A national cup final would be a great springboard
Adam Freier
September 26, 2010
The tug of war of rugby's nurseries is a fine and delicate matter. On one side we have the dusty grass floors of park rugby. The other side is a Project Runway-style process of identifying talent early and churning them through the high-performance structure of the ''academies''.
My path was a little skewed: I was able to work from the ranks of Randwick Colts through to third grade and eventually into first and so on. But if that were the same path I chose this year, would I have the same results and a framed Wallabies cap hanging in my study?
Times are definitely changing: the importance of Sevens and the under-20s is considered a lot more critical, while coaches are now using a similar system to that of the Socceroos, using the world stage to develop their young talent, with players such as James Slipper showing promise in the Wallabies this year.
So how can we reward those who battle on through the turf of our local clubs, whom many would say are as good, if not better, then those in front of them? It's a hot debate - many of our Sydney practices have the view that the gap between professional rugby teams and club sides are growing further and further apart.
I see club footy as the oxygen that keeps our great game alive, yet, I have also seen first-hand the nurturing and hothousing of our stars of tomorrow at the Waratahs, and seen players like Damien Fitzpatrick and Lachie McCaffery develop and now dominate the Shute Shield. They have had the best of both worlds.
So how can we get the clubs to be showcased across the country?
How are we ever going to compete with AFL and NRL? We sit back and let those two codes put on two huge shows in two weeks. We just chip away behind the scenes on the ABC while the other grand finals suck up all the attention.
How would it look if all club rugby across the country - whether in Victoria, Wollongong or Brisbane - were to finish in the first week of September? We'd have the Australian rugby championships.
Not the ARC, I hear you say, but rugby could greatly benefit by taking our clubs out of their own state backyards. Last week, we spoke about local derbies, with Super rugby hosting more State of Origin-style of matches, but how good would it be if those derbies also took place at club level? Following some healthy correspondence from a Nudgee old boy in Brisbane, here is the suggestion:
❏ A round robin of the best three teams past the post in Brisbane and Sydney, with a culmination of the best Victorian side of locals plus Western Australia's, each fielding their own competition's best XV.
❏ Eight teams, two pools with the grand final at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
It wouldn't be a sell-out, but imagine what it could do for Australian rugby. A national competition with clubs not being split or instructed to merge. A feast of tribalism, true local supporters knowing that some day they could win an FA Cup-style competition.
It would enable Robbie Deans and the Wallabies selectors to have a highly competitive group of players, not sprinting around in a Sevens team or playing against young men in the schools or juniors, but out there mixing it with the country's best.
There would be no squad of Wallabies unavailable for selection; better still, imagine the hype knowing that there were spots on the line for a Wallaby jersey as Robbie needs to fill his spring tour squad with players who demonstrate the best form. Kurtley Beale in the Myrtle Green against Quade Cooper and his men of the Souths Army. Two great sides in front of a sunny Suncorp Stadium.
Just consider it: my theory might not be exactly what you're thinking. But surely when you are sitting back watching 90,000 people filling the MCG with INXS and success before a ball is even bounced, you must be wondering: what can rugby do to tap into this spring sporting madness?
