Rugby: Rugby Australia advises to stop focusing on Super Rugby

A leading Australian sports consulting group has recommended that Rugby Australia should choose not to participate in Super Rugby in its current form.

The Gemba Group has previously advised New Zealand Rugby on strategies to stem declines in Super Rugby assists, but has now made the bold statement that Australian fans are simply not interested in the tournament enough to justify their Current place in Rugby Australia’s priorities.

A devastating set of statistics underlies the council, highlighted by a 43 percent drop in the average Super Rugby audience since 2013. Within that figure, Australians ages 16 to 39 have seen a 73 percent decline.

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The group’s research also concluded that rugby union is the ninth most popular sport in the Australian market, compared to No. 1 in New Zealand and No. 3 in South Africa, behind cricket and soccer.

“Where we come from right now we think the Sanzaar model is hugely problematic and Covid-19 has exposed it a little bit,” Rob Mills, chief executive officer and founder of the consultancy, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The report recommended that Rugby Australia should focus on Super Rugby to rebuild their national game, where traditional rivalries still draw fans. Super Rugby may act as a Champions League-style tournament at the end of the season.

“Where we disembark from all the fan participation data, is that we think you are going back to a national-only competition with a drop in promotion and a representative season at the end. That is the model that will most attract fans and return to the core of the fortress of Australia.

“If you say the strength of the sport here is in the NSW and Queensland club games, then that’s where you go. Invest in those leagues.”

“They become the leading rugby competition in Australia without anything that means, instantly, your best players are in it. There is a heritage and history there and we know what works are emotional rivalries and tribalism, as well as a clear geographical identity of where the teams come from. “

The report also speculates that a change is needed to stop the Wallabies’ steadily declining competitiveness. He says the UK Premiership club competition is a role model that can result in a prosperous national side.

“The game needs to have a discussion about what will fuel better test performance for the Wallabies. The interesting thing is that when Super Rugby had 12 teams in 1996-2005, the win rate was 68 percent. In the period of 2016 as of 2019 it was down to 45 percent, “Mills said.

“The structure of Super Rugby is not the only reason for that [decline] but we would argue that it shows that it is not giving us the benefit that we think it might have ever done.

“One argument about the UK model is that expanding the depth of professional players can also lead to better test performance. If you had a scenario where you see private money focused on creating a really dynamic club system And results-oriented, you could have Rugby Australia focused on roads and Wallabies, like a traditional governing body around the world does. “