Will rugby’s growing obsession with expansion bring reward to our game? Andrew Slack has his say

WILL rugby’s growing obsession with expansion bring reward to our game? Andrew Slack has his say as the QRU farewelled its most dedicated contributor.

The Reds concede a try during the NSW Waratahs v Queensland Reds Super Rugby game at Allianz Stadium, Moore Park. pic Mark Evans

ON the opening page of the funeral booklet at last Wednesday’s Requiem Mass was a message from the QRU.

“Queensland Rugby Union is today mourning the passing of Norbert Byrne, who dedicated his life to the growth of rugby in Queensland.”

It didn’t say he was a “tireless worker” or he’d gone “above and beyond.” It said he’d dedicated his life to the growth of the game. That’s one heck of a tribute and one that would be difficult to argue against.

The Reds are the victim of rugby’s obsession with expansion. Picture: Mark Evans

While each code has their own “Norbert Byrne”, such types of whole-hearted contributors are dwindling. Players, coaches and CEO’s regularly move from one club to another and one code to another as personal ambition understandably dominates the world of professional sports. Even were he born of this time, I think it highly unlikely Norbert would have been one to jump ship. The expression “pick and stick” may well have been created for him, and for that, UQ, Queensland and Australian rugby are very grateful.

For those who put store by coincidence, they’ll point to the fact he was born on June 6, which we now celebrate as Queensland Day, and that he opted out of this life just hours before having to endure another Reds defeat by the Waratahs a fortnight ago.

If contribution is measured by numbers at your farewell, there’d have been many thousands there on Wednesday, but it often doesn’t work like that.

In the description of her uncle, a loving but clearly honest niece described him as “stubborn, recalcitrant and occasionally obnoxious.” A fair call, and perhaps why there weren’t a few more at the Church!

Ask IRB, ARU and QRU Board members or just his friends and family, and they’ll all tell you that there was never any doubt as to what his views were on any particular subject.

When he was here to give an answer, you occasionally didn’t want to ask the question for fear of the vehemence of the response, but now he’s keeping his opinions to himself, there’s a bunch of questions a lot of us would like to pose.

The first would be whether rugby’s costly venture to spread its wings in Australia will ever bring reward.

As the most passionate of Queenslanders, I can’t imagine anything that diminishes the strength of rugby in this state would have Byrne’s approval. But with his love of the Wallabies, could he imagine the spreading of talent being ultimately a good thing?

This week the AFL touted the notion of a team playing out of Auckland sometime in the future. “I think people will want to pooh-pooh that,” said AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, “but they wouldn’t have contemplated a lot of things that happened in the last 30 years in our game.”

He’s right on both counts but I fail to understand why the AFL, NRL and Rugby all seem to be obsessed with this notion of geographical expansion. Potential television product is one of the driving forces, and in rugby, it seems that we’re in the position where we can’t unscramble the egg.

In Byrne’s time, getting Queensland rugby to its strongest was what made Australian rugby powerful. Providing homegrown talent for other sides has now affected the fortunes of the Reds, so while the Wallabies performance at the World Cup last year was admirable, is it sustainable?

In all his years as a coach and administrator, Byrne was not averse to taking risks, but my guess is he’d rather have sustained than spread.

Time, and only a lot of it, will tell.