Australian Rugby / RA

[Dan54]

Classic dick move by NZRU…

drastically cutting the TRC broadcast and sponsorship revenue to Argentina and Australia during these years.

Actually the positive is that RA can do same with Argentina etc, or get Japan to tour and keep ALL the money from tv rights can't they?

Personally I am all for it, but for selfish reasons in that I want these kind of tours happening wherever possible. I thought the general feeling was more of these type of tours to all countries was preferred by majority of fans. I am happy that NZR and SA are listening to what their fans want, seems to of taken quite a while! I can tell you I haven't heard one person here who doesn't think it a step in right direction.

Also I am more than happy if the TRC was cut to one test against each team anyway. Also less AB/Wallaby Bled matches would please most of us anyway wouldn't it?

 

[Adam84]

Nah, it’s a classic dick move by NZRU… looking after numero uno once again.

Argentina and Australian should seek significant $$ compensation from NZRU and RSA for any loss of broadcast/sponsorship earnings caused by reducing TRC.

 

[RugbyReg]

The problem is when you are at the top and fall. Not when you are used to mistreatment

I think you grossly underestimate the history of Australian rugby.

 

[Adam84]

Nah, it’s a classic dick move by NZRU… looking after numero uno once again.

Argentina and Australian should seek significant $$ compensation from NZRU and RSA for any loss of broadcast/sponsorship earnings caused by reducing TRC.

On top of financial compensation, RSA and NZRU should give up their TRC home games if they want a shortened TRC, Argentina and Australia shouldn’t lose a home game because of this decision.

Too bad for NZ fans wanting to attend a game, but that’s the price of $$

 

[Strewthcobber]

With Nations championship we are going to have to fit 5 test matches against the ROW division in Aug + Sept

Is this what it looks like?

2026 short TRC (tour + NC)
2027 short TRC (WC)
2028 short TRC to fit Nations Championship
2029 TRC
2030 short TRC (tour + NC)
2031 short TRC (WC)

 

[Marce]

With Nations championship we are going to have to fit 5 test matches against the ROW division in Aug + Sept

Is this what it looks like?

2026 short TRC (tour + NC)
2027 short TRC (WC)
2028 short TRC to fit Nations Championship
2029 TRC
2030 short TRC (tour + NC)
2031 short TRC (WC)

So TRC is gonna disappear in a couple of years or should be renamed The short Rugby Championship lol

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

With Nations championship we are going to have to fit 5 test matches against the ROW division in Aug + Sept

Is this what it looks like?

2026 short TRC (tour + NC)
2027 short TRC (WC)
2028 short TRC to fit Nations Championship
2029 TRC
2030 short TRC (tour + NC)
2031 short TRC (WC)

NC is set to run during the current June/July and November windows. At least that's what I've seen so far. How would that impact the RC?

 

[Ignoto]

When Rassie leaves the Springbok camp it wont be long till they regress back. Then these 3 match tours will become 3 back-to-back-to-back pantsing by the All Blacks which will ultimately mean no-one will want to go or watch the games.

 

[RugbyReg]

NC is set to run during the current June/July and November windows. At least that's what I've seen so far. How would that impact the RC?

Yeah I’ve seen it reported that there’s no impact on RC.

 

[Strewthcobber]

NC is set to run during the current June/July and November windows. At least that's what I've seen so far. How would that impact the RC?

There's been no announcement yet, but doesn't it only work if the 6 ROW teams play each other in the "SH" window in Aug/Sept/Oct?

ROW (TRC+Japan and Fiji probably) play their division games then, and cross division in July/Nov.

Six Nations Tourney is their divisional play

How will it work if Fiji and Japan don't play the TRC teams in Aug/Sept/October? Everyone will have played a different amount of games (especially Japan and Fiji)

 

[Raytah]

I think there might be a little too much pessimism here. RA is going to make bank from the Lions and 2027 world cup and the professional game here will continue for a while yet. A couple of years ago RA were suggesting they'd have $100 million to invest post 2027. Even if that proves to be a little optimistic, they're clearly going to be in a decent position.

Sure, there won't be another sugar hit for a long time after that, but there's a few other things in the pipeline that will increase revenues, particularly the Nations Championship starting in 2026. Add to that the Club World Cup and ANZAC Bledisloe that Dan Herbert suggested recently could be on the cards.

