ARC veterans look forward to doing it all again in the NRC

The National Rugby Championship kicks off in Brisbane tomorrow night, and there are players all around the country starting to get feelings of déjà vu.

Though it’s certainly not a definitive number, a quick scan through the NRC squads shows upwards of 15 players – excluding those in the current Wallabies squad – who also played in the first incarnation of professional domestic rugby, the Australian Rugby Championship in 2007.

In the lead-up to the NRC’s inaugural round, I spoke to three of them: Reds flanker Beau Robinson, who’ll turn out in the navy blue of Queensland Country; sometime Roar colleague and NSW Country Eagle Cam Treloar; and Waratahs flanker Pat McCutcheon, who’ll captain the Sydney Stars.

Robinson and Treloar both played for the Central Coast Rays seven years ago, and indeed, Treloar holds the distinction of being the last captain to lead his team to a professional national rugby title.

Robinson was already playing Super Rugby by 2007, and after the ARC played a big role in the Tahs reaching the 2008 final. He took up Ewen McKenzie’s offer to resurrect his career with the Reds in 2011, and promptly won a title.

Treloar had one season with the Waratahs in 2006 without playing a game, and played a handful of games for the Reds in 2007, before heading overseas straight after the ARC. Now back in Australia permanently after four seasons with French club Bordeaux, Treloar said this could well be his last professional rugby involvement as a player before joining the police, and that enjoyment is just as high a priority for his stint with NSW Country as any thought of titles.

I’ve probably been a touch harsh putting McCutcheon in the veteran class in the header; he was only 19 when he played for the Sydney Fleet side in 2007. He’s been with the Waratahs for several seasons now, and was on the bench for their Super Rugby title success only a few weeks ago.

Memories of the ARC
To a man, all three guys spoke highly of the rugby played in 2007.

“Yeah, really fond memories obviously, having won the tournament as we did,” Robinson said, while also remembering it being of a high quality.

Treloar’s memories involve lifting a shiny new trophy that may well have disappeared since, but also of finishing the competition with the proverbial wet sail. “Absolutely, especially from our start where we lost three in a row, and to come back and win it was a really good experience,” he said.

“Just the way that guys from three different Super teams and plenty of other club teams, the way everyone came together over that time; it just made for a really memorable experience and hopefully gets repeated.”

McCutcheon remembers the unlikely union between Randwick, Sydney Uni, and Eastern Suburbs well, but also the patchy form of the highly fancied Fleet once the rugby got under way. “It was great, and I remember being one of the younger blokes in the team. We got to play out of North Sydney Oval, which became a bit of a fortress for us. I don’t think we lost a game at home, but we couldn’t win a game away,” McCutcheon said.

High hopes for a return
Interestingly, all three held high hopes that the ARC wasn’t the last we’d see of professional domestic rugby when the ARU made the decision not to continue the competition beyond that first season.

“I always hoped it wouldn’t be [the end of third tier rugby],” Treloar said. “I never thought the ARU should’ve been a bank, regarding money, I always thought it should’ve been spending money on development.”

Robinson agrees: “I knew it had to come back eventually. As long as rugby was going to survive in Australia, it had to be done, and it was just a matter of when.”

Having played for Bay of Plenty in the ITM Cup in New Zealand last season, it’s perhaps not surprising that Robinson is well versed on the obvious benefits.

All three thought the ARC format was about right, but that the finances needed work, and Treloar thinks they have it right with the NRC: “I thought it would come back in some form, and I think the format it’s come back in is more sustainable over time, even if a few tweaks are needed. I’m certainly glad it’s back.”

Playing beats training
You talk to any player – of any sport, probably – and the vast majority will be in favour of playing at any level, rather than training. Without the NRC, Super Rugby squads would be commencing pre-season training within the next six to eight weeks. The chance to get some major game time after not seeing so much Super Rugby action is also welcome.

“Exactly,” Robinson says. “I’m pretty happy the pre-season is halved. But it’s also a chance to keep working on different aspects of my game, and to be successful as an individual and as a team.”

“Personally, I just want to play footy week-in, week-out,” McCutcheon said of his NRC hopes and goals. “Sitting on the bench for the Waratahs was a little bit frustrating at some stages, so being on the field for 80 minutes week-in, week-out… I just want to play.

“We started [Waratahs] pre-season in October last year. And you do a lot of running around, and a lot team runs to build fitness, but you also want to put yourself forward every now and then, and show what you can prove out there.”

How important that it’s back
To finish, I asked all three guys just how important the return of a genuine third tier is for Australian rugby. The were unequivocal.

Robinson: “I think it’s crucial for the development of the next generation, and blokes pushing their claims to be involved in Super Rugby programs, but also to develop a new product that as the game grows and as that level of the game grows, it can create new revenue streams.”

Treloar: “It’s vital, it’s absolutely vital. You look at a guy like Stephen Hoiles… and we’ve got a couple of guys coming from Illawarra [Pauli Tuala and Misieli Sinoti] having their first taste of professional rugby, and for them to have the opportunity to learn from [Hoiles] and realise potential they didn’t realise they had, it is absolutely vital. And in every team there would be guys like that, so it’s just got to happen.”

McCutcheon: “It’s really important. You want to bridge that gap between Super and club rugby. You want to provide that pathway for young players coming through the ranks – so that guys play well in first grade, get a start in the NRC, and then stand out – and then we’re actually developing our players, so that when they do get the opportunity to play Super Rugby, then it’s a seamless transition.”

Certainly, the players know it. And the accountants are sweating on it. It’s now up to the game and the supporters to get behind it, and ensure its success.