New National Rugby Competition

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Beaussie
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New National Rugby Competition

Post by Beaussie »

A new Victorian team could spell more bad news for the continually struggling off-field Melbourne Storm in the NRL one would think.

[quote]Third tier comp given go-ahead
Guy MacGibbon
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/news/ ... 87007.html

A proposed new eight-team Australian provincial competition will go ahead despite passionate opposition from clubs that believe the competition would damage the grassroots of club rugby.

The Australian Rugby Union board today approved the eight-team competition, which would involve the amalgamation of club sides, to start next year.

Each of the state unions as well as the Rugby Union Players Association have agreed to the competition.

The competition will comprise three teams from NSW, two from Queensland and one each from ACT, West Australia and Victoria.

It will run from late July through to October.

ARU chairman Ron Graham today said the competition was all about developing the national game.

"It's all about the future of our game and all based around player development," Graham said.

Asked about opposition from clubs, ARU chief executive Gary Flowers said: "The majority of the clubs are behind this and I invite the clubs to think about the players because this is a competition that is all about player needs and player development."

Major Sydney clubs including Randwick, Sydney University and Eastern Suburbs have been among the opponents, with the major argument being that fans would feel no tribalism around newly created teams.

Flowers said there would be no lack of support.

"There will be tribalism because in Sydney and Brisbane clubs will be integrated into theses new teams and these will be representative teams for those clubs. So we believe there will be very strong support," Flowers said.

Graham said the competition would improve the standard of club rugby, with players experiencing a higher level of rugby and bringiing that experience back to their clubs.

"We fundamentally believe that this will reinvigorate club rugby."

NSW Rugby met the news with the announcement its three teams would be drawn from its clubs on a geographical basis and play out of Western Sydney, Sydney and Central Coast.

NSWRU chairman Arvid Petersen said it was time for rugby to embrace the new competition.

“This is a new step in the pathway for our players but it is definitely not the death of club rugby,â€Â
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Post by The Portonian »

Best news for Australian Rugby in nearly a decade! It will finally allow us to develop a higher grounding level for up and coming players where the state based comps have clearly lacked in recent years. It is what gives the likes of NZ a huge edge in world rugby, all players (even the internationals) cut their teeth in the provincial championship and it is often as fierce as the Super 14 comp due to the sheer pressure presented to all the players involved. When NZ internationals lack for form or are recovering from injury, the Provincial games are where they are sent back to for a span. Super 14 season is too short and doesn't provide enough play time for all players to get into form and fitness. Australia having this comp setup will only ensure that both rookies and aspiring Super 14 players alike, will have ample chance to play consistantly and at a higher skill level than what club rugby now represents.

About the only mistake in the formula is that SA does not warrant a team, pretty sad really, given how well rugby is played over here and how talented some of the school and club juniors I've watched, are progressing. It would thrive over here if given the chance, contrary to common belief, Aussie Rules and Cricket are not the sole two sports that people care about in SA.
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Post by Willis 21 »

This will be another disaster for Union...

They are playing the 2006 APC ( I'm betting you guys wouldn't even know..) at the moment amongst the NSW Waratahs, Force, QLD and the Brumbies...

These teams have many Super 14 players available other than the Wallaby squad members in South Africa, and in theory should be better supported then the APC teams next year ( you will be splitting NSW supporters into three teams for instance..)

On the weekend the Waraths v Brumbies game in Canberra got a crowd of 2,700 and the Reds V Force got 3,025 in Brisbane...

Also there is talk that the ARU will have to pay foxtel $70,000 per game to have it shown on Pay TV this year....
:lol:
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Post by The Portonian »

It's pretty pathetic how many 'sports fans" around the country are all too ready to trash any initiative by one of the sporting codes. Now, personally I don't know (or really care) whether you are in some measure, a rugby fan or are just purely a fan of one of the other codes and thus take delight in bagging rugby at all turns.

