I actually did pay for it. Not for that article specifically but they were offering $1 for the first month so I was curious to see what the platform was about.
That headline is a bit misleading, there actually isn't anyone from Shute Shield saying that. This is the context of the Shute references:
A Shute Shield coach said he could see merit in eventually replacing Super Rugby with a club competition.
“We have established supporters who are with us through thick and thin; that has slowly eroded in Super Rugby, you’re seeing less and less fans sticking around for the Waratahs,” he said.
“I think clubs have more of a family feel to them, people come through the grades, they feel a deep connection.
The Shute Shield has had fans stick with it through thick and thin, something which Super Rugby can’t say. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images
“If you can transfer that to a national competition, you’ll have engaged fans who are invested in the outcomes, and you have a whole lot of games in Sydney and Brisbane every weekend that would feature Wallabies stars.”
But often, dreams and delivery can be poles apart, as another Shute Shield official points out.
“We’re flat out putting on a match-day every Saturday, we run on the smell of an oily rag and we are heavily reliant on all of our volunteers,” he said.
“If you’re going to turn the Shute Shield and Hospitals Cup into a national competition, who is going to run it? How much money will be put in and where? You just couldn’t do it the way it’s run now.
“You’d need qualified people operating every club as a professional entity, you’d need a governance structure, an independent board, that’s not how it works now.”
Whatever the answer may be, the old adage applies: If it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense.
