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It is difficult to see exactly how the current Super teams saga will end, but no matter which team is cut or however the various potential legal battles play out, it is looking fairly certain that Australian rugby will be involved with Super Rugby until at least the end of 2020.
I am a fan of Australia being part of Super Rugby. I obviously am not a fan of the current format. I am absolutely devastated at the prospect of losing one of the Australian teams but I am still of the belief that Super Rugby is worth pursuing as it is a unique product in the sporting world.
This means we have a three-year period of opportunity to grow the NRC into a bigger and better competition in its own right. It would be rash to claim that this alone will save Australian rugby.
There are lots of other aspects that have to align to pull us out of our current situation (such as strengthening/widening talent pathways, improving fan engagement, improving the skills of all players and coaches, etc). Despite this, I strongly believe that the NRC is a vital cog in the process.
I actually am a fan of how the NRC has been implemented to this point. There are areas that have been disappointing (media exposure) however for a fledgling competition it is doing alright. The problem is that Australian rugby cannot afford for the NRC to grow naturally and incrementally, especially if we are reducing our presence at Super level by reducing the number of teams.
If we want to continue growing the game, especially outside of the traditional heartlands, then we need the NRC to grow into a genuinely national domestic league, something which has been missing from professional rugby in Australia since day dot.
There is a growing appetite to abandon Super Rugby altogether, while I am not currently of this mind, if it did happen we would need something tangible to fall back on or risk falling into an even deeper quagmire than we are currently stuck in.
At the very least, a strong NRC will strengthen our hand when we go back to the SANZAAR negotiation table.
So what should this revamped NRC look like? My personal preference would be shamelessly copy the A-League. I would keep the current eight teams and add a Pacific Islands team (already touted I believe) as well as a side from Adelaide.
From a geographical viewpoint and to continue expanding the game into new markets, I would hope any additional side was picked through a tender process or similar which evaluated all entrants in an open and transparent way. The same three round robin regular seasons followed by finals would provide a nice block of content to sell to broadcasters which would hopefully offset the increase in travel costs.
I am also open to revisiting the team distribution in NSW as this seems to have caused great consternation. I do not claim to have the perfect solution here but my outsider view would favour keeping the current entities and giving them time to grow a loyal fan-base by really strengthening their connections to existing fan-bases.
What I think would not work here is to simply promote the top Shute Shield teams into the NRC. I just can’t see Shute Shield fans supporting one of their traditional rivals in a national competition.
Most of the rule changes from previous years have been good and have led to more enterprising rugby, but I would vote to revert to the same scoring conventions as world rugby for tries and conversions at least.
I have no issue with keeping the reward for field goals and penalties lower. If one of the Super teams does end up being cut, then the NRC becomes doubly important as a way to keep the talent pathways in the chosen region open and viable.
Ideally, the NRC teams would be able to move to being professional or semi-professional entities to bolster the number of professional playing spots available for emerging players.
But the main thing that is essential to the success of the NRC is getting it in front of as many people as possible. This means moving heaven and earth for a free-to-air deal, massively increasing the amount of promotion and marketing, being aware of when matches are scheduled and where/how to maximise audience numbers.
The NRC is a great product and rugby is a great game. We all know this, it is why we are fans. The more people that can be exposed to rugby in an easily digestible way, the more fans there will be. Give people a chance to love rugby, I know that they will!
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.