Much has been written about the need for a third tier competition in Australian rugby.
If the ARU chooses to go down that path, they must make a strategic choice from a variety of options.
Do they:
• Leverage a new competition from the Super Rugby brands
• Build a new European Heineken Cup style competition
• Build a new USA style University competition.
Here is my assessment of these three options.
University Competition
This caters to the existing powerful Universities by further entrenching their position within Rugby in Australia.
It would potentially take them out of their local competitions, degrading that competition in the process.
This would allow them to cherry pick the best players from the remaining clubs – further weakening the local competition in the process.
It would further instil the false notion that Rugby is an “upper class” game and only would attract the interest of friends and families of players and rugby tragics.
TV interest in the short term would minimal, perhaps through the ABC.
This would be a new competition requiring new administration, operational systems and stand alone logistics to make it happen.
Heineken Cup Style Competition
This is the preferred model for the powerful suburban clubs of Australia.
This polarises suburban competition into two camps and will see the demise of the less successful clubs. The powerful clubs will argue that there are already too many clubs and any such rationalisation is healthy for the game.
Spectator interest would be higher than the University comp – TV interest in the short term would come from the ABC.
This would also be a new competition requiring new administration, operational systems and stand alone logistics to make it happen.
Enhancing the Super Rugby Brand
A solution could be to have each franchise field – say an under 23’s team – where games in the Australian Conference are played before the main event.
This alternative leverages the existing Super Rugby administrative, operational systems, logistics structures and costs, specifically:
• Existing state-of-art training facilities
• Existing administration
• Travel and accommodation deals
• Venue hire
• TV infrastructure already located at the venue to televise the main game
It could be sold to Pay TV in a similar fashion to the Toyota Cup.
It builds upon the Super Rugby brand while providing crowds attending Super Rugby with more product to view, which in turn has the potential to increase crowd sizes.
Rightly or wrongly it maintains the status quo of the current domestic competitions.
Blinkers aside, enhancing the Super Rugby brand is the least expensive model and offers the most realistic short term return-on-investment opportunity through an extension of the pay TV deal, therefore it is the most sustainable.
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.
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan says it’s “purely coincidental” that Semipeni Finau has put on a massive, late hit on a fourth fly-half in nine…
All was made right on the second attempt!
After taking a 12-nil lead early, the Waratahs couldn't hold on as the Kiwi opponents came storming back in the second half for a…
The forward absolutely flattened Tane Edmed just weeks after he did a similar hit on Queensland's Tom Lynagh - and Chiefs Assistant Coach David…
The Waratahs’ finals hopes are dangling by a thread after suffering their seventh loss of the year, as they went down to a strong…
The men in blue were trying not to let their opponents get away with niggling tactics.
