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Reshaping Australian Rugby essential for the future

Roar Guru
3rd October, 2009
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Roar Guru
3rd October, 2009
50
1197 Reads

There is no hiding from the facts: Rugby has quite literally dropped the ball. Fans are dismayed about how the game is administered and played. The good news is there seems to be, on the Roar blogs anyway, plenty of people willing to put forward ideas on how to revitalize this beautiful game.

Sheek has strong views on the national comp issue, Andrew Logan has addressed the need for a Supporters Union to aid grass roots rugby and most of us believe that the buying league players days are over. I have a few ideas of my own on how to help the Rugby cause which I like to share.

There are obliviously two arms to modern Rugby – Professional and Amateur.

I’ll deal with the Amateur first. It seems that a lot has been said and written about players having a clear pathway to their potential rugby careers. By restructuring the amateur arm, I think we can help solve many professional rugby issues. Every capital city has a club competition, and I assume NSW Country and QLD Country have their own competition as well (forgive me if this assumption is wrong). Overlooking Tasmania & Northern Territory, sorry guys, this leaves us with eight club competitions nationally. Here is how I can see the club competitions restructured for the better:

1. Pre Season Cup/ Charity Cup – Split the comp into groups then have a finals series. Provides a good warm up to the premiership and some silverware to the clubs cabinet.

2. Club Premiership – Each competition is run as per normal, however there should be a greater emphasis on winning the premiership. I hate the phrase ‘minor premiers’. A team that has consistently been the best all year should be celebrated as, for example, the Sydney Premiers. This should have the same significance as the English Premier League. When they win the league it is massive achievement on its own merit.

3. Club Cup – By finishing in the top four positions in the ‘premiership’, you qualify for the, e.g. Sydney Club Cup. I know to some this may be splitting hairs on how competitions are presently run, but I do think the distinction is imperative. One is a reward for the best all year, the other the best on the day.

4. National Rugby Cup – Each of the previously mentioned eight club competitions provide two teams – the Premiers and the Cup holders. If one team does the ‘double’, wins both the Premiership and the Cup, then the other team who made it to the Cup final qualifies. 16 teams are entered into a four week knockout cup.

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5. State Premiership – Lets take back the names of the states from the professionals and return it to its natural amateur roots, then put them into a national competition. Eight teams – NSW, QLD, ACT, VIC, SA, WA, NSW Country & QLD Country. Everyone play each other once, team on top of the ladder at the end wins.

6. State Cup – Top four from State Premiership qualify for the Cup finals.

7. Australian Kookaburras – Strictly amateur representative team to play maybe second or third tier nations both home and abroad.

8. Club Sevens – After the 15 a side club comp finishes, introduce a Sevens Competition that runs parallel to the State Comps. Have four carnivals in each of the 8 Club comps, north, south, east, west. Team on top after the four carnivals is crowned, e.g. Sydney Sevens Champions.

9. National Sevens Cup – From the eight clubs Sevens competitions, the top four qualify for the National Cup.

I know that was a lot to take in, but I believe this demonstrates a clear pathway for a player. At club level there is a chance at winning four local competitions and two national competitions. There is the prospect of representative honors at a state and national level. The structures are some what there and all they need is a little tweaking, restructuring and, of course, a lot of hard work.

Which leads me into the professional arm.

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The two issues with professional Rugby seems to be player depth and the Super Rugby Competition / National Competition.

1. Player Depth – The above competitions would help develop the depth in Rugby needed to compete on a professional level. The National Rugby Cup and State Premiership & Cup is the perfect place for would be professional rugby players to prove they’re worthy of a contract to a Super Rugby team.

2. Super Rugby / National Comp – With the states names being reclaimed by the amateur arm, obliviously new names/teams are needed for the Super Rugby Competition. I think this can be achieved by calling the teams by their cities, e.g. Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra. These names should be adopted for the new Super 15 comp. These teams then are the foundation teams for our future national comp. When expansion comes up again in the Super 15, we add another Aussie team – Western Sydney, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Central Coast, North Sydney, Wollongong, Townsville, etc, without to much fuss.

We keep expanding the Aussie conference to Aussie teams until the Super Rugby Comp becomes a Heiniken Cup style comp. We have then effectively evolved a national comp with some support and background/tradition within Super Rugby.

And hopefully, with the setting up of the new professional teams, the Rugby politics/egos can be held to an absolute minimum.

Also, when opting for a mascot, lets keep it to animals. Why? Kids can relate to an animal name. The animals should be the kings of their species: Bulls, Rams, Tigers. Lions, Eagles, Falcons, Brumbies, Sharks, etc. Kids can gravitate to these names, not useless marketing names like Force or Kings.

That’s my two bob worth. Actually looks a bit more than that! I welcome your thoughts and ideas.

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