Back when I was in primary school there was a picture of one kid stuck up behind the counter of the tuck shop. It stated, “Do not give this kid sugar”.
A fair warning because I gave that kid sugar and he went off like a frog in a sock, then after about 45 minutes of running around with the afterburners on full he would crash, hard.
The Australian Super Rugby franchises are that kid, having just consumed a mountain of sugar from the new defunct Melbourne Rebels. The Waratahs and the Reds reaped most of the benefits, but players have filtered into all the remaining four Aussie franchises.
It seems to have paid off as well, with Australia’s teams all looking stronger than they were last year. It is not hyperbole to say that has easily been the best start Australian franchises have had in the competition’s history. However, as my dear primary school friend aptly demonstrated, beware of the crash.
In the third round things will start getting real, so far the Australian sides have only faced one true New Zealand franchise, not counting the New Zealand franchise in Pacific Islander clothing, Moana Pasifika.
This week the Brumbies versus the Chiefs will be a real bellwether. The Chiefs look the goods this season and if the Brumbies can put up a good fight then it bodes well for the other franchises, specifically the Reds and Waratahs who have gained the most from the Rebels.
Round 4 will see both the Reds and Brumbies play the Crusaders and Blues respectively, which will give the best test yet of the true level of Australian franchises with both NZ teams languishing near or at the bottom of the table. In previous years the worst NZ teams routinely beat the Australian teams, but Round 4 may tell us if there has truly been an uplift or it was just a mirage.
Do I think that things will go back to the way they were? No, not really. I think that the collapse of the Rebels has certainly given each Aussie franchise a much needed shot in the arm, however, again I must warn you of the sugar rush. The first few rounds of the season, nay the first couple of Super Rugby seasons Australia may be flying high on that sugary goodness. But it is after a few years when we will truly know.
Despite all the rhetoric around if Australia should have had five franchises in Super Rugby or not, what it did was expose more people to Super Rugby level competition so that they can grow their skills and know their deficiencies. With four franchises this will limit that exposure and with the collapse of the Rebels pathways to Super Rugby level competition narrows. This only shows after a few years.
Taniela Tupou. Photo: AAP
The challenge for Rugby Australia is to continue to put money into its pathways, to invest in rugby at the grassroots and not let a short term hit mean a medium to long-term slump. Rugby Australia seem to finally be on a better path, but real change is slow, gradual and takes long-term commitment. No big signing or engulfment of a franchise can hold a finger to the slow steady hand of hard, grinding work over time.
The good news is that there are some other factors here to consider. Joe Schmidt, Australia’s soon to be one that got away, went on a historic run of blooding young talent.
Nineteen international debutants last year is massive, and that is after mad eye Eddie Jones and why’d you do me like that Dave Rennie also went on historic runs of giving first time opportunities to young talent.
This also has an impact on performance, and those players are certainly the better for the experience, as is Australian rugby. Australia should not be afraid of giving young players a go, if they are good enough then they are good enough. You really only know when they get into the Test arena.
This whole new generation and the bolstering of Aussie Super Rugby is just in time for the British and Irish Lions.
When a year ago is seemed all but a forgone conclusion that Australia would be mauled by the Lions, this year there is more than hope. If the Super teams perform well, then there is a real feeling that Australia could be in with a shot at winning the series under the watchful eye of Uncle Joe.
I don’t think that we are quite there yet to definitively say that we can beat the Lions over a three-game series, but I am quietly optimistic. But Australian rugby has a real shot at a home World Cup title in 2027. The timing seems just right for the current crop of players to be at the peak of their powers.
This would be the perfect scenario for Rugby Australia to benefit and carefully invest back into itself, unlike the previous administration did after that 2003 Australian World Cup where they basically pissed their financial windfall and goodwill up the wall, which sadly set the tone for a 20-odd-year run through the depths of rugby hell.
But right now it feels good to be an Australian Rugby supporter again.
I have this strange feeling inside of me I can’t make sense of. My nurse wife reliably tells me that it is not heartburn, but hope. A strange feeling indeed.
Now where is that sugar?
