Australian rugby is in crisis, or so it seems – so this week’s Roar LIVE will be trying to figure out how we can fix it.
Super Rugby crowd numbers are dwindling, teams aren’t performing, grassroots participation is lagging (though probably not as much as Roy Morgan would have you believe), and the Australian Rugby Union continues to find itself in a concerning financial position.
Rugby fans, from Roarers to Alan Jones, haven’t been shy at pointing the finger and prescribing solutions so we lined up Canberra Times journalist, Chris ‘Blocka’ Dutton to join us on the panel to dissect the increasingly worrying state of the sport.
But before we do that, we want to find out exactly what you think the problem is, and what we can do to solve it.
1. What should the ARU do about Australia’s Super Rugby woes and what other steps should be taken to repair rugby?
2. Should we be concerned about the Wallabies?
Get your answers in the comments and we’ll get to as many of the responses as we can in the show!
Roar Live will be streamed this afternoon at 5:45 on The Roar’s Facebook page. It will also be available as a podcast on Soundcloud and iTunes.
RobC
Roar Guru
Thanks for the cast guys 1. What should ARU do? implement the strategy they set out. The issue is not strategy, its EXECUTION btw Blockers comment is typical journo hack analysis: - One of the most affluent codes in the world NFL is full of dead air - What goes in its place? - WORLD-CLASS analysis Cant believe how continuously lazy and ignorant Aussie Rugby coverage and sports journalism The problem is NOT the sport. Its how you cover it <- this part of ARU's responsibility also
double agent
Guest
I said most. Not all.
Republican
Guest
........concise indeed hog, I could not have put it better myself.
Train Without A Station
Guest
Indeed. I've misread.
nerval
Guest
In England and France nobody refers to "league" unless it's to compare and contrast it with "union" - there's no such sport as "league."
Bakkies
Guest
Rucking that was mistaken for stomping?
Bakkies
Guest
Very few countries call it Rugby Union
Bakkies
Guest
Rugby doesn't need another league player especially a 34 year old
James
Roar Rookie
I think he was referring AFL.
Kelefua
Guest
I'm not sure how many kids in state schools want to play rugby but giving them the option would be a start.
double agent
Guest
They're expensive if you want to go by yourself too.
double agent
Guest
I doubt NZ fans would want that. They have the same issues with time conflicts with SA as us. Also how would Kiwis feel at all good about themselves unless they were beating Aussies in sport?
Buzzliteyear
Guest
And there lies the problem, they have no exposure to the game or get an opportunity to be play rugby union, so how are they ever going to be interested? My kids at a public state school have participated in NRL and AFL after school training camps offered at their school, even my daughters got involved. How are kids going to be exposed if rugby union can't be bothered promoting the game to public schools too? If rugby union continues with its GPS blinkers it's always going to narrow down the vision and reach of the sport.
Herman Hoth
Guest
And still one of the best players in the league?
Jock M
Guest
Have a good look at the product - ask why crowd numbers are falling everywhere. Fix the laws of the game and remember that Rugby was a player's game.
Bris90
Guest
My suggestion - 1. Keep super rugby at 18 teams 2. After this season, top 9 teams become division a and bottom 9 division b 3. Next season, each plays each other home and away (16 games) 4. Promotion / relegation between division a and b This would give all teams something to aim for and closer matches - just a thought
Browny
Roar Rookie
TWAAS, I think those suggestions would be a great first step to see if we can get things to improve.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I question your mate in SA. They don't get 30,000 to Super Rugby games right now.
Nowaered
Guest
I watched the under 20s GF – Reds vs Waratahs – Brad Thorn has been coaching the Reds for 2 years and they have been undefeated for 2 years. When I watched this GF (score was 49 – 19) the Waratahs played like the Waratahs – knock ons, dropped balls, missed tackles with the ref threatening yellow cards for scrum penalties and late tackles. Meanwhile, the reds played like the Crusaders – organised patient, very good defence , backing up etc. My Point is, while there probably isn’t that much difference in playing personal, it is all about coaching and team culture. I really think that the great strides forward Australian Rugby made under Dick Marks (yes, I am going back to the 70s), who organised coaching seminars at various levels dependent on your skill set should not have been killed off by the ARU. Marks wrote a detailed coaching manual which was used, to my knowledge, fairly extensively. Anyway, since the ARU took over, (what have they done by the way) the quality of coaching in Australia has become abysmal. Take the young Force coach – full of potential – what is backing him up to become a better and more highly skilled coach. What about the Rebels coach – no one at the ARU to tell him to come up to scratch or piss him off. Would you see such a poor standard of coaching in NZ – no way , they control the franchises and wouldn’t let them suffer a coach as bad as McGahan for any significant time period – they would not let him coach there in the first instance. No doubt about it, O’Neil’s proposed structure of the ARU , along the same lines as NZ was correct. No wonder we are where we are today. Have the ARU got together with someone like Mick the kick to produce a manual for junior and school Rugby -about how to pass/catch how to line your man for a correct tackle etc along with the rest of the basic skills. Coaching clinics for coaches - we must develop high standards of basics as the NZers have done. If Michael Cheika gets knocked over in some sort of accident - that's the end of the wallabies, who is going to have the knowledge and experience for such a job - and don't tell me Steve Larkham - I am a huge fan of his but not as a coach - assistant yes. If you watched all the NZ Super games, one thing stands out are their basic skills and ability to offload. This game is not rocket science. .
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
If we lose a Super Rugby team then the NRC team becomes nonviable as all professional quality players and coaches from the region will depart. The most important part of the Force and the Rebels for their NRC teams is that people live there and have accommodation and lives there.