‘No-brainer’: Rugby Australia wants Bledisloe Cup clash on Anzac Day

The Wallabies and All Blacks clashing in a Bledisloe Cup game around Anzac Day is a “no-brainer” idea that would be a lucrative and prestigious event, according to Rugby Australia chairman Daniel Herbert.

In an interview with the Inside Line podcast, Herbert revived calls for the trans-Tasman rivals to bring a Bledisloe Cup game forward on the calendar to Anzac Day, and cited State of Origin as proof a “flagship event” could be slotted into the Super Rugby schedule.

Herbert’s enthusiasm for an Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup fixture came in a wide-ranging podcast interview, where the RA chairman also said the Rebels’ long-term future would be based on financial viability and not performance, played down speculation of the possible return of Argentina’s Jaguares team to Super Rugby, and discussed his concerns about New Zealand’s plans to tour South Africa during the Rugby Championship.

Anzac Day Bledisloe

Like NRL and AFL, Super Rugby has an Anzac-themed round this weekend, but no international fixtures have been held since rugby league’s Anzac Test ran from 1997 through to 2012, which was mostly played in the weeks before or after April 25.

The idea for an Anzac Day Bledisloe match was pitched by Rugby Australia a decade ago and shot down by New Zealand as too difficult. But with both countries facing major financial challenges – RA will announce a loss for 2023 at next week’s AGM and is battling again this year – Herbert believes rugby needs to embrace bold ideas built around commerciality and entertainment, and let go of “amateur baggage” holding the game back.

The Wallabies stare down the haka in Melbourne in 2022.Credit: Getty Images

“I think it would be a no-brainer. If we could work it out and get the different parties on the page with it, it could be something that rugby has that is a little bit unique,” Herbert said. “It is not two clubs against one another. It is a long-standing rivalry, but also a long-term partnership, and recognised through a flagship event like that, we could develop a really big event, a prestigious event around that.

“Rugby league already has State of Origin breaking up the season, so I don’t see why we couldn’t do it other than trying to get the Super Rugby schedule around it, and getting our New Zealand partners on side with it. For me, it would be a no-brainer.”

New Zealand Rugby has traditionally been conservative around embracing major change, and said in 2015 it wouldn’t want to disrupt the Super Rugby season. But after the COVID-19 period proved innovative scheduling can be successful, Herbert said rugby needs to start thinking like commercially driven US sporting bodies.

“People still have deep ties to their teams and their sports, but they know it is a mass-entertainment product,” he said. “We are half-pregnant sometimes with rugby where we are trying to hold on to the amateur ethos and traditions ... whereas the reality is the professional game is now reliant on those that fund it. So you need to make sure we are building these mass-entertainment products.

“That constant battle with tradition is something rugby, given we are only professional less than 30 years, we are still hanging on to a lot of the amateur baggage, in my view. We need to break free of that, and start to look with a clean sheet of paper: how do we build the most commercial, entertaining products we possibly can, to attract the biggest market we can?

“And it’s no secret the sports that are doing this well, they’re working. The NRL are doing some good things, they started to operate like an American-type sport and it’s grown in its commercial appeal. Rugby, we love the tradition, we want to hold on to what we can, but we can’t hold on to it so much we choke the opportunity ahead of us.”

Rebels future

After a two-month extension, the administrator’s report on the Melbourne Rebels is due on Friday. It is expected the report will contain a recommendation on whether the Rebels should be liquidated, or if the option exists for the club to continue via the funding of a new consortium, reportedly being put together by the former directors.

Herbert said RA had “very little communication” from the former directors and very little detail about the new consortium’s plan. Rugby Australia holds the Rebels’ licence and while Hebert said there had been “scenario testing”, he declined to speculate on the franchise’s future.

But he gave a strong indication the club won’t continue when correcting a Phil Waugh comment in February that performance would be a factor in RA’s decision. The Rebels sit fourth on the table and are set to play in the finals.

“It is more about the financial viability of the franchise,” Herbert said. “We are not in a position to pay a lot of money into an entity at the moment. It is effectively the game’s money. Putting money into something that is continually loss-making, and there is no evidence that can – I guess – change in the future. It is taking money away from other franchises, community rugby, women’s rugby and everything else.”

Asked about reports the Jaguares had been approached about rejoining Super Rugby in 2026, Herbert played down the speculation, saying it was premature.

Filipo Daugunu of the Rebels celebrates a try during the round two Super Rugby Pacific match.Credit: Rugby Australia

“That would have to be a decision between Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby, and it would have to be considered right through,” he said.

“It is not what we are considering at the moment. It is not something that, in my knowledge, is advanced at all.”

Left out of the party

Herbert said Rugby Australia was concerned about New Zealand and South Africa formulating a plan for old-fashioned tours in 2026 and 2031, which would lead to an eight- or nine-game tour being played during the Rugby Championship window.

It would mean a truncated Rugby Championship for the Wallabies and Argentina, which would mean a reduction in the much-relied upon Test revenue. Herbert said Australia would be looking for compensation if it was to approve.

“It is a concern. One of the ramifications of not being as competitive, in terms of the Wallabies on the field, is you are not considered in that same regard, when it comes to the most profitable and commercial products,” Herbert said.

“We are deep in conversations, at the moment, with our SANZAAR partners. It is still not locked in, but it is something we need to get comfortable with and work out, if that does go ahead, what does that mean? Both financially, and from a content point of view.”

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