ARU chief executive Bill Pulver insists steps have been put in place to ensure the National Rugby Championship won’t be a financial disaster when the concept is rebooted in 2014.
Pulver is confident Australia will have a domestic competition to rival New Zealand’s ITM Cup and South Africa’s Currie Cup.
The ill-fated Australian Rugby Championship didn’t survive past its inaugural 2007 season but Pulver says the proposed new model to run between August and November next year, when Super Rugby and club rugby seasons are finished, won’t drain the pockets of the cash-strapped ARU.
A broadcasting and sponsorship deal with Fox Sports and Foxtel will cover the cost of running the competition.
All prospective entities must prove they’re financially viable to a commission, which will then settle on eight-10 teams from across the country by the end of February.
Meanwhile, the pressure is off in regards to attracting crowds, with gate revenue to be a bonus rather than a requirement for the model to work.
The deal with Fox is for a minimum of two years, but Pulver is confident the NRC will become an established and vital component of Australian rugby.
“This competition will be in place forever. It’s an important step for future of rugby,” he said.
“This agreement with Fox Sports is a giant leap forward. It’s sufficient to cover the ARU’s costs of running the competition.”
It’s expected there will be a team from Perth, Melbourne and Canberra, north and south Brisbane teams, three Sydney sides and potentially a NSW country outfit.
In Sydney and Brisbane it’s likely existing club rugby sides will pool together to form joint ventures, with Manly, Warringah, Norths and Gordon to potentially form a North Harbour team for example.
Pulver said all elite Super Rugby players not representing the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship would be expected to play in the NRC, with remaining roster spots to be filled by the best local talent available.
Previously Australia’s Super Rugby players not involved with the Wallabies have had nothing to do after August, but this concept is designed to have them playing more quality rugby.
The commission would play a role in spreading talent evenly through the teams.
“It will come under their existing ARU contract and we’re working closely with RUPA (players’ association),” Pulver said.
“There’s 175 players in Super Rugby, one fifth will go into the Wallabies program, the other four fifths will participate in this competition. Beyond that we expect at least 150 players to get experience at an elite level of the game.
“These are young players with potential coming through who in New Zealand and South Africa get extraordinary experience … ideally accelerating their development.”
ARU PROPOSES NEW NATIONAL COMPETITION:
How the concept will work:
*Eight to 10 teams will participate from around the country
*Competition will run after Super Rugby and club rugby between August-November
*All Super Rugby players not involved with Wallabies will be required to play
*Remaining roster spots to be filled by the best local talent available
*Commission will play a role in spreading talent between teams
*Concept to be funded by Fox, who will broadcast at least one game a week and finals.PROPOSED TEAMS:
*Perth
*Melbourne
*Canberra
*North Brisbane
*South Brisbane
*Sydney North Harbour
*Sydney Western Suburbs
*Third Sydney team, potentially incorporating east and south
*NSW Country and/or Queensland Country
Westie
Guest
I'm going
Vinay
Guest
Best things Ever for Rugby. Good on you Pulver. Bring in 7s comp as well.
Wozza
Guest
Sydney Uni have a winning team now and can't attract a crowd nor will they be able to attract a crowd in a national comp and just mean that large areas of Sydney go unrepresented. The only advantage to having Sydney uni would be the 500 people that go to their home games wouldn't have to wait long at the bar
soapit
Guest
the problem is the masses of people that fall outside your two groups. the dont care about sydney uni people. i dont hate sydney uni but i would never consider supporting a team from there. they just dont represent anything remotely resembling a large slice of the population. you'd be better having the non uni teams, at least they are not as specifically exclusive as a team built around a university. you may be getting ahead of yourself if you think this aspect of the south american football model will be applicable to the nrc
Joe King
Guest
Did anyone read the news on the Gordon rugby website about the board's desire to submit a North of Sydney Harbour bid, with the other SS clubs from that region? Sounds exciting!
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
Mate, get over it. The Clubs are jumping on board with the concept. Of course people will be interested in the NRC during this period. You'll find that most Rugby fans would welcome more Rugby as opposed to the alternatives.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Ian, the majority argument is to have no current clubs in the Sydney group of the NRC - rather if it is a case of three teams representing Sydney then make them regional sides North of the Harbour, Western Sydney and the South East. Those are not past failures and are groups that can go and attract support from broad regions in a manner a Uni team cannot.
