The Wallabies could do with a case of the Blues

The great reason for increased league patronage is the education system that has been destroyed by successive fascist governments. Fewer people can read and write so more are susceptible to watching knuckle draggers beat the day lights out of each other. To recreate the past glories of the union we must teach more kids to read and bring back the slipper. Putting the stops into the POMs will greatly increase the attraction for the great unwashed. We could also bring back non-neutral referees and get ours trained in South Africa and always win at home. NZL has a much better record, even at home, since neutral referees were introduced so the change would bring them back to the field and make rugby less predictable.

It's not the All Blacks that we need to hate, it's the self-named home unions who make everything an uneven playing field. The Kiwis are too nice to hate as they once again showed last Sunday. Now the STOPS (slave trading opium pushers) and their Celtic colonies are another matter all-together. The Celts are hell-bent on destroying Pacifika rugby because they fear they will be surpassed if they are given a fair chance. Hence the much touted Championship of the the World was canned because the Celts feared demotion and they did not want the Superior Hemisphere nations to get a share of the finances the tournament would bring..

Terrific assessment that I can relate to. As a youngster I played both codes, more determined by the schools than personal choice, but to me Rugby was the gem. Why? because you had to have the participants play as a team! Whether it was the tackles you made, or the scrums and lineouts, they contributed. No matter what is said now about spectacle, league is one dimensional, run it up for five tackles and kick. Rugby has nuances and opportunities to exercise dominance in contests, whether they be rucks, mauls, scrums, lineouts. There is no contest with respect to the diversity of contest, but as you rightly point out if you can't explain it to the observer or fan or subscriber..... Its all too hard.

The myopic focus on the Wallabies is actually destroying Australian Rugby. That's hard to swallow, but I firmly believe it to be so. The ARU have made every effort over 20 years to segregate talent away from the Rugby community, inventing an endless number of new competitions and academies and pathways to ensure that the community cannot contaminate any wallaby or super rugby talent. They have even invented ‘Tiers’ to make sure there is no confusion as to how insignificant the community is in their eyes. In doing so, what was once a passionate, united and connected community has been reduced to ‘Fans’ who are relevant only because they consume ‘Products’. The result of course is that Rugby people feel utterly disconnected to the Wallabies and Waratahs, Reds etc. – because we are, we are intentionally disconnected. Contrast this with League (and AFL), who have invested every waking moment and dollar in making their communities and clubs the center of the universe. The result is that they develop passionate devotees to their game and their clubs, who feel pride in coming together to celebrate Origin and Grand Finals, and are all too willing to buy into the growing legacy and traditions of these events. If you’re seeing green shoots in the Shute Shield, its because the clubs and club members are poking two fingers at the administrators and going back to what we’re really all about. They are making us feel welcome and a part of our rugby community again - and it feels great! And for the first time in over a decade, people are getting together to go to the footy. Not just for the game, but because its a great place to hang out with friends and family. Brilliant. There’s an enormous amount of latent passion for the game in Australia, and I’ll be going to the RWC and proudly wearing Gold. But I’ll be hoping that the administration sees the light and finds a way to bring the game back to the people – They might despise the Shute Shield, but surely its showing a better pathway forward.

Purdo: I like your theme. If you notice the engaged rugby fan they are right into the detail: the winning tight head, the smart carry of a driving lock, the fair cop when your player gives up a freebie. Notably: the congenial chat with opposition supporters when their team got one up. This is what RA needs to promote and celebrate. You see in the country town clubs that have kept their health; they have happy crowds who know the plays and the players and who join in the social side of the day. The game at best is just like AFL: engaged, informed supporters enjoying a big social day out.

On your point about educating the casual viewer about the interesting mini-contests in a rugby game, such as the scrum, what rugby needs in Australia is much better commentary on broadcasts. Any commentators who pooh-pooh scrums should be sacked. I'm not kidding on this point. They do a great disservice to growing the game by allowing casual viewers to think of scrums as a waste of time. The commentary should spend more time explaining what's going on, not merely describing it. And any commentators who mention the (elite) school that so-and-so attended should also be sacked. It might make a fleeting point of connection for those who attended that school or similar, but it reinforces the privileged elite reputation of rugby that continues to throttle any hope of long-lasting growth in this country.

The attraction of Sydney club rugby is you're not getting beaten by foreigners all the time. But you're only going to get left behind if you keep on playing against yourselves.

