Australian Super sides declare bore war
Australian Super sides declare bore war
JOSH RAKIC
January 26, 2010 Comments 2
http://images.smh.com.au/2010/01/26/...eill-420x0.jpg "Rock bottom" ... John O'Neill talks to the media yesterday. Photo: Getty Images
A crisis meeting of the Australian Rugby Union and its Super 14 franchises has resulted in a universal commitment to deliver an expansive, ball-in-hand style of play to the code's long-suffering audiences this season.
John O'Neill, the ARU chief executive, admitted Australian rugby hit ''rock bottom'' during a torpid 2009 campaign in which none of the nation's four Super 14 franchises reached the tournament's semi-finals.
That prompted the ARU to call a meeting with delegates from NSW, Queensland, the ACT and Western Australi, whereupon the tactical and philosophical switch was agreed. New Zealand officials have issued a similar edict to their Super 14 franchises, sowing the seeds for a revolution in southern hemisphere rugby.
"Within Australia, we're all on the same page,'' O'Neill said at the unveiling of the Wallabies' new strip yesterday. ''Reds, Waratahs, Brumbies, Force … we've all sat around the table and looked at the reality of where crowd figures have gone and where the game generally is at. I think we've hit the bottom and every one of the four teams is determined to deliver winning and entertaining rugby.
"It's one thing to talk about the Wallabies but the foundations, the bread and butter, the shopfront of Australian rugby, is Super rugby teams. We've got four teams and our foundations in terms of crowds, TV ratings, will be driven by successful rugby performances."
Steve Tew, the chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby union, confirmed he had held similar discussions with his nation's Super 14 franchises. He was hopeful the initiative of the southern hemisphere nations would be adopted by those north of the equator, resulting in more appealing worldwide product.
''We expressed some concerns last year over some areas of the game that needed attention,'' Tew told the Herald. ''The northern hemisphere was initially cautious, but it would seem the penny has dropped. It has been a little frustrating that it has taken so long. There have been two main areas that fan feedback and our own evaluation process have highlighted, and that's scrum time and the breakdown. We are hoping to simplify those facets of the game to make conditions more conducive to good footy.''
O'Neill was optimistic the reversion to running rugby would lead Australia out of the doldrums at international and domestic level, and continue the mini-revival started on Australia's autumn tour of the northern hemisphere.
Standing alongside Wallabies vice-captain Berrick Barnes and prop Benn Robinson in Sydney yesterday, the ARU boss acknowledged the waning interest in rugby before declaring the code was on the brink of another golden age. "You can't win all the time but equally you don't want to be in the trough for too long,'' he said. ''I think we're coming out of the trough and 2010 will be a year where we've turned the corner. We have all the blokes coming through who have the makings of creating another golden era."
The comments of O'Neill and Tew follow a meeting of SANZAR where it was agreed positive tactics were urgently required to draw fans back to the game. "SANZAR has universally said that Super rugby this year is going to reward the attacking team," O'Neill pledged.
Barnes, who said he was fit to play in the trial match against Fiji this weekend, said the players welcomed the challenge.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...0125-muiv.html