Let's look at some facts about this APC (yes I am aware of it and follow the results and news). It's an initiative by the ARU and the affiliated state admins to put in place a trial event in order to give opportunities for both players and teams. The opportunity is not only for contest and "title" (and seriously no team will be much concerned over a title that encompasses a mere four matches for the winner), it is also, and this is key to the whole reason for it being held, staged in order to provide selectors and national coaching staff, a chance to evaluate potential add ons for the summer tour the Wallabies will be undertaking. This is first and foremost the real concern and measure behind the APC and is, in all honesty as a real rugby follower, necessary in order to provide the Wallabies with all the preparation and evaluation they will need.

It's not about crowds (or heaven forbid, useless bloody tv ratings), it's about national preparation and continued match fitness for players of the Super 14 squads that didn't partake in the Tri Nations. It also gives the fringe players of the squads, the chance to impress their teams and look to secure a future contract for next season. In effect the APC is merely a pre or post season event, much like the crap that is the NAB cup in the AFL, match attendance is not really a concern. Matches are scheduled both at regular grounds and at remote venues in the country that never get the chance for top level sports events.

It's all about building a better structure that in the end will benefit the basic foundation of the game in Australia and even moreso, the future for the game at the highest level, international matches and players. Those that are all too eager to dismiss it as a disaster before it's even had a chance to show the resultive benefits or failures, are generally those who don't know squat about either the sport or what it takes to administer it on a state or national level.
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Post by Willis 21 »

It's not about crowds (or heaven forbid, useless bloody tv ratings)
You reading this Beaussie?? :lol:
Those that are all too eager to dismiss it as a disaster before it's even had a chance to show the resultive benefits or failures, are generally those who don't know squat about either the sport or what it takes to administer it on a state or national
Mate, its called an opinion.... this board would be pretty boring without them....Well let me rephrase - even more boring.... :lol:

In effect the APC is merely a pre or post season event,
And in my opinion, the reason why it will be a failure, especially when it will not only be up against the end of the NRL/ARL regular season plus finals ,but the tri nation Rugby Union competition...

In other words, it will prove to be as popular as the Pura Cup up against the Ashes... :mrgreen:
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Post by Beaussie »

If promoted well I think the new national competition will be a success for rugby in this country. Real test will be how much $$$ the ARU and state bodies are prepared to invest in the new competition. It also appears from media reports that initial opposition from the Sydney clubs has been overcome.

The Portonian, I must say you've made me reassess a few of my previous feelings on various issues in the battle of the codes. You truly are one unbiased lover of all sports. I cannot say the same and I have no doubt the same goes for Willis, but as he states we all have different opinions and that is what makes a community. Well done mate, you interested in a moderator position around these parts?
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Post by The Portonian »

Willis, yes, everyone is entitled to an opinion, I wasn't trying to deny you yours. However, what I said in turn, was also, just an opinion..albeit it's an opinion I speak often around quite a few places when it comes to these kinds of issues and posts. The focus of the thread was about the formation of next years new provincial state competition and I was commenting on the fact that you said, it would be a disaster.

My opinion, in turn, was based around the fact that you (and believe me, I'm not singleing you out in this, plenty of others do it in both similar and different threads I contribute to on the web) were all too ready to shoot it down without so much as a shred of validating information or speculative reasoning. Aka, when all is said and done, all you did was point to the current APC contest going on (which has no links to next years comp and is merely a sideshow event aimed at one purpose for the upcoming Wallabies euro tour). I love a conversation and argument and if you for example, had spoken about valid reasons or facts to back up your "disaster" theory, then I in turn, would have gone on and tried to counter it with self held opinion and facts in turn. You added this in your last reply;
And in my opinion, the reason why it will be a failure, especially when it will not only be up against the end of the NRL/ARL regular season plus finals ,but the tri nation Rugby Union competition...
Now that, is a valid opinion that throws up something to discuss, if that had been in your original post, I'm sure we wouldn't be here now arguing the semantics of opinions. I'll comment on that after this post, as there is something to speak on regarding what you say there. For now however, just wanted to make it clear that I am not in any way, trying to target you or prevent you the right to opinion, just clarifying where I am coming from and what constitutes my opinions.