Growing revenues at the Super Rugby/2nd tier level is a huge challenge - and new ideas are probably needed, but the 2nd tier will never have to be entirely self sufficient given how much the international game brings in.

100% agree with this. Still great commercial opportunities in international and club rugby. RA just need to pivot their business model. They will eventually be forced to do it (i.e. cut/privatise teams, open eligibiltiy) so may as well bite the bullet and shape what it looks like.

For me - 3 Aus teams in a Trans Tasman comp + a Southern "Heineiken Cup" is my preferred annual "tier 2" commercial model. Club World Cup in its place every 4 years.

Develop our best young players through our 3 teams, then send them off to Japan/France when they cost too much but still select best available for Wallabies.

 

[LevitatingSocks]

Read a long and detailed article about Baseball in the US.

It seems Baseball is on decline with falling ratings and crowds. I don't think it's in any short or even medium term danger but the trend lines and forecast are not good.

All sorts of things are being talked about speeding up the game and maybe some rule changes.

However, what stood out for me and with our limited exposure and team numbers was the thing that scares the Baseball folk is the lack of young fans essentially they as a code are not replacing people, as they move on.

Equally they don't know how to reverse it and engage a younger audience.

Effects us as well I think

Baseball is in a worse position. Imagine cricket but they play 160+ 4-5 hour long matches a year. Completely dilutes the meaningfulness of any game you watch and the actual game itself is largely standing and waiting for something to happen with none of the crowd culture you see in cricket. If you think old school rugby tragics are conservative and miserable about anything fun, old school baseball guys are worse and are ultimately the reason the sport will diminish to irrelevance in 50 years.

Avoiding a similar trajectory means you have to grow youth participation, provide professional pathways competitive with other codes or at least competitive compared to normal jobs, properly market your stars through social media, and speed the game up in the interest of entertainment.

It's nothing that hasn't already been mentioned in this forum by many posters.

 

[Omar Comin']

100% agree with this. Still great commercial opportunities in international and club rugby. RA just need to pivot their business model. They will eventually be forced to do it (i.e. cut/privatise teams, open eligibiltiy) so may as well bite the bullet and shape what it looks like.

For me - 3 Aus teams in a Trans Tasman comp + a Southern "Heineiken Cup" is my preferred annual "tier 2" commercial model. Club World Cup in its place every 4 years.

Develop our best young players through our 3 teams, then send them off to Japan/France when they cost too much but still select best available for Wallabies.

I like the Southern Heineken Cup idea (probably more accurately Trans Tasman + Japan and maybe the Americas in time, especially if there's a 2nd tier 'Challenge Cup' as well like in Europe). But I think a Trans Tasman comp with only 3 Australian based teams is a bit silly commercially and limited by the status quo.

I've brought up the analogy of the NHL before - most players are Canadian but most teams are based in the US because they have more big population centres that can support professional teams. RA and NZR should be more integrated at the tier 2 level. Teams should be based in the major markets with policies to even out the playing talent across the competition so that all fan bases have hopes of contending for titles at least some of the time. That means having some All Blacks eligible players in Australian based clubs.

 

[KevinO]

I like the Southern Heineken Cup idea (probably more accurately Trans Tasman + Japan and maybe the Americas in time, especially if there's a 2nd tier 'Challenge Cup' as well like in Europe). But I think a Trans Tasman comp with only 3 Australian based teams is a bit silly commercially and limited by the status quo.

I've brought up the analogy of the NHL before - most players are Canadian but most teams are based in the US because they have more big population centres that can support professional teams. RA and NZR should be more integrated at the tier 2 level. Teams should be based in the major markets with policies to even out the playing talent across the competition so that all fan bases have hopes of contending for titles at least some of the time. That means having some All Blacks eligible players in Australian based clubs.

Careful, that's to much common sense.

 

[Raytah]

I like the Southern Heineken Cup idea (probably more accurately Trans Tasman + Japan and maybe the Americas in time, especially if there's a 2nd tier 'Challenge Cup' as well like in Europe). But I think a Trans Tasman comp with only 3 Australian based teams is a bit silly commercially and limited by the status quo.

I've brought up the analogy of the NHL before - most players are Canadian but most teams are based in the US because they have more big population centres that can support professional teams. RA and NZR should be more integrated at the tier 2 level. Teams should be based in the major markets with policies to even out the playing talent across the competition so that all fan bases have hopes of contending for titles at least some of the time. That means having some All Blacks eligible players in Australian based clubs.

