Another nail in the coffin, as a code we are struggling for renewal of the fan / player base.
We are under enormous pressure, from other codes
The NRL, AFL & Cricket, have media gatekeepers keeping most other codes away from any serious coverage. Maybe Netball with its relationship with the AFL receives say over coverage for what it is. Basketball with its huge international presence only second to soccer, massive player numbers and with years of having both men’s and women’s national competitions, must wonder what it has to do to get say a fraction of the Netball coverage.
I despise SANZAAR, it’s so caught up in its own importance and as I have often posted looks after its own interest before the interest of its members. The arrogance SANZAAR has of its place in the rugby world I find scary. If a new body takes over in a worldly sense, then heaven help us, they will make SANZAAR likeable.
I have posted many times and humbly repeat we need a national domestic competition, run the way the US codes run their codes. Until we bite the bullet and set up a workable national domestic competition we will continue to slide. The fear of how will we replace the revenue is crazy as if we allow the game to continue to shrink until those with the golden chains no longer want us there will be almost nothing left to grow a national domestic competition.
I am greatly saddened our administrators have allowed this to happen, and angry in many ways at those who over decades have defended them.
I fear also as a group we don’t have the unity of purpose, courage, common sense to rise up like the league folk in Save Souths, nor soccer recently if throwing out its governing body. We as a group argue all sorts of pros and cons. However, the arguments essentially are how to maintain the status-que rather than look at how to develop and grow rugby and that can only happen with a national domestic competition.