Australian Rugby / RA

[RugbyReg]

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 well and it does not deny our best players access to their full potential. The Wallabies will get much better for it and be cared about by the country. The allure of playing in a great Wallabies team around the world + $1+ million contracts in Europe and Japan will be mighty appealing to top end talent.

In the 2018 Football World Cup final 2 French players from the winning team played in France. From Argentina 1 22 year old who was on loan from Man City. Brazil, Argentina, Portugal did not start getting bad at soccer when their best players stopped playing in the country. They just reinvest their enormous transfer fees into good development programs and academies and remain very good.

Our coffers will be full and we won't have big contracts in Super Rugby anymore. We will have lots of money to spend on the clubs that already exist in our country and have done for generations. If the game had been professional since conception, Shute Shield and Hospital Cup would be the vehicles around which union was built.

we won’t have super rugby anymore if all our top players are overseas.

 

[half]

You say someone is going to do it so why shouldn't we get in first, but on that same note why would Apple pay for an entirely new competition based in a smaller market when they could get an established competition in a larger market like the UK or France?

For example Premiership rugby currently gets about 50 million US$ per year for broadcast rights, Apple could easily snap that up for the sort of money you're talking about with a lot less risk on their part.

If we want to compete there we need a point of difference - the only thing we have there is the Wallabies and the fact that we can package them with the domestic product. Realistically though it would need to be more still - Apple wants global broadcast rights, not just one market, so we need to put together some sort of full SANZAAR package that necessarily leans into the current super rugby structures, rather than away from them. Even then the success of that would likely be dependent on the global league structures and any sort of domestic rugby would potentially be an afterthought.

Mate how many F........ing times can I say I don't think it will happen but there is a small chance, very small, I have also posted a lot recently I believe Australian Rugby no longer has the ability to create a National Domestic Competition, and we need Super Rugby revenue to develop something new and i don't know what new is.

Point of difference the Wallabies, mateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee maybe in 2000,

Not sure if you read the posts but i said more than likely an Apple type deal will go to Europe or maybe SA.

Wilson, keep this to yourself, its not a popular thing to say, but SANZAAR admins are the kind would say poor, the cruel would say beyond incompetent hoping they have the ability to do this is foolish.

However, and just consider this for a sec. Perhaps a more interesting response would be to see the lights flashing out warnings that big phone tech and big tech in general are moving in and looking for a quality product and then show it world over. How do we protect ourselves ?

Anyway its all academic, has not happen yet, and I don't see it happening within 3 years, but i do see it happening within five years.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

Mate how many F........ing times can I say I don't think it will happen but there is a small chance, very small, I have also posted a lot recently I believe Australian Rugby no longer has the ability to create a National Domestic Competition, and we need Super Rugby revenue to develop something new and i don't know what new is.

Point of difference the Wallabies, mateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee maybe in 2000,

Not sure if you read the posts but i said more than likely an Apple type deal will go to Europe or maybe SA.

Wilson, keep this to yourself, its not a popular thing to say, but SANZAAR admins are the kind would say poor, the cruel would say beyond incompetent hoping they have the ability to do this is foolish.

However, and just consider this for a sec. Perhaps a more interesting response would be to see the lights flashing out warnings that big phone tech and big tech in general are moving in and looking for a quality product and then show it world over. How do we protect ourselves ?

Anyway its all academic, has not happen yet, and I don't see it happening within 3 years, but i do see it happening within five years.

Privately owned clubs, in a compeition ran by rugby australia.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

A top level club competition will not need to rely on all of our best stars playing here. Of course we will still need them here, but this comp will be carried through the supporters affiliation with clubs.

 

[half]

This is the problem facing Australian rugby in a nutshell. The International game does fund everything. But that in itself is also it downfall. You are trying to fund everything through the Wallabies.

But in doing so you compromise the domestic level of the games ability to become more financial.

And as we have seen over the last 20 years you are putting ever greater pressure on the Wallabies to generate more income, but at the same time the games popularity has steadily declined as wallaby losses have increased, because you do not have growth domestically to make up for that.

The double whammy has then been the growth of its football competitors AFL/NRL who have dominated the available market share, that Wallaby pot of gold is forever shrinking, yet with the Women's game, 7's grassroots it has more mouths than ever to feed, the NRC is a classic example of another mouth to feed but with no more money.

