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The key argument for expanding Australia’s Super Rugby franchises from 3 to 5 was to keep up with New Zealand and South Africa and provide greater opportunities for development.
This enabling of the conference model has exposed more players to the highest level of club rugby on the planet in order to prepare them for the next level up.
With the announcement of the National Rugby Championship, five Super teams are not only unnecessary, but may hinder the success of the NRC without adding any value to the development of future Wallabies.
For the NRC to be successful, it needs to be ‘national’. At a minimum that should mean teams from New South Wales, Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia.
At present there is barely enough support in Western Australia and Victoria to sustain the Force and Rebels respectively, so giving them two teams to support would only dilute an already thin fan-base.
In my view, WA and Victoria would be better served by having strong teams in a domestic competition rather than weak teams in an international one. Winning teams attract supporters and sponsorship, which translates directly into revenue.
What would the NRC look like?
Along with the Force and Rebels, there should be three teams from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one each from the ACT and South Australia. A nice even 10 teams to begin with, representing a truly national competition.
The Force and Rebels would be strong with existing players and infrastructure in place, although they’d likely lose Wallabies candidates like Scott Higginbotham, Kyle Godwin and so on.
This is a good thing – not losing Higginbotham, Godwin and so on, but the fact that they’d be strong.
Having strong NRC teams in WA and Victoria will grow the game outside the traditional rugby heartlands. This is what rugby needs.
For the same reason, the ARU should also ensure that South Australia are sufficiently funded to attract and establish a strong team. I’d go as far as suggesting that the South Australia, Western Australia and Victorian teams should be allowed a slightly higher salary cap to maintain competitiveness.
The NRC would then be a truly national competition, with these three teams being consistently at or near the top of the ladder.
What would Super Rugby look like?
With only three teams supplied by Australia, South Africa would have a spot for the sixth team they want in the competition and the other spot could go to an additional New Zealand team (no shortage of talent there) or an Argentine entry.
The conference system would need to be abolished but there are other ways to structure the competition, so I see no major issues there.
Importantly, this would not be detrimental to the Wallabies in terms of supplying talent. In fact, I’d argue it would largely benefit the Wallabies.
Firstly, three Super Rugby teams are more than enough to populate a 30-man Wallabies squad. Remember, that’s all we had last time we were ranked No.1 in the world.
Secondly, rugby is a team game, and champion teams more often than not beat teams of champions. What I’m getting at here is that combinations matter, and I think this played a big role in our past success and ability to punch above our weight.
Take, for instance, a guy like Godwin. He is widely regarded as one of our best future prospects but his development is limited playing alongside a backline of largely uncapped players.
His potential would be realised much sooner playing at the Reds alongside the likes of Quade Cooper and Will Genia, or at the Waratah’s with Israel Folau and Adam Ashley-Cooper, or at the Brumbies with Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani.
Even someone like Higginbotham is too isolated at the Rebels. His leadership role has certainly taken him to another level in Super Rugby but I suspect he may struggle in the Wallabies set-up as he doesn’t play with any of the current pack week in, week out.
He would lack a connection with others in the pack and that lack of understanding would limit his effectiveness.
Thirdly, with guys like Godwin and Higginbotham concentrated across three Super Rugby teams, all three teams would be stronger. I dare say we could expect all three teams to be consistently in the top six, with two in the top four more often than not.
This would be great for Australian rugby. We’d have three strong teams in the ‘heartlands’ providing an ample supply of talent for the Wallabies.
The Super Rugby teams would in turn be supplied by players from the NRC, which would (at least initially) be strong in the emerging regions of South Australia, Victoria and WA.
As the player base grows and more talent is available, more NRC or Super teams will emerge organically, but this needs to happen over time. Starting the NRC with five Super teams when two are already struggling will strain our already thin resources.
What Australian rugby needs is winning teams in the emerging regions at NRC level, and winning teams at Super Rugby level. Again, winning teams attract supporters and sponsorship which translates directly into revenue.
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.