#1 Tah
Chilla Wilson (44)
Hi all,
Many of you will have watched the series "The Call of The Wallaby" on Fox Sports and YouTube recently. There was an inconspicuous moment in the first episode, when Tiana Penitani said something along the lines of "My generation has never known the Wallabies to be that successful".
I was born the same year as Super Rugby, in 1996. My earliest memories are of my Dad taking me to rugby games at places like Coogee, Woollahra, Manly, Concord and North Sydney, or running around in the stands and on the hills, watching and learning about the sport that we all love.
My two clear earliest rugby memories are of Jonny Wilkinson hitting that drop goal in 2003, and of the Waratahs going down in the 2005 Final in Christchurch. I only have three clear memories of the Wallabies beating the All Blacks - in 2008 in Sydney, in 2010 in Hong Kong and in 2011 in Brisbane. I don't know what it's like to win a Bledisloe cup, and I don't know what it's like to win a World Cup. The last time the Wallabies won at Eden park was five years before my parents had met.
"Boo hoo, you are whining about the Wallabies losing" I hear you say. And you're right. But this isn't just me. This is the entire generation coming through high school. The kids playing Schoolboy rugby all have the same experience as I do - the next generation coming through to play for the Wallabies don't believe that it's possible for the Wallabies to match and compete with the All Blacks consistently, because we have never seen it done. These kids are going to play for the Wallabies and start the game already beaten because they don't believe they can do it.
Now more than ever Australia needs a third tier Rugby competition. And give credit where it's due, the ARU has provided for us. It's not perfect, but it's a start. There's nothing to say that the competition is going to stay this way forever. This competition was designed to be able to adapt and evolve, to be a global leader in Rugby and provide a strong development pathway to Super Rugby and into the Gold jersey. If you look at New Zealand and South Africa, and say that their dominance on the international stage has nothing to do with their national competitions, then you must be very naive.
This brings me to those who seek to cut down, criticise and undo all of the hard work that every stakeholder has put into this competition. Those of you who will bag the format, the teams, the jerseys, the law variations, the broadcast deals, the crowd sizes... I could go on, but you get the point.
My response to the majority of these is this: It's been one fucking week. Either give the competition a chance to prove that it's shit, then launch into the "I told you so"s, or watch it take off, and then kindly pipe down and take a slice of humble pie. To the people who didn't watch the game on Thursday, didn't go to any games on the weekend and still criticise, you are the reason we can't have nice things. Get away from the keyboard that's in your parent's basement, and go to a game. You might even enjoy it.
Those who criticise the laws: I wasn't around when Rugby went professional, when the value of tries were increased, when the sin bin was introduced, or when lifting in lineouts were allowed, but I have no doubt that there were people opposing it. Where are those people now? They are either dead or they are too embarrassed to show their faces in public. So you have a choice - you can try something different (god forbid we let crook lineouts go if they aren't contested) or you can get left behind. If we look back at the end of the season and we decide that some laws weren't working, we can always go back to what we know works next year.
Those who criticise the teams and broadcast deals: Remember when the Big Bash league started? Cricket Australia moved away from the traditional state based teams, which had history, rivalry and established pathways and manufactured some new teams, put them in fluoro colours and tweaks the laws to promote attacking cricket with plenty of sixes, catches and bails that light up. It was as much a development tool as it was pure entertainment. Sound familiar? The Big Bash started out on Foxtel, and after two years, moved over to Channel 10, which was a resounding success. Yes, the NRC has a longer race to run, but if it keeps up the same standard we saw this weekend, then we can expect to have every game broadcast in the next few years. If we keep getting out to games, watching on Thursday nights and pestering Fox and the ARU for more content, then they will give us more. Make this product a success, and a Free-To-Air network will make a bid. First we take Manhattan, and then we take Berlin.
I just don't understand those who think this competition is anything but good for Australian rugby. Who knows: if it turns a profit, then the ARU may be able to stop charging junior clubs registration fees to improve their bottom line. For the first time, Rugby has a genuine force in Western Sydney, ready to really engage with the fans and fight the good fight against the mungos, the AFL (Australian Fairy League) and that other joke of a sport. We want to build a community feel around Rugby in Australia, and if we can't do it around the Wallabies when Super Rugby ends, we need this competition to fill the void. It's a start, and it's only going to get better. The players get better as they play more, fans get a competition that has a good standard and exciting rugby all round. My generation gets something to do on Thursday nights, Saturdays and Sundays that will keep us from beating each other up in Kings Cross. We teach the kids about rugby and drag them away from finals time in the other codes. They can run on the field, meet their heroes and shake their hands after the game. Can you do that at a mungo or AFL final? Didn't think so. This is rugby as it should be.
Ultimately, this competition's success will depend on how we, the fans, embrace it. This is my call to arms to get around it. Lets make this one last longer than a year. If you live in Sydney, go to every game you possibly can. Go to Parra stadium on Thursday and get out to Leichhardt on Sunday arvo. I don't care if you don't support the Rams or the Stars, the Vikings or the Spirit, the Rays or the Eagles, City or Country, lets get out to every game we can. We need to do this for Australian Rugby; we need to do this for ourselves to make sure that we have a game to support in the years to come. We need to do this to keep this pathway into Gold open, so one day my friends and I can know what it's like to win a Bledisloe cup, and humiliate the All Blacks like they have done so many times for us. They have built it; it is time for us to come. (And we all need to take a leaf out of Pfitzy's book and come as hard as him for this competition).
The Tahs are champions. Sevens is now an Olympic sport. Rugby in WA is only growing, and Adelaide is constantly campaigning for the Wallabies to come to town in South Australia. This competition is the missing link that can take us to number one. It's not going to be an easy or quick process, but it has started. Get around it or get left behind.
