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The Roar

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Has there been a year like this in Aussie rugby?

Roar Pro
8th November, 2012
14

As a rugby union fan who has a love and passion for the game, I have never seen a year like this in Australian rugby.

A year where the sport in Australia has been exposed for all to see, and bashed from pillar to post in many sections of the media and certainly by frustrated fans.

The concern is not so much the Wallabies in my view; our Wallabies actually have a very good record.

The Wallabies are the finished product, not the start of development to reach that level. And it’s the other levels that are the worry.

The under-20 team, our Super Rugby teams, schoolboy rugby systems and junior clubs. The whole top-down model needs remodelling and reforming. And there can be no room for sentiment.

I very firmly agree with the ARU governance review, especially recommendation 13; that ARU be acknowledged as the keeper of the code in Australia, from the grassroots to the elite level.

In New Zealand, the New Zealand Rugby Union is the driver and gatekeeper of rugby, having very close alignment with its Super Rugby sides, and a centralizing contract system. The ARU need the same opportunity to implement strategies like this in their top-down model, at all levels of the game.

This should start at schoolboy level. The ARU should look at the rugby league path, where the NRL clubs are central to elite junior development, not the schools.

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SG Ball (under 18) and Harold Matthews (under 16) have been outstanding elite junior competitions in developing NRL senior talent. They are teams run by the NRL clubs, and provide elite semi-professional training environments, and high-level competition.

If the CAS/GPS/ISA system resist change and don’t start merging their associations or integrating the competitions to create a higher standard, then the ARU should look at its junior competition options.

A national schools championship would be good too. It would be achievable to have a national Sevens school boys and girls championship, to find the best school Sevens team in the country.

Presently, our four year cycle goals are winning the Rugby World Cup and Olympic gold in men’s and women’s Sevens. However as more countries are investing in rugby, winning these events will become increasingly difficult to achieve.

To win these events we all have to work as one, with our national teams’ interests the number one priority. Make no mistake, global rugby is booming, and developing new markets in some big countries too.

USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, are all getting much better and investing big time in the sport of rugby.

Last week England announced a strategic plan, with big money being spent too. One of the strategic goals the Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the following:

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“New investment of over £1 million to deliver more than 6,500 newly qualified referees and coaches. Staging master classes for over 5,000 existing coaches and referees along with a focus on young people bringing in 5,000 additional club volunteers.”

It’s these types of strategies that are needed in the Australian rugby system.

So reality is this. It’s 2012, global rugby is booming and advancing. Australian rugby must get with the times and advance, or be left behind.

The ARU are doing their best and need all the support they can get going forward. And sacrifices have to be made.

Much as Test cricket is soon to see the advent of day/night Tests, the traditionalist or vocal minority will just have to deal with it and evolve. If we keep doing the same thing, standards will drop thing and our results will decline at all levels.

We never want another year like 2012, so we have to do whatever it takes to stay globally competitive. There can be no room for sentiment and key stakeholders should support the ARU in going forward.

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