After getting a bit reflective about the rugby year last week, let me change tack for the final rugby column of the year and cast the gaze forward.
Forward tends to be a direction I’m sure all of us would prefer to focus on, but one that is very easy to cast aside these days with everything focused on what happened in that last ruck, that last try-scoring play, that moment now under judicial scrutiny, and of course, that last game.
And while the professional game in Australia and its SANZAAR allies has undertaken an unbelievable amount of change in the last two years (take a few minutes to think about how much has changed between March 2020 and December 2021, it will blow your mind), the next twelve months might have an even bigger bearing on the state of the game again.
So in lieu of a working DeLorean or even a crystal ball, I’ve decided to finish the year by contemplating the things the Australian game needs to see in 2022.
Super Rugby Pacific to start
If we’ve learned anything over the last two years, it’s that the really small fine print reminding us that “All fixtures and venues are subject to change” has never been more important, as everyone gets used to plans changing at the last minute.
And where once upon a time a coach or CEO wouldn’t have dreamed about changing plans only a few days before a game, now we’ve learned that actually, when you need to a react to an ever-evolving situation, professional sporting organisations are more flexible than they ever realised.
So with all that in mind, the first major milestone in 2022 will simply be for the new Super Rugby Pacific competition to start.
Not even to start as planned, but simply just to start.
Already, we know that trans-Tasman border concerns will still be a thing come next February, and already it seems pretty clear that the SRP draw as released on November 15 quite likely begin as laid out.
But importantly, the preparations are already being made and alternate options sought to ensure the first games of the new competition can happen in some shape or form. New Zealand Rugby has acknowledged that moving its five teams plus Moana Pasifika to Australia to play the cross-border games first probably make sense.
The Fijian Drua set themselves up at Lennox Head on the NSW north coast back in early November with ceremonial songs and warm thanks for “being our home away from home for the next 10 months”.
So clearly, there is enough goodwill and commitment on both sides of the Tasman to ensure the new competition starts in some shape or form, and it will be hugely important it does.
2022 represents a massive step for the professional game in our part of the world. It’s vital the Australian teams can take a collective step forward, just as it’s vital that the two new and overwhelmingly welcome sides do well in their debut season.
Get it all right, and the future looks bright. Bugger it up, and well… I don’t even want to finish the sentence.
A Waratahs team worth watching
Like them or loathe them, a strong New South Wales is good for the overall strength of the Australian game.
The Waratahs didn’t look great on paper in 2021 and were no better on the scoreboard either. But they will be stronger in 2022, and Darren Coleman will ensure a broader connection between the Sydney clubs and the professional programs and give the rugby community a reason to get around the sky blue jersey again.
And make no mistake, the sooner he can do that off the field as well as getting them playing decent rugby on it, the sooner the crowds will return, the sponsors will find some extra room in their budget, the broadcasters will want to appeal to the biggest market in the country, and the advertisers will see the value in their brand being seen by all those eyes.
A strong New South Wales can have a big impact in so many different and equally important areas of the game.
And for the rest of us, don’t forget, having a NSW team that’s actually worth disliking and tipping against through pure spite is a good thing. Don’t underestimate the power of the designated villain.
Izaia Perese. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
The green shoots of ‘The Rennie Way’ taking root
The ‘Australian way’ of playing is something that gets thrown up a fair bit – if not really ever defined – and achieving it has proven to be the mirage in the desert for as long as I can remember.
But if the Wallabies can start to build on the methods Dave Rennie has put in place over the last 18 months or so, then Australian fans will have fewer and fewer reasons to not get behind them, with the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France only getting closer.
And if those methods – or at the very least, the fundamentals of those methods – can start being worked into the fabric of the five Australian state sides, well then you have a situation where a lot of talk about everyone being on the same page will actually mean something on the field, and will actually show that everyone recognises their role in getting players ready for the way the Wallabies want to play.
Now, how the Rennie way will be impacted by the review into overseas selection policies remains to be seen. What impact Scott Johnson’s departure from the Director of Rugby role has on Rennie’s operations is another variable to reveal itself.
But after seeing those seedlings emerge this year, we all now need these methods to take root and solidify.
And produce more results.
