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The following is a statement by RugbyWA Chairman Geoff Stooke OAM.
Constant criticism by a small number of high profile people and a number of Sydney clubs of the new Mazda Australian Rugby Championship (MARC) demonstrates a lack of vision for the game in Australia.
The competition has been established to provide a ‘bridge’ between club rugby and Super 14. Money spent on this initiative should be described as the cost of a worthwhile investment and not as a loss. One can be sure that the AFL never considered its ‘investment’ in Brisbane and Sydney as a ‘loss’!
The measure of the success of the competition is not in its financial performance in the early years but in the contribution it makes to the development of Australia's elite player pool.
For seven years the ARU has been providing Premier Rugby grants to the Sydney and Brisbane competitions to help develop players with the objective of bridging the gap between club rugby and Super 12/14. In 2007 the grants will total almost $2.3 million AUD and over the seven year period the cumulative total of the grants exceeds $12 million AUD. These grants are in addition to Community Rugby funding which is based on participation numbers.
Unfortunately this initiative has not achieved the outcomes desired although the competitions continue to receive the Premier Rugby funding.
It is therefore most appropriate that the ARU take the initiative to invest in and support a national competition that has the potential to help identify and develop elite players and to provide a ‘bridge’ between club and Super 14 rugby. In addition, the MARC will also assist in providing a ‘national footprint’ for rugby in Australia.
It is time that all those interested in the development of rugby in Australia get behind the MARC to ensure it is given every opportunity to succeed. There are times when individual, club and other interests must be put aside for the greater good of the game!