Where to for professional rugby in Australia? The Wallabies are out of the World Cup, our Super Rugby sides can’t compete against the Kiwis and we haven’t won a Bledisloe Cup in decades.
The World Cup has highlighted that Super Rugby may be hindering the development of the type of players needed for the Wallabies to compete.
Super Rugby has a set of rules that promotes try-scoring. The rules, match day, and TV entertainment focus on the elusive and skilful backs scoring spectacular tries in the corner. Unfortunately for rugby, there is another code in Australia that does the same thing and the TV package is more entertaining.
In 2023, we have observed the Matildas capture the hearts and minds of the nation and leapfrog the Wallabies as one of our favourite national teams.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup generated acres of reporting, and hundreds of thousands of kids talking about Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso in the ways they speak about Nick Daicos in Melbourne or Nathan Cleary in Sydney.
Meanwhile, the Wallabies have been bundled out of their World Cup campaign in France. The most well-known personality is the coach, Eddie Jones, with many non-rugby fans struggling to name more than 2 or 3 players.
How did we fall so far and what can we do?
Jordan Petaia, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Andrew Kellaway. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The way we promote and market our game is part of the challenge. The rugby codes are too similar in the way we hear stadium announcements, music and even the TV commentary at times. The play of our backline is compared to the flashes of brilliance from the Warriors or Panthers and their scintillating 2023 form, and yet they are different codes with different rules.
Rugby needs to celebrate and promote their points of difference.
Super Rugby has adjusted rules for scrum resets with a shot clock to speed it up, forcing the selection of smaller, more mobile forward packs. Meanwhile, in Europe, they adore forward play and call up monstrous forward packs and worship the big men and salivate over the scrums and lineouts. The World Cup has shown us that winning involves dominating the set piece at the scrum and lineout, it involves getting over the advantage line and winning the rucks. Bigger bodies are needed for the physical battles.
Professional rugby in Australia needs to look at the big sporting entertainment franchises and learn and adapt. Rugby should celebrate the big men, worship the scrums in the same way that the NFL idolises their massive defensive units, or the NBA with their big men.
Super Rugby needs an overhaul to improve the rules, the match-day entertainment and broadcasting. If you’ve been to a Big Bash game, it’s high energy, loud music. The screens and announcers tell you when game-specific things happen – it’s loud, it’s frenetic and it’s advertised in the apps, the flyers and on screens at every ground.
When you turn up for Super Rugby or a Test, you get some colour, limited fireworks, and music is played during stoppage times. What if we turned our matches into a performance on and off the field?
On arrival at the Sydney Football Stadium for the Waratahs, you get the TRY card handed to you with key rules on the back engaging on our scrums and law variations. Pre-game we hype up the contest of the big men, with highlight reels of scrums. When the play breaks down and teams are preparing to pack a scrum, we need to increase the intensity with ground announcers spruiking the scrum, the music building into a crescendo and then BANG – the packs collide!
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
We need to celebrate what’s different in our game, rather than copy the same script as a rugby league game.
Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes, yet Super Rugby is pushing us towards a common body shape and based on results (on and off the field), it is not delivering.
Why do we lose players to overseas? Financial reward and opportunity. We have the big men playing our game, but they can’t get picked out of the semi-professional state competitions or progress through academies because Super Rugby doesn’t want them.
If we focus on the points of difference in our game through the rules, the media and match day, this will ultimately help attract players to our game and retain them. If the public engage and attend games, if players become household names, then maybe the Wallabies can leapfrog the Matildas and find out that Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou and Will Skelton are bigger drawcards than Kerr or Fowler?
Maybe I’m dreaming, but surely, we have to try!
LuckyPhil
Roar Rookie
Contrary to what we have been told, size matters. :silly: Agree with you 100%. I have a feeling that Darren Coleman has identified that size is important. Last year we saw most players start the year heavier than the previous year (but came with a drop off in speed). While it didn't come with better results, it isn't a quick change. Fingers crossed they improve this year!! Maybe in part to the 7's program, Australia don't have issues developing flankers, halfbacks, and outside backs. Our two biggest areas of concern are tight five and in the game controllers (ie 5/8 and centres). Short term, RA need to have a scrum school. Bring Dan Palmer back to oversee it. It will only take 3-4 years and we would have a pipeline of tight five players. 130kg props and 130kg 6'7 locks that love contact. Treat them like Sumo wrestlers. Teach them the technical aspects of scrums, get them into the gym and feed them Chanko-nabe. It is the way of the future.
Lorry
Roar Rookie
Australia has become massively more regulated around alcohol in public space over last 20 years, especially in Sydney. Tailgate parties would never be allowed!
