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Once the Super Rugby season has concluded, ACT Brumbies’ players who missed out on the Super Rugby squad will be required to join the local John I Dent Cup competition.
Up until this year, players have mostly joined the Shute Shield competition in Sydney once their Super Rugby commitments had ended.
Brumbies Coach Jake White made this decision with the local rugby community in mind and the potential impact players could have on the standard of rugby in Canberra.
“We need to start thinking about what differences our players could make to local rugby,” said White in an interview with the Canberra Times a few weeks ago.
Given that Brumbies’ players are employed by ACT Rugby Union, the fact that they are beginning to stay local makes the most sense. Members of the Brumbies first grade side like Anthony Hegarty and Robbie Coleman (Queanbeyan Whites) were developed in the ACT from a grassroots level, the change will suit others like them.
The decision is very positive for local rugby. Professional players will draw more crowds to games, both at club and professional levels and we will see an overall boost in the standard of rugby across the ACT. The Schute Shield in Sydney has always been the primary Australian competition and the most well-known.
It is time that domestic rugby diversified and included more than one major competition. Potentially the John I Dent Cup won’t mirror the competition in Sydney, in terms of quality and size, but there is no harm in an attempt to match it.
The coaching staff at the Brumbies need players to be based locally all year round to keep track of player development and workloads, this way they get a rounded idea of how the players are going.
Professional players will be in a position to coach and mentor junior and grade players from the club they are drafted to. New Brumbies’ signing Kinami Sitauti supports this idea, making the comment “I am more than happy to help out, growing up in Auckland I was into the Auckland Blues, we’d see them around and we looked up to them”.
Issues have arisen as a result of this change. The Shute Shield has lost a handful of key players. Some ACT players have contracts in Sydney, it is understandable that they would be disgruntled having to drop their contracts and start fresh in Canberra.
Manly Club president David Begg made the comment to the Manly Daily earlier in the year that “The standard of club rugby in Canberra is no better than Kentwell Cup”, and that the competition is a “Joke”.
Canberra clubs have as much right as Sydney clubs to be angry, traditionally the ACT has sat back and watched its top players join another competition.
Gungahlin Eagles coach Owen Finegan, a former Randwick player, made the comment that “Canberra clubs have always been a second option for professional players”. This trend needs to change.
More than anything the decision has created a link between professional rugby and the community, which is not only important for the development of the game but for the future of club rugby.
Brumbies squad players will boost the local tournament and increase the standard of rugby in the ACT for the immediate time and into the future. We could see a spotlight shift from Sydney to Canberra, to a new competition with a rich player and fan base.
A shift like this is positive for the future of Australian club 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.