And as the games popularity declines it will be harder for the Wallabies to remain competitive, what happens to that revenue if the Wallabies start losing more Tests against 2nd Tier countries, at what years consecutive losses does the Bledisloe value start to decline.

I don't know what the answer is.
But I do honestly think that sooner or later Rugby Australia will have to take domestic growth more seriously, because if they don't then that Wallaby brand will just slowly cease to exist, and all that International money will go with it.

Very astute post.

Risk is a funny thing, do nothing but maintain the existing status que with minor twigs, means a slow and painful death but not blow torch to the belly pain. Do something radical with a much higher risk could mean a rapid decline and blow torch to the belly pain levels. It also may succeed and be a thing of great joy and grow.

I have repeatedly posted recently i don't know the answer, and its what a lot of posters are saying.

Among the many issues we have is an aging fan base, which I have commented on recently, and this is real issue.

So do we go down fighting or simply hope we can hang on.

This for what its worth this is my radical idea, and at the end I will post what will be a very unpopular example of this method working.

The best run sport in Australia by light years is AFL, Boomers have NFI how to fix or solve our issues.

Lets get a millennial hot shot from the AFL and put that person in charge.

Has this ever worked anywhere in the world, yes it has. In 1996 the US started the MLS with 10 teams, three folded replaced by three new, and seven teams out of ten were owned by one person at a point in time, the MLS was on its death bed, most tho it had months if not weeks left. The MLS then appointed around 2004 an early 30's National Football league [gridiron] man, and put him in charge, 19 years later its not only alive but booming.

It may fail in months, it may work, its maybe a crazy but its an idea.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

The AFL isn't run by millennials though. It's mostly gen-X'ers or older. Phil Waugh has only been in the job five minutes and he's only 44. I disagreed with his appointment due to having no CEO experience and very much being the establishment man, but he's young and has played the game. I'm inclined to give him some time to execute his plan (whatever that is).

 

[RebelYell]

I hope somebody at Rugby Australia is wise enough to approach Apple and ask for a gazillion dollarydoos before any of the other unions think of it...

The Marketing Pidgeon liked your post, so it is being discussed in the annals of Moore Park, surely!

 

[PhilClinton]

Meanwhile our Prime Minister is taking Peter V'Landys to a White House dinner so that he can spruik the wonders of a tiny little sport. Fark me, this is the most stupid stunt I have ever heard of.

I don’t think many even in rugby league circles are seeing the NRL Vegas launch as much more than a trip for the boys.

The UK Super League tried to crack the market there by soft launching a couple of teams in Toronto (yes I know it’s Canada) and maybe New York (?) and neither got off the ground.

The reality is V’landys (the horse racing guy) is seen as a pioneer of new ideas having played a large hand in NRL Magic Round and Racing’s The Everest so if he wants to give this a go, the money people will give him the green light.

 

[Members Section]

Privately owned clubs, in a compeition ran by rugby australia.

There is only 1 bloke in the country that is willing to throw cash at rugby, the only other one owned 2 teams in the usa but has gone broke

 

[Slim 293]

The best run sport in Australia by light years is AFL, Boomers have NFI how to fix or solve our issues.

Lets get a millennial hot shot from the AFL and put that person in charge.

Hot shot millennials such as Andrew Dillon… and Richard Goyder?

Both older than their rugby counterparts…

 

[RugbyReg]

I could run AFL. No international body complicating rules and no other nations to worry about having to factor in.
Just a domestic focus and the ability to manipulate any part to serve its on purpose. Rules. Game time. Team locations. Etc.

they are clearly killing it but the comparison to to rugby in Australia is like comparing apples and orange colour motor vehicles.

 

[hoggy]

I could run AFL. No international body complicating rules and no other nations to worry about having to factor in.
Just a domestic focus and the ability to manipulate any part to serve its on purpose. Rules. Game time. Team locations. Etc.

they are clearly killing it but the comparison to to rugby in Australia is like comparing apples and orange colour motor vehicles.

They may be Apples & Oranges apart, but right now we are all in the same fruit bowl, and currently Rugby looks like a rotten old apple in the corner below a dozen shiny delicious oranges.

