play sport mid-week so its not a bad idea so long as its an eencouragement and not an edict. We definitely need to “go for growth” to quote the soon to be defeated Coalition slogan.
Paulmc said | November 19th 2007 @ 9:44am | Report comment
Al
On the mid week sport in Catholic Systemic schools – only about half a dozen actually play in inter-school competition – the rest play in the famous “colour-comp” and a variety of other sports – this catere for the elite in each age-group and not the many
Al said | November 19th 2007 @ 9:52am | Report comment
Paul- do you mean half a dozen schools or kids?
Paulmc said | November 19th 2007 @ 9:56am | Report comment
Sorry
half a dozen teams per school play in inter school competition
stillmissit said | November 19th 2007 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
Great one Gatesy and a foundation to build a plan for Australian Rugby.
There will be issues, there always are. If you don’t have an over arching plan you can’t see where you are going.After you get started then you’ll be in a position to deal with the smaller issues as you roll the plan out.
onside said | November 22nd 2007 @ 4:37am | Report comment
On another post Gatesy had a crack at me about being a bit too critical in that my post looked backwards
rather than forwards. It wasn’t my intention , but he was right.Then the next day a mate sent me part of a
speech written by Theodore Roosevelt .
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled,or where the doer of
deeds could have done better.The credit belongs to a man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred
by dust and sweat and blood,who strives valiantly,who errs and comes up short again and again,who knows
great enthusiasms,the great devotions,and spends himself in a worthy cause,who at best knows achievement
and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”