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Australian Rugby / RA

Derpus

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Rugby not doing too bad when compared to league when you consider one has 5 pro teams and the other 16 pro teams. View attachment 17779
Amateur rugby league is objectively worse than amateur union. When I was still slugging it out in subbies there were loads of lads around who were former league players and fans who played because it wasn't as rough.
 

hoggy

Nev Cottrell (35)
It's the definition of insanity Hoggy. Change a thing here, cut a cost there, run an extra thirty games along the way and we will be back to where we need to be. Super Rugby is at odds with our history (premier club based competition & a representative provincial game, not a developmental one) and our geography (concentrated in Sydney and Brisbane). We allocate 60% of our resources at Super Level to the ACT and two states where Rugby Union barely registers. That is not common sense. It is farcical. No rational business operator would ever suggest that is the model that most suits our characteristics.
Mate I am so over it. (had a couple beers on the road)

I have loved rugby Union since I was a kid. yet my son is playing league on the (sunshine Coast), he goes to a state school 3000 kids yet rugby Union has no presence there.

We get it shoved down our throat how rugby is a global game, Super Fucking Global Rugby, We have Dolphins Membership for next year.

But what the fuck, Rugby doesn't need me its a GLOBAL game.
 
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Joe King

Dave Cowper (27)
Well of course it would be fantastic if we were competitive with NZ. Experts have been telling that us for 20 years. Its that simple we just have to get our act together and start beating the Kiwi teams, and everyone will start following rugby, ffs.
I hear your frustration, mate.
 

Joe King

Dave Cowper (27)
It's a little frustrating when someone who joined the forum a month ago talks about (and I'm paraphrasing) how to save Australian Rugby in three easy steps.

Step 1, RA make a deal with NZR to shift the RC to March-April where it will significantly overlap with the Six Nations. Include Fiji and Japan, and play a single round robin with a mid-competition break for travel rest.

Step 2. Shifting the RC from its current time-slot creates the space between the July and November Test windows for Australia to have its own genuine domestic competition with all their Test players available. Significantly, it would run head-to-head with the peek end of the NRL and AFL season. New Zealand can revamp their NPC with all their Test stars available in this space too.

Step 3. The trade-off for New Zealand agreeing to this shift is that NZ get just the two highly competitive Australian teams for SRP (Super Rugby Pacific): a combined Waratahs-Brumbies team and a combined Reds-Force-Rebels team. Having only two teams doesn’t bother Australian fans because they now have their own top-level domestic comp, and SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) will be a lot shorter. With only 9 SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) teams playing a single round robin plus finals, SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) would become a shorter but more intense competition, and fit neatly between the new RC and the July Tests with a week off between each of them.

The professional rugby structure for New Zealand and Australia would look as follows:

March-April — The Rugby Championship

April-June — SRP (Super Rugby Pacific)

July — Test rugby in Southern Hemisphere

August-October — Pro Domestic Comps

November — Test rugby in Northern Hemisphere

How’s that ;-)
 

half

Dick Tooth (41)
Today started on page 808 I think so we have posted 1o pages today, impressive, if RA could only act with such speed and skill.
 

Dan54

David Wilson (68)
Step 1, Rugby Australia make a deal with NZR to shift the RC to March-April where it will significantly overlap with the Six Nations. Include Fiji and Japan, and play a single round robin with a mid-competition break for travel rest.

Step 2. Shifting the RC from its current time-slot creates the space between the July and November Test windows for Australia to have its own genuine domestic competition with all their Test players available. Significantly, it would run head-to-head with the peek end of the NRL and AFL season. New Zealand can revamp their NPC with all their Test stars available in this space too.

Step 3. The trade-off for New Zealand agreeing to this shift is that NZ get just the two highly competitive Australian teams for SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific): a combined Waratahs-Brumbies team and a combined Reds-Force-Rebels team. Having only two teams doesn’t bother Australian fans because they now have their own top-level domestic comp, and SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) will be a lot shorter. With only 9 SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) teams playing a single round robin plus finals, SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) would become a shorter but more intense competition, and fit neatly between the new RC and the July Tests with a week off between each of them.

The professional rugby structure for New Zealand and Australia would look as follows:

March-April — The Rugby Championship

April-June — SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific)

July — Test rugby in Southern Hemisphere

August-October — Pro Domestic Comps

November — Test rugby in Northern Hemisphere

How’s that ;-)
Has some good points Joe, only trouble is it not just NZ and Aus who decide when RC is played, but also Argies and SA, and neither (or probably RA) would want RC played outside test window as they lose to many players? But like the idea that you trying to come up with solutions.
 

