Depth in Australian Rugby.
A subject that deserves a lot of attention.
Australian Rugby lives in the most competitive sporting environment in the world, compared to a per capita support/sponsorship base.
4 sports, essentially competing for the same dollar, maybe 5, given season lengths these days, winter and summer have blurred boundaries.
Some of the stuff that needs to be examined, structure, opportunity and development prospects.
With regards opportunity, and I define the world professional to mean being able to survive off the income:
• Rugby League, and a quick check of some of the rugby league websites shows 30 or more players in the “squad”. 16 teams at 30 players is almost 500 ‘professional’ contracts. The NYC guys might earn $2K to $20K, and there are many boot and jersey deals out there for kids across the land, but it gives them something to tie themselves to.
• A look at AFL sites indicates 40 in the top squad, 16 teams times 40 is 640 professional contracts, and backed by a very aggressive organization, with an enormous warchest.
• Rugby, 5 teams, 30 contracts, 150 players or professional contracts.
To have and develop depth, you then need a lot of people playing the game at a junior level. Rugby League and AFL have, although declining, pretty comprehensive club competitions, and school competitions. AFL has had no fear in pushing their code into the bigger private schools, and if I were developing rugby, my major concern would be the enjoyment factor that the kids actually derive from playing the game. Most love it, and can’t wait for the next week’s game.
Rugby on the other hand, continues to build from the top down, or try to, and subsequently rely on a few schools to supply the ‘depth’ required to fill the playing ranks of the super franchises, and all the levels below that that are required for the depth to be sustainable. Couple that to the prestige that rugby is seen to carry by some of these schools and the lengths they will go to to be ‘successful’ in what is a very small number of games, and you see a big concentration of the better talent at large, wealthy institutions that take their rugby more ‘seriously’ than others.
These schools have few scruples in raiding rugby leagues ranks, and rugby from all over the state. Often after the Under 15 rugby league national or state championships, some of the best league kids in the country will re align their education, and often funded by the rugby league club they are contracted to for the next x years.
Whatever they say, and whatever the schools say, these places that are more ‘serious’ about their rugby, want to win premierships, rugby premierships keeps their enrolments up, keeps the old school tie happy, and keeps them profitable, so part of their business model. The coaches understand they are there to win, and go out to obtain the best resources available to achieve that end, rugby league, rugby union, it doesn’t matter. Some even feel they are judged in the wider world by how many professional, there is that word again, contracts they deliver at the end of any given year, and professional in any code.
So then you can add the fact, that a lot of those kids, drop out of rugby, those figures are quoted somewhere, and judging by the age of the people playing premier rugby around the place, more and more drop out or play elsewhere, which is another segment on opportunity. Kids from a league background, too more often than not return to league, having traded their skill and ability for a couple of year’s of education.
Rugby gives little credence to junior club competitions, where some real depth and playing numbers could be built. However, to develop a club competition requires or will require in some places, and attitude change, with that over riding attitude in many places being that if you want to play rugby, you need to be at this school or that school. There has been a lot of lip service given to this subject but little physical action.
You then have the school scouts picking the eyes out of the competition, and staff and employees from head office structures actually directing kids to various schools in the capital cities for ‘scholarships’. The belief at head office level is that it is better to get these kids to a central capital city location and they will be better off being developed there, in close location to the said head office.
There is not any ‘head office’ belief systems that wish to develop competition systems outside the established school and capital city regimes. Those big schools will also work against any club competition in the background, while purporting to support club development on the surface.
The point of all of that then is that in my opinion, there is not enough kids playing footy, leading to adults playing footy, developing a broad and rich base of playing resources.
You can compare the Australian Rugby system to League and AFL, or the system of operation in New Zealand, as a close and successful rugby nation. I have never been sure why Australia believes that the wheel can be re invented on how to have a strong system, when League, AFL and New Zealand do things pretty well, and pretty differently.
I have been around junior league and junior union systems over the last 20 years, and a couple of simple observations would be the sheer professionalism of the league guys, and in most cases, the inability of the union guys to manage to end up doing what they said they were going to do, with regards to things like attributes testing, even uniform delivery.
Union always was a long way behind in the professionalism stakes with regard to coaching and coach development, talent ID with few clear criteria in place or looked upon with regards to key areas of competence. I have walked away from a few selection meetings for want of better words, that have had my head spinning with regards to who was put up and why, and who got a spot and why. There is still quite a bit of mateship involved in who gets some of the positions at a reasonable level
Things like this, when league and union are so easily comparable for example, encourage folks to stay with league, or move to league, couple it to payments of even $100 per match in the bush and folks are helped with university book payments and the like.
I have found the coaching, talent ID and retention of league and union to be streets apart in levels of knowledge, and professionalism. AFL incredible in it’s promotion of the sport, with a single mindedness that has made inroads.
Then we can go back to opportunity, another opportunity. Call it top end opportunity or whatever you like. There are big opportunities to play rugby, and to some extent league, overseas, but in this ever changing fast paced world, those opportunities are being taken up seemingly at an increasing pace by seemingly young players, leaving younger and younger players at a super footy level in Australia, and New Zealand.
So in my opinion, the pool is being diluted at both ends, on one end a combination of systemic issues relating to development, and a drop out rate or code movement (switching) rate that is probably higher than in another era, and at the other end, by significant opportunities outside the country, that give rise to a good income, travel, and a lot of things that are very attractive to young people.
Overseas opportunities do not only drain players, but it can’t be questioned that the best coaches in the country head overseas to ply their trade.
While I have seen things in this thread like where fringe super players should play in relation to depth, a strong system would be developing players that move into those ranks from below, not above.
Club rugby for mine is where the focus needs to be, but it is a pretty big, steep hill to climb.
Just a few of my opinions on the matter, have given it much thought over the years. Not really concerned who does and doesn’t agree with it.
Perhaps its sheer boody mindedness but I have more hope for the game here. We've only had 17 years of professionalism, the other codes have viewed their sport as a business for decades. We are yet to have a generation running the game that isn't linked to the amateur era. We are certainly behind the other codes, but the game is good to watch and play, it's advantage is that it has decent global appeal. Many here are dismissive of 7s, but in the future I believe it will provide the revenue stream that will attract high caliber administrators to the game who will force structural change for the better. If handled correctly 7s will be good for 15s.
