Isn't this part of the problem we have a reasonable Shute Shield comp which is being managed by certain clubs at no cost to the ARU and what we need is a national competition sanctioned by the same clubs who will lose the Shute Shield competition and thus their power and the transition will cost the ARU money.
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well he is right to say the S15 will take up some of the slack, by having a longer season there will be the opportunity to blood more players and give more players experience at a higher level.

Obviously its not enough, but it does take up some of the slack.
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I'm not saying that an ANZ Cup or Sheffield Shield style competition is a bad idea. But I have concerns about the viability. The ANZ Cup is itself struggling to pay it's way (See http://www.scrum.com/newzealandclub/...ry/103617.html)

Rugby in NZ has a well established sub-structure, even if it's riddled with inter-union politicking. But it is still having major problems adjusting to the professional era.

The article points out the conflict between those who want to preserve the prominent place of provincial Rugby in NZ and those who want to enhance the S15. The issues are probably as much about preserving power bases as they are about streamlining provincial Rugby.

None of this is new.The issues have been hashed out around here plenty. We don't have such a strong national structure to begin with and Rugby is now maybe equal 3rd or possibly outright 4th in the football pecking order in Australia. Like it or not, the only way a second tier might be viable is for those who scuttled the ARC in the first place to have input on how to re-invent it. :-)
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That's the first time I've heard anybody say the Shute Shield doesn't cost the ARU. Isn't the player development of the NSW and Qld club competitions the reason used to justify the extra funding that those two unions recieve? Surely you'd have to say that is a cost?

Is that not more because of the three tiers of national rugby competition rather than the ANZ Cup per se?

I'm not suggesting that a national competition will EVER actually turn a profit in and of itself.....IMHO it doesn't need to, the profit comes from other sources. Increased interest in the game, wider advertising appeal, the improvement in the quality of our product, improved performance in International Competition. Each of the intangibles will net profit for the code, it would justify the cost as long as you don't have an excessively microeconomic view of the finances.

I guess that's one of the reasons why such an initiative has to be led by the ARU. They are the only group who would have an interest in the type of wide-ranging hidden advantages that a third-tier competition would bring. They need to fund something like this with part of their development budget, part of their advertising budget creative applications like that.
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