Dan54

David Wilson (68)
Got to say, watching Super Rugby AU in 2021 I just felt relaxed and enjoyed every round. Even before the big final I was loving it. I didn’t care if my team lost because it was still building rugby somewhere in Australia. When 3 Australian teams lose in SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific), it’s so depressing.

Towards the end I wrote a thousand articles on why we needed to keep it.

Thing is, I loved Super Rugby Aotearoa as well. I couldn’t believe so many Kiwis fans didn’t want to keep it.
Actually you would be surprised how many kiwis did want to keep it, and still do to this day. I understand why RA and NZR both feel the need to keep Super , but there are as many kiwis who would just as soon as just have Super Aotearoa if not more than Aussies who liked the idea of super AU, don't ever mistake what you read on a few forum as being the majority view of any either countries' supporters. I have a good number of real rygby mates in Aus, who wouldn't think of going on a forum, but in general they don't like the the idea of a super AU being permanent. (not enough variety etc)
 

Rugrat

Darby Loudon (17)
Just to throw it out there. If you change the belief that the wallabies only improve by aus franchise performance in Super Rugby, to Australian eligible players performance globally, everything changes. Yes we need a strong competition for our local ( Australian based) players And Super rugby is that competition. But it’s not the pinnacle or only comp for Wallaby selection. With the new international comp and alignment of the domestic seasons internationally this will have a massive change on player availability for internationals. There will always be serious Finacial investment in the rich club comps in France for key positional talent. Your 4, 5, 8/6, 10 that are international quality will be playing club northern hemisphere As will truelly exceptional talent in other positions. NZ rugby simply won’t be able to afford and match the talent drain and continue to only pick all blacks from NZ based players. This will actually benefit our Super Rugby Teams As NZ clubs will be diluted. Super Rugby should still hold if not improve because all teams will be more competitive within the framework of that comp. Bottom line is you must align your development of Super Rugby and existing local club competitions to the future structure of World rugby internationals from 2026 not what it currently is today.
 

HogansHeros

Jim Clark (26)
Amateur rugby league is objectively worse than amateur union. When I was still slugging it out in subbies there were loads of lads around who were former league players and fans who played because it wasn't as rough.
Thats because amateur rugby league essentially doesn't exist in seniors. Is there even an exclusively amateur comp?
Ive worked with plenty of blokes who pull on the boots on the weekend for their local league club, but only still do it cause they are getting $200-300 a game.
 

Wilson

Phil Kearns (64)
Has some good points Joe, only trouble is it not just NZ and Aus who decide when RC is played, but also Argies and SA, and neither (or probably Rugby Australia) would want RC played outside test window as they lose to many players? But like the idea that you trying to come up with solutions.
SA and Argentina want it moved to better fit their player's season with most of them playing in Europe now

As far as the test window goes it's not a big deal, if the rugby championship moved the test window would move with it. The biggest issue for Australia and New Zealand is coming into the rugby championship without any preparation, they'd need some sort of warm up games beforehand, but there's not much time available.
 

Derpus

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Thats because amateur rugby league essentially doesn't exist in seniors. Is there even an exclusively amateur comp?
Ive worked with plenty of blokes who pull on the boots on the weekend for their local league club, but only still do it cause they are getting $200-300 a game.
I guess I havnt checked but I'd be pretty surprised if there was no amateur league...
 

The Ghost of Raelene

Simon Poidevin (60)
If you are playing League and not being paid you are a fucking idiot.

They have always been paid. It's the nature of what the sport came from.

They are also usually backed by a leagues club of some size that support them. Most sides in the Sydney Shield for example will have A grade and that's it. Only some of the really big ones like Wentworthville will have teams in multiple competitions like the Ron Massey as well. Country footy can be different. They may have reserve grade but they still get beer money.
 

wamberal99

Jim Clark (26)
If you are playing League and not being paid you are a fucking idiot.

They have always been paid. It's the nature of what the sport came from.

They are also usually backed by a leagues club of some size that support them. Most sides in the Sydney Shield for example will have A grade and that's it. Only some of the really big ones like Wentworthville will have teams in multiple competitions like the Ron Massey as well. Country footy can be different. They may have reserve grade but they still get beer money.

There used to be a University competition. Maybe not these days.

A mate of mine, many years ago, played what used to be called Junior League for Guildford. Only two or three of them got paid, my mate got the biggest wage. He was pretty good. He told me that he was expected to do a disproportionate share of the tackling, the other players made sure he did, too.

After the game he would meet the club manager who would take him to one of the poker machines, open it, and give him twenty quid!

He was a schoolteacher, and the extra money came in handy.
 
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