Many of you will have watched the series "The Call of The Wallaby" on Fox Sports and YouTube recently. There was an inconspicuous moment in the first episode, when Tiana Penitani said something along the lines of "My generation has never known the Wallabies to be that successful".
I was born the same year as Super Rugby, in 1996. My earliest memories are of my Dad taking me to rugby games at places like Coogee, Woollahra, Manly, Concord and North Sydney, or running around in the stands and on the hills, watching and learning about the sport that we all love.
My two clear earliest rugby memories are of Jonny Wilkinson hitting that drop goal in 2003, and of the Waratahs going down in the 2005 Final in Christchurch. I only have three clear memories of the Wallabies beating the All Blacks - in 2008 in Sydney, in 2010 in Hong Kong and in 2011 in Brisbane. I don't know what it's like to win a Bledisloe cup, and I don't know what it's like to win a World Cup. The last time the Wallabies won at Eden park was five years before my parents had met.
"Boo hoo, you are whining about the Wallabies losing" I hear you say. And you're right. But this isn't just me. This is the entire generation coming through high school. The kids playing Schoolboy rugby all have the same experience as I do - the next generation coming through to play for the Wallabies don't believe that it's possible for the Wallabies to match and compete with the All Blacks consistently, because we have never seen it done. These kids are going to play for the Wallabies and start the game already beaten because they don't believe they can do it.
Now more than ever Australia needs a third tier Rugby competition. And give credit where it's due, the ARU has provided for us. It's not perfect, but it's a start. There's nothing to say that the competition is going to stay this way forever. This competition was designed to be able to adapt and evolve, to be a global leader in Rugby and provide a strong development pathway to Super Rugby and into the Gold jersey. If you look at New Zealand and South Africa, and say that their dominance on the international stage has nothing to do with their national competitions, then you must be very naive.
This brings me to those who seek to cut down, criticise and undo all of the hard work that every stakeholder has put into this competition. Those of you who will bag the format, the teams, the jerseys, the law variations, the broadcast deals, the crowd sizes... I could go on, but you get the point.
My response to the majority of these is this: It's been one fucking week. Either give the competition a chance to prove that it's shit, then launch into the "I told you so"s, or watch it take off, and then kindly pipe down and take a slice of humble pie. To the people who didn't watch the game on Thursday, didn't go to any games on the weekend and still criticise, you are the reason we can't have nice things. Get away from the keyboard that's in your parent's basement, and go to a game. You might even enjoy it.
Those who criticise the laws: I wasn't around when Rugby went professional, when the value of tries were increased, when the sin bin was introduced, or when lifting in lineouts were allowed, but I have no doubt that there were people opposing it. Where are those people now? They are either dead or they are too embarrassed to show their faces in public. So you have a choice - you can try something different (god forbid we let crook lineouts go if they aren't contested) or you can get left behind. If we look back at the end of the season and we decide that some laws weren't working, we can always go back to what we know works next year.
Those who criticise the teams and broadcast deals: Remember when the Big Bash league started? Cricket Australia moved away from the traditional state based teams, which had history, rivalry and established pathways and manufactured some new teams, put them in fluoro colours and tweaks the laws to promote attacking cricket with plenty of sixes, catches and bails that light up. It was as much a development tool as it was pure entertainment. Sound familiar? The Big Bash started out on Foxtel, and after two years, moved over to Channel 10, which was a resounding success. Yes, the NRC has a longer race to run, but if it keeps up the same standard we saw this weekend, then we can expect to have every game broadcast in the next few years. If we keep getting out to games, watching on Thursday nights and pestering Fox and the ARU for more content, then they will give us more. Make this product a success, and a Free-To-Air network will make a bid. First we take Manhattan, and then we take Berlin.
I just don't understand those who think this competition is anything but good for Australian rugby. Who knows: if it turns a profit, then the ARU may be able to stop charging junior clubs registration fees to improve their bottom line. For the first time, Rugby has a genuine force in Western Sydney, ready to really engage with the fans and fight the good fight against the mungos, the AFL (Australian Fairy League) and that other joke of a sport. We want to build a community feel around Rugby in Australia, and if we can't do it around the Wallabies when Super Rugby ends, we need this competition to fill the void. It's a start, and it's only going to get better. The players get better as they play more, fans get a competition that has a good standard and exciting rugby all round. My generation gets something to do on Thursday nights, Saturdays and Sundays that will keep us from beating each other up in Kings Cross. We teach the kids about rugby and drag them away from finals time in the other codes. They can run on the field, meet their heroes and shake their hands after the game. Can you do that at a mungo or AFL final? Didn't think so. This is rugby as it should be.
Ultimately, this competition's success will depend on how we, the fans, embrace it. This is my call to arms to get around it. Lets make this one last longer than a year. If you live in Sydney, go to every game you possibly can. Go to Parra stadium on Thursday and get out to Leichhardt on Sunday arvo. I don't care if you don't support the Rams or the Stars, the Vikings or the Spirit, the Rays or the Eagles, City or Country, lets get out to every game we can. We need to do this for Australian Rugby; we need to do this for ourselves to make sure that we have a game to support in the years to come. We need to do this to keep this pathway into Gold open, so one day my friends and I can know what it's like to win a Bledisloe cup, and humiliate the All Blacks like they have done so many times for us. They have built it; it is time for us to come. (And we all need to take a leaf out of Pfitzy's book and come as hard as him for this competition).
The Tahs are champions. Sevens is now an Olympic sport. Rugby in WA is only growing, and Adelaide is constantly campaigning for the Wallabies to come to town in South Australia. This competition is the missing link that can take us to number one. It's not going to be an easy or quick process, but it has started. Get around it or get left behind.
