The structure of the new National Rugby Championship is due to be announced soon and will set the ball rolling again on the long-awaited national third tier.
Suggestions from the media are that 8 to 10 teams will be chosen for the NRC, and more likely 10, with five teams from NSW, two from Queensland and one each from ACT, Victoria and Western Australia.
Apart from the identities of the teams, the main bone of contention seems to be about how to distribute the available players amongst those teams. There might not be a formal draft but all indications are that players with existing ARU contracts (i.e. those in Super Rugby) will be allocated to NRC teams. The ARU and some of the Sydney clubs want to cap the number of Super Rugby players per team (with limits of 15 to 18 being mentioned) to return more players to Sydney. Some of the Super Rugby franchises are believed to be opposed to that idea and want their players to remain in their home cities.
What will the NRC teams look like? Does the ARU’s proposed cap include EPS and foreign players? The only way to find out for sure will be to wait for the announcements, but it should be possible to get some idea of how it might work by doing an “on paper” allocation using reasoned assumptions.
Basis for allocating players
The aim of this exercise is to look at the overall squad strengths of the various NRC teams under different player-limit scenarios for the initial season of a 10-team third tier competition.
The distribution of players to NRC teams is based on a number of priorities (NRCMAP):
- National precedence – the Wallaby squad has first call on players and those players are unlikely to play in the NRC. So those in the Test squad are nominally assigned to teams, but should be considered separately from the allocation of players.
- Residential stability – there should be minimal relocation of players and staff to reduce disruption and costs.
- Continuity of association – players who have previously represented a club or region should have those links maintained where possible. This should also generally apply across seasons to reduce unnecessary turnover of players, except in cases where players have also changed Super Rugby teams.
- Maximum participation – for players with Super Rugby contracts, team allocation is intended to favour on-field opportunities over time on the bench (or off the field) to promote player development.
- Allowance for regions – teams outside traditionally strong rugby areas shall be given extra consideration to allow them to field competitive and representative sides. This would apply to Perth and Melbourne and also to Country regions.
- Proportional distribution – a fair spread of playing talent across teams and positions is needed to ensure a competitive tournament. This may not be perfectly achieved, but some balance is needed so that teams are not outclassed.
Compromise is needed where objectives conflict, such as between priorities 3 and 6, or between priorities 4 and 5, above. The final balance will be an issue for the NRC Commission to decide.
