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It’s been many a year since the Australian Kangaroos have been rightfully challenged in Test rugby league. The last decade or so, however, has seen a shift in the dynamics of international dominance.
New Zealand have legitimately challenged the Australians on numerous occasions, with their most famous victory being their defeat of Australia in the 2008 World Cup.
While many still expect the Australians to win, no one should really be surprised when they don’t. New Zealand have, quite literally, closed the gap.
Australians, however, shouldn’t be sounding the death knell for the Kangaroos. That will never happen.
Nor does it need to happen. What will happen, however, is the equalisation of the talent and professionalism of rugby league’s international teams.
The first step in that process is the improvement in the quality and professionalism of the international players themselves. This is where the centrality of the NRL comes into its own.
As one of the two professional leagues in the world, the NRL is a natural magnet for international players, particularly those from the Pacific Islands. Its attraction is such that even athletes from the Super League, the other professional competition in the UK, come to test themselves in it.
One of the unintended benefits of this centralisation is that it simplifies the logistics of international rugby league. Instead of trying to make every domestic competition in the world a match for that of the NRL or the Super League (an expensive and time consuming proposition), players, coaching and support staff can learn and improve their trades immediately in an existing professional league.
The result is that these leagues, particularly the NRL, act as a kind of de facto international training academy. It is very much a case of international rugby league taking advantage of what exists in order to improve, rather than bemoaning the lack of how things ‘ought to be’.
The clearest example of this has been the rise of the New Zealand rugby league team, coinciding with the participation of the Warriors in the NRL. Slowly but surely, the Kiwis have been taking advantage of their experience with the NRL to lift their game. Despite the odd setback, the Kiwis are now essentially on par with their Australian rivals.
For Australia, what all of this reveals is that it is much easier to be number one when numbers two, three and so on are nowhere near your standard. Have the Kangaroos had it easy? Probably not, but it could no doubt have been harder.
One should not consider this as criticism of the dominance of the Kangaroos. Rather, it is merely a chance to put their dominance into context and celebrate the effects it will have on the international game.
As the other nations take advantage of the Australian experience and improve, fans should welcome and support the results of a greater international presence in the NRL. International rugby league will be the winner.
And as the future of the sport, it will have to be.
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