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Those of you who know me from my participation on The Roar will know a national domestic comp for rugby is basically ‘my baby’ – something I have pushed ad infinitum since the birth of The Roar in 2007.
Before that I preached the domestic rugby gospel in other public domains such as PlanetRugby, Australian Rugby Review, Inside Rugby and the Sydney Morning Herald.
I even my thoughts on the issue published in the now-defunct Australian Rugby News magazine in 1991, where I advocated a seven team national provincial comp – NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, ACT and Eastern Australia (Northern NSW).
So it may surprise you that I am not a fan of this new NRC.
Based on everything I know from my upbringing, it ought to be a massive failure. However, the world is a different place today, with different values.
And as demonstrated by cricket’s BBL – which was conceived entirely by the CA’s marketing department, with team nicknames and colours having no historical or traditional connection with their place names – any artificially manufactured comp will thrive if you advertise it often enough.
Hitler understood the power of simple messages in repetitive speech – if you said a simple phrase often enough, the population will believe it and end up accepting it for fact.
History, tradition and community are essential to the well-being of sport. Or at least, that is what believed until recently.
My thinking of what constitutes a national comp was shaped firstly by the Wallaby Shield, which ran from 1968 to the mid-70s. This was a great concept, but the timing was lousy, with Australian rugby in a deep trough from the late 60s through to the early 70s.
The Wallaby Shield had Sydney, NSW Country, Queensland and Victoria in its first division and Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and later Queensland Country and ACT in its second division.
I was further influenced by cricket’s Sheffield Shield, South Africa’s Currie Cup – which, at the time, was contested in both rugby and cricket – and New Zealand’s NPC, which kick-started in 1976.
All these comps constituted my template.
I was also hugely influenced by the interstate rugby series between NSW and Queensland, which took on new meaning in the 1970s and 1980s as Queensland firstly became competitive, then moved ahead of NSW as a rugby power.
For a long time, a very long time, I dreamed of an Australian Provincial Championship (APC). We actually had an APC, which lasted all of one season – 2006.
The following year, the ARU changed tack and introduced the Australian Rugby Championship (ARC). Another great concept in theory, but severely compromised in practice, haemorrhaging money and consequently it was doomed to failure.
There are many times when I would agree something is better than nothing. Not this time. The NRC is so severely flawed, I won’t support it.
The financial side is not my expertise, so I won’t go there. Perhaps if someone has very deep pockets, this venture will succeed. But I expect it to go the way of the ARC, which was a better product anyway.
Which brings me to a comparison of the teams in the ARC and NRC. I am amazed that people think there is little difference. There is a huge world of difference.
Yes, the Perth Spirit remains unchanged. The Rams are also present again, but why Greater Sydney? What was wrong with Western Sydney?
We also have the Rays returning, although at least they are now representing their correct region, North Harbour instead of Central Coast.
Melbourne Rising? What is that? I’m told the Rising was chosen by Rebels fans. What is the dominant age group of those who chose this nickname? Mid-teens? Whatever happened to the Axemen?
Let’s pause here a moment.
Super Rugby won’t continue to exist in its present format forever. At some point the Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies, Rebels and Force will return to domestic rugby and will need to be incorporated into whatever national comp is en vogue. That’s an important consideration to keep in the back of your mind.
It might be NSW or Sydney; Queensland or Brisbane; ACT or Canberra; Victoria or Melbourne; WA or Perth. But one day these teams will need to be incorporated back into a domestic national comp.
So back to the NRC. Brisbane and Queensland Country will be stand-alone entities under the control of the Queensland Rugby Union.
But the NRC is the wrong forum for Queensland Country and NSW Country. Entirely wrong.
I love the history and tradition of NSW country and Queensland Country, established in 1954 and 1965 respectively, although both played touring teams long before this as a means of providing country-based players with the opportunity to play rep rugby.
NRC is the wrong forum for them. I say again, entirely wrong. They belong in a comp such as the Australian Rugby Shield (ARS), along with Tasmania, Northern Territory and perhaps country teams from ACT/Southern Inland, WA and Victoria.
Now we have University of Canberra Vikings. Why not Canberra Kookaburras? This was the nickname of the ACT rep team before the Brumbies came along and the bird is an Aussie icon.
Finally Sydney Stars. What is that? Just because we have a Melbourne Stars in the BBL we now have to have a Sydney Stars in the NRC?
Sydney University intended to stand alone until the other 11 Shute Shield clubs threatened to revolt. So they joined forces with Subbies club Balmain. How is an inner-city University with a very select demographic and an inner-city, low population suburb going to appeal to a wider audience?
Oh, and no Randwick or Easts? How does that work? No Sydney Fleet? No Eastern Sydney seaboard representation? Based purely on the selection of some teams, this NRC has more holes than Swiss cheese.
Bill Pulver boasted this comp will last forever. I’ll be surprised if this comp still exists in 2020.
However, this NRC is so stupidly crazy it will probably be a raging success!
I won’t be following NRC. There’s very little about it that I like or agree with.
I won’t accept anything purely for the sake of it. Anything worthwhile should have higher meaning. The NRC is a cheap exercise in smoke and mirrors.
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.