Change at the ARU desperately needed

The ARU does get it (i.e. the real issues). Whether other groups "get it" will be shown by their reaction to the Arbib report in December.

Spot on - Good article - everyone seems o get it other than the ARU

Exactly - I was thinking Heineken Cup or Champions league style! In saying that I also think that you could extend the concept to engage club rugby! I agree with every single blog and article that discusses the need for a viable and valid 3rd tier in Australian Rugby however I dont think you need to reinvent the wheel - in much the same way as we need to follow our own lead and not NZ's for geographic reasons, I think that given Rugby is Australia is such a political beast I really think we need to approach a new model with some common sense!! not to say NZ is not political, however the Top down governance they possess removes some of the power of "old boys networks". Whilst starting a completely new competition (ARC) has many positive aspects given its marketability to broadcasters and sponsors, I think a pragmatic view will tell anyone that self interest from power brokers will ultimately win out considering the prohibitive cost of running these type of competitions across such a huge country. I think you could have a Heineken cup style competition whereby all club competitions are co-ordinated to conclude at a set date so that a national club competition (NCC) could take place afterwwards. The top 2 teams from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth comps, 1 from ACT, 1 from SA, 1 from NT and 1 from Tassie. A 12 team comp that could be broadcast. Over time the interest in the comp will grow and more money will flow into the game / comp where players can become paid and more teams and competitions can be included,not just those from Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. Obviously not SR contracts but maybe to a level that allows them to work part time getting a trade or studying at uni etc. Holding onto the tradition that clubs have and the histories and rivalries will appease many old rugby types in Australia. the change in schedule is a relatively minor change for the overall good of Australian rugby. With a prize pool for the winning team etc the comp will eventually become more professional. The flow on will also be the increased professionalization and competency of coaching in Australia, with coaches increasingly picked on merit, not passed deeds as a player!! Anyway enough from me :)

DB- the Heineken Cup model for schools! Understood regarding the differences btw NZ and OZ. Emulation of best practice and passionate culture does not necessarily mean copying anyone's structures. Your point is well made. We should not be tricked into imitation by our own (justified) insecurity. We should find our own way. But dammit I wish we'd found it yesterday.

Just want to say something quickly about school boy rugby!! I honestly dont think it needs a huge level of change - its a great system and having participated in it, nothing is more fun than hanging shit on mates from other schools about the performances of their respective first XV and XI etc What needs to be understood right off the bat is the fact that we are different to NZ in terms of geography and its not possible (from a financial perspective) to have a national schoolboy comp!!! It works well their given the small distances travelled between Otago boys high and say Christchurch boys high, whereas having nudgee play townsville grammar or whathever is more than a two hour journey!! What could happen is each state would keep their respective competitions - GPS, CAS etc and sync their seasons so that all the schools from Cairns through to Brisbane end their competitions on the same date. The winner of each schoolboy comp (say BGS and Marist for example) would play the other competition winners in the state with the winning team moving through to a national schoolboy comp consisting of teams, selected in the same manner from the other states. Could all be televised and would be a real winner i think!! I know plenty of Rugby fans in Brisbane who wanted to know who was better over the years - Nudgee or Marist etc!!! The changes would only be minor that each competition would make and for the greater good of rugby i think it would be well received!!!

Rickety, one thing that has utterly surprised me here is how few comments there are. I expected Uncle, Sheek and some others, and yes they did chime in. But there was very little of 'Okay this is what we will build after the root and branch has been yanked out' I expected a tougher ruck around your article than you got. So little comment from Roarers, myself included. And zero bitter battle? Are we like the winger who has spent so long waiting for the ball to be passed to him that he doesn't know what to do with the opportunity? JON has gone. He leaves a hole. That must be filled wisely. Obviously. But the review is more important for Australian rugby. Ceo is only one position. arguably the biggest one. But the nation's game is the nation's responsibility. The review makes recommendations that are more significant than the choice of CEO, as their implementation will take courage, intelligence and vision. With cultural change there is always some pain, but if those losing power or tradition (eg elite schools, NSW brokers), can see the gain for the pain, then change is possible. One thing is sure, we've come to a fork in the road. And not every tradition, politic and perk will be on the bus that takes the necessary road. B

what about getting the kids to play for the love of the game, for thrill of the chase, for the mates they hang out with, to play the best they can, to challenge themselves, and finally to play just for the fum of it - have you noticed, not one mention of any dollars - you go to any rugby coaching clinic at any club rooms anywhere over home and thats the feedback kids are sharing - might be a good starting pace over here too eh?