@Beaussie - Mate, happy to provide you with food for thought when it comes to the codes. Me, I'm not only a fan of all the football codes (here in Australia that is), but I was also a player. Playing Rules, League and Union at senior league level and national service level in the case of Union, I hold a great love for not only the viewing spectacle that each sport can provide, but also the skill levels of differing types in each code. For me, sport is like war, it's the only valid type of real war we have left, tribalistic battles where warriors run out onto the field and do their best to vanquish the foe, all the while being cheered into a frenzy by their fans who ask for nothing more than 100% effort, each and every time. Sport beats the hell out of work, it provides respite from family troubles and the daily grind of life, you either love it or hate it. Sport ain't for everyone, and for many people, one sport is it and the rest can go to hell! As long as no one attempts to convince me that lawn bowls or golf is really a sport, I'm one happy chappy in life and look forward to each week of battle hardened footballers treading the park in search of glory.

Re your invite for a mod position, I'll have to say thanks but no thanks. At the moment as it stands, I've only just arrived here, I know very little about the place or people and likewise it is for them regarding me. I hold several moderator posts around the web in different discussion forums as well as run two of my own sites, coupled with work and family, I'd be selling myself and you short if I were to take up the offer at this time. Perhaps in the future it may be viable.

Cheers
TP
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Post by The Portonian »

Okay, returning to Willis' comment about the new comp (next year) being up against the end of season sections of NRL, AFL and Tri Nations. Whilst in theory this is a fair call in terms of tv viewership (and lets not forget that broadcasting deals have not even been looked at or mentioned yet), it will have to remain to be seen exactly what sort of audience the competition will be aimed at. The questions I would ask (and hopefully won't need to when the ARU reveals the full working model of the comp), would be ones such as;

1. Will the competition be tv focused or crowd attendance focused?
2. Is the competition designed to be a commercial product or purely a development tool for national rugby?

Having read what is in the news release, it's clear that while they have a business model and design in place, it is still in the bare bones category at the moment. Yes, the comp format will be at odds with the end of season runs of the other major codes (barring soccer of course), but this by no means suggests that it is incorrect to do so. The new comp spans a tad over 3 months, it places itself firmly between the finals run of the major football comps but slightly ahead of summer cricket. It's not designed for international and Super 14 players (although fringe Super 14 players may well spend a bit of time playing in it), it's designed to bridge the club scene players to a higher competetive level in preparation for Super 14 and invariably, National level.

I cannot honestly say I know what the club scene in NSW, Qld and ACT currently is, it's been too many years since I lived over that way or played there. I don't know if club rugby gets any television access (perhaps someone can clarify this for me?) at the moment, but I would suspect it doesn't. I see the new comp as probably being less concerned with television in light of the higher goal, skill advancement. The ARU has vast coffers and that they will underwrite it shows that the determination is to provide a standard lifting measure across the rugby spectrum, from club players to national players alike. It's in the best interest of the ARU to do this if they want to foster growth in the game and restore Australian rugby to a position of world strength.

While there are points to suggest it could fail because of the scheduling of the season, failure is a subjective thing. Personally I don't think broadcasting will or should play a part in the new comp, we have the Super 14, Tri Nations and Wallaby tours for that, it rakes in amazing numbers in terms of viewship and dollars for the ARU already. There isn't a state team that is financially struggling, nor will the ARU ever go broke, rugby is just one of those games that has enormous backing financially, at all times. Success or failure, in my eyes that is, will be determined by the result on players in the comp and how they progress in level and skills. The fallback from this will be seen at the club scene level where those players in turn, bring a higher level of competition to the ranks as well as those who play in the Super 14 and above, who make the big step up in skill and performance. If this doesn't show in the first two years, then it can be deemed a failed venture, money and viewership won't really come into it, attendance of fans will come into it however, but as with all things rugby, there are the die hards who attend week in, week out, at the club level scene and ensure it thrives with passion. Hopefully, that will transcend to this new competition as well.
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