A few weeks back we solicited your questions to put to the NSW Waratahs CEO Jim L’Estrange, who has just entered what is going to be a challenging season with the Waratahs. He responded expansively to the batch of questions we posed to him.

When are we going to see more Super rugby matches on a Sunday afternoon?
“We’d love to know the answer to this one, too! Unfortunately, the franchises are not in control of the schedule of Super Rugby matches. Although we have some input, the schedule is primarily determined by SANZAR and the broadcasters.

“They take into account several factors including potential ratings, the draw of each round’s fixtures (for instance, to avoid clashes with matches in other timezones), and also travel itineraries of all teams.

“In fact, we are very keen on afternoon games. In 2006, we played a 3:30pm game against the Sharks, and in 2008 we played a 5.30pm game against the Lions. This year, we requested a 3pm Sunday kick-off for the Brumbies game in April.

“We were unsuccessful, but we’ll continue to put in our requests and hopefully the schedule will allow us to deliver this for the fans sooner rather than later.

“We also continue to push back against too many Friday nights, since we know people sometimes find it tough to travel across Sydney at that time. Hopefully with the Super 15 next season there will be more room for SANZAR to schedule games at different times”.

The NSWRU website section dealing with the development of rugby in the State has apparently not been updated for some years. What plans are being put in place?
“You are absolutely correct in highlighting this. I’m afraid that over the past couple of years the focus has been on providing the development itself and the resourcing to keep the website up to date has taken a back seat. That said, we’re moving forward to rectify this.

“Last year saw a major change to how Community Rugby and the development of the game is structured in NSW. We partnered with the Australian Rugby Union who now provide education, training and development services to the Rugby community in NSW, while NSWRU remains responsible for supporting competition administration.

“The feedback from the junior clubs in regards to the ARU-NSWRU community rugby partnership has been overwhelmingly positive and a huge improvement in a short space of time.

“And while the improvements have been rapid, we know we need to do more and the actual plans in place for development of the game are quite exciting. The role the ARU has played is to provide some additional funding to help us set up a structure that NSWRU could not have supported on its own.

“There are now Rugby Managers with Development Officers in Sydney’s north, south-east and west. These staff have as their primary aim to support the Rugby communities in their area delivering education courses and supporting the various local junior clubs. In addition they target schools for sampling activities and coaching in advance of gala days and other tournaments.

“From a Sydney metro perspective, this is light years ahead of where we were in 2007 and we’re always looking to do more. Regional NSW has also not been left out, with new staff covering each of the eight Country zones with roles similar to the development staff in Sydney”.

Will the NSWRU allow Chris Hickey to revert to his traditional expansive game that served him so well in club rugby, or is ‘win ugly’ to be the Standard Operating Procedure?
“Over a period of time, a misconception has evolved that NSW Rugby directs the coaching staff on tactics, selections, game plans and the on-field operations of the team.

“To be very clear, we do not. We employ the coaching staff, and we employ them to do their job – selection, game plans, tactics – the lot. Obviously, I have regular meetings with Chris, about the on and off-field operations of the team and it is a good relationship. It is the normal relationship you’d expect between a head coach and a CEO.

“Having said this, of course everyone in the game wants to see positive Rugby played. SANZAR have realised this too and indicated publicly that the balance of the game in 2009 was in favour of the defending team which did not encourage attacking rugby across the board.

“However, we seem to be moving in the right direction with the altering of referees’ interpretations to benefit the attacking team, and the results of this will be seen throughout the competition.

“From a Waratahs perspective, Chris was quoted recently as saying that the biggest lesson from 2009 was that we created plenty of opportunities but failed to finish them.

“So our recruiting over the off-season was specifically related to improving our ability to execute and capitalise on our opportunities, and hopefully players like Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell and Sosene Anesi will help the team in this area. We have a team of skilful, attacking players who will make the most of their opportunities.”

How will the NSWRU target the traditional Rugby League based areas and schools to maximise the future player potential for Rugby Union in these areas?
“This is a tough question to answer. At the HSBC Waratahs we have tried to support the growth of the game in non-traditional areas as much as we can. A good example is the three open training sessions we held for the public at the end of the last two years.

“The venues?

“Brookvale, Kogarah, St Mary’s and Campbelltown. Eagles, Dragons, Panthers and Tigers territories.

“Most of our school gala days in 2009 were held at Granville Oval and included many teams from the west. In 2009, Tah Man, our mascot, visited schools from Sutherland to Glenmore to Homebush to Matraville; in total, more than 90 schools were visited.

“Our HSBC Free Kick Clinic in Parramatta was a massive success with the entire team heading to Granville and running skills and drills with junior players.

