In the early 1900s, much like now, there was enormous disillusionment concerning the administration of the game of rugby by the “establishment”.
The old boys’ blazer brigade was not listening to the players or the public and the seeds of revolution took hold.
The NSW Rugby League was formed and funded by Sydney businessman James J. Giltinan and supported by sporting legend Victor Trumper, who convinced Herbert Henry “Dally” Messenger to join the breakaway code that had first been established in England in 1895.
The new code tweaked the laws to make the game faster, more entertaining and more enjoyable to play.
It dropped the number of players on the ground to create more space.
It eliminated rucks because they were causing too many injuries and were a blight on the spectacle.
The new code, rugby league, listened to the players and supporters. All the leading Wallabies of the time followed Messenger and the game quickly established itself as the most popular winter sport in Queensland and NSW.
It’s worth reflecting on our past so we can make good decisions about the future. Right now, Rugby Australia is at the crossroads.
The disillusionment about the game would appear to be similar to that around the time of the rugby league revolution.
I have been arguing, forever, that Rugby Australia must embrace urgent constitutional change.
The administration is deaf. The rugby public want to be heard and it deserves a say in the running of the game.
The most successful football club in the world, Barcelona FC, as I have said before, has 110,000 paid-up members who, among other things, get to vote for their club president every four years.
If the president does a good job and the team is successful, the paying members have the power to reinstate the president.
Putting the fans first does a number of things. Firstly, their $400 season membership fee raises more than $40m to be invested back into the game.
Secondly, the fans are so engaged because they have influence. They attend more games. They buy more merchandise. They are proactive partners in the game.
I suspect the reason members of the rugby establishment don’t want to empower the people is that they fear losing the very power they currently enjoy.
Ask the rugby punter; he thinks the administrators are happy to keep their snouts in the trough at the expense of the growth of the game. I was supportive of new RA chairman Hamish McLennan’s elevation to the onerous responsibilities he now must discharge. But apart from talking about a World Cup in 2027, he has yet to outline what he believes to be the future of our code.
Does he have a plan for the future, or is this rugby administration just more of the past?
Who is telling New Zealand Rugby that there is no way we will be sending two teams to play in a new Kiwi-dominated trans-Tasman competition, as suggested by our friends across the ditch. We are not here to make up the numbers.
I have said for years we have to, not should, opt out of Super Rugby altogether and build our own national competition, like soccer’s A-League.
At least if we get it right, in 20 years we could be taking on the NRL again.
And just on the A-League, I understand its broadcast deal is worth about $30m a season.
That’s about half of what Rugby Australia was getting under the old broadcast agreement.
But Raelene Castle knew better and was obviously supported by the discredited board.
She looked the gift horse in the mouth and rejected the gift. Now what are we worth? Just $10m a year, if we are lucky.
Yet the Australian Rugby Gold Membership program, that I have advocated, could easily generate enough income to make up for any broadcast shortfall and empower the lovers of the game at the same time.
And when we tell the Kiwis that we don’t want any part of their lopsided trans-Tasman competition, we should also tell them we don’t want their involvement in our 2027 World Cup bid.
Why would we want to revenue-share with New Zealand when we should assert ourselves, bid for the World Cup on our own and enjoy 100 per cent of any World Cup profits?
We have the facilities. We know how to put on world-class events. Why share the spoils when money is said to be our game’s biggest problem?
The 2003 World Cup put $45m into an Australian rugby war chest. Imagine what the 2027 World Cup could do for the game and our economy.
The 2019 World Cup in Japan saw 245,000 visitors from 178 different countries who spent, on average, 17 days in Japan. And 90 per cent of those visitors said they would definitely visit Japan again.
The economic impact for the nation and the game is so important it’s time for Scott Morrison to get involved.
He says he loves the game. Well, come on Scott, prove it.
It’s clear that New Zealand doesn’t respect our provincial rugby teams. You can’t blame them. We have rarely delivered, in recent times, a quality product.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have some self-respect and be prepared to go it alone and set up our own national club competition for the development of the game in Australia.
Host the 2027 World Cup on our own and seize the opportunity to build a financial nest egg for the future of rugby in this country.
But, until 2027, we will need to trim our costs and look for revenue opportunities.
There are three ways to raise money now. McLennan, start sharpening your pencil.
Firstly, embrace constitutional reform and drive a membership program with voting rights. Secondly, set up a national club competition and sell that to broadcasters. And thirdly, get Andrew Forrest to sponsor Australian rugby just as Gina Rinehart sponsors Australian swimming.
But Forrest is not going to pay the money if he doesn’t have a say in how we get out of the current mess.
Note this: nobody remembers the old farts in the establishment who held back the game more than 100 years ago, but everyone knows about Messenger and Giltinan, the reformers.
It’s time for McLennan to decide whether he wants to be an establishment old fart or a game shaper and a visionary.
