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There used to be a time, way off (in the hazy days of pre-match ale and booking time off work to go on a tour) that rugby fans the world over would check their calendar anxiously, waiting for the day to buy tickets to a match they had anticipated for years.
It would be a game to define their rugby watching history, a once in a lifetime chance.
Sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much. A season has become saturated with nine Tri-Nations fixtures, yearly Six Nations, plus November Internationals, end of season tours – and club rugby hasn’t even received a mention yet.
Only the Lions tour holds that same austere mist of old around it. Sir Clive Woodward did his best to dismantle any pride that Britain and Ireland had in their Unions, but this year has restored the ethos of the tour to its previous stature.
Why can’t similar tours happen more often? Why can’t a Bledisloe Cup game be something that means bragging rights for more than a fortnight? Why does the Northern Hemisphere still hold a Six Nations in a World Cup year, leaving fatigued players to injure themselves during their playing overkill?
Rugby can learn a thing or two from the football. The two largest international events in the calendar, the European Cup and the World Cup, take place bi-annually and alternately, meaning that there is time enough to drum up excitement that leaves the crowds buzzing for more.
Make the Tri-Nations and Six-Nations tournaments four yearly, outside World Cup and Lions’ years. They could happen in February and September 2012, meaning that 2010 and 2014 could be left open to introduce some good old touring into the frame. That would mean a RWC in 2011, and a Lions tour in 2013.
Every summer would be an event. The crucial difference would be that it is a mouthwatering showcase that people have waited years to see.
Rugby has taken a bit of a battering up North, with Bloodgate at Harlequins amongst a host of summer controversies. Returning to what rugby is all about – camaraderie, galvanisation and good old fronting up – is what should happen. Restore rugby values to what fans know existed all along.
Gone would be the pointless ‘Tours from Hell’. Surely these can’t be of any financial gain, if the IRB and Unions’ coffers are a stumbling block. I, for one, didn’t worry myself with checking to see if England had been beaten 87-3 or 187-3 by one of the Southern Hemisphere sides, to the humiliation of our promising young stars. More meaningful tours would mean more enthusiastic crowds, higher attendances, and better sponsorship.
This way, Argentina could make inroads into the international game, without effectively cancelling out the World Cup with their inclusion into the Tri or Six Nations. Tired players would be playing fewer tournaments at intense levels, meaning more longevity, and fewer injuries. Tours would bring teams together, creating better rugby and more entertaining viewing. Crowds would be larger, creating atmospheres that would attract even more spectators to the sport.
Rather than seeing the dollar signs in yet another tournament, think of the bigger picture, and let’s have less to make more.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.