<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melhor Time @ Oct 12 2009, 11:51 PM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jethro @ Aug 27 2009, 04:28 PM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>
There seems to be some strange belief in New Zealand and Europe that Australia is ripe for the expansion of the game. Currently Rugby is the fourth football code in this country with AFL miles ahead of the other codes, wendy ball doing all the right things to overtake League (only strong in NSW and QLD), and Rugby coming in last. This based on Nielson polling of crowds and player numbers, do a google it's not pleasant reading.
Domestic rugby in Australia is at the club level with the ABC covering the premier competition dependant on state. Super 14 is restricted to pay television provider Fox with no free to air coverage. Internationals are on channel 7 and Fox but only really make an impact with tests involving either New Zealand or the Lions according to televison rating data. Actually anyone who tuned into the tests pre T3 could be excused for thinking they were mid week games, that's how poor attendance was.
The ARU at least tried to do something with the national ARC but once again didn't listen to the grass roots with regions that have zero involvement in the "major", term used loosely, domestic competitions not being awarded franchises. As it turned out just as well as John O'Neil canned the whole thing on the grounds that it didn't generate rivers of gold in year one, could also be because he had zero involvement in setting it up.
Which brings us to of course to the fifth S15 franchise O'Neil is insanely believing will be successful down in AFL stronghold Melbourne. Four other bids got the arse from the ARU, which was once again seen as doing nothing for the stronger rugby regions, the Central Coast didn't bother this time round and is pushing hard for an NRL franchise instead note the fall off in player numbers for rugby on the coast. The Melbourne Storm are flying the NRL flag down in Melbourne to a reported, News Ltd, lose of over $2 million per year, how exactly does O'Neil believe rugby will fare any better? Don't get me started on the lack of quality players, the weakening of the competition, or the looming iceberg of the conference system.
Currently a number of Australia Franchises are enjoying ex-pat kiwis and saffas turning up to see their home teams play, put a conference system in place that takes out the foreign teams for the major part of the competition and I can predict with confidence a huge fall off in crowd numbers with the Force in particular in big trouble. Sorry I have no interest in watching the Flowers play either the Brumbies or any other Aussie franchise.
WHere is O'Neil and the ARU's plan to revitalise the game in this country? With falling player numbers, television figures at an all time low, how long before major sponsors start looking at other sports not hampered by pay television deals. How exactly is the new Melbourne franchise going to get sponsorship with the cream of the AFL clubs already entranced and pointing to big crowd numbers? For the regions and districts where is our slice of the pie in terms of major domestic sporting events, and how long before support simply disappears as the ARU continues to pander to the big cities.
The warning signs should be flashing for the ARU with both the NRL and AFL looking to expand in the coming year or so with new franchises in the regions. The NRL are fielding some serious proposals from the Central Coast, stadium already built with the Mariners flourishing there, the Gold Coast, and another Brisbane based team. Not up on the AFL proposals at the moment, looks like they have finally worked out a Western Sydney AFL franchise simply isn't going to work, would be as insane as putting a rugby franchise down in Melbourne (looking at you NRL), but believe a couple of Queensland regional consortiums have proposals on the table.
While the NRL and the AFL pour money into the grass roots teams and support the regions, the ARU appear to be re-arranging the deckchairs once again. And what's that looming over the horizon, an expanded "A" league did I hear someone say, yes wendy ball has picked itself up off the carpet and is the new growth sport in this country with a 12 team league now on the table.
Without free to air coverage the once successful NBL has simply imploded in recent years, RIP The Sydney Kings (three times champions), is rugby headed in the same direction?[/b]
Is rugby doomed to be a 2nd tier sport in Australia?
No.
You rank it as 4th yet 2 of the sports ahead are not international sports. Australia can play rugby anywhere in the country and fill the stadiums. Rugby league cannot, only Brisbane gets fullhouses. While Aussie Rules is ridiculous. Not played anywhere, only a similar sport exists in Ireland. So, in actuality, rugby is not 4th at all. It is, rather, 1st or second with soccer.
The issue of no domestic competition is something big but something John O'Neill and co seem to think will be selfresolved in the new Super Rugby competition which will be conference based. By having an Australian conference, possibly played on a home and a away format, Australia will get its own 'domestic' rugby. 5 teams meaning 8 games in total.
Australia hosting the 2003 World Cup was how much bigger than the Rugby League in 2008? Infinitely, no question about it. Remember Italy vs Tonga, Canberra RWC 2003? It was full. Scotland vs Japan, Townsville? Again, full. Ireland vs Argentina, Adelaide, full. England vs Samoa, Melbourne, full. These are not rugby zones, they are league / ARL territory yet throw them a quality product and see the result. In rugby territory even Georgia vs Uruguay, Sydney got 30,000.
Its clear, to me, what the problem is. Rugby has two things to look at:
1. Domestic Game needs to have games played outside of the same places of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra. Warratahs could use Gosford or Wollongong for instance. Brumbies could use Melbourne, Reds Townsville. These were all full for 2003 RWC games.
2. International game. Tests cannot be restricted to the same places, nor against the same opponents.
Since the 2003 World Cup Adelaide has hosted only one match: Australia vs Pacific Islands. Townsville has hosted none. Australia vs Samoa in 2005 was at Sydney (82,000) in front of a tiny crowd. Townsville would have been perfect. Australia, have never hosted Argentina since this time. Can you believe it? Neighbouring country, Tonga, regarded good enough to open the 2011 World Cup haven't played Australia for even longer. Even this years Australia vs Barbarians was hosted in Sydney. So was Australia vs New Zealand and Australia vs France.
The new Super 15 needs to have vastly different lineups. Australia can support, at best, three teams. With four the product has been a terrible Reds team and a disappointing Force team. Warratahs and Brumbies have been okay but below their standards. Argentine players are urgently needed. If ther Sharks can have Juan Martin Hernandez and the Lions can have Todd Clever then the solution becoming 100% clear. Make better teams and the crowds will be vastly superior and, thus, rugby will certainly not be 'doomed to become a 2nd tier sport'.
[/b][/quote]
You can not say rugby is the first or second biggest sport in Australia because it is bigger internationally. By that logic, the biggest sport in every country is soccer which is simply not true.
It's true that the extra franchise will give Australia more games. This is, of course, providing it goes ahead. More games is not always better. You have to hope that the public take to and support the Melbourne team which may not happen.
Comparing the Rugby Union World Cup with the Rugby League World Cup is very unfair. I don't think anyone would disagree with the fact that rugby is a far bigger international sport then league. The Rugby World Cup is the absolute pinnacle of the sport, everyone in Australia knows that. For many this was their only time to see rugby and the event managed to capture the country. I think your suggestion of taking games around the country has a lot of merit but I can't see them getting a lot of people turning up. The games that aren't going to be sold could be taken to smaller parts but the ARU wouldn't take something the Bledisloe from Sydney, they need the money.
In the past the Super 14 franchises wouldn't have wanted to move games around as they hardly get any in a season. That has changed somewhat now but they would have to be assured that they were going to get a big crowd. These places need money.
I don't know if having Argentinian players in the S14 would be best for Australia Rugby. Sure, the quality of the teams would probably increase but Australia has always struggled form a lack of depth. Australia would want to use the extra team for their players not full it up with imports.