LuckyPhil
Roar Rookie
Are you saying there needs to be more than this like an extended age competition? Short answer is Yes and it needs to be a coherent pathway. Look at League in NSW. Andrew Johns Cup - U16 - 12 regional rep teams Laurie Daley Cup - U18 - 12 regional rep teams Harold Matthews - U17 - 16 teams - feeds into SG Ball SG Ball - U19 - 17 teams - feeds into Jersey Flegg Jersey Flegg - U21 - 12 teams - feeds into NSW cup NSW Cup - Open - 12 teams - feeds into the NRL Rugby on the other hand have a mishmash of short competitions some run by state provinces, some run by Australian Schools Rugby.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Back in the 90s-00s Oz packs were as big and as strong as France, England, NZ or SA. Yes they had skills but they were a pack first and runners second. They dominated the Celts who struggled to have big players. Its been a while since and Oz pack struck fear into a T1 team and the worry for me is that some players could be great but aren't getting the development to be monster forwards.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
It's been the steel of Fiji that has helped them. It's why a team like Portugal are able to give teams frights but a team like Uruguay were just worn down by Italy. Yes SH teams have done well this WC but two of those teams had about 6 games of SR in the WC cycle. Eddie talked about Chekia had taken Argentina away from the SR style there test team tried to play when they had the Jags.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
It's are a few jumps there. Argentina's worst performance since 2003 was 2019. This is the only WC cycle that they were in SR. Not sure how they were helped by SR. How many of the Fiji starting team play for the Dura. How many of the key men for Fiji play in SR. If memory is correct there are more PI players in France than SR. How many players from SR were at the WC not with the 5 South Pacific Nations, 2 1 from Namibia and one from Argentina. There as many Toulouse players playing for Argentina as SR players outside the 5 SRP nations. Yes NZ have done well but is that because of or inspite of SR. They have a load of players leaving after the WC because SR has a massive financial problem. Laulala is going to Toulouse to be backup to Aldegheri and Franks will be back up to Lualala. I don't think Lualala would be a backup in SRP but is choosing to go elsewhere to be one.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Back then they didn't spend 10 hours a week to scrums, they were lucky to get it on all training.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Good read. I wish TV did more things around set piece. We get the weights but could get so much more. What percent of scrums do the win (have it for kickers). How high does a jumper in the line-out get. Who has the biggest wingspan. We only need look at the different approaches taken around the world. French rugby is closing in on 50 professional clubs and only 1 of the 30 top clubs didn't have a player at the WC the French sell rugby as a phyiscal contest not a running contest.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Exactly.
CPM
Roar Rookie
Rocky a full 70 percent of the Fiji squad play in attritional NH competitions. Of the 13 forwards that smashed Australia only two play for the Drua. So you could say that they benefit from having a pro side but they benefit more from playing in NH teams. Same with Argentina who did better in World Cups before the Jaguares when their players were plying in hard NH competitions.
Morsie
Roar Rookie
Yeah it was amazing how quickly and loosely scrums and lineouts were formed. Packs were much smaller compared to current packs and it was amateur days so perhaps not quite so much was at stake.
Morsie
Roar Rookie
If super team A focuses on a European style of rugby - ie a big tough pack skilled at ball retention that bludgeons the opposition into submission, and starts to win plenty (even if it is winning ugly), and tops the Aussie super table and at least goes toe to toe with the Kiwi teams, (Cheika's 2014 Waratahs) others may see the light. Look at how European and Japanese teams look to poach our biggest forwards.
Ballymore Brumby
Roar Pro
It's something I never really understood about the need for some to constantly say "we need to be more like league for reason x, y or z rule or law change." If I wanted to watch league, I'd buy a Raiders membership.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Perhaps if so many weren't so 'club ' orientated here in Australia then in rugby we just might perform far better in the international arena. Our major football game are the national game of AFL which is played nationwide, & NRL which is played at the top level only on the East Coast of Australia, that with them both being only club games, not international games. Well League is partly international but nowhere near as international as what rugby & soccer are. Our troubles start at the top, where for many a decade those in administration , are only there for their own personal gain, rather than the game itself. I saw it, when I was attached to the Sydney Subbies on a voluntary basis, back a few decades ago, & as I've been told, nothings changed. So till we get more quality personal at the top, as scouts, personal promoting the game, in every avenue, then things will stay the same.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Needs more stoppages, especially penalty goal attempts. As apparently these are features, not bugs.
Honest Max
Roar Rookie
Celebrating the unique things in rugby, rather than whinging, is spot on!
AndyS
Roar Rookie
I’ve often thought that, rather than the blaring mess they usually play over the speakers, they might be better off with a low drum beat. Not loud; aim almost at the subliminal level. Then speeding up as the ball approaches the end zone in both defense and attack. Maybe one of those things it would be interesting to try out at a lower level. Would just add, great to see the shot clock on the screen in the stadium at the RWC. Don’t know why they couldn’t manage that in SR, but hopefully this year. Would love to hear fans counting it down if the kicker was pushing his luck
Phil
Roar Rookie
Some good points in here. I particularly agree with our lack of focus on set piece. The NRC rule changes took focus away from the set piece to the detriment of our collective development. Kicking is another area we are poor at but again our focus isn’t on fixing these areas and they are crucial to compete well at SR and Test level. Constantly comparing ourselves to league and validating our game against league is something we need to completely stop doing. Does way more harm than good. After their poor performances at RWC the All Blacks and especially Wayne Smith went back to the drawing board with all their skills coaching and improved the skills of players so that they had the skills to execute the desired game plan. I think we need to do the same. Half our backs can’t even tackle with their head on the right side!!
whistleblower (retired)
Roar Rookie
For me, the other code is not even close to being entertaining.
Phil
Roar Rookie
in rugby they might make an academy side but then go and play in the local comp…There needs to be a clear national pathway. The 16s and 19s are currently playing in a revamped national comp over 5 weeks. 18s have Aust schoolboys and also Aus schools and 18s international games. Are you saying there needs to be more than this like an extended age competition?