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Where is the evidence for this? Almost all fans of Rugby are involved in the game on a playing/club basis. I don't know anyone who cares about their Super team without having a connection (i.e. membership!) to a club in their city. Sure, the total number of people who care about the Tahs is...

This is the challenge, and why I propose that it can only be done by allowing our best players to go overseas. For me, there is also a labour rights issue at the heart of it: why should the best Wallabies not be allowed to access the best salaries in the world (available in France) simply...

I bet your bottom dollar if Randwick, Eastwood, Brothers, GPS etc. had the opportunity to play in a national club competition and retain the players who they develop from age 5+ in some instances, with a share of television revenue, they would jump at it. It's not like the lower tiers would just...

Correct Reg, and that's why I think we should do it. Super Rugby evidently does not suit Australian Rugby. We have multiple clubs with 100+ year histories in this country. They are the lifeblood of our game. Yet we spend the money generated by the Wallabies on failing organisations with no...

IMO Let's go global ASAP. Let the best players go overseas to Japan, France, URC. Good luck to the NRL if the Top 14 start raiding Rugby League and Union schoolboys. The best ideas, players and coaches are in the North because its where the most money is. Its where the stars will develop as...

Quality and Premiere are not exactly words you could associate with Australian Rugby.

We are in agreement here half. Prime, Netflix, Apple TV are the sorts of partnerships we should be looking to cultivate moving forward. It might be too early for investment in the next broadcast cycle. But we should read the way the winds are blowing and as good as it is for rugby die-hards...

There is something pretty amusing about the idea that Rugby Union and Rugby League might be the Western World's trump card in the struggle for regional control over the Asia-Pacific. Irony of PVL sitting at a White House Dinner aside, I don't think this is a stupid stunt. It's smart, low-cost...

BOK has been a major talking point in all three of the major games he has refereed this year (Super Rugby final, RWC QF & SF). Not a great look. World Rugby's appointments can be a bit baffling sometimes.

Think we are in agreement Hoggy. Where there is a model (private ownership or otherwise) that sometimes produces good competitions and sometimes not, we need to ask ourselves what the subtle distinctions between those competitions are and whether the nuances of the good competitions are suitable...

The point is they are both equally relevant factors. There is no point implementing a new structure for the sole fact it is more safe financially. Arguably the fundamental problem facing Super Rugby is that it is just a poor quality competition and does not attract viewers. There is no point...

Can't say I've ever watched the bloke play (or at least remember watching him). But experienced props always make me happy.

If there clear examples of private ownership not producing a good competition (A-League, MLR, MLS eg) then it evidently does not always simply work. It's a question of whether it is the right fit for each sport in each country, which will vary. Unless the only metric for success of an ownership...

half, I think you would have a slightly more positive reception if you advanced the argument for private ownership leading with actually successful competitions (Top 14, EPL, NFL) rather than leading with A-League, MLS and MLR, which are all crap.

In some respects I agree. My general thoughts on how scrums should be refereed is just a few more short-arm penalties in the place of multiple resets. In total though, I prefer Raiwalui's take : Rugby is a brilliant game because of the manner of ways it can be played. Preferencing one over the...

Barely even a journalist. Just a man spouting nonsense in a silly bandana. Him and his wife are the most up their arse couple in Australia, can't stand them.

Agree completely. In some respects I understand it. I have a degree of discomfort with soccer for example training kids in academies from the age of 6. In an ideal world, I think kids should be left to be kids, to find their passion for the game on their own, to make their own choices and...

For example, here is a quote from the article: "Rugby has become so specialised, and so different from league (never mind AFL), that you could probably count on one hand the number of NRL players who would make any sort of the difference to the Wallabies." Say this is true (although I'm certain...

Agreed, this article really got my goat. No one talking about the challenges League poses to Union is under the impression that our problems aren't of our own making. But to just handwave them away is ignorant of reality. It also reflects an arrogance towards League in certain sections of the...

Truth is it's not really about PNG or sport. It's about China and making sure we have a friendly doormat if (when?) it all goes tits up in Taiwan. Same reason we are spending money on the Drua. It's certainly not because Albanese gives a toss about the quality of Super Rugby Pacific. All this...