I think comparing league to union on the East Coast will always be a case of apples and oranges. The former is effectively the "national sport" in NSW and Queensland, and the strength of the northern neighbors plays into that parochial spirit. Union is something of a niche sport in Australia, and when the national team is getting beaten (at all levels) by the "poor relations" from across the Tasman, that is not good for the national "psyche." The parent code is also propped up to a large degree by the 300,000-strong Kiwi diaspora on the East Coast and a growing number of Pacific Islanders. So the dynamics involved are completely different.

I like to hear that Sydney competition is going well. (How’s it going in Parkes, Broken Hill or Kingaroy?) I’m very isolated from that level of Rugby, living in central Victoria and having a son who played Aussie Rules (born in Vic, 6’4″ and eventually 95 kg – not the right body type, and mates all played Aussie Rules). I watch SR and Test Rugby because they are available, and I feel some concern that Australia, Queensland, and Victoria should do well. In AFL, ubiquitous local competition is professional at senior level, with good wages paid for part time pros. At junior level there is a good pathway to elite level. My brief experience decades ago with junior rugby in Vic was that it really finished after school. I guess the pathways have improved, but Rugby Union here doesn’t feel like a strong community based sport.

Yeah, but that really wasn’t a time of minute success because, for most of it the ,NRL (or previous competitions in Qld and NSW) was strong and very popular. If NSW wasn’t successful in state of origin, people were at least seeing players from NSW clubs as well as from Qld and later, Melbourne clubs playing state of origin. Actually state of origin began because Qld League, not funded by Pokies as in NSW Leagues Clubs, could not retain their top players, who would head south for the bigger pay cheques. Perhaps we need some sort of Origins competition showcasing Union players who have left home to get big bucks elsewhere; however I guess pro club contracts would preclude that. I hope that the National Championship is properly managed and publicised and does something like that for Union.

Nice observation without suggesting a solution. As a casual observer you would not be aware of just how well the club competition in Sydney is going (can't comment on other locations). Even the FTA ratings are heading in the right direction. All built of the back of relevance. Super Rugby is just not relevant. Its nice when your team is winning but even the rusted on supporters are staring away (me included). I may not even go to a Wallabies match this year. I used to travel interest to watch them. When I lost a game I used to be despondent and I know my team mates were the same albeit at different levels. But for the professionals it's just another game win lose or draw. The desire and passion is gone and the fans can sense it. It's there in Origin. I watch Origin because it is going to be talked about. Cant say the same for the Wallabies or Supe Rugby. The Don Quixote's at RA spend too much time trying to be liked and tilting at every feel goo cause possible. They shouldn't be called the Qantas Wallabies but the feel good Wallabies and who wants to support that team?

I don’t really buy (or like) the point about loathing of the opposition being needed. I grew up playing Rugby League, and was for a while in a school team with League great John Lang. The thing that most impressed me about him at training and in matches was how much fun he had. Back then at least, he enjoyed the game, pushing opportunities and luck as far as they could be pushed responding with quick offloads and sudden runs as things unfolded. I thought of him back them as a joyful player, and that’s how I like to see sport played. Sure there is competition, and aggression, but it should be fun and should be amusing. It isn’t war, though it has warlike elements. I came late to Union as a junior coach in a private school where I was teaching. It amazed me how much more interesting and how much more fun Union was than League. I hardly ever watch the State of Origin matches, but I watch all the Union matches I can. Maybe League is more popular because there is greater rivalry, but I don’t think so. I think it’s because Rugby Union had been so badly marketed and has always been seen as a minor posh man’s sport by League followers. Rugby League and AFL for that matter have always been professional, and have had grass roots bases that Union has never had (played in state schools and in many strong local junior clubs as well as at many senior clubs, all at local level before the big league comes into it). League and AFL are all colour and movement with not much to know. League has pathetic scrums now (we used to contest scrums, and play-the-balls). Union needs a campaign of educating people about the nuances of scrums and lineouts, which are actually interesting, not just pauses in the colour and movement. A free to air TV presence at the national championship level would be a great help, as would a campaign to counter parents’ fear of injury (hospitalising injury is actually more common in Aussie Rules, as I have experienced from many trips to casualty with my son throughout his career in country Aussie rules from under 11s through to seniors).

Sound logic. Good examples. Very well written Jimmy. One point though the problem of Wallaby success and fan rates have their genesis long before and apart from the passion and ‘hate’ in the blokes wearing the jerseys. It’s a systemic problem. It needs a systemic solution. Firing up the boys isn’t enough.