National Rugby Championship set to excite fans and develop elite players in 2014 and

[RugbyRef]

Re: Falau, I thought current Wallabies were bot supposed to be involved in the comp.

[beige]

Re: Falau, I thought current Wallabies were bot supposed to be involved in the comp.

Is that a rule or just a timing thing though?

[beige]

The architects of the National Rugby Championship are cooking up an audacious 10-team proposal for Australian rugby's long-awaited national third tier.

The Breakdown has learnt that the final structure of the NRC will almost certainly include a whopping five teams from Sydney and NSW, two teams from Brisbane and Queensland and one each from the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia.

The tender process is still open for another week but already the administrators driving the ambitious project appear to have identified the 10 most likely entrants in the new competition.

From the Sydney area alone it is understood four alliances have put together what look to be viable bids.

Premier Rugby powerhouse Sydney University will join with cashed-up suburban club Balmain; Randwick will deepen their alliance with the University of NSW and link with Eastern Suburbs; Gordon, Manly, Northern Suburbs and Warringah appear to be ready to link up as a combined Norths outfit, and a Greater Sydney team will be drawn from a merged Parramatta-West Harbour-Penrith-Eastwood and Southern Districts entity.

A NSW Country team has also submitted a convincing bid and, in music to the cash-strapped ARU's ears, appears close to locking in some powerful financial backers.

North of the Tweed River, the Queensland Rugby Union has already declared it will spearhead two bids – one for a Queensland Country team and one for a Greater Brisbane outfit.

And the newly set up NRC Commission, a panel of more than 12 stakeholders that will rake through the bids, expects to grant tenders from the ACT, Rugby WA and the Victorian Rugby Union.

A major sticking point with the smaller provinces continues to be the distribution of Super Rugby players.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...#ixzz2sXyZaxtL

[travelling_gerry]

That means the Rebels, who could conceivably be left with a squad of 25 or more after losing their Test players, could send 15 to play in the Melbourne-based NRC team, while the remaining players will be split up between the Sydney NRC teams.
The Breakdown understands both the Rebels and the Force are fighting to keep all of their squad members, an understandable standpoint for two franchises trying to deepen their community roots, not spread them more thinly.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...#ixzz2sa8RSLDR

Don't like this clause!!

[TOCC]

It make sense for the sustainability of this competition..

What purpose will it serve if there are 25 super rugby players in a Perth or Melbourne team playing against a Sydney team which only has 4 or 5 and is getting flogged each week...

[GAFFA]

One thing it will do is force us to pick more local players which can only be a good thing.

[RugbyRef]

Is that a rule or just a timing thing though?

From the press release in the OP.

“This new competition will give all non-Wallaby Super Rugby players an opportunity to continue to develop their skills in elite match conditions and will provide an opportunity for an additional 150 players to experience Rugby in a semi-professional environment.”

[jargan83]

I assume for those players in the Force Foreign Legion that wish to qualify for Australia that they will be able to play in the new comp?

Is that a rule or just a timing thing though?

I would have thought so as well. The timing of the new comp makes it unlikely that players like Folau would be available to play due to Wallabies commitments.

If a Wallaby player were coming back from injury though it would probably be a good stepping stone in terms of match fitness.

It make sense for the sustainability of this competition..

What purpose will it serve if there are 25 super rugby players in a Perth or Melbourne team playing against a Sydney team which only has 4 or 5 and is getting flogged each week...

I wouldn't mind the loss of Super Rugby players. But they should do open up all Super Rugby players to be available for all sides (will never happen), maybe as a draft or something along those lines?

[GAFFA]

the only issue i see with distributing all the super rugby players among all the teams is the relocation cost it would cost a fortune.

[The InnFORCEr]

The real reason being that a NSW team has to win the comp each year

[Invictus]

Hopefully Adelaide can put up a compelling bid if only to dilute the growing Sydney centric focus....

As for player distribution, play the first year with as little movement as possible and see how it goes. If adjustment is required, work it into subsequent seasons.

The Shute Shield has long been shoved down our throats as a great breeding ground of rugby talent. This year we get to find out if there is any substance to that.

[beige]

the only issue i see with distributing all the super rugby players among all the teams is the relocation cost it would cost a fortune.

That's the real issue from my perspective and I hope it's been addressed - that was a large part of what drove the ARC into the ground (i.e. the expense of accommodating players in Melbourne).

They seem to have done all their due dilligence so far so you'd hope they've thought this through as well.

[WCR]

Hopefully Adelaide can put up a compelling bid if only to dilute the growing Sydney centric focus....

As for player distribution, play the first year with as little movement as possible and see how it goes. If adjustment is required, work it into subsequent seasons.

The Shute Shield has long been shoved down our throats as a great breeding ground of rugby talent. This year we get to find out if there is any substance to that.

Well, to be fair if there's enough interest to support potentially 5 teams then I'm fine with it. If people are worried about it then they need to finds parties willing to enter teams. An Adelaide team is purely a pipe dream at this point in time. That said, it should be in the considerations of the commission forming the NRC as a future team location 3-5 years down the line.

As for players being distributed among the teams. I think many need to remember that many of the Rebs/Force squad are from Sydney and Brisbane so wouldn't have issues with finding accommodation (family etc). Though, I think there needs to be balance found between established talent and opportunity in the team make ups.

[shasta]

If the same policy (even distribution of playing talent) had been applied to the Super franchises then the Rabble and the Force would have greater numbers involved in Wallaby commitments. Instead the NSW/ACT/Qld have warehoused most of the talent. Reap what you have sown ya poofy blue bastards. Want 5 teams in NSW? Fill the rosters with players from the mighty Shute Shield.

[TOCC]

Shasta, thats such a selfish insular opinion and its that type of attitude that has prevented rugby in this country growing to where it could be, there are too many people looking out for their own interests.


I think the proposed system of nominating the top 15 players and then everyone else is open to move to another team makes perfect sense from a variety of perspectives.

Firstly game time for all the players involved, lets use Hooker as an example, if the Perth NRC Coach decides that Nathan Charles is his preferred starting hooker, do you not think it would be better for the future of the Force if Heath Tessman and/or Robbie Abel were free to find another team where they are guaranteed playing time rather then sitting on the bench for 70min each game.

Secondly, for this competition to work its needs to be successful in Sydney, it won't be successful if you have team like the Rebels and Force sending full strength Super