Growing up in South Africa and now living happily in Adelaide, I find all the talk of “code wars” staggering. If Australia is playing, what more motivation do you need to watch than that?
Yes Rugby has to compete with AFL, but that’s just a different version of gaining ground or force back (depending where you grew up).
In my mind, it has to be the most boring game I have ever seen. There is little to no reward for a tackle and most of the kicks are unopposed, although there is skill in taking the mark. Plus it’s the only sport in the world that you get a point for missing!
The NRL is always in the news for one scandal after another, so it shouldn’t be hard to get the better of them in the ratings.
So that’s the rant over. So how does Australian Rugby grow?
1. Learn from SA and NZ. In SA school rugby is massive and the progression is – school, school rep teams, club, provincial, Super Rugby, Test.
The ARU needs to get the game to more people and especially more kids. How do they do this? I have five versions of Channel 7 on my television (7, 70HD, 71, 72 and 73). Take a punt and show the Wallabies games live on 71 (nationwide). Who knows, the ratings might just surprise you
2. Make sure you get the 15th Super Rugby team. This will be tricky because depth will be an issue, but at the same time, by giving the club guys a go, that’s how you find talent.
3. The 15th side needs to be based in Victoria and play some games in other states. Also, the Tahs need to play a few games in NSW regional areas.
4. The biggest and hardest challenge is last. The ARU needs to have a state competition with all states, and it needs to be televised to create interest. At the end of the Super 14, the Tahs went about 6 weeks without playing – that just can’t happen.
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September 8th 2009 @ 1:36am
Gho said | September 8th 2009 @ 1:36am | Report comment
Anti-siphoning laws prevent 7 from broadcasting the Wallabies game on there digital channels (that not everyone recieves), before there main channel. The law is under review and hopefully by next years tri-nations we will be able to watch it live even in the non-heartland states.
I cant see a second tier competition working, people want to watch the best, not the rest. Australia’s sporting landscape, especially on the club side, is too full to support a nation wide league. Even our national sport, cricket, is struggling to garner interest in the many forms of its national competition.
September 8th 2009 @ 10:27am
Brett McKay said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:27am | Report comment
Gho, I read Brad’s suggestion as showing it on FTA channels as normal (into Syd, Bris, Perth), but on the HD channel nationally – so Adelaide for eg could either see it on delay at midnight (or whenever 7 shows it), or live on HD..
September 8th 2009 @ 2:39am
Working Class Rugger said | September 8th 2009 @ 2:39am | Report comment
No, a National Comp very similar in set up to that of the ANZC would work. Start Half way through the Tri -Nations. When the Wallabies have a weekend off they can go back to the NC. At the end of the TN’s they all return to finish the season. Also means they are in better form for the Spring tours. As Super Rugby will start later come 2011 the threat of burnout will be a non issue.
Start with the soon to be 5 Province’s add in Western Sydney, NSWCountry and Queensland Country. Intially an reasonably strong and tidy 8 team comp. focus on developing both the Gold Coast and Adelaide for eventual inclusion. GC most likely reasonably early with adelaide a few years back.
ONEHD are pushing hard for content and looking seriously at Rugby. They have secured the Spring Tour this season and look like getting all the incoming tests for the next few years. Plus they are in amongst it in the Super 14/15 neogiations. A National Comp would be a nice fit. Fill the gap and keep the game on TV. Considering I believe this Comp would be the traditional Running Rugby we see here in Club Rugby it would be very attractive and potentially popular. Brad hope you get ONEHD.
September 8th 2009 @ 9:43am
Invictus said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:43am | Report comment
Very interesting info re ONEHD. Do you mind sharing your sources??
September 8th 2009 @ 8:42pm
Dogs Of War said | September 8th 2009 @ 8:42pm | Report comment
It’s cheap content for Channel 10 to source, and helps fill the air time. I am sure plenty of other Australian sports will be offering their sports for free or even paying a small amount to get their sports on the box, really it comes down to when they exit their current arrangements.
September 8th 2009 @ 9:45am
JK said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Brad,
Living in Oz as you do, you are aware of the different codes here, and being in Adelaide I am sure you are aware that AFL rules down there. You make some good points regarding growing rugby, but please don’t attack the other codes, I actually think we are blessed in OZ with the choices and I honestly believe the average Aussie will support any national team that wears our colours. In my experience the sports fan in Oz is evolving, we are embracing the other sports and the days of being disloyal because you may watch the Crows or Swans when there’s no rugby or NRL on are over. Admittedly, junior development is where the real battleground is, what we need is to get that diversity in the schools and to take the same attitude, not see it as a war but give the kids the option. Most public schools, particularly in Sydney have very ordinary sports programs, with the exception of a few. Don’t get me wrong, subbies and colt’s programs do a fine job, but that’s the weekend, what would give rugby a big boost for future development is getting more kids playing it for school sport. At the moment a lot of Public school kids play league at school then play league on the weekend, or vice versa for the private schools.
What we need to do is to get them involved at school were the market is captive, once they are outside school it is harder. By this I mean either a focus on sports day competition, as it is almost non existent in the public system, or more opportunities via the odd full day carnival, sevens comp’s ( which I believe is a good way to introduce) or something similar to the Saturday morning league competition, Arrive Alive cup I believe, which is televised.
Essentially we don’t need them to take sides, just dip their toes at least and make up their minds from that, which is the beauty that our sporting landscape provides.
September 8th 2009 @ 9:46am
cuzybro said | September 8th 2009 @ 9:46am | Report comment
The TAHs, Reds, Brumbies and Force need to financially merge with ANZ cup clubs to put their non Wallaby squad members in the best provincial rugby comp in the world bro!! i have heard whispers that this is being considered
September 8th 2009 @ 10:33am
Invictus said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:33am | Report comment
Every overture I’ve heard of has been squashed by the NZRFU, and quite rightly too! If we can’t get our own competition up and running we certainly don’t deserve to be leaching off anyone elses. Why should we depend on NZ to develop our players for us.
September 8th 2009 @ 10:35am
JF said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:35am | Report comment
WCR, you are spot-on with the provincial model, 8 teams – keep it small and minimise the need to ‘create’ teams. I can believe what you say about One HD, the amount of rediculous sports that are on there – Paintball, Bullriding etc. I am sure they would be after some quality sport, a perfect match for domestic rugby.
Cuzybro, although merging with ANZC teams would be convenient, it would not solve our problems, we need to create our own rugby identity and further develop our own rugby culture, a domestic comp is the only answer.
September 8th 2009 @ 10:55am
sheek said | September 8th 2009 @ 10:55am | Report comment
JF,
The A-League then, in your eyes, is a massive failure on all fronts, with its mostly artificial teams???
The Perth Glory being the only team to survive intact from previous national comps in soccer.
No history, no tradition, no tribalism of any kind at all has evolved in its (A-League) short history???
September 8th 2009 @ 12:19pm
JF said | September 8th 2009 @ 12:19pm | Report comment
The culture of soccer in Australia is completely different to that of rugby. They have found a model that is consistent with the sports position in Australia. It is an emerging mainstream sport, therefore the model of new teams and a new competition works well for them, the new teams were also required to eliminate the image problems of the NSL. Rugby on the other hand is completely different, it has been played in this country for many years and has built its own brand in the footballing landscape. It attracts a certain type of crowd, different from the A-League, AFL and NRL. This requires a customised approach to the establishment of a domestic competition, we must design the competition to suit the rugby public. The ARU did not do this with the ARC and paid the price.
September 8th 2009 @ 6:05pm
sheek said | September 8th 2009 @ 6:05pm | Report comment
JF,
Pull the other leg….. the shared culture of all sport is to have a national footprint. The larger the footprint, the better the long-term prospects of the sport. That means, a national comp.
They all have one – AFL, NRL, football, cricket, netball, hockey, even basketbll & baseball in the past.
