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Australia must go back to the future to save rugby union

Roar Rookie
20th June, 2017
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Wallabies player Rory Arnold looks on during the First Test between the Australia Wallabies and the England Roses at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Saturday, June 11, 2016. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Rookie
20th June, 2017
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2187 Reads

Rugby was a far more simple game in the Southern Hemisphere in 1986.

Queensland, New South Wales, Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington and Fiji came together that year to contest the inaugural South Pacific Championship (the SPC).

According to Wikipedia, the SPC was organised by the New South Wales Rugby Union to provide regular matches for the New South Wales and Queensland teams in an attempt to compete against the ever-expanding popularity of rugby league.

Auckland and Canterbury were invited into the competition “due to their close links forged over many years with the New South Wales and Queensland unions respectively”.

Wellington was invited due to having an international airport in the city while Fiji was “the most competitive of the Pacific rugby teams”.

The SPC ran successfully for five years until 1990 and formed the basis for Super Rugby as we know it today.

Fast forward to 2017. What has gone wrong since 1986? Why is the offspring of the SPC and its standards backpedalling?

For starters, there were six teams in the inaugural SPC and there are now 18 in its successor while the Pacific nations have been shut out cold.

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The best provincial teams of New Zealand and South Africa were also phased out and their Super Rugby teams became a combination of numerous provincial teams while Australia simply opened up shops in Canberra, Perth and Melbourne and transplanted players into them.

Likewise, Argentina and Japan rapidly formed teams in the hope of competing in the Super Rugby behemoth for the start of 2016 and although trying admirably they have failed.

There is nothing wrong with admitting failure which SANZAAR did in April. However, the avid rugby supporter knew the plight of the move to expand to 18 teams was doomed before the governing body did.

Would there have been anything wrong with SANZAAR admitting it erred by including Argentina and Japan and removing them? Likewise, should South Africa have been ever allowed to receive a sixth spot?

Instead the country which founded the concept of a cross-border provincial competition in the Southern Hemisphere was told in no uncertain terms that it had to cut teams.

Now the dust has settled from the initial shock, there is only one road for Australia: Australian rugby must go it alone immediately. Plans need to be put in place for a domestic competition only. Remember Australia started this concept and it can change the concept.

British and Irish Lions New Zealand Barbarians Rugby Union 2017 Generic rugby image

(AAP Image/Ross Setford)

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The original blueprint of the SPC has changed and it is clear the vision of SANZAAR at the provincial level no longer aligns with that of Australian rugby.

SANZAAR can continue to administer The Rugby Championship in the same way as the Six Nations but a domestic competition of 12-16 teams should be put in place for the protection of the future of rugby in Australia.

Australia needs to work on its own rugby competition and get its house in order to arrest the worrying trend of not competing to the standard required in trans-Tasman Test matches but also to help stop the procession of our players heading overseas.

We need to grow our game internally and no longer rely on New Zealand and South African teams to assist – purportedly – in our development. Test rugby is the playing field where Australia can “test” its standards.

The English competition has it right. The Aviva Premiership has 12 teams and is a focused domestic competition which fosters strong competition among players for spots in the England team. England do not need other teams from other countries in its domestic competition for its national team to remain competitive.

But it is rugby’s supporters in Australia who will gain the most. Imagine six or eight games on Fox Sports every weekend from Australia and involving Australian teams. The supporter will have an alternative to watching the eight games of AFL and eight games of NRL when the rugby cupboard is bare.

You may ask how will rugby increase its revenue from $128.575 million (2016) to compete with the NRL ($375.709 million) and AFL ($517 million) without Super Rugby?

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Rugby in Australia may take a hit if it leaves Super Rugby in the short-term but it may be what’s needed to survive. Test matches will still flourish and perhaps if overseas clubs start paying 10 per cent or more of a player’s contract to a country’s union, the cash-rich clubs of Europe and Japan can compensate Australia for developing its players.

Super Rugby’s salary cap is a combined $25 million. With the assistance of broadcasters and sponsors, Australia could continue at that same level with the opportunity for greater revenue in the decades to game if it concentrates on the domestic game. Super Rugby costs of $8 million will also decrease off the balance sheet with less international travel. While Australian player payments should be made on a Test-by-Test basis similar to England.

When it is all said in done, what is the fall-back plan for Australian rugby if New Zealand and South Africa (and Argentina and Japan) end it all with Australia tomorrow and go it alone themselves?

Rugby in Australia needs to grow the game from the ground up again. Australia controlled its own destiny in 1986 and it is time it goes back to 1986 to find its future.

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