But fear not Hamish and his buddies are over in Paris now launching the latest new super brand of Apple.

 

[Bullrush]

They may be Apples & Oranges apart, but right now we are all in the same fruit bowl, and currently Rugby looks like a rotten old apple in the corner below a dozen shiny delicious oranges.

But fear not Hamish and his buddies are over in Paris now launching the latest new super brand of Apple.

Does it though?

I would put at least 3 of the RWC quarter-finals up against any AFL game and that NRL GF. The NRL Final was boring until the last 30mins or so. I'm not gonna see any great hits or tackles watching AFL.

I'd rather watch the U16 and U19 Super Rugby games over AFL.

Rugby is a globally-followed, watched and loved sport because it's a great game. It's the perfect blend of power, speed, accuracy, endurance, skill and tactics.

The results aren't there for Australians right now but the game itself is great.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

I don’t think many even in rugby league circles are seeing the NRL Vegas launch as much more than a trip for the boys.

The UK Super League tried to crack the market there by soft launching a couple of teams in Toronto (yes I know it’s Canada) and maybe New York (?) and neither got off the ground.

The reality is V’landys (the horse racing guy) (the horse racing guy) is seen as a pioneer of new ideas having played a large hand in NRL Magic Round and Racing’s The Everest so if he wants to give this a go, the money people will give him the green light.

V'landys is drumming up racing support as much as League support. It seems to have not been super well thought out with the LA 7s being on at the same time and limited appropriate fields in Nevada they are looking for places to base the sides. Manly is going to San Diego before the game... Could be to remove them from Vegas as much as possible as well.

They are angling to try and get some sort of media presence. Even landing on one of ESPNs lower channels is a bit more $$.

Toronto Wolfpack are interesting because they were started with the idea of them coming through the lower leagues and becoming another middle of the pack side in Super League. They completely demolished the 3rd tier and found themselves promoted to Super League within 3 years. In total they played 72 games and won 66. Covid is blamed for ending it but they applied for readmission and it was denied. Pretty sure Wigan, St Helens, Leeds didn't want competition.

 

[LeCheese]

It seems to have not been super well thought out with the LA 7s being on at the same time and limited appropriate fields in Nevada they are looking for places to base the sides.

I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't necessarily an accident - if they can go H2H and beat the 7s comp in attendance / viewership (probably not difficult), that's probably a very modest metric for 'success'

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

At least Rugby has apparently booked out almost all of the appropriate grass training fields in the region.

 

[stoff]

But fear not Hamish and his buddies are over in Paris now lunching

FIFY

 

[Braveheart81]

This concept that the senior people in Rugby Australia shouldn't be at the biggest event on the rugby calendar is pretty shortsighted.

Everyone who is important in rugby is there as well as a large percentage of Wallabies fans who spend substantial amounts of money with Rugby Australia.

 

[stoff]

This concept that the senior people in Rugby Australia shouldn't be at the biggest event on the rugby calendar is pretty shortsighted.

Everyone who is important in rugby is there as well as a large percentage of Wallabies fans who spend substantial amounts of money with Rugby Australia.

I get why they are there and that they have a job to do. Given what happened in the world cup and the whole Eddie mess, they also have a job to do back here. The perception is because our team went home too early that they are sitting there on a junket, and no-one is working on sorting out the mess. I know that's not the reality (or I hope it isn't), but it is the perception. As far as I am aware they haven't even done the bare minimum papering over the cracks move when something goes as badly as this world cup did and announce an independent review. I guess they don't really need to care about perception though, as the system is built to protect the positions of them and those fans who spend substantial amounts with Rugby Australia. It's also why things will never improve. There is no need to improve standards for those in control because the perks and status of the job are protected against almost any level of failure, as long as your in the club.

 

[Adam84]

Perception is a funny term, perception is skewed by the lens through in which you look at something or the blinkers which frame your view.

World Rugby have just been voting upon some of the biggest changes to the global test calendar they’ve ever made, also especially relevant for Australia was the 2027 RWC change decision.

Of course the RA execs should be there in person participating in those discussions and votes with every other nation, as Australian Rugby stands to be a massive beneficiary.