- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The number one goal and priority for me is for the Wallabies to be the best rugby team in the world. I want to have in place the system and structures to make that possible.
Since SRP is basically locked in until 2030, my focus in this article is on what can be implemented immediately within that framework to achieve my stated goal.
I don’t think trying to strengthen Australia’s five SR teams by importing talent from NZ through a mechanism such as draft is going to be the best way to achieve my stated goal. This will only make us lazy.
Instead, I want Australia to roll its sleeves up and put in place the necessary structures to build our own depth and develop our own talent with the limited resources we have.
The vision here is to have each of our five SR teams equally competitive with NZ’s best SR teams, if not more so.
Imagine if we were able to achieve that! Not only would this drastically improve the quality and appeal of SRP from a spectator’s point of view, but it would be a real indication that Australian rugby has grown stronger than it ever has been before.
And stronger SR teams means a stronger Wallabies—as the cream rises to the top. And with the various international rugby events to take place between now and 2030, that’s where the glory is.
So how do we begin to strengthen our SR teams on our own? This is where the conversation usually turns towards the vexed issue of a third tier.
Carter Gordon of the Rebels Photo: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images
The purpose of a third tier is not to provide Australia with a domestic competition to attract new fans to the game. Without the test players involved, a third tier is only ever going to have limited appeal.
The purpose of a third tier is to first of all develop the skills of aspiring club rugby players to better prepare them to play Super Rugby. As it stands, the gap between club rugby and SR is too great for most club players to step up. A third tier provides the necessary step between.
Developing more players for the SR teams creates competition for spots and further increases the depth of each team.
Greater depth means the SR teams will be less dependent on a limited number of first string players and able to play for a full 80 minutes with a much greater punch.
The other main purpose of a third tier is to ensure Australia’s non-Test SR players play more rugby at a higher level throughout the year.
As it stands, Australia’s non-test SR players don’t play enough high-level rugby in the year. When SR finishes at the end of June they simply go back to amateur club rugby. And even that’s not for very long if their team doesn’t make the finals.
Compare this to NZs non-test SR players who move seamlessly into their three-month-long-high-level NPC competition after the completion of SRP.
In terms of what the Australian third tier model should look like, the old NRC competition has some advantages over other models, but it also has some disadvantages.
I’ve come to believe that the best model (at least initially) is to simply have the SR teams—minus their test-players, and possibly their Australian A players for several games—fill that void.
This model isn’t perfect and may not be as ideal as the old NRC in every respect, but it does have some advantages.
First, as Brett McKay has often said, it’s probably the cheapest and easiest way to establish a third tier. All the coaching staff, brand names, playing kit, resources and facilities are already in place.
Second, it could actually be the quickest and most effective way to improve the depth and competitiveness of the SR teams—maybe even more so than what NZ’s NPC does for their SR teams.
It would enable non-test SR players to continue to play together under the one coaching structure, develop existing combinations and game plans, and build greater overall cohesion in preparation for SRP the following year.
Further to this, bringing aspiring club players into the culture and cohesiveness of the SR teams themselves should accelerate their development within a particular SR team, making them more ready to play SR than they would be otherwise.
Third, it forces the SR franchises and state bodies to take responsibility and the initiative to develop aspiring club players. It will be in their own best interest to proactively get along side up-and-coming club players to offer them extra training and advice, etc. throughout the year.
I suspect that the SR teams would be able to get better access and have more sway with aspiring club players in this regard compared to the old NRC teams anyway. And so it just removes that extra middleman.
As to the competition format, ideally it would involve Australia’s five super rugby teams and Fiji Dura minus their test players, playing a double round robin from August to October. This would give all teams a minimum of ten games each.
However, I suspect the club competitions won’t be willing to shorten their season to make way for this in the next couple of years.
So we start with small steps. The competition could run alongside the new-look U16 and U19 competitions from late September and October.
The u16 and u19 representative teams have just started playing under the guise of the SR teams. So it would be a neat fit to the player pathway already being developed.
While the competition would initially only involve a single round of games, teams could then organise their own games against overseas opposition during November. This would provide an extra two or three games in preparation for SRP the following year.
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.