The magic of the Shute Shield

.....let them eat cake!

I hear what you saying but there appears to be little evidence provided about what has been said. People link SS and RA being based in Sydney and think they are the same thing or ther is undue influence. However I suggest you ask SS clubs what they think of that. If you look at guy like Brett Papworth – ex Wallaby , ex President of Eastwood, media profile – he would be one of the guys you think has this influence. He is very critical of the approach of RA over the last few decades. Add in that the SS clubs are consistently calling for players from the Waratahs to play for them when available, but often aren’t allowed to, and the fact that RA also stopped funding club rugby too means there is limited proof that they are in bed together.

I agree Shute Shield is a great amateur club rugby competition, but so are the other vibrant amateur club competitions in the other states. Rugby at a top level went professional at the top level 25 years ago, but the Sydney amateur club old boys in my mind, and in the view of many others out side of Sydney, had way too much influence and control of professional rugby right across Australia. Living in WA, I see the contrast with AFL, where the amateur clubs in Melbourne have little say in the running of professional AFL and its successful spreading across Australia.

Thats seems to be the go to argument about the SS. It’s a great competition with a long history and has passion and loyalty from its supporters. This has only grown in recent years as RA has messed about with Super Rugby and the Wallabies have misfired. The fact it has always been on FTA has also helped people stay connected too. No doubt the passion and loyalty applies equally in Brisbane and other states as well. I used to read about the great South teams in Brisbane when I was a kid and wished I could watch them. They seemed to the equivalent of the Randwick from the 80/90’s with Wallabies spread throughout the team. I am sure all SS supporters were happy to hear of the big the crowds when Quade Cooper was back playing club rugby. Also great to hear of other SR players turning out for clubs in their home cities.

Gatesy, Yeah, but without the garish BBL uniforms & meaningless nicknames created by Scotty from marketing & his dept. Also, did you know Victoria has dropped the Bushrangers nickname for fear of offending someone. Not sure, but they reckon it might be offensive to someone. If you can find him, or her, please let the VCA know. I find the garish BBL uniforms & nonsensical nicknames far more offensive, but no is listening to my complaint! Must be a money related issue.. You know, if it makes money, then it's okay, it's legit.....

Spot on

Absolutely, just like Cricket does.

Stratty, I really enjoyed reading your article. I've also been going to local rugby over the last few years, mainly because I can't afford the price of a decent seat at senior games. Players and coaches may be getting big salaries, but I don't. There's an honesty about local teams playing for the love of rugby rather than for a big pay cheque. You mention you're coming to Brisbane. The club scene up here is pretty good.

Grassroots rugby is thriving whilst ra rugby is dead.

Their is no gulf between super rugby and Shute shield. The super sides are terrible.

Grassroots rugby is going from strength to strength but ra neglected grassroots so now no one follows super rugby or nrc .

Honestly - give yourself an uppercut! This bloke has written a lovely piece which captures what we all love about this game and gives an insight as to why the SS is thriving... And you respond with your agenda-drive nonsense - and let me be clear, your attitude, far more than any other thing is why rugby is at 'the edge'. If those cities had a competition as vibrant, competitive and enjoyable as the SS, then rugby in his country would be in rude health. 43 players at last years World Cup played in the Shute Shield - how many from those other comps?

What is BS in your mind?

Great article , I live within a pitching wedge of Cooee Bay oval and there is nothing better than sinking a few coldies watching the mighty Crocs go round. Covid has made Union the only Rugby game in town and we are getting big crowds to our game and quite a few conversions. Shute Shield or QLD country union , it's all great footy to passionate fans.

Thanks Ray L, I am not proposing anything new, not trying to reinvent the wheel, but merely expanding current structures in a practical way. I like the concept of a province. It's bigger than a metropolitan club, but not as big as a state. The provincial concept works so well in New Zealand & South Africa. Also Ireland. In NZL, the Auckland political province for example, is further sub-divided into Auckland, North Harbour & Counties-Manakau. In RSA, the Cape Province political area (former) was further sub-divided into Western Province, Eastern Province, Border, Boland & several smaller unions. NSW & Queensland are the obvious states to be sub-divided.The precedent has already been set with Southern NSW, calling themselves Southern Inland, aligning with ACT. Because of this, separating Northern NSW, with Newcastle as its capital, would be an obvious alternate. North Queensland has agitated for separation from Southern Queensland for over a century and a half. So all I'm doing is applying current potential structures & giving them the opportunity to flower & bloom. The ARC/NRC doesn't really work so well, because you're applying new clubs on top of established clubs. With those new clubs in Sydney, by necessity, being 'greenfield' (new) clubs. It appears to work okay for soccer, with Sydney Sky Blues & Western Sydney Wanderers in NSW, & Melbourne Victory & Melbourne City (Hearts) in Victoria. But rugby has a potentially better pathway. Rather than mimic other sports, rugby union should look at what it already has, & see how best it can expand what it has.

You and I are on the same page Sheek. As a rusted on Shute Shield club player and supporter for over 50 years (Woodies), who still attends matches every week, I can’t see the logic in having a National Club Competition. It’s no longer just all about the NSW and QLD Premier Competitions, but the emergence of the Premier Competitions in the ACT, Victoria and WA as an increasing source of talented home grown players. No doubt SA would also reap the benefits over time if it was also represented in a National Provincial Competition as you suggest. There would be just too many teams competing in an NCC, even if it was restricted to the Grand Finalists in the respective Premier Competitions (up to 12), aside from the fact that there would be a limited time-frame in which to run it. It would destroy the integrity of the existing competitions, where players would gravitate to the consistently successful clubs, creating a system of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. Just let the respective Grand Finals remain the pinnacle of the Premier Competitions. I agree that there should be a natural progression from Premier Club to Province to National selection. You will note that I didn’t mention ‘State’, which I no longer consider to be relevant in the context of a ‘National’ competition in the professional era. There wouldn’t be enough teams to make it sustainable and hence why I prefer the ‘Provincial’ model. In a National competition, NSW and QLD as the Rugby strongholds, are big enough to warrant more than one team, compared with the non-traditional Rugby States, meaning the teams are effectively Provincial rather than State based. While some may be critical, suggesting that it lessons support for the individual teams, there is a precedent in Sydney when annual North Harbour v South Harbour representative matches at North Sydney Oval were a major drawcard. With you being of a similar vintage to me, you will no doubt also recall those fiercely fought contests for City, State and Wallaby representation. There is no reason why this concept couldn’t be revived in a National Provincial Competition, while still maintaining the integrity and support for the Shute Shield. The same goes for Brisbane. The original ARC and to a lesser extent the NRC, went some way to achieving tribal following for the ‘Provincial’ teams in Sydney and Brisbane, but they never quite got it right, by locating teams outside of their natural supporter base. It also didn’t help in having nomadic “Country’ teams in NSW and QLD in the NRC, which were pretty meaningless when most if not all of the players were city based. None of the other football codes have them in their National competitions. We don’t want to go down the path of the AFL and NRL, where their respective competitions have an imbalance in the number of traditional club teams in Melbourne and Sydney. I could never fathom why Sydney has 9 teams and Brisbane 1 in the NRL. It’s a similar situation in the AFL with the Melbourne based teams disproportionally represented. That’s why IMO a Provincial, rather than a Club or State based model in NSW and QLD in a National Competition, with the Premier Clubs as feeders, is superior. While I have always advocated Sydney being split into 3 teams in a National Provincial Competition, i.e. North Harbour, South Harbour and Western Sydney, I could live with your suggestion of 2 teams, North Harbour/North-West and South Harbour/South-West, as an initial concept and expanding to a fully fledged Western Sydney team over time. Other teams as you have suggested could be included as the competition matures.

As a devoted follower of the SS that is a myth. Absolute BS.