It will be the shortest season in Australian Super Rugby history, but it will potentially have the biggest impact on the game in 25 years of professional rugby. The prosaically-named Super Rugby AU competition kicks off this weekend with the Queensland Reds hosting the NSW Waratahs in Brisbane and the Brumbies accommodating the Melbourne Rebels in Canberra.
The five-team competition, which also includes the Western Force, will only run for three months, but it will determine the future course of the struggling code in this country. In contract law the Australian domestic competition is like an “invitation to treat”. Australia is spruiking its product and it had better be good.
The Australian teams must play enterprising rugby which will re-engage disillusioned fans who have all but given up on the game, at least the professional arm.
Crowds will be limited because of coronavirus restrictions, but there will be no curbs on television viewing apart from access to pay TV. Fox Sports executives will closely monitor the ratings to assess the value of the next broadcast agreement to run from 2021 to 2025, the deal that will determine whether rugby remains a major sport or becomes a boutique game.
Rugby Australia desperately needs a lucrative TV agreement to prevent a mass exodus of players to Europe and Japan. The game certainly needs a lot more than the rumoured $15m-18m a year that Fox is willing to pay.
New Zealand officials will also be watching keenly as they weigh up whether or not to participate in a trans-Tasman competition next year. The Australian domestic competition is starting a month later than the evocatively-branded New Zealand Aotearoa competition, which has been played at a high standard in front of big crowds from Auckland to Dunedin.
The Kiwis will need to be assured the Australian teams are competitive and attractive enough to warrant playing against, or they might just continue to play among themselves.
It is highly unlikely Australia would be able to field five competitive teams in a trans-Tasman competition, which means Super Rugby AU could also be a battle for survival for the provincial teams. After all, RA axed the Force in 2017 because it could not afford to carry five Super Rugby teams financially and Australia’s playing resources were stretched too thinly, particularly with so many players heading overseas.
It is difficult to imagine the Force being omitted from any future competition. The RA’s new chairman, Hamish McLennan, has refused to confirm how many Australian Super Rugby teams will play next year, but has admitted he would like to see the Force back in the fold.
With the West Australian mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest bankrolling the Force, they have the potential to become a largely self-funded franchise, which would remove an enormous financial burden from RA. With the Waratahs and Reds virtually assured of places in any new competition because they are simply too big to leave out, the return of the Force would put huge pressure on the Brumbies and Rebels, who have already been the subject of merger speculation.
All five teams will have the opportunity to prove they are worthy of inclusion in a new competition by performing well on and off the field over the next three months. But it seems not everyone appreciates the importance of the interim competition. While Australia planned for a resumption of play, administrators and players were locked in a dispute over pay cuts, which raised the threat of strike action.
The players’ position is understandable. This is their livelihood after all. There would be considerable nervousness among the players because of the uncertainty facing the game.
Attitude will be the biggest issue facing the Australian teams when they return to play this weekend. After being in lockdown for a few months players should be jumping out of their skins. But if they are more concerned about how much they are being paid – or not – and whether they should accept that offer from Europe or Japan, then they may not be fully focused on the job at hand.
The New Zealand players are performing as if Super Rugby Aotearoa means something to them and why wouldn’t it? Kiwi teams have won 17 of the first 24 Super Rugby titles, including the last five in a row, which means winning Super Rugby Aotearoa is almost as good as winning the whole thing.
Conversely, Australian teams have only win four Super Rugby titles between them and Australia has not provided a genuine contender for about six years. This is no longer Super Rugby, but a series of local derbies. How much will Super Rugby AU mean to Australian players? Will they have the same motivation?
If players are not switched on for whatever reason it will potentially impact negatively on their performance and that is something Australian rugby cannot afford.
The Brumbies will enter Super Rugby AU as firm favourites. They were the form Australian team before the competition was shut down in March but it is not really about which team win a trophy, rather five Australian teams showcasing their talent and the game.
This Little Big competition will be over before you know it, but the ramifications could have a lasting impact in Australia.