“This year one will be held in Penrith at Howell Oval on the 30 March. It’s free and you can register at www.hsbc.com.au/waratahs

“We already have player appearances this year lined up for Parramatta Westfield on 1st April at 6pm and Miranda Westfield on 13th May at 6pm. We will continue to send our players both around the state to regional areas (with trial matches) and around Sydney to ensure everyone has access to the HSBC Waratahs.

“As mentioned in an earlier question, NSWRU is in partnership with the ARU in overseeing the development side of Community Rugby in NSW.

“Our arrangement with the ARU includes two development officers in the west who have been working really hard in the Campbelltown area on the Cluster Cup which sees primary schools head to local high schools for after-school rugby activities.

“While much more needs to be done in bringing the game to new audiences, we are aware of our limitations from a financial and resourcing point of view.

“We rely on the public’s support of the HSBC Waratahs and Wallabies in order to fund development, and as everybody knows, rugby is going through a tough time at the moment from that perspective.

“We would be lying if we said we planned to flood Sydney’s west with development officers like our competitor codes – we just can’t do it.

“So instead we have to be smarter in the way we do things.

“In the short term we have decided to focus on providing support to our heartland, in particular the junior clubs. At the end of the day, one of the best ways to grow our game is to have happy and well-supported players, parents, supporters and volunteers.

“That means well-run clubs, properly administered competitions, educated coaches, effective referees. The more this is the case the more people will want to play rugby. We have tremendous volunteers that are the lifeblood of our game and supporting them is the first aim of our development staff.

Is the NSWRU working on opening up communication channels between enthusiasts and the administrators? What are the plans to reward grassroots interests?
“We are only too happy to communicate with rugby enthusiasts. This very opportunity to respond to Roarers’ questions is something we’d be happy doing on a regular basis.

“One of the things rugby has done quite poorly in the past is communicate exactly what activities we’re running and the approaches we’re taking to the rugby community.

“We now run a weekly Tah News newsletter, and all the ARU development staff in NSW are now sending newsletters every two months to all their local stakeholders (we’re looking at putting these online).

“We’re obviously online with the www.nswrugby.com.au website, we have a Facebook page, with over 6000 fans and you can also follow the HSBC Waratahs on Twitter.

“We are very keen to increase our direct engagement with our supporters (and potential supporters) via online blogs, supporters’ sites and forums like The Roar.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, there is a vast and passionate rugby community globally, linking up via social media.

“We understand many fans find there’s nothing more enjoyable – if you can’t be at a game live – than to Tweet it to the army of Tahs fans around the world.

“As part of more direct engagement, I know the Waratahs players enjoyed their duties on the phone earlier in the year ringing NSWRU members and encouraging them to renew this season. Certainly that was a great chance for them to hear the opinions of supporters right from the horse’s mouth.

“We are always open to talk to people from the rugby community. Feel free to pick up the phone any time.

“I’ve been told Sydney Roarers have had a meet up in the past and Mike Doyle, the Operations Manager of Community Rugby in NSW tells me he’s very happy to host a meet up of concerned Roarers who might want to have a beer and chat rugby either here at the SFS or at a pub somewhere else.

“Maybe The Roar can make this happen?

“On the issue of rewards for grassroots, this year we have a new plan for player appearances at our junior clubs that will see more than 100 individual appearances from Waratah players across 30 different events.

“This includes the three HSBC Free Kick Clinics, 12 District Waratah events where five Waratahs will appear at a central club in a junior district to run activities, 12 appearances by pairs of Waratahs at club training sessions, Schools Value Forums, and opportunities for 1st XV players to attend Waratah training sessions with selected players training with the team.

“In addition we are tying in opportunities for clubs with our S14 season. There will be Walla and Mini games featuring junior clubs from across NSW playing on-field at the SFS before some S14 matches. There is our annual March Past which will see more than 2500 junior players marching across the ANZ Stadium turf on 24th April.

“We have a Guard of Honour where junior players form a tunnel for the Waratahs as they run out onto the field. For the first time ever this year we have a free S14 ticket offer for all NSW registered junior rugby players.

“For the non-junior grassroots of the game, curtain raisers will be played before S14 matches featuring Golden Oldies, a Schools 1st XV game between Knox and St Augustine’s, and the annual NSW Country v NSW Suburban grudge match.

“If any Roarers out there have other ideas, we’re only too happy to hear them and do what we can.”

Is there still much interest in the fabled third tier competition within the ranks of the NSWRU or plans to upgrade or revamp the NSW grade competition?
“I think there is universal acceptance that a strong and sustainable third tier is important to the overall health of Australian Rugby. The Australian Rugby Championship provided that third tier competition and NSWRU supported it at the time. However while it was a sensational standard of footy, it was simply financially unsustainable.

“NSWRU has subsequently worked hard with the Premiership Clubs to make the Tooheys New Shute Shield the de facto third tier competition in Australia, and I think we have achieved this, as can be seen with Western Force and Brumbies players being sent to play in it.

