As much as a dont like the way rugga10 is winding us up, there is a little thruth to his argument.
On a weekend when the rival codes in this country are holding massive events which capture the nations attention and command massive media attention, the best rugby can do is get 5000 people to a grand final contested between two clubs who epitimise the "toff" sterotypes the wider community hold of our game. Futhermore this game commanded little to no media attention purley because it is of no interest to the majority of people in this country. This was made worse by the fact that it wasnt a particularly good spectacle and the ref was shit.
There is no doubting the reasons why rugby is Australia's '4th' code, and the ARU should be ashamed they have allowd what I truely believe to be the best football code in the world to fall into such disrepute in this country.
I agree with parts of your post bowside. The fact that in the last two weeks the lead up finals were played on fields I wouldn't graze sheep on was a huge let down. The fact that Uni has now won 6 on the rot is no cause for concern. The is little to no advertising of the game so only the die hards know about it, in fact have a look at the other thread regarding tickets and some of the Rugby nuts on this blog didn't even know the game was at Concord. There is no TV coverage outside NSW. Given that how can we expect more than 5K to show up. Also bare in mind that Randwick was involved in all the grade finals so many would have gone to other games.
In the history of the Shute Shield Uni and Randwick have dominated and they have always had the programs in place to nurture and develop the players available to them. It was true in the past and remains true now.
Have a look at Randwick this year. They got to the top 6 without any of their stars for most of the year using 60 players in 1st Grade due to injury. Yes they brought in a few players because the cupboard ran bare. Yes of those they brought in Maninoa was a revelation, but when he first ran out I'll bet you most of those whinging here wouldn't even have known his name. Where was the whinging about the two props the Wicks played from the Bris comp because they had nobody else to play? It was either that or forfeit as scrums couldn't be safely packed. At the start of that game Mark Giacherri still expressed some concern about scrum safety as in addition they used the 2nd or 3rd Grade Hooker.
Have a read of Bruce Ross's posts about the Uni setup and you can immediately see why players want to play at Uni. If they want to be a pro player what better place to condition and prepare. There is some phenominal talent at other clubs who just don't get the prep and conditioning.
Then there is the history and pride at Randwick and Uni that is missing to a big degree at many other clubs. Have a look at a bloke like Geoff Sayle, he has been turning up at every Randwick game and been an official at the club longer than I have been alive. It is that commitment that attracts new blood to the club, from those who have no previous ties.
I look back on the peak of Club Rugby in '93 to '96 and all the Wallaby players turned out for the clubs. Yes that was before professionalism, and there lies the key, Club Rugby is stuck in that limbo between Professional and Amateur Rugby. There just isn't enough cash to go full Pro and I can't see that there ever will be.
