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2017 June Test window to be the most boring in recent memory

Roar Rookie
2nd November, 2016
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Fijian Nemani Nadolo is a star for Fiji. (Photo: AFP)
Roar Rookie
2nd November, 2016
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The ARU today announced who Australia will be hosting in the June Tests next year, and it ain’t pretty, with the Lions tour of New Zealand leaving us with slim pickings.

The ARU are claiming that afternoon rugby is what the fans want and that they have listened to them, which is partly correct. But the reality is, they’re only trying to minimise the loss that this boring Test series will bring to the table, hoping to persuade fair weather fans and families to come along and enjoy watching the men in gold cruise to an easy victory in the sun.

The club rugby faithful from all over Australia will likely miss out on the games, with all three Tests to kick off at 3pm on Saturday afternoons. The time-slot also clashes with first XV schoolboy rugby and first-grade suburban rugby, so why not Sunday afternoon? Or even Monday afternoon on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend? Sure, the local competitions can be adapted with either a bye or changes in kick off times, but that won’t solve the drop in TV viewership for Wallabies Test matches.

Following the blockbuster series against England earlier this year, and the successful France tour in 2014, the 2017 June Test series will surely be the worst in recent memory.

Only one of the three nations is ranked inside World Rugby’s top 10, and Scotland will most likely be without a handful of their best players who will be across the ditch in the extended British and Irish Lions squad. While they may not be in the match day 23 playing against the All Blacks, there are plenty of provincial matches they will be included in to keep sponsors and Scottish fans happy.

Unfortunately, the only other competitive team in the Northern Hemisphere – France – are touring South Africa. If only the ARU had the hindsight to book Les Bleus like the All Blacks did in 2013 instead of hosting them in 2014. A win for the Springboks.

Italy’s recent tours of Australia have been accompanied by crowds of 20,000 and above, I believe a match against Japan would have been the smarter option. Italy have been slowly dropping form and are rarely competitive in the Six Nations. While Japan are the rising heroes from the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

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The only opponent that makes sense are Fiji. If money wasn’t such an issue, we would probably be playing in Suva to a potentially larger crowd!

Hosting Fiji will be an important step in giving back to the Pacific Islands, which fits in nicely with their recent inclusion in the (Inter)National Rugby Championship.

Despite their worst ever performance on paper at the Rugby World Cup, Fiji continue to draw crowds thanks to their entertaining brand of rugby. Nemani Nadolo will put bums on seats if his French club allow him to play. But will the Melbourne rugby fans choose to stay in town for the long weekend?

Australian rugby fans will be more interested in watching the All Blacks demolish the Lions than these three Tests.

So what do you think Roarers? Surely I’m not the only sceptic that’s worried about this?

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