Rugby leaves trying times behind

Finally there is a welcome note of certainty in Australian rugby with the announcement that Fox Sports will broadcast the 12-week Super Rugby AU competition.

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Finally there is a welcome note of certainty in Australian rugby with the announcement today that Fox Sports will broadcast the 12-week Super Rugby AU competition.

Traditional rivals Queensland and NSW will fight out the opening match at Suncorp Stadium on the night of Friday, July 3, ahead of the clash of the Brumbies and the Melbourne Rebels the following night in Canberra. The grand final will be staged on September 19.

And there was more good news: the confirmation that New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aotearoa competition, which starts this weekend, will also be screened live on Fox Sports and Kayo.

It has been an anxious time for the game in this country, with Rugby Australia in turmoil for months in the lead-up to the resignation of Raelene Castle as CEO.

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But with interim chairman Paul McLean set to hand over the reins to Hamish McLennan as Rob Clarke steps into the interim chief executive role and starts making the tough calls that needed to be made, the game is inching its way towards the light.

There still are so many imponderables: an unknown broadcast deal for the 2021-25 cycle and, as a consequence, an unknown pay structure for the players; an untried Test coach, Dave Rennie, will arrive next month to take charge of the Wallabies, but it remains unclear how the international program will shape up this year.

As for next year and beyond, there is speculation that a global season could be introduced, though such talk has been bouncing around rugby for decades.

For the moment, all eyes are fixed on the Super Rugby AU season now just three weeks away. All competition points from the discontinued Super Rugby season have been discounted, which is bad news for the Brumbies, who had won all but one match, but good news for the Waratahs, who had won only the solitary game.

The Rebels were starting to make headway when the COVID-19 crisis struck, but the Queensland Reds will perhaps stir most interest.

They were just starting to fulfil their promise when the pandemic hit. Since then three members of their side, Test second-rower Izack Rodda, lock Harry Hockings and utility back Isaac Lucas have handed in their contracts over a pay dispute.

It will mean, for starters, that Test blindside flanker Lukhan Salakai-Loto will have to return to the second-row, where he will combine with the rising Angus Blyth. But there is no doubt the Reds depth will be tested in the coming weeks.

At least that’s purely a rugby problem ….