A case of Rugby Union elitism in Victoria?

[TOCC]

I guess it does make sense, the few schools who do play rugby union in Victoria are the elite GPS schools..

New rugby franchise aims to fly high

TOMORROW lunchtime, things may be a bit quiet at the top end of town. If you're after a top-flight banker or lawyer, chances are they will be at Crown Casino, rubbing shoulders with hundreds of other well-heeled sports fans at a lunch for Melbourne's new rugby union team, the Rebels.

On the eve of the Rebels' first game, against the Waratahs at AAMI Park on Friday night, about 1200 people will show their support at the lunch, with a refined musical backdrop to be provided by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and opera singer Teddy Tahu Rhodes. To round out the afternoon's entertainment, Mike Brady will give a sneak preview of his new rugby anthem.

It's no surprise the premium gold and platinum tickets for Friday's game have long sold out. Rebels management confirms more than half the club's 7000 members come from the Weary Dunlop Club, essentially a club for affluent rugby fans, and platinum memberships.
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu, often sniped at for his privileged background, was a keen rugby player in his day - he captained the 1973 Colts premiership team and represented Victoria.

Sponsorship experts say rugby's traditional ties to private schools, and hence the ''old boys'' network, will have been a huge help in shoring up corporate support for the new club.

Rebels chairman, media buyer Harold Mitchell, said ties with the top end of town helped get the Rebels off the ground, but pointed out that support for rugby ran deep in Melbourne and was not restricted to ''bluebloods''.

''One thing I insisted on was that it be a mix of not only the top end but also the broader community … You have to get the community behind it,'' he said.

Rebels board member Gary Gray, whose involvement with Victorian rugby goes back to the failed 2005 bid to get a licence from the Australian Rugby Union, said rugby's support in Melbourne was a complex and varied mix.

''Rugby is an international game. You have a lot of people that have been starved for it in this town - expats both from interstate and from New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, even France and other parts of Europe where rugby's popular.''

Mr Gray said there was also strong support from the local south Pacific island community, which has fielded many top players, and local clubs.

''In Victoria there's the south Pacific island community, some of the state schools play rugby, most of the private schools play.''

As part of the bid to build community support, the Rebels have played games in Morwell and Ballarat and have close ties with Victorian Rugby Union.

In other support-building programs, players are linked to various schools, clubs, charities and businesses.

Mr Mitchell said recent practice games had attracted crowds of about 13,000 and argued that support for rugby in Victoria had long been underestimated.

''It runs deep,'' he said. ''Scratch the surface in Melbourne and there it is. In a sports-mad city we can fit in another one.''

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...ranchise-aims-to-fly-high-20110215-1av43.html

Up there, Ted Baillieu: The Premier gets some lineout practice with new Melbourne rugby union outfit the Rebels.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

You'll find that in all the Southern states that rugby is very much a private school game. Those who didn't go to a private school (like myself) would have played at local junior club level.

 

[en_force_er]

I think you'll find most sports' preseason events will be quite lavished and thus attract the more wealthy fans.

Though Vic Schools rugby is increasing in strength each year the lions share of Vic talent and fans come from the club scene, who may or may not be wealthy.

GPS is called APS (Association Public Schools) in Victoria but the rugby union schools competition is run independent of the APS and features many non-APS schools. Most of the good ones are APS it was won by a non APS school this year.

 

[RugbyFuture]

Its part of the culture right across this country which needs to change, unfortunately others arent open to the culture of rugby.

 

[barbarian]

No shit sherlock. Rugby is a more complex and nuanced game and will thus is more appealing to educated people, and that is just as true in Victoria as anywhere else.

 

[RugbyFuture]

baa baa getting his Van the Man on...

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

No shit sherlock. Rugby is a more complex and nuanced game and will thus is more appealing to educated people, and that is just as true in Victoria as anywhere else.

I like to refer to it as the thinking mans game

 

[Clawhammer]

No shit sherlock. Rugby is a more complex and nuanced game and will thus is more appealing to educated people, and that is just as true in Victoria as anywhere else.

Perhaps - but that argument doesn't really hold up for Pacific Island countries. There aren't many guys running around Suva or Apia who've had a private school education or been to university.

 

[mudskipper]

When their on the field it doesn't matter which school they attended... Like all sports good players need discipline and focus to be successful professionals. It great Melbourne now have a team in Super Rugby, it’s a massive boost for Australian rugby on many levels...

 

[Tiger]

No shit sherlock. Rugby is a more complex and nuanced game and will thus is more appealing to educated people, and that is just as true in Victoria as anywhere else.

I disagree. "Private school" doesn't necessarily mean "educated" and "educated" doesn't necessarily mean "I like rugby". I've got heaps of mates who went through private schools but never went to uni and work as tradies or started their own business but love rugby. Similarly, how many guys from your school who were on the physics team do you see at the games?

It's what you get exposed to in the school - you grow up with it, you and your mates play it. Private schools have a rugby culture.

I don't think it's a case of "private school therefore educated therefore rugby", I think it's more a case of "I'm exposed to rugby in a private school and that's what I know". It's that increased exposure that helps you appreciate the nuances. I can't think of a single thing I learnt in high school that someone in a state school wouldn't have that would make me like rugby more.

 

[Ruggo]

Rugby needs to get rid of the boys club mentality. It is just another proffessional code in the market place. Schools rugby has an important place in the game but we need to build up junior club rugby to spread the game. Is the cost of junior fees competitive with the competition? These are the issues that need to be addressed. We need to work harder to promote participation.

 

[cyclopath]

Perhaps - but that argument doesn't really hold up for Pacific Island countries. There aren't many guys running around Suva or Apia who've had a private school education or been to university.

Doesn't mean they aren't smart.
Plus, not much competition from other codes. Thus, they are exposed at an early age and become indoctrinated into rugby. 'Tis beautiful.
I would argue that Rugby, as played in Pacific nations, is probably its purest form, not bogged down by overanalysis and dogma as it is here at times.