- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
After mulling over the situation Australian rugby finds itself in for a number of weeks, I went to the pub with a good mate of mine, a high school rugby coach, who always makes sense when talking about the game.
His idea was simple, logical, brilliant: scrap the NRC and turn the Shute Shield and the NSW subdistrict competition into a promotion-relegation system.
That would allow strong subdistrict clubs like Balmain and Drummoyne to develop and move into the Shute Shield, and would put extra motivation on clubs like Penrith and Parramatta to improve.
(It would also stop the situation we have now where clubs like Balmain and Drummoyne are completely undercutting Shute Shield teams like West Harbour – and put them on an even playing field.)
The ARU should still be 100 per cent dedicated to supporting rugby in Sydney’s west, but it does nothing to help the game when Penrith loses by 100 points every week.
Penrith or Parramatta being relegated on performance would allow them to play in Division 2 or 3 of the promotion-relegation competition and become competitive again through winning games – and hopefully move back up as a stronger club.
I would do this exact same thing with the GPS competition in Queensland.
[latest_videos_strip category=”rugby” name=”Rugby”]
After scrapping the NRC and setting up the promotion-relegation club rugby system, introduce a tournament where the top-four finishers from the Shute Shield and the GPS play each other in a knockout comp, with each game televised.
People have loyalties to their local club, not to the NRC.
I’d love to fly up to Suncorp to watch the Warringah Rats play Brothers in a semi-final – but I wouldn’t go down the street to watch the Rays in the NRC.
The NRC also has no regard for the passion, history and tradition the Shute Shield has created.
As a longtime Warringah fan, why would I support the Rays, where half the side are Manly players?
The ARU already has a competition with diehard fans, strong juniors and history behind it, but instead of developing that, they’ve tried to invent a competition from scratch.
We can’t invent an NRC and expect people to have the same passion as New Zealanders have for the ITM Cup – a tournament which has existed for decades.
Focusing on a revamped club rugby competition would encourage more kids to play for they local club, as they would have the added incentive to one day make first grade and play in a televised competition, with the chance to make the knockout tournament versus Queensland teams.
A lot of these clubs also have a bucketload of money – meaning the ARU wouldn’t have to stump up the cash for the NRC and could put resources back into western Sydney or junior footy.
The incredible Shute Shield final last year had North Sydney Oval packed to the rafters; the support is there, the fans are there, the ARU just needs to open their eyes.
Sure, this conversation was had at a pub between two blokes and a few beers, I’m sure there are flaws in it. But I love my local club, and I want to support them. Why not build on that fan connection – instead of leaving it out in the cold – in order to fund a competition nobody cares about?
I haven’t mentioned the Wallabies or Super Rugby, but making club competitions stronger and more competitive will see our professional scene naturally grow.
Support the grassroots, and success should flow to the top.
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.