Squirrel
Guest
Once the S15 , the three French tests the rugby championships and the NRL and AFL grand finals are on, will people really be up for these games. No chance. They should have had a FAcup style club comp.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
According to the published plan, each team will be expected to organise local sponsors, including jersey sponsorships.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Half of South America disagrees with you - University teams are usually there trying to win the Copa Liberatores. But if you need to throw them out, then Balmain or Petersham, or Chullora should definitely be chosen, as unlike Randwick or Gordon or Southern Districts they havent proven to be a failure in attracting public support.
Dan
Guest
What Jenzes said. The potential for supporting a Sydney Uni team is so limited it's simply not commercially viable. They will have a bit of bargaining power thanks to their strong development system and old boys network, but in cold hard market saturation terms a University team of any stripe is totally irrational and will never get more than a trickle of public support.
sheek
Roar Guru
Brett, Assuming Ben is on the money, even I would be happy with these teams. Except NSW Country & Qld Country. I've argued this before. The beauty of NSWC & QC is that they each cover a huge area & play their home matches at various venues. This works well in a comp like the ARS, which should be brought back. But in a potentially high intensity comp like the NRC, these teams would be at a disadvantage not playing out of a regular home base. Eventually, they would have to seek a home base. For NSWC, perhaps Gosford or Newcastle. For QC, perhaps Townsville or Toowoomba. Consequently, they would then become to be seen as representing those cities & not the entire region. Dumb idea to consider NSWC & QC. Equally dumb as considering SU & QU, but for different reasons. For practical reasons then, you can't have NSWC or QC. Therefore Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, North Brisbane, South Brisbane, North Harbour, West Sydney, East Sydney are all very acceptable to me. Very acceptable. Optional extras would come from Adelaide, Newcastle, Central Coast, Gold Coast or North Qld (based out of Townsville). Next is to get the nicknames right. If we're not going to replicate SR nicknames, then have Perth Spirit, Melbourne Axemen, Canberra Kookaburras, West Sydney Rams & East Sydney Fleet. Early Brisbane teams had names like Wallaroos, Eagles, Wanderers & Emus. I note that Brisbane Norths are the Eagles & the national women's team is the Wallaroos, so perhaps those two are out. So Emus (national bird) & Wanderers (different code & different city) are both acceptable. Anything but Tornadoes! For Sydney North Harbour I suggest the Platters, after the platypus. The platypus is the state animal/mammal & can live on both land & in the water, & there is plenty of both around the north harbour & northern beaches.
KCR
Guest
I think 3 teams in QLD would be ideal, having just north and south Brisbane would exclude south east Queenslanders who don't live in Brisbane. I would much prefer to support a sunny coast team than north Brisbane. They should either have North, south and a regional side. Or Brisbane city, North moreton/ Sunshine coast and Ipswich. These are three distinct regions that are both different and close enough to have meaningful derbies. The non city teams would have good support as they have parochial locals and there is no other national teamsin competition for support.
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Will say right off that I have not grasped the funding side of the project. Will it be like the ITM Cup where there will be local sponsors? I noticed that some ITM sides' players will have a different sponsor on each or some of the uniforms, at the back.
tc
Guest
I have been saying this for a while, Aussie Rugby has been catching its breath for the last few years while the amateur thinking dead wood has been getting cleaned out. Mark this date down guys it could be the start of something big in Rugby for the whole of Australasia. If this is successful it could replace Super Rugby in a decade or so, imagine a conference model competition of twenty to twenty five teams across Oceania, sorry I was getting carried away and started dreaming. In all seriousness this is big for Aussie Rugby, so all the best from across the ditch.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Yep that is why everyone loves Uni today.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
A Newcastle team in this comp is a great idea - Steve Merrick might have picked his truck, but theres a shedload of fans and a shedload of talent in the Hunter that deserves a team.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Jeznez, Not going to happen - Sydney people in general will love the one that wins.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Would rather create three teams that people love in Sydney rather than have one of them faced with a small fan base
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Then we have the team people love, and the team people love to hate. Where's the problem ?