New Zealand Rugby are never going to get a better opportunity to reclaim ownership of the game
Rugby doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Particularly not here in New Zealand.
It was meddling with a sound model that got the game into its current predicament and it will be going back to what worked before that can fix it.
Pandemic or not, SANZAAR was stuffed. The member unions were going broke and fewer and fewer people wanted to watch Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship.
It’s 2013 since South Africa played a test at Eden Park. That’s right. Like Argentina, New Zealand have afforded the Springboks also-ran status, shipping them off to Wellington and Christchurch and Albany instead.
Our most storied, and allegedly respected, foe didn’t rate a game at the All Blacks’ Eden Park fortress. They were second-tier and shunted off to smaller venues accordingly.
Mickey Mouse games and made up teams won’t make rugby profitable again and they certainly won’t re-engage fans either.
Familiarity bred contempt where All Blacks v Springboks games were concerned. We staged them so often, that people had enough.
We should run a mile from talk of New Zealand meeting the British & Irish Lions in 2021. The greatness of the concept is that you’re forced to wait 12 years for your turn. Let’s never change that.
Let’s not rush to play hybrid union and league games either or North v South, Possibles v Probables or conscript the SANZAAR sides to some locked-down location in Sydney for an abbreviated Rugby Championship. And let’s definitely not run Super Rugby in conjunction with it, as SANZAAR chief executive Andy Marinos has suggested.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) are never going to get a better opportunity to reclaim ownership of their game and reconnect with people left behind in the rush to resource the All Blacks.
Wage demands were bankrupting NZR. And even on $1 million a year, players still wanted time off or lucrative sabbaticals elsewhere. You’d think the least they could do for a million bucks was actually turn up for work every day.
NZR have a few choices in front of them now, including putting people in harm’s way to make a quick buck, as our friends from the NRL appear hellbent on.
That will satisfy a few existing deals and get money flowing again, but it’s a stop-gap measure.
Another would be to say to the millionaires, or wannabe millionaires, among the playing group: All the best. Go try your luck overseas, where they live cheek-by-jowl and the coronavirus mortality rate dwarfs ours here.
NZR cannot sustain their current costs and if private owners elsewhere want to play our elite players a fortune, let them. And if that means players are picked for All Blacks duty from overseas, then it’s a small price to pay for keeping rugby in this country afloat.
Club rugby was dying here. Beyond premier level club competitions and some secondary school grades, we were all going 10 a-side with uncontested scrums.
NZR’s independent report recommended things like contracting schoolboys straight to Super Rugby and all-but doing away with the provincial and club game.
Why? Well, lack of players for starters. Although what that actually means is an inability to engage with the public.
Not to mention a lack of love and resources, given every spare buck was ploughed into trying to satisfy the wage demands of our best players.
Who knows when people will be able to travel freely between nations, or even want to. Until then test rugby has to be out of the question.
And, besides, we’d grown tired of the foes we were repeatedly matched up against anyway.
NZR could work wonders simply by, at the safe and respectful time, making all of our players available to play rugby. No rests, no sabbaticals, just a game every week.
It needn’t be solely at franchise level, either. How much would our battling clubs benefit from having a few All Blacks and Super players make a handful of appearances? What would that not only do for the coffers, but for towns and suburbs trying to get back on their feet after COVID-19?
So many of us love rugby, but our connection to it is at community level or through the players of the past. Men we watched playing club and provincial footy, men who had jobs outside of rugby and who were – at least to a degree – men we felt we could relate to.
We have an established and meaningful framework for rugby. We have clubs and provinces that not just fans are attached to, but players as well. We don’t need to dream up new teams or new competitions; we just need our best players to actually play.
If that’s a chore for our All Blacks or they insist on making a million a year, then they can go. The game – in every sense of the word – can no longer afford to pay them the money they’ve been on. At least not if we want community and provincial rugby too.
No-one wants to watch the Reds and Bulls and Sunwolves anymore. We want to see the best New Zealand players pitted against each other and, by dint of these unique circumstances, we can go back to that.
And, by happy coincidence, NZR will also be able to pay for it – and fund all the other levels of the game – by bringing wages down. A salary of $200,000 is still an absolute fortune by New Zealand standards and more than fair for playing rugby.
This pandemic has given us a chance to look at what’s essential and what’s not and it’s very hard to argue that giving $800,000-plus to an All Black is money well spent.
So let’s not dream up ways to keep these blokes in the fashion to which they’ve become accustomed. Let’s not keep pretending we can’t get enough of Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship.
Let’s instead return to a model that we once liked very much, that reflected our nation and its values and which, just as importantly, we were able to pay for.
Comments on RugbyPass
Sorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
1 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
2 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
2 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to commentsWhat is criminal is she acts like it's no problem her actions have have cause the Italian player to lose her playing career, lose salary, if she did this in day to day life she would be in jail, she is a complete thug!!!
3 Go to commentsCorrect me if i’m wrong but the sadas have to win all games running into the finals yeh nah?
1 Go to commentsDon’t like Diamond but the maul is a joke, the sight of a choke tackle creating a maul then players in offside positions flopping on it killing the ball but then getting the put in? Banal.
3 Go to commentsHopefully Tabai Matson returns to Crusaders as head coach next season.
1 Go to commentsstorm in a teacup really. Penalty only so play on as the try was scored. Now the real question is: why was Maitland allowed to pass the ball off the floor? That is illegal but refs never pick it up.
1 Go to commentsWhen Beauden Barrett signed his contract before the 2023 RWC to play in Japan in 2024, it was NOT part of a sabbatical agreed to with NZRU prior to his signing, as was Ardie Savea and Sam Cane. Barrett changed his mind after the fact and negotiated his return to NZ Rugby and he was given permission to be eligible for All Black selection straight away once he signed a new contract to return to the Blues in 2025. Therefore, why would anyone argue against Whitelock returning to the All Blacks straight away after his season is France is finished if he signs a new contract with NZRU which includes a Super Rugby contract in 2025? If Barrett can, Whitelock should be allowed too.
10 Go to commentsThe All Blacks will select 5 locks this season. Scott Robertson will most likely want to select 2 veteran locks who can start right away in 2024 and 3 young promising locks who he would like to be pushing hard for selection in the starting XV in two years time- 2026. Scott Barrett is a world class lock. Who would you rather start beside him this season against England, South Africa, Ireland, and France- Sam Whitelock or Patrick Tuipulotu? I would choose Whitelock over Tuipulotu all day, every day.
10 Go to comments