A lasting legacy Raelene Castle could leave for Rugby in Australia
Nearly half of Rugby Australia’s revenue last year came from broadcasting rights, with the Union receiving $61.m, illustrating just how important the on-field product is.
They spend almost as much as they receive, registering a minimal cash-operating surplus of $600k from the $140m in cash receipts in 2017.
A major reduction in broadcast revenue would seriously compromise the state of the game in Australia. Reported attempts by the body to form a trans-Tasman club competition and calls to kick South Africa out pose serious financial risks. Without South Africa, would the rights revenue for a trans-Tasman or a domestic competition, like the NRC, be worth the same?
A realised drop in value in the next rights deal would have a rippling contagion effect across the States, who rely on 30% of RA’s revenue to fund their Super Rugby teams.
A South African ‘SANZ-it’ could be a serious blow for the professional game in Australia, one that it might not recover from, and could leave New Zealand with collateral damage to deal with too.
That is a scenario to be avoided at all costs, and even as it stands, the game in Australia still has a growing problem with its value proposition.
The quality of the product is already declining, with Australia’s sides failing miserably in Super Rugby for the last three years. The Wallabies have headed down the same path.
If Australia wants to stand on its own two legs, it is going to have to do so by building from the ground-up, which is what has failed to happen so far. Trans-Tasman or national independence is likely more than 20 years away, and that’s with all the dominos falling in the right place.
There is little room for error right now for new CEO Raelene Castle in righting the ship, or at least getting into a position to have more leveraging power.
Rugby Australia’s new leader has to plot a path ahead with the game almost needing a complete revival. Her actions today could save the game, or send it further down the gurgler. Not one dollar can be wasted and all need to be funneled in the right direction.
Centralised contracting
Some tough decisions need to be made, firstly reigning in some of the state bodies who have run unchecked.
They have spent ‘unbudgeted expenses of $28m over five years’ in order to fund their Super Rugby teams, with the bill fitted by RA, in addition to the annual $35m-$40m that is already spent annually out of RA coffers.
The autonomy they have has not come with accountability. The team results have been poor but some coaches have been handed extensions, only to be sacked and paid out just months later.
Extremely bad, top-heavy contracts have been handed out to players which have ended up as pure waste. $1.8m was burned over three years by one team, overpaying for an ex-NRL star by ten times his actual value in the game. Just this year, over $1m was spent on two players playing club rugby.
These decisions have to come home to roost. And they say that French rugby has been living beyond its means. Australian Rugby is behind on the mortgage payments and buying overseas holidays on the credit card.
Centralisation, in this case, isn’t just a power-grabbing exercise, it’s a need driven by incompetence at this point.
The NZR handles any and all player payments to Super Rugby players above a $195,000 threshold, ensuring that top dollars go where necessary. It is not possible to pay a donkey like a racehorse in New Zealand but it is in Australia.
Rugby Australia needs controls over player and coaching contracting decisions for Super Rugby teams, as a measure to protect their own interests.
Wallabies aren’t produced by Rugby Australia and Michael Cheika – the lion share of a players’ development is overseen by State unions. Right now they are not doing a good job of it.
Resource the current schools’ system
RA needs to understand this because NZR does – invest, invest and invest in the production line.
They know for every All Black they develop they need two or three more to take his spot, and they know the start of this pipeline is schoolboy rugby. They have invested in the system to produce where RA continually pays for cream at the top.
The top-heavy recruitment approach has run its dash in the age of professionalism and needs to change.
Rugby Australia’s community rugby expense was $3.7m last year, just 2.8% of its overall take. Three players – David Pocock, Israel Folau and Michael Hooper will cost more than that every year.
NZR’s system is completely intertwined with schoolboy rugby, with most top schools operating at a semi-professional level. This is churning out more and more pro-ready players almost directly out of school. Three schoolboys from last year made Super Rugby squads for 2019, a quantum leap in just two years.
The only current breeding ground for future Wallabies is private school associations, namely GPS associations. This is the real foundation of rugby in Australia, has been for years and has not changed, but seems to receive no recognition by administrators.
Before expanding anywhere else this needs to be strengthened as much as possible and leveraged to lift the standard of schoolboy rugby everywhere else.
They are the ones already recruiting, scouting and investing in talent, doing most of the work. The best players in each of the regions are already identified and then recruited by these schools, they are even convincing some of the best league players to play too.
Rugby Australia needs to achieve alignment with the current private schools’ system, build on the current foundation and even help fund these programmes. Whilst not politically correct, RA-funded scholarships would only increase the numbers of quality athletes getting into rugby and utilise the best development framework for a rugby player already in place.
A national schoolboy competition for Australian Rugby is a necessity, which would require RA funding. As a start, getting buy-in from the GPS schools as a must, before expanding to others. The best schools in New South Wales, Queensland, and other states must play each other more because the top schoolboy players quite simply are not playing enough.
Elite schoolboys in New Zealand will lodge 30-40 highly competitive games a year. In Queensland, at least, the eight-game GPS schoolboy season needs to be doubled in length in addition to a national competition at the end.
These things can only happen when Rugby Australia invests in its relationships at the very foundation of the system. This would only be the start, with club rugby another, but important, story altogether.
The high school system is the very first block in the chain towards professional rugby and therefore it makes sense to get as many quality athletes into the game to start with and get them playing with the same frequency as New Zealand’s players.
Tightening the wallets
Australian Rugby must save themselves by freeing up the cash to re-invest in their system.
Shaving 20% off the current Wallabies player bill, 20% off Super Rugby funding and 50% of Marketing expenses would free up $12.6 million for Rugby Australia to deploy back into the foundation, without any further increases in revenue.
Other vague areas of RA spending include a line item for ‘High Performance & National Team expenses’ for $8.4m.
There is sure to be plenty of fat to cut to raise funds across all areas to pool together close to $20m to start with. That needs to go straight to the heart the game and get the blood pumping again. Slowly but surely, the scales will tip as the crop rises through, strengthening the base from which to grow the game from.
Strong actions by Castle might not yield results today, and will certainly rock the core of Australian Rugby’s current structures, but it could set forth actions to save the game – and that could be her legacy.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments