Rugby Australia’s reform drive gets NSW backing but other states sceptical
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Australia (in orange) crashed out of the Rugby World Cup at the pool stage for the first time in France in October.
PHOTO: AFP
MELBOURNE – Rugby Australia (RA) has secured agreement from New South Wales (NSW) to take over the provincial union’s high-performance programme as part of a “strategic reset” but have work to do to convince the other states to sign up, RA boss Phil Waugh said.
RA said in August member unions had agreed on structural reforms which it hopes will lead to a stronger Wallabies team and World Cup glory.
The reforms will push Australia closer to the centralised models of New Zealand and Ireland, where provinces answer to the national body on high-performance decisions affecting Test rugby.
On Tuesday, RA said the NSW Waratahs and the NSW Rugby Union had become Australia’s first Super Rugby club and member union to formally commit to the integration plan.
“The key here is getting a more successful national team,” Waugh told a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday.
“You look at the history of when Australia has done well at a Wallaby level, it drives interest into the game, it drives commercial interest into the game.”
NSW’s integration will see RA take over the Waratahs’ high-performance and commercial operations, while the state union retains ownership of the community game.
As the country’s most well-resourced rugby state, NSW’s backing is a boost for RA’s drive. But other member unions have pushed back on handing over commercial control.
The Australian Capital Territory Rugby Union (ACTRU), which runs the twice Super Rugby championship-winning Brumbies, publicly criticised RA in October for what it described as a “full takeover” and said it had engaged lawyers.
Waugh said RA and the ACTRU were on better terms than a few weeks back but could not guarantee any more member unions would commit to integration before the Super Rugby season starts on Feb 23.
The Brumbies declined to provide immediate comment.
Australian rugby operates under a decentralised model, with rival states competing for talent, coaches and resources.
The model has been blamed for the Wallabies’ steep decline and the struggles of the country’s five Super Rugby teams.
The twice World Cup-winning Wallabies have slipped to ninth in the world rankings and crashed out of the pool stage at France, Australia’s worst-ever performance in the tournament.
No Australian team have won a Super Rugby title since the Waratahs in 2014.
Following the World Cup debacle under departed coach Eddie Jones,
RA has yet to decide who will run the integrated high-performance programme or take over the Wallabies from Jones.
Waugh said RA hoped to announce its new “director of high performance” by Christmas and have a new Wallabies coach in place before the start of the Super Rugby season. REUTERS