But somehow rugby union considers itself above all this….. to its eventual cost.
September 8th 2009 @ 1:35pm
PastHisBest said | September 8th 2009 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
“…now living happily in Adelaide”.
Pull the other one Brad…
September 8th 2009 @ 2:45pm
Working Class Rugger said | September 8th 2009 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
Invictus
One HD has made no secrets of its quest for content. As I stated it has already secured the Wallabies Spring Tour and look like securing the Bundaberg Rum Series and Tri – Nations from next year on. They have stated all this publicly. They also very keen on securing the rights alongside Fox for all the Australian Super14/15 games. If this occurs then our long awaited desire to see Rugby on FTA and at a decent time will finally be realised. Nationwide. In my mind One HD could become a de facto Rugby channel. We just need to build the content. A National Provincial Model to fill in between the end of the Tri-Nations and the Spring Tour would fit nicely as would a summer Seven’s Series.
JK
Schools are the holy grail of Sports development in my mind. Where else can reach practically every child in the country. There seems to be alot of momentum behind Rugby’s bid for Olympic inclusion with Jacques Rogge pretty confident of it getting the nod. If so the funding Rugby would recieve should be poored into schools development. Athletics Australia from what I can find recieves $5,000,000 per annum. How many Gold Medal winners have they produced recently. Two that I can remeber being Cathy Freeman and Steve Hooker. Rugby would be entitiled to at least that. When our best turn up we are serious contenders. If you get kids playing Rugby in Schools they’ll for the most part play Rugby on the weekend.
September 8th 2009 @ 7:11pm
Invictus said | September 8th 2009 @ 7:11pm | Report comment
WCR,
I obviously don’t watch the news enough….
I certainly like the way you think! A Rugby inspired takeover of OneHD sounds like just the ticket. Perhaps they can be used as a stick to beat the ARU with so as to provide the competition we are all looking for?
September 10th 2009 @ 1:37pm
Brett McKay said | September 10th 2009 @ 1:37pm | Report comment
WCR, Invictus, more news on the Ten/ONE HD front today (from The Oz)
“In other news, Channel 10 has reportedly emerged as a player in the SANZAR broadcast rights talks, with the network keen to screen Super rugby matches free-to-air, although Fox Sports is expected to retain the rights to the bulk of the fixtures.”
September 8th 2009 @ 2:54pm
Republican said | September 8th 2009 @ 2:54pm | Report comment
Brad.
I believe something called culture dictates preferance for all manner of leisure pursuits, determined very much by a countries history as well as social and physical environment. Granted, culture is fluid however a country won’t necessarily embrace all this fluidity along the way so something as alien as Union is comparitively speaking in Oz, won’t necessarily be embraced fully by its people, international pedigree or not.
This is not because of any real resentment on the part of the sporting status quo but more to do with a game i.e. Union not being integral the national psyche or character as it most obviously is in Safa and NZ. If you believe that simply because Union is international it should follow that Australians fervently support your choice of code, then if you apply that rationale, they should also be turning out to support our national Hockey, Basketball, Lawn Bowls sides with the same gusto.
It should be considered when discussing the virtues of Union from a Safa and Kiwi perspective, that in fact Saffa’s and NZ’ers are very different culturally to Oz, although the latter are often inaccurately likened to us in that resppect.
September 8th 2009 @ 4:30pm
gg said | September 8th 2009 @ 4:30pm | Report comment
bring back the ARC but have an under 20′s with it so its the best of the club rugby players and the best of the players in the colts competition ( as well as younger grade players), this will make it easier for Australia u20′s to be piked
September 8th 2009 @ 7:37pm
Pippinu said | September 8th 2009 @ 7:37pm | Report comment
Brad
you live in the perfect city to start your own personal crusade against Australian Football.
All the best with that.
But don’t refer to “force ‘em backs” or “forcing backs”, they won’t have a clue what you’re talking about.
And in case you’re trying to infiltrate the enemy in an undercover operation, what ever you do, don’t use the word “banana”, they call it a “checkside”.