no that wasnt a good article johnno. It threw me for a little while, until i went in and read the recommendations.from the review and that made me buckle at the knees. Like you, Rickety is merely expressing his own views of what he would like to see, not actually drawing information from the report and sharing it with the reader. i was astounded that in Rickety's write up, such a high level review would narrow focus down to mentioning individuals by name, but again he was only expressing his own wish list - no new information at all - disappointing really

Ditto mate re ANZAC game, I'm an old pusser btw - lucky enough to work and play rugger with the 'green' many times and usually on the losing end:( cheers

Understood Billy Bob. And acknowledge my remarks are off the agenda. My concern however is real, not imagined, and any worthwhile structural changes we make in Australia need to measured against what I think is the ultimate challenge ,ie making rugby more attractive for the masses. And yeah, I understand only too well the IRB bit.It's a mountain to climb, but if not addressed then rugby in Australia has a restricted future. People have too many choices. If say the concept of 'entertaining' rugby was vital for the financial welfare of the game in this part of the world,ok lets say the Southern hemisphere,then the time might come when there is no choice but to breakaway from the traditional UK home base. If its a matter of survival then it will happen. A rugby nation under financial strain can fiddle at its administrative margins for only so long. Quality of product that people want is paramount.

Can some channel please show club rugby on tv please!!

Also I thought of something. If the private schools are unwilling to comemriclizse and help the ARU out then the ARU should say righto. Stuff you were going at it alone and will forge elite shute shield, hospitals cup, comps . EG like an elite randwicuk under 18 team playing elite eastward under 18 team. Or in Brisbane souths brisbane playing sunny bank under-18's. And also try to forge closer ties with the public schools. Reality is as the ARU pointed out in the review they need to be the gatekeepers of all levels of rugby in Australia and i agree with them. The private schools have to make there intentions clear are they going to let the ARU come in and steam roll them and merge there assocations/conferences, so as in providing higher elite standard competitions/divisions, or are they going to play hard ball and live in fairy land and not merge. Rugby league coz public schools don't play sport on weekends , the NRL has elite junior clubs like Harold Matthews, and SG ball. And all sponsored of course by corporations, etc. SO yes rugby union if i was the boss of the ARU i would make an ultimatimatum to the private schools. Join us, or be left behind and let us like in New Zealand have a major input in your rugby programs, basically semi proffesionainly in how there rugby programs are done.

Onside, you may be utterly correct about the necessity for 'new rules' Unfortunately though the article is about OZ rugby and what we can do about improving it. You do know that the IRB writes the rules, right?

RK they should sign you up, in principle, to run and market the Weetbix Cup. You are also right it could be sold to FTA to build momentum at grassroots and gain general exposure for rugby. Let's face it, schoolboy rugby is a joy to watch because of the lesser defensive structures and pure attacking talent around. The best game of rugby I've seen all year was the OZ schools victory over NZ schools......there you go we could also pit the top 3 schools in NZ against the top 3 from OZ in some sort of ANZAC playoff series at the end of the season........it's really not that hard. jON tried the top down approach and it is a house of cards. The new CEO must start from the bottom up and be patient. Really it's a matter of whether the 'good old boy's (who are mostly products of the old system) who run the ARU and State unions can let go for the good of the overall game. I'm forever optimistic.......

None of this in my opinion addresses the overwhelming task of making rugby more attractive to the broader sporting audience in Australia. The general concensus in Roarland is that more people prefer to watch open style ,running rugby. An oversimplistic demand to be 'entertained'. Full houses at Test and Super rugby make the till ring,that inturn feed rugbys lower echelons. Likewise high TV ratings via 'entertaining' rugby underpin a very positive cash flow. The trouble is 'entertaining' rugby as might appeal to the uninitiated simply does not exist. We all love a Barbarians game with it manic carnival approach that seems to celebrate how the game could and should be. And so Rickety Knees,if all your wishes and observations come to pass, and the game is finally put on a 'worlds best practice' management footing, it stil may not amount to a sustainable future unless the laws of the game can be tweaked to attract a mass audience. In short if 'entertaining' rugby is pivotal to rugbys professional future, and vicariously the the health of its foundation,the amature code,then the game needs to change. Coaches cannot do that. 'Entertaining' rugby must be underpinned by new rules.