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There have been some interesting articles of late regarding the future of world rugby in terms of rankings or using existing championships as vessels to elevate new nations above their current standing.
They’ve indulged the imagination and stimulated the thought processes, but are ultimately very open ended and a little fanciful.
The one thing they do highlight is the need for higher quality competition in the development of rugby in ‘minnow’ nations.
Both the US and Canada put up respectable displays against Scotland and Japan this month. Using rosters largely comprising domestic-based amateurs, both competed stoically against two nations who draw from playing pools that compete in professional structures. Or, at the very least, structures well above anything the North American unions can offer domestically.
Last month, the amateur German national team came within minutes of rolling an entirely professional Russian Bears outfit – an impressive achievement for a union freshly promoted to the ENC1A level.
In the past season of the Vodacom Cup, the Kenyan Rugby Union entered a team in preparation for the Africa Cup and Rugby World Cup qualifying series in Madagascar.
If you spend only a nominal period of time you can quickly identify a number of nations with the potential to elevate the game of rugby on the international scene to a new level of competitiveness well beyond it current state. The only thing holding them back is the level of competition in which they have access to.
This is the key to the development of rugby over the next 10 to 15 years and it’s something the IRB needs to seriously consider in its strategies post 2015.
I’m a proponent of the regional/provincial rugby model. It’s the most workable and efficient model to bring higher quality competition to the greatest possible number of nations in the shortest timeframe.
Let’s use the US as an example.
The model often staunchly defended by a few is a disjointed club system. It spreads the talent far and wide. The best competition is undoubtedly the Pacific Rugby Premiership that launched this year, but even for all its progress, it is very limited in its ability to progress the game.
Last month, as a qualifier for the World Club Sevens, the USAR held the very successful Elite 7s event in Houston. The major difference between this event and the traditional set ups was it was a truly representative model, which many agree produced the best quality sevens competition in a long, long time. The squads represented 12 city centralised cities.
It’s a model they should be looking to emulate in the very near future in the 15-man game. It doesn’t necessarily need to be 12 squads, but it is necessary. It doesn’t even need to be professional from the first season. Cost neutrality should be the goal.
It’s the model the IRB and regional administrative unions should be looking to push to elevate the general level of competition at the level below the international arena.
By approaching on a region-by-region basis they could create a number of strong leagues that focus on providing greater levels of competition, opportunities to grow the game via developing interest within local unions commercially, provide players with greater skills and fitness which will directly feed upward into their respective national teams.
For rugby to seriously advance at a rate that will elevate to higher levels of exposure and participation, it needs to ensure there are a number of quality regional competitions feeding the international game. They don’t need to be professional from day one. But they are needed.
In time they can evolve further to leagues of note, but for the sake of rugby we cannot rely on a handful of nations to provide all the elite playing opportunities below international rugby.
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.