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Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan believes a Super Rugby draft is the next step to help bring life back to the competition.
With Super Rugby struggling for major cut-through and the gulf between New Zealand and the rest stark, McLennan believes a draft would not only help even the scales but also create added interest annually.
For years the AFL and NBA have thrived on an annual draft.
Indeed, increasingly it has become an event within itself and shined a spotlight on the emerging talent in its respective countries.
It has seen young athletes, in some cases with little playing experience but plenty of athletic pedigree, picked up in the draft in a formal setting, where the best minds in the country get the chance to see the next generation of players in a group setting in the flesh.
It has also added plenty of intrigue regarding the movement of other players too, with clubs either getting better or worse picks in the draft depending on whether they want to sign players not in the draft.
“I think we should be doing a draft now to create more innovation around the game and keep eligibility within Super Rugby Pacific and move different players to different clubs,” McLennan told The Roar.
“This would lead to better ratings and better broadcast performance.”
The recent return of the under 16s and under 19s national championship, which included Zach Fittler, the son of former NSW and Australian great Brad, had helped shine a spotlight on its emerging talent.
McLennan believed a draft, in time, would be another crucial step in keeping its emerging talent.
“We’ve suffered from a lack of investment and coordinated pathways,” he said.
“In truth, historically a lot of this is probably RA’s fault from the last cycle. It’s a lack of strategy over a long period of time. We’ve been poached by the NRL for too long. We need sustained investment back at grassroots, and [to] get the players back. That’s why we settled on the competition through to 2030. Now we know what we need to do.”
McLennan doesn’t want it just to include Australia’s Super Rugby franchises, believing New Zealand Rugby can benefit too.
Off the back of incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson’s comments around opening up discussions around picking players from overseas, the former Channel 10 boss pointed to the pressures the Southern Hemisphere giants faced and said the trans-Tasman neighbours could benefit from opening up the borders between Australia and New Zealand.
“Razor’s [Robertson] coming out and saying we need to look at eligibility. What we should be saying is that’s fine within Super Rugby Pacific, why couldn’t a New Zealand player come and play for us and also play for the All Blacks?” McLennan said.
“I think that’d enhance Super Rugby, and let key Rugby Australia players do the same.
“For example, Nic White could go to an NZ team and still play for the Wallabies.”
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Five years ago, off the back of Australia’s pathetic showing against New Zealand rugby where they came close to not winning a single match against their trans-Tasman neighbours for a second straight year, Ella said it would help the overall product if Australia could sign All Blacks-eligible players.
“If you can’t beat them, sign them,” he wrote.
“Imagine what a difference it would make if the Brumbies signed Beauden Barrett or if the Waratahs recruited Brodie Retallick.
“You would just need one or two key Kiwi players to make the Australian teams competitive again.
“If players were free to play for any team in the competition, it would help to level out the playing field and make Super Rugby a much better competition.”
Once again, the Super Rugby standings are dominated by New Zealand sides with four of their five sides featuring in the top five alongside the ACT Brumbies.
McLennan said RA’s trans-Tasman partners were aware of his desire to start a draft and believed the long-term investment of the competition through until 2030 allowed for greater innovation.
“We did say when we relaunched Super Rugby, we should be instigating a player draft,” he said.
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.