Nothing grows without nurturing and we are now seeing the results of having done little to nothing.
In 2006 the ARU effectively established a 'beach head' here in the West, putting a few troops on the ground to establish a presence in enemy territory and link up with the local militia, hoping they would be hard chargers, break out and establish a firm foothold. But like all arm chair generals watching from afar, they forgot to commit the tanks and artillery to support the troops and inevitably the initial battle was lost. The war, however is still there to be won.
How different would things have been if the ARU had invested in the Force when it first began and gone all out to ensure it was a success. Wins put bums on seats, sells memberships, creates a community profile, garners media attention and helps attract sponsorship investment. Unfortunately the ARU were too happy for the Firepower's and Emirates of the world do the initial heavy lifting and we are now in the position of having to spend far more to reclaim lost ground than if a smaller considered investment was made in the beginning.
Now its all well and good to speculate on things, but we can't turn back time and all the 'should of, could of' talk is pure speculation and serves little purpose other than allowing us to sling mud across state lines at each other.
Moving ahead the ARU needs to consider what it truly wants for Rugby in Australia. They can shut up shop and pool their resources in the rugby heartlands and hope that this is enough to stay off the encroachment of AFL, League and Soccer OR they can embrace their national footprint, which if supported and done correctly could turn into a cash cow for them.
Invest in the product you have, make it a truly great high quality spectacle..SUPER you might say, by ensuring the stakeholders (the 5 teams) are given the resources to compete on a level playing field. At the moment the profile of Super Rugby seems to revolve around being a feeder system for the Wallabies instead of being viewed as a stand alone kick ass product able to compete on the Australian sporting landscape.
