Sydney, February 22, 2025 – oh, what a day. I have to say I hadn’t attended a match like that for quite some time, and no, not just because we hadn’t had a Super Rugby team since the ARU went broke four years ago.
No, it was just an awesome, entertaining and fun game to watch from the terraces. Even without the scrums. I thought I would miss them, the scrums, but I actually didn’t.
No resets, no time wasted, the new jerseys, the music pumping during the match, the live bands between each quarters, the cheerleaders during the TV timeout. Brilliant.
Having four 15-minute quarters is definitely the best format for rugby. It’s sharp, slick and fast and just gives the spectators an ‘action packed’ game, as the Pepsi stadium speaker said with his funny American accent.
But my favourite new rule is the ‘three seconds time bomb’. What a brilliant idea. Players can’t keep the ball in their hands for more than three seconds, they have to pass it or kick it. ‘If you keep it you’re in the bin, if you know what I am saying’, the speaker blares during the game, love it.
Then there’s two minutes in the bin if you infringe – that’s the penalty – but you can save yourself if you take the ‘redeem kick’ on offer: a 50-metre penalty kick from the sideline to take within 20 seconds. If you convert it you stay on the field but if you miss you’re out for five minutes.
When Roger Jackson converted his yesterday we were all on our feet high-fiving each other, it was awesome. Jackson is our best player, got drafted by our Telstra ‘Tahs last June. Such a player! I mean he still gets mixed up with the old rules that still pollute the modern game but overall he has been doing very well. Plus there aren’t many old rules left anyway so even NFL players like him adapt quickly.
We still have a few Aussies in the team, mainly Big Bash League players who want to stay fit during the off-season, but it’s all good, stays in the family and all. No way we were going to sell out and become ‘a product’. We knew we had to change but we wanted to stay true to ourselves – ‘keep it real’ as we all say these days.
That’s what the new WRA president – Wild Rugby Association, SANZAR got broke too, corruption allegations and all meant they had to dissolve – said when he announced he was giving us a new franchise last year:
“Sydney, Australia, you still have a role to play and money to bring to the WRA in today’s rugby market. The rugby world has changed, the rules have changed and so will you. The 12 marquee players from the USA and Canada will help you field a competitive team because we don’t want no deadwood in our championship.
“But we know you Australians love your home grown talents and we respect that. So the Telstra ‘Tahs can have up to eight local guys in their squad of 35. And yes, that’s from any sport if you know what I am sayin’, your funny baseball included!”
Wow, what a relief that was when Mourad Boudjellal made this announcement, still have goose bumps just thinking about it. Boudjellal is the best thing that could have happened to Super Rugby. The Yanks who got into Super Rugby in 2019 after another expansion paid him a fortune to leave Toulon and Bath in 2021. To repay them the Frenchman learnt English in no time and already speaks it like a proper American.
It’s the first time ever two clubs from the same owner played in three European Cup finals in a row, Toulon versus Bath. The man is a legend. He didn’t know much about rugby when he started but he knows how to run a business, that’s what matters these days. Unfortunately, as always, some got jealous, rumours of corruption arose, there were betting scandals and the man had to go. Boudjellal is still persona non grata in France but is no longer on Interpol’s wanted list. He cleaned his name, all legit now, good man. The WRA were the luckiest bastards on this planet to get him, I’m telling you all.
The Frenchman loves Australia, that’s why he gave us a franchise so quickly. He always jokes that he has employed so many Aussies during his years at Toulon that Australia owes him big time. What a smart and classy man. Some say he finished Australian rugby off in the late 2010s but I don’t think so. Anyway, that was a long time ago, and as he said: “let’s start with a clean slate shall we?”.
Plus we better be on his better side anyway as he is a ruthless businessman, which the Asians recently found out. He sure wasn’t as magnanimous and generous with the new franchises from Hong Kong, Singapore and Shangai as he was with us: they could only field three locals in their teams.
“Show me Asian players can sell merchandise first, then we will talk”, that’s what he said at the press conference.
Harsh words but you can’t disagree with that. That’s why he initially brought in American and Jamaican players who didn’t even know the rules. Thing is they all had over three million followers on Twitter. Winners are grinners, smart move Mourad.
So yes, rugby is changing but it’s still rugby.
Plus we had no choice anyway, it was embrace change or stay away from rugby. The ARU was broke, all our players were overseas and the Wallabies hadn’t qualified to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, so we said ‘ok, where do we sign monsieur‘.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup. That was tough to watch, I mean a rugby World Cup without Australia, who would have thought? Sure, there were some players who were born here involved with other teams, we also had two refs and three coaches but it’s not the same, I mean they didn’t wear the green and gold did they?
Great tournament though, the new rules meant we had plenty of interception tries, which is what us rugby connoisseurs want. Wow, the game is so fast these days, I love it. The final was a classic, too. It was the first ever French win over the All Blacks in a Rugby World Cup final. The players couldn’t sing La Marseillaise – some had been naturalised the month before the World Cup and didn’t have time to learn it – but they won the whole thing. Zarakeshvili, Makaridze, Mariceanu, Johnson, Smith, Latu, Moleana, Van der Merwe, Naragaci, Sileni Sileni, what a team, French flair and all, best Bleus side ever!
I will never forget captain Le Roux’s tears after game. Dewald Le Roux, moustache and blue blazer, has seen it all and after six and half years in France he is the most French of all, loves rabbit stew and wild boar paté.
“It tastes like Kudu” he once said about wild boar paté, with his still very pretorian sense of humour. Well, the big man couldn’t back his tears during the ceremony. Yes, still plenty of emotion in today’s rugby.
Oh I love our new game. The best days are still ahead of us, no question.
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.
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