Careful, that's to much common sense.

Agree with this, though it kind of already happens to an extent (Hodgeman, Tooamaga-Allen, Tua, Kautai, Browne, Sapsford, Franklin, Medrano, Moli Ekuasi, Proctor etc.). You probably mean including the top tier of NZ players...

In any other industry/company, bringing IP and different perspectives/expertise/ experince into an organisation is highly valued but for some reason Aus Rugby sees contracting foreign player as thieving an opportunity from a young player.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

There's been no announcement yet, but doesn't it only work if the 6 ROW teams play each other in the "SH" window in Aug/Sept/Oct?

ROW (TRC+Japan and Fiji probably) play their division games then, and cross division in July/Nov.

Six Nations Tourney is their divisional play

How will it work if Fiji and Japan don't play the TRC teams in Aug/Sept/October? Everyone will have played a different amount of games (especially Japan and Fiji)

The 6Ns isn't part of the NC nor will the RC. Not from the most recent reporting I saw. It would feature two 6 team pools with crossover games as opposed to pool games. That would mean we would play each of the 6Ns teams in the June/July and November windows with a final being held in the final week of the November window

 

[Braveheart81]

The end point of this is that we still have to select the Wallabies team and that is where all the money comes from.

Now we might reach a point where we select a lot of the Wallabies squad from overseas players but until that time we can't think that a moderate bump in the quality of our Super Rugby teams offset by substantially less Wallaby eligible players playing here that we can pick from is a good trade-off.

 

[Dan54]

Nah, it’s a classic dick move by NZRU… looking after numero uno once again.

Argentina and Australian should seek significant $$ compensation from NZRU and RSA for any loss of broadcast/sponsorship earnings caused by reducing TRC.

Genuine question Adam, who is NZR (and RSA) meant to look after first? But you are correct when you say they looking after NZ fans , which as a kiwi fan I think they should be! You give it away when you say it's only NZR who upsets you and there are 2 boards doing it. As I say I would rather RC was one round anyway, and especially Bled is a real overkill with 3 tests.
As I say I think they are listening to what their fans want, which is proper tours etc. And from what I have read in here most would like proper tours of Aus by teams too. Mate RA can do exactly the same you realise , and the NZR would get less money just the same. I would add RA should be doing what Aussie fans want too, not worrying about any other country's fans!

 

[Raytah]

Genuine question Adam, who is NZR (and RSA) meant to look after first? But you are correct when you say they looking after NZ fans , which as a kiwi fan I think they should be! You give it away when you say it's only NZR who upsets you and there are 2 boards doing it. As I say I would rather RC was one round anyway, and especially Bled is a real overkill with 3 tests.
As I say I think they are listening to what their fans want, which is proper tours etc. And from what I have read in here most would like proper tours of Aus by teams too. Mate RA can do exactly the same you realise , and the NZR would get less money just the same. I would add RA should be doing what Aussie fans want too, not worrying about any other country's fans!

Yes, it makes sense for NZR and the harsh reality is the Wallabies hasn't been competetive enough for 20 years+ for our complaints to carry any weight.

I believe (based on a podcast with Dan Herbert earlier this year) that this tour did require SANZAAR sign-off and involved some compensation to Aus & Argentina.

Looking at the positives, perhaps further opens the door to an ANZAC test in April as well.

 

[Omar Comin']

The end point of this is that we still have to select the Wallabies team and that is where all the money comes from.

Now we might reach a point where we select a lot of the Wallabies squad from overseas players but until that time we can't think that a moderate bump in the quality of our Super Rugby teams offset by substantially less Wallaby eligible players playing here that we can pick from is a good trade-off.

The argument is always that Australia only has enough talent for 3-4 Super Rugby teams and therefore we need to cut teams to strengthen the competition. But you could also just have 3-4 teams worth of Australian players spread throughout the comp. Or even 3-4 Australian dominant teams and 1-2 (based in Oz) that have a lot more international players (including some All Blacks eligible kiwis). My main point is that teams should be located in the major commercial markets with efforts to even out the playing talent across the competition. Teams shouldn't go 10+ years without ever being a chance of winning something. There's a few different ways RA and NZR could do that.