After an acrimonious month of rugby politicking, the SANZAR bosses finally came out of their huddle yesterday to tell us what most of us had come to realise anyway; Super Rugby will survive, with all of the Tri Nations finally deciding it was time to have a blow on the peace-pipe.
What’s more, it appears that the fabled 15th franchise will materialise after all, and although it has not been explicitly stated, it would be a surprise to most (including most South African supporters) if the team was not granted to Australia.
Say what you will about him, John O’Neill is a wily character and appears to have out-maneuvered the SARU in all facets of this negotiation.
So, with a new franchise on the table, which state will find themselves in the favoured gaze of the ARU?
It goes without saying that members of the Melbourne Rugby community will be particularly excited to get a second bite at the cherry. In a state that loves sport – and hence, the very idea of competition – losing out to WA in 2004 was a humiliating defeat which lingers in our soul.
The 15th team will be seen as our chance at redemption, and if we do get the license, don’t be surprised if Melbourne and WA begin a fierce rivalry, such is our sporting pride.
However, Melbourne is far from a done deal. There are already rumblings of a Gold Coast consortium being put together to tender a bid. So, as a self-confessed rugby nut born and bred in Melbourne, I am forced to ask the question: do we deserve a place at the table?
Lets begin with the potential to attract crowds. The joke goes that so long as there’s some silverware on the line, we’d pay tickets to watch snails race. This is true – in a manner of speaking.
Melburnians will give any sport a go. Particularly team sports. But – and this is a big but – if we go and subsequently decide we’re not that interested then we’ll shrug and go back to the AFL instead.
Wallabies test matches tend to have good turn-outs. We supported the 2003 World Cup as well as any other state, and sold out the Telstra Dome easily for the rugby 7′s at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. But then, these were all one-offs.
So the real question is, can Rugby develop a following in Melbourne after the honeymoon period? Will we stick it out? This is rather difficult to predict. The Melbourne Storm have accrued a reasonable following, but its barely a drop in the ocean compared to AFL where we can fill the MCG with 90,000+ for a regular home and away game.
I would suggest that over time union will do better than league here for a simple reason – its ethos – you compete for the ball. This is very important to us because this is what AFL is all about. Melburnians simply can not understand League where you are not trying to win the ball off your opponent – it goes against everything we know.
Next, we have to consider the logistics. If Melbourne are given the franchise it will start in 2011, the same year we will finish our brand new rectangular stadium in the middle of our sports precinct (it’s basically next to the tennis centre and the MCG). A better opportunity could not be possible. Brand new team in a brand new stadium.
Finally the matter of financial support. Here there is huge potential. We have deep pockets and are used to blowing all our money on sporting merchandise and attending games. Offered the choice between buying $300 grand final tickets versus giving the money to our starving mother, many of us would hesitate before making the decision!
So, my verdict? Melbourne can clearly harbour a successful rugby team but getting it off the ground will require a lot of work. Penetrating the public’s consciousness will be the hardest aspect, but once a foothold has been gained, the ability for growth is huge.
We’ve learnt the lesson from our loss. Melbourne is back. Just send the ball out flat and out-in-front, Mr O’Neill. Because you can bet we’re going to be running onto it at pace.
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May 16th 2009 @ 11:20am
Working Class Rugger said | May 16th 2009 @ 11:20am | Report comment
The ARU should forego the long and drawn out bidding process and just tell Melbourne to start preparing for 2011. The Gold Coast bid is encouraging but let’s be honest here. Melbourne would be able to support a professional Rugby team.
May 16th 2009 @ 11:48am
Brett McKay said | May 16th 2009 @ 11:48am | Report comment
Agree WCR, the only thing a protracted bidding war is going to provide is newspaper headlines.
So prepare for exactly that…
Everyone seems to think the Gold Coast is some kind of cash cow, but seriously, going from no professional teams to four or five in five years?!?! Something’s got to give.
Play it out if need be, but surely someone at the ARU will take up a desk in Vic Rugby’s office and assist in proceedings from next year. Sponsors need to be found, players signed, memberships flogged.
This is also the ARU’s chance to prove they can make logical decisions (despite obvious evidence to the contrary, mostly). Just give it to Victoria.
May 16th 2009 @ 12:16pm
John Ryan said | May 16th 2009 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
I think you would want to make sure the Western Force is still around before you start counting chickens
May 16th 2009 @ 12:23pm
Dan said | May 16th 2009 @ 12:23pm | Report comment
I hope you’re right about the crowds wanting the “contest for the ball” Davo, because I can still remember going to the bledisloe in ’07 and sitting in a half full MCG outnumbered by All Blacks fans.
May 16th 2009 @ 1:20pm
sheek said | May 16th 2009 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
I’m holding fire & keeping my powder dry until I read more details. NZ CEO Steve Tew said all 3 countries had to compromise. He also said Australia will likely get the 15th team. John O’Neill suggested the Saffies had to give up most ground.