“The competition itself has become stronger and stronger with 22 home and away rounds, while the standard has improved markedly with the commitment of S14 and national coaches to regularly release their representative stars back to club Rugby.

“The result of this has seen ABC television ratings and actual crowd numbers increase during the last two years, and we’re looking forward to further growth in 2010.

“However, I want to clarify one misconception: that NSWRU controls all decisions on changes and governance of the Sydney club competition. It is in fact the clubs themselves.

“Any change to the structure, conduct, competition rules, etc is almost entirely the concern of the twelve Premiership Clubs, their Presidents and General Managers.

“It is their competition, and the health of it is predominantly up to them to look after. The clubs are in an ongoing process of looking to manage its competitions on their own, as is already done by NSW Country, NSW Suburban, NSW Juniors, Sydney Women, etc, and if/when this happens NSWRU will be there to support it as it already does for the other Unions.

“We will continue to work with both the Premiership Clubs and the ARU on solutions to bridge the gap between club rugby and Super 14, and with the expansion of Super Rugby in 2011 this will become even more important.”

The various schoolboys competitions are perceived by some as too exclusive and do not give players enough matches in a season. Are there any plans to promote a Sydney-wide competition along the lines of the schoolboy competitions in New Zealand cities like Christchurch and Auckland?
“I think the most important factor here is that rugby is not the only sport played in these schools. Rugby more often than not goes hand in hand with soccer, tennis and scores of other activities that schools co-ordinate as part of their extra-curricular program. It would be arrogant in the extreme to try to tell these schools how to run their rugby programs in this context.

“In addition, we know that many players already take up the opportunity to play for their local club, particularly outside the school Rugby season.

“However, we have been looking closely at a revamp of the Waratah and Buchan Shields, which have been very successful in the past but we think could be improved further.

“We will be working with the NSW Schools Rugby Union to see what can be done to increase the profile of these competitions, increase the number of competing schools, and cement their place as prestigious schoolboy competitions open to all comers.”

How sound are the finances of the NSWRU?
“The last year or so has been pretty tough on the financial front, and we’ve been forced to make some tough decisions. I am the first to admit these are not always popular, but they have been necessary. In saying that, we’re sitting ok at the moment.

“We have great and loyal sponsors who have been there for many years such as HSBC, Mazda, IBM and Tooheys and the relationship with these companies has been extremely important. While our membership base has fallen slightly over the last one or two years, it still remains strong.

“The reality is that one of the most important elements in regards to NSW Rugby’s overall finances is the attendance at Super 14 matches. Home crowds are important financially, and they’re also important to the team who enjoy the support. In essence, big home crowds help the finances of Rugby in NSW, which means more funds can to be ploughed back into the game.

“Looking forward, the increase in product from 2011 – in particular, the hosting of four all-Australian derbies – will greatly assist us in this area, and expand what is currently a very narrow window for revenue. However, we still need strong support and strong crowds for our six home games in 2010.”

How does the NSWRU intend to save the westerns suburbs clubs of Parramatta and Penrith, stabilise them and then allow them to grow?
“Certainly NSWRU has a role to play in supporting these clubs both financially and practically. Currently the ARU assist in providing a Premier Club grant to the clubs, and there is additional support from NSWRU in terms of competition management, promotion and sponsorship of the Tooheys New Shute Shield.

“We assist practically as well, and through the beginning of last season NSWRU regularly sent HPU and development staff to many clubs such as Penrith to assist with training sessions.

“However at the end of the day, the clubs themselves need to take the ultimate responsibility for their own destiny. NSWRU cannot arrange club sponsorship, attract players or run their day-to-day operations for them, nor would they want or allow us to.

“We are prevented from directing Waratah players to specific clubs by the RUPA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“The clubs which have been able to use their funding to increase the standard of administration and coaching are the ones which are seeing the successes flow down through the grades.

“Sydney University and Randwick were probably the forerunners, and more recently clubs like Manly, West Harbour and Gordon have had fantastic years by getting their administration in good order.

“This year I think Southern Districts will follow that path too and the results will be seen on the field. These clubs provide unique and varying models in how to achieve success on and off the field, and it is the smart clubs who will continue to succeed.

“We continue to encourage the Premiership Clubs themselves to ensure decisions are made regarding the Tooheys New Shute Shield that consider the best interests of those clubs that are struggling, for the sake of rugby’s footprint in Sydney. One example is the decision to not require all clubs to field four Grade teams and three Colts teams in 2010.

“This should take the pressure off clubs like Penrith and Parramatta from having to have players back up from 4th Grade to 3rd Grade (and even beyond) on any given day. This in turn should increase their competitiveness in all grades, and we’re already hearing positive reports in regards to numbers at pre-season training.”