Rugby goes to broadcasters with comprehensive package

Rugby Australia has set New Zealand a deadline of September 4 to decide whether the two countries proceed with a trans-Tasman competition.

Rob Clarke has attempted to showcase rugby from grassroots to Test level.

Rugby Australia has effectively set New Zealand a deadline of September 4 to decide whether the two countries will proceed with a trans-Tasman competition or whether Australia will go it alone with a domestic series – possibly for as long as five years.

RA on Monday distributed documents to a range of broadcasters proposing two rival Super Rugby models, a trans-Tasman competition or one based solely on the five Australian franchises – the Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies, Western Force and Melbourne Rebels.

RA chief executive Rob Clarke insisted the model for next year needed to be settled by September 4. “So D-Day is coming,” Clarke said.

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Clarke insisted RA had not acted in this fashion to deliberately light a fire under New Zealand Rugby, which has been musing for some considerable time over whether it would accept Australia’s insistence that all five Australian franchises compete in the trans-Tasman series, or none at all.

Still, one way or another, it will force an answer from the Kiwis. And while RA still favours the cross-Tasman model, it is increasingly coming around to the view that a purely Australian competition – or one supplemented by teams from Japan and the Pacific Islands – could have great appeal from a high-performance and viewer support perspectives.

“No, we are doing what we believe is best for rugby in this market and, as I said, these discussions have been going on for a number of months now, so it’s not being driven by any particular element here, it’s certainly not being driven by the NZ issue,” he said. “It’s being driven by us to get to an outcome that makes sense for our game in this market and we will make the necessary decisions.

“The games on the weekend showed just how much rising talent is coming through with our young players and how this competition is really starting to engage fans and showcase the future of Australian rugby. And we have been saying this to NZ and anyone who is prepared to listen that we are very confident in the quality of our up-and-coming talent.”

In launching RA’s long-awaited proposal to broadcasters — not just Fox Sports but “a number of organisations, both in Australia and overseas” — Clarke said he and RA chairman Hamish McLennan had attempted to put together a package that showcased the game from grassroots right up to Test level.

“This will be, I think it’s fair to say, probably the largest and most comprehensive collection of rugby rights ever put to the market in Australia,” he said.

All the usual components of the international game, the Bledisloe Cup series against the All Blacks, The Rugby Championship and the Wallaroos Tests, will remain in place. How the Super Rugby-level plays out will largely depend on the answer received from NZ but RA has also included a “Super 8” series, which is essentially a crossover competition to follow Super Rugby, with two teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia plus single teams from Japan and South America to play off in a short-form five-week competition.

Another innovation is a State of the Union clash between the two oldest rugby entities in Australia, NSW and Queensland, which will be run along State of Origin lines and with the same broad eligibility process to determine what state players can compete for.

Given that a sizeable proportion of players, over 20 per cent, are raised in states such as WA, Victoria and the ACT, it could be tricky figuring out allegiances, but Clarke was confident it could be done.

The package presented to broadcasters also features club and schoolboy matches. “We have a national club rugby championship which we would like to launch of the best clubs in the country in a short form competition at the end of the club rugby season,” Clarke said. “As you know we have the rights to the NSW and Queensland Premier club rugby competitions in addition to showcase series of the best schoolboy rugby around the country.”

With the exception of the State of the Union series, which has been discussed since Clarke was first with the Australian Rugby Union under CEO Bill Pulver, the package is remarkably similar to the one Raelene Castle took to the market just as the coronavirus pandemic struck. What is different, however, is the way it is likely to be received. Certainly the mood appears to have lightened since she was dumped and Clarke installed on an interim basis.

The expectation was that the 2025 British and Irish Lions series would prove one of the most compelling parts of what RA was offering broadcasters. But Clarke revealed that it had deliberately been excluded from the package.

“None of the deals that have been done, the two (broadcast) deals done by NZ and Supersport in South Africa, have included the 2025 Lions,” Clarke explained. “It has been an area we’ve been questioned on (but) the challenge is that we don’t have an agreement yet with the British and Irish Lions about what that tour might look like. They have implemented a different model for the 2021 tour (of South Africa) where it’s essentially a joint venture and that’s the first time that’s been done.

“I think there’s a preference to see how the model works before RA and Lions enter into any agreement for 2025. Until that’s clear, it didn’t make sense to bundle it into these rights.”