So where/how has Australia had to compromise?
I’m thinking the Saffies have got their way with the February S15 start. I can live with that although I think it’s crazy.
However, what of the 15th team, & 5th team to be located in Australia? Is it really going to be an Aussie dominated team located in Melbourne? Or have we had a Pacific Islands dominated team imposed on us, say on the Gold Coast?
I’m not getting carried away until I’ve seen the fine detail. I’m worried about “the sting in the tail”, if any.
The portents are most promising, but let’s wait & see. I’ve been disappointed too many times in the past to be excited before I really know what I should be excited about.
May 16th 2009 @ 2:29pm
Sam Taulelei said | May 16th 2009 @ 2:29pm | Report comment
Davo
I went to every World Cup game at Telstra Dome in 2003 and apart from the Australia v Ireland game the atmosphere was flat, there was no buzz in Melbourne for the World Cup which surprised me as Melburnians love big sporting events. Agree with Dan, the MCG was nowhere near a sellout for Bledisloe 07 and from memory was under the forecasted crowd figures. If Melbourne gets the gig then all well and good but Australian fans should expect nothing more than two good teams and three moderate teams for the short to medium term in Super rugby regardless of where the 15th team is located. I know JON is quoted in the press as saying it could be a joint team with NZ, Japan or the Pacific Islands amidst fears there isn’t enough local talent but he’s great at making grand statements without explaining the finer details.
May 16th 2009 @ 2:38pm
westy said | May 16th 2009 @ 2:38pm | Report comment
Davo Would Melbourne considr establishing a specific connection with Western sydney rugby juniors and first grade clubs to act as feeder clubs as the Storm has done on the Central Coast of NSW and with feeder club in the Queensland Cup.
the prospect of this connection may be more real than you think.
We have what you at present do not lots of players.
May 16th 2009 @ 2:41pm
Sam Taulelei said | May 16th 2009 @ 2:41pm | Report comment
Correction the England v Samoa game was a cracker and had a fantastic atmosphere as well, probably the best game of the tournament.
May 16th 2009 @ 3:05pm
Bay35Pablo said | May 16th 2009 @ 3:05pm | Report comment
Melbourne has to get it. They should have had it rather than the Force, and if we aren’t trying to spread the game Australian wide how can we not have a team in the 2nd biggest city and biggest sporting market?
Giving it to Gold Coast is mad, and I read a recent article suggesting GC is getting far too much press for not much numbers. The article pointed out its reputation as a growth area for population isn’t borne out, when you compare it demographics wise to some other areas that are already as big or bigger population wise (Illawarra, western Sydney, etc). And sports team wise it is reaching stauration point. How many more sides can tehy fit into it and still get enough support? Shades of the NBL in the early 1990s?
S14 is a provincial comp 9world’s best supposedly). Province = state = why 2 teams for Qld? Given NSW provides the lions share of players for every other team except Qld (and even then), how is GC going to help an already weak Reds? Another poster on another thread was suggesting having the Force in Perth was great for local rugby kids as it gave them something to aspire to & caused a boom, and the same is true for Melbourne. And Victoria has already turned out a few Wallabies over the years (more than WA) and many private schools down there already play rugby.
The fact of the matter is the Rebels, or whatever, will get most of their players from NSW at first (just like in the ARC). It will weaken the Aussie teams in the short term, just like the Force did (i.e. gutting the Reds). If the ARU & NZRU follow true to form they will allow players to play in other SANZAR nations in the S14 and still be eligible for their national sides. As such, don’t be surprised to see a few fringe NZ or SA S14 players get nabbed. I expect they will also give an allowance for 3 or 4 Pac Islanders players to make up the numbers, and avoid the drain on other sides like the Force did, at least in the short term.
Over time Victorian players can aspire to play for the Rebels, and in 10 years or so hopefully they will have a more home grown flavour. I read somewhere that the Melbourne Storm U20s side or something recently competed as almost an all Victorian side and was great. And you can’t tell me some of those players wouldn’t be playing for a Rebels side if it had been around instead od league …
My pick is the SA got their February start, thus protecting the Currie Cup, and the ARU and NZRU got everything else they wanted (6 team finals, 15th side in Oz, extra derby rounds). All sides can say they got fundamentally what they want. Interesting issue will be if they have mid week Tests, or if the early starts allows anough time.
No more S14 players in club/NPC games then!
May 16th 2009 @ 3:59pm
Working Class Rugger said | May 16th 2009 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
The Force will still be here. This years loss will be largely because of playing a Subiaco oval. It costs them in excess of $300,000 a game. And because of its unsuitablilty for Rugby many fans stay away. Things will begin to get back on track now they are moving to Member’s Equity.
I can’t see the Victorian side being called anything but the Rebels. If the right thing is done and the ARU approves the VRFU application they will have over 20 months to prepare. That easily enough to drum up public support, sponsorship and sign players. And who know’s with that amount of prep time maybe the side will have a Victorian presence reasonably early.