Grassroots rugby needs a boost from ARU

Things are becoming very similar in grade cricket too - the gap between the haves and have nots is larger each season. With a 20 team comp (8 more than rugby?) it leads to a two or even three tier competition. Probably the only difference is that you don't need to pay$20 to get in and watch 'amateurs'. Similarly to rugby (i think), the westernm clubs ahve been largely left to themselves and many are basketcases (Hawkesbury, campbelltown, blacktown, penrith - controversial!). Sydney Uni's grip on the competition and access to players is also increasing and now that they've streamlined their elite athelete program across all sports and seem to have ironed out the kinks that existed 5-7 yrs ago, they are going to be pretty tough to pull back for many. Interestingly, randwick cricket club seem to be going down same path as the rugby club.have lost a tonne of players this year after they were able to attract them in the first place with money. Now that that's gone so have they. The comment above about three types of sportspeople (professional, lovers and those that don't end up making it) is a really poignant point in grade cricket land. The sydney comp produces something liem 40 or 50% of contracted cricketers in the country so that stat makes it sound as if its as strong as ever. however, the quality of those being contracted probably hasn't been lower in more than 25 years. Some of those getting a full time gig is astounding considering what it took to even make a squad a decade ago. Once the aussies get dusted by south africa, india and england in consecutive series look for the knives!

Why not, Brett - after all, they ARE meant to be professionals; how many games do professional football players like Wayne Rooney play a year? 40? incl both their Club & Country !! :) - if one was a Waratah there would be no pain at all - because they're always going backwards in 'retreat' :)

Balmain?

Manly?

Because Country rugby has remained similare to pre 1996. Glory days!

European players play too much. That's a fact. Too many comps, when combined with internationals. I.e. cup challenge, premiership and European Cup at their worst. That's why their squads are so big. But this is because they professionalised an existing comp structure. In the SH they set one up more dedicated to nit overbudening the players, and building through the season.

Maybe Growden will spend his time trying to justify all the negative rumours he enjoyed filling his column with.

Good comments but what about Victoria and Western Australia. The Force have been around for some time and I dont see any benefits to their club rugby or local players stepping up to make the super team.

Manly-Warringah. That has a familiar ring to it.

David which clubs exactly are paying their players? And what exactly are these ridiculous amounts? The club I play for doesn't pay players and the first grade match payments we receive are small and no where near enough to live off. Every single one of our first grade players this year either works full-time or are full-time uni students. I have mates playing first grade at several other clubs and they all work full-time and don't receive "ridiculous" amounts from their clubs, this is despite one being a former Super player and the club's captain.

if i had the money i would done it by myself by now.

I don't know, jerry Collins bleached his hair and it never seemed to negatively impact his performance...

Sheek wrote (many posts back) ' " the quickest way forward for Australian rugby right now, is for the Wallabies, Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies, Rebels & Force to start playing a style of rugby, & successful, that will have people bashing through the turnstiles to watch, or banging on clubhouse doors to play the game." Notwithstanding that Sheeks observations are pivotal to the problem of bums on seats, TV ratings etc, what this perinial observation doesnt quite say is, "we need another style of rugby that is played under "new rules" What rules ? I dont know .However New Rugby must get rid of all the rules that inhibit Sheeks request for what I assume to be 'running rugby' Some games of chess involve a time clock. New Rugby needs a similar approach.I am out of my depth here,but in this day and age it is incomprehensible that people are asked to pay money to watch a professional rugby game of eighty minutes,where quite often there can be just twenty five minutes of actual playing time. Simple idea: time on immediately a penalty or conversion is given or attempted, from the time it is awarded until the ball is actually kicked.There's another eight minutes of play for a start. In short, if supporters want what is constantly referred to as 'running rugby' then rules must be be introduced that remove all aspects of play that inhibit a faster game. It cannot be left to the coaches to 'do the right thing' .Intent must be legislated. I think the complete opposite of Davids observation, 'Grass roots rugby is stuffed'.My view is; in Australia, in comparison with grass roots rugby, its ,"Professional rugby is stuffed"

+1

Please identify how long this so called glory period of "club rugby" lasted for. The article is extremely vague on this point. One might suggest looking at the whole of the 20th century, it was no more than an aberration in any event.

Sheek, not sure if you're being facetious or not, but I think you are close to the mark. If this revolution comes about, they should ignore the Shute Shield clubs, far too many vested interests. Use subbies clubs or new entities and and sign players to the new comp ala WSC. If that is where the money is the Shute Shield clubs will soon come to heel. As they say money walks bulls**t walks.

If that's what the GPS schools are thinking they are way off the pace. 10 years ago TV and print were the only mainstream options for promoting sport. I suspect these schools didn't want the kids to receive too much attention and focus on their studies. These days the kids can promote themselves. There are countless videos on YouTube of schools rugby, many well produced usually by the schools Media Studies Department. There are are whole forums devoted to discussing who will win what comp, who is injured, who is repeating and which kids will make representative honours. Schoolboy rugby should feature on TV. If the headmasters are concerned perhaps they should check with their peers across the Tasman. They'd find it does enormous good PR for the schools and the kids aren't anymore full of themselves than they are without TV coverage.

Just to clarify, there are only three first division subbing clubs which pay their players, Drummoyne, St Pats and Hunters Hill. Not every subbing club by a long shot.

I played against Sam Scott Young a few years ago. He came on for Brothers grades, hit his first ruck, hit someone, and got sent off. He walked past me giving the ref a spray on his way off. Souths had Mark Connors playing for them a few years ago in lower grades, and currently have Steve Kefu playing lower grades, and I believe he is co coaching their prems? Pat Howard asked for special dispensation last year, or the year before to play lower grades at Uni with his brother. He went OK, but it was 4th or 5th grade. You would hope he did OK.

Mania, watching them and then the Sydney Comp is like watching super rugby and school boys. I went to uni there when teams like Manawatu, Counties and Hawkes Bay were competitive against teams from the big city. They kind of disappeared when professionalism came in, but this year with all teams playing each other again, they have been very good. I think a third NZ team could easily account for the Wallabies.