Administration to return to the back seat
Like referees and forwards, rugby is functioning at its very best when the administration of the game is just happening somewhere, unnoticeable, and away from the spotlight.
There are a lot of administrative balls still in the air that will ideally land in 2022; see New Zealand’s pursuit of private equity as the perfect example of why admin playing out publicly is rarely fun.
And if the Rugby Australia powers that be can land all those floating balls in a way that genuinely benefits the game nationally, then we’ll be all for it. What we don’t want to see is admin taking actual and virtual column inches away from out-on-the-ground rugby action.
So things like centralisation of contracting and streamlining of duplicate state versus national functions, future broadcast deals, and yes, the pursuit of private equity investment are all welcome developments, I’ve just not sure we need them dominating rugby news the whole time.
The sooner rugby news is dominated by news about actual rugby, the better off the game and everyone who loves it will be.
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
And that might do me for the year
Thanks to each and every one of you for so many enjoyable discussions on so many topics through the year, it’s what makes the rugby pages on the site such a great community.
One more cricket column later in the week, and that will be the final whistle and stumps pulled on 2021. All the very best for Christmas and the New Year, and we’ll do it all again in 2022.
RobC
Roar Guru
:laughing:
Midfielder
Roar Guru
Bret Love your work and go the Woodies... Given Football is my number one and rugby number two I often compare..... for me I live in hope of a National Domestic Competition.... that takes over from SR.... Secondly, and its a hope but that rugby learns to BETTER [I am not saying it never does] but Rugby learns how to better connect to its lost tribes ... the ABC ran an article today and its Football connecting with some lost tribes .... I can think of many groups and stories that this could equally apply to Rugby... Cheers mate ... have a Merry X... to the link... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-16/vietnamese-australian-football-club/100700052
Jacko
Roar Rookie
I guesss Ill just have to be satisfied with rugby and League then JP or I can take the last T20 series we played as the 3-2 win it was in NZ eh.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Thanks Brett A fine 2021 season from you with a consistent series of excellent articles. You're firmly in top echelon with Nick Bishop and Geoff Parkes as the only rugby writers worth reading in Australian journalism.
Allan Eskdale
Roar Rookie
You can't expect me to like that twice, even at Xmas.
Allan Eskdale
Roar Rookie
Too overturn the exclusion of the Force, almost unanimous support was required to overturn the board. I do remember the vote was heavily compromised and will preface the following that any one of these statements might be wrong, but I believe most are right. Recent listening to the Gold digger may inform some of these WA was somehow unable to vote, maybe because they were in debt to RA Qld was in debt to RA NSW had been in debt but had recently paid out of it Brumbies recently had debt to RA w/off Rebels were sort of beholden to RA RA had already agreed with SANZAAR to cut a team, so Brumbies and Rebels were certainly not going to upset the applecart. The Constitution is a basket case, nobody can effectively oppose the Board, or hold it accountable.
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
In this sub-thread is a comment "coerce the states" {after a financial failure]. The Rebels had exactly that, and haven't really shifted much on the results and management radars. I think the figure is about $28m of persuasion went into the Rebels. Not nearly as much as disappears regularly into Bernie Ecclestone's magic money-eating suitcase, but a handy amount all the same. Which would be a case study which may (or may not) prove your hypothesis, Allan.
JP
Guest
You can have your number one cricket ranking Jacko. You will never ever beat the Aussies. :shocked: :laughing:
Allan Eskdale
Roar Rookie
That is all very true. The biggest thing holding Australia back, in so many fields, is doing nothing because of a perceived problem. Throwing up a statement is how we stop anything happening, and in Parliaments across the country, the opposition will say things like that, and we end up with an enquiry. We need to be specific as to what is inefficient and what centralisation means. We also don't want to fall for the politician's first defence against action; putting a label on it. Decentralised to me in professional rugby means we have six of everything; CEOs, CFOs, membership departments, commercial departments etc, with no guarantee that they are using best practice or have six sets of the best people. We have six sets of rugby off-filed teams operating independently. When a state charges off in its own direction, and fails, it goes broke. RA needs five states to deliver SR so must then bail them out. Our governance structure depends on these five "independent" states and RUPA to hold RA Board accountable. The Board is not accountable. That is 'decentralised'. Effectively five subsidiaries doing what they want, mostly because RA has never been strong enough to hold them to account. My guess is that they are waiting for a windfall to coerce broke states to comply. Maybe it is not that bad, but it is certainly a long way short of optimal. What has to happen is a clear definition of what 'efficient' and 'centralised' look like. Only RA has the visibility to really determine that and there will be no transparency. It will be labelled and an announcement will be delivered on high. Over time we will see what they do, and speculate if it is a good idea, or a bad one. On form, it will be a bad one, poorly executed.
Allan Eskdale
Roar Rookie
Agreed. There has to be a functional split. There has to be a professional rugby structure and a community club structure and there are a number of ways of managing that. There is no reason why they should not be under the one RA organisation under one board and one CEO. The thrust of my argument is that each side needs the other, and splitting the revenues away from community rugby is not a good idea. The downside is that the current board and CEO do not seem to be likely to manage both well. My version of a "commission" would manage that, and I will set that out in a couple of weeks time. I suspect RA's idea of a "commission" will be exactly like the current board, except more powerful, and less accountable. If you cannot have a structure that holds RA accountable to be the keeper of the code, from grassroots to elite, and grow the game, then we need a community breakaway to affiliate, as Forrest did with Rapid Rugby.
Tooly
Roar Rookie
The best thing this year for the other four franchises would be the end of the Reds home town and away from home advantages. All teams should focus on technique, skills , discipline and promoting their players to the National side. All coaches must coach their way not Rennie ‘s way. Leave his tricks to his side. I don’t see NSW being a threat to anyone but the Rebs who only seem to threaten the Brumbies. The Tahs mirror the Wallabies when they are Tah ridden. The Reds should easily be our top side this year, ahead of the Brumbies then the Force.
AndyS
Guest
I'd disagree with the last point, only in that I think RA needs to be functionally split. IMO those elements that are related to professional rugby should be centralised under the control of a single entity, for many of those reasons you've identified. But those aspects related to amateur rugby and the grassroots should indeed be managed by the state unions, by means of a commission to manage the wider initiatives and the individual unions to manage the specifics within their regions. For mine, thinking that one central organisation can realistically manage the grassroots across all of Australia would guarantee failure, especially when that organisation's primary focus is professional rugby. It is exactly why the grassroots are in the condition they are, and everything subordinated to what suits the professional game.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Thanks Brett, for all your input over the year, & all the best to you & your Whanau, over the festive season. Bro, I'm so looking forward to many of our Aotearoa franchises coming together in the New Year, where many of our current AB's in some cases, will have decent coaches. IMO, we do see the best come out in many players during this time. Looking forward to seeing my Landers, running around, with possibly a future AB in Fakatava, being shown the tricks by Nugget. No doubt, in Saders territory, we'll see Razor, again proving what a good coach he is So all the best to all for this CoviD Xmas.
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
"centralisation" can mean many different things; so can "efficiency". The cautionary note for rugby is that centralisation and efficiency were to the forefront in the decision to move offices away from the Australian Sports Academy, where lots of cross-code cross-fertilisation happened, to rugby's benefit.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Hahaha RT, Moana Pacific at Alexandra Park ???? Will they train in ' hobbles' Lol :laughing:
jeznez
Roar Guru
https://nsw.rugby/news/waratahs-announce-preseason-hit-out-against-shute-shield-sides-20211118 February 5th at Eric Tweedale Stadium, Granville.
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
Didn't know about the Tahs 25-minutes sessions. Nicely reported jeznez and yes it is great signal to both the parts of Sydney where you can't see the water, and to the folk in Sydney rugby who believe that if you can't see the water then it shouldn't exist.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
I live abroad but subscribe to Stan and watch via VPN. I love watching the big HC + SS games. I really love they have grassroots coverage. They also have just about every league on their now you could want. Just hoping and waiting for them to get the French comp and Champions Cup.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Thanks Brett, always enjoy your articles. Look forward to plenty more in 2022!
Allan Eskdale
Roar Rookie
:laughing: I had not realised I had moved on from responding to readers of the article to trolling Brett’s for custom. Keep ’em coming. I have already learned a lot, just by writing them.