Australian rugby needs to strengthen third tier
Roar Pro
By sifi, 15 Oct 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- ARC, club rugby, Rugby Union
The ARU needs to rethink the strength of our current third tier. At the moment, after the Super season, non-Test Super players are returning to the club ranks, mainly in Sydney, but also Queensland, ACT, West Australia, and (hopefully) soon to be Victoria, as well.
While this is good for club rugby in these parts, it is potentially too broad-a-spread to be helpful for player development among the third tier.
On the other hand, players folding back into only certain club teams is also unhelpful for club rugby in general.
The hope by some, for Super players to return only to the Sydney and Qld club competitions, is also unhelpful for rugby development in the rest of Australia.
The suggestion that a competition be established involving only select clubs from Sydney and Queensland, plus one team each from other parts of Australia, is also problematic (even with promotion and relegation), since most of the current clubs in Sydney and Queensland (not to mention everywhere else) will miss out on selection to this competition.
It also overestimates the appeal of the current Sydney and Queensland clubs to the wider public. They will always be severely restricted to engage spectators on a wider basis by their very nature.
This is where the now defunct ARC fits in.
The ARC idea promised to hit a number of nails on the head that would be good for Australian rugby: national glory for the fans and teams, more professional teams for players, coaches, etc, better player development to provide a better stepping-stone to Super Rugby, and so on.
However, while helpful in many of these ways, it was never going to be helpful enough to balance the financial burden it created.
To relieve this burden created by travel/accommodation expenses, a broadcaster was needed to take it on.
However, it was always going to be too limited in its marketability for a broadcaster to take on and seriously promote without the Wallabies (and possibly even the Australia A players).
This has left Australian rugby with few options to strengthen the third tier, it would seem, except to have an academy/Super B team tournament at some stage of the year.
This would be much more helpful for player development and establishing a stronger stepping stone to Super Rugby from the current club set-up.
Assuming the next Super franchise is in Victoria/Melbourne, one option is to play the tournament after the Super season and have the ARU establish an extra barbarians team made up of the best club players to play out of somewhere like Western Sydney.
While the six teams would be playing for a trophy, perhaps the real prize could be the chance to be selected in a true Possibles Vs Probables match after the Tri-nations, involving all the Wallabies, and perhaps be picked for the end of year tour.
All this has been said before, of course, but are the Roarers convinced this is rugby’s best option in Australia?
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JF said | October 15th 2009 @ 7:41am | Report comment
This subject has been roared to death.
We need to get our established provincial brands playing a full season of rugby in order for a rugby supporting culture to establish and grow in this country. Look to Sth Africa, 5 established provincial super teams joined by 3 more provincial teams to form the Currie Cup – this is what we need to do. The biggest challenge for rugby in Australia is for the gap between the administration and the punters to be decreased, at the moment the two live in different worlds.
Harry said | October 15th 2009 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Yes I am convinced.
just reading about Donut in today’s SMH – he says the trial game was not actual a real game, too much stopping ans starting, and then goes on to express hope he does well in the forthcoming tour. I really hope he does, at 30 he should just be coming into his prime and we are still woefully short at tighthead.
Anyway the point of the above para – how much better would it have been had Donut and the rest of them been involved in an ARC type competition ths month, acutally playing a few hard matches? Would have been an intersting comp – also have given us all something to watch and get involved in (the league was Ok but not quite as magnificent as its promotoers claim) instead of the seemingly endless agonising on here about the Wallaby captaincy et al.
instead we have players like Dunning, Ioane, Mortlock having played no top level rugby for months, yete we will all expect them to perform at the highest level against the NPC and Heinken league hardened Kiwi’s and UK teams.
Terry Kidd said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:10am | Report comment
I would love to see a ARC organised along regional lines:
Sydney – North, South, East, West – 4 teams
Brisbane – North, South, West – 3 teams
ACT – North, South – 2 teams
Vic – Melbourne – 1 team
WA – Perth – 1 team
NSW Country – Orange 1 team
A 12 team competition played after the S15 and running thru to October each year. The existing clubs in each area being invited to form a combined organisation to run each team, players and coaches to be drawn from the clubs making up the team. Getting a national braodcaster like the ABC or SBS on board, so we get national broadcast coverage, and playing games Saturday or Sunday afternoon so we get broad age appeal and attendance. Keep travel and accommodation costs as low as possible by using coach travel where possible and 3 star motels, players to receive match fees only at a set rate for all players …. they accept to play under those conditions or they don’t play.
It would take a year or two to gain traction but it would create greater exposure and experience for players, make rugby accessible for fans and provide a great nursery for player, coach and referee development. Regardless of cost, it must happen eventually.
LeftArmSpinner said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Please stop calling it the third tier!!!!!!!! unless you want to kill it stone dead. The NRL is the third tier of RL but is never referred to as such. it is labelled the best comp in the world!!!!!
BTW, it is already there. Sitting in front of you. Its called grade rugby. Start from there and build outwards
JF said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:25am | Report comment
We have been waiting for grade rugby to do something for many years, how much longer shall we wait?
sheek said | October 15th 2009 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
Leftie,
Agree 1st para. Let’s move away from this 3rd tier mentality. It’s a national comp we’re discussing here!
Disagree 2nd para. Sydney PR is not the answer to a national comp. Neither is Brisbane PR.
mudskipper said | October 15th 2009 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
Yep agree call it a National Comp… Provinces would have to put forward a budget to fund their squads expenses and prove financial accountability. This should include travel costs and home field costs… Only once this is ratified should the ARU field sponsors and a broadcaster for the comp… This could be an example where the leadership initiative could come from the provinces and not wait for direction from the ARU… the ARU can facilitate and administrate the overall proposal and project…. And the provinces can pick up the costs of employing a competition business manager based out of the ARU.
JF said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:22am | Report comment
The ARC is dead, it failed after only 1 season. You can’t just go and conveniently create teams – this is why the ARC failed.
sheek said | October 15th 2009 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
JF,
You can certainly create teams, as long as they have some relevance to their location. As I said elsewhere, every tradition, every history, has a beginning point.
The failure of the ARC was due largely to other factors than the creation of the teams, which mostly were well thought out.
However, having (East) Sydney Fleet playing out of North Sydney Oval was dumb. As was having North Shore players playing out of Central Coast (the Rays).
The concept of a national comp is sound. We just have to get the structures right.
Bay35Pablo said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:23am | Report comment
This has been done to death, and recently. The 5 sides and barbarians was even raised on the “Get rid of the Academies” article in the last few days.
“non-Test Super players are returning to the club ranks, mainly in Sydney, but also Queensland, ACT, West Australia, and (hopefully) soon to be Victoria,”
No they aren’t. They all come back to the Sydney and Brisbane club comps, which are far stringer than the other states’.
Yes we need another pro level below S14, but the ARU won’t touch it after the ARC fiasco, and there isn’t the funding there. I refer to my posts on the model, from all the other threads on this issue …..
Terry Kidd said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:24am | Report comment
Not true JF about the ARC … and I only said’ARC’ as a matter of convenience, nothing else, call it whatever you want but a provincial competition is a must.
wallythefly said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:29am | Report comment
Agree with you entirely Lefty, as JON has said ‘it would effectively be a third tier and therefore nobody would support it’
lets make that phrase Taboo
JF said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:32am | Report comment
Thats why it needs to be an expanded 2nd tier rather than a clear step below Super S14.
Terry Kidd said | October 15th 2009 @ 9:44am | Report comment
Ok JF you have made negative comments about a provincial competition and an expansion of grade rugby. So what do you suggest? Come on, give us your thoughts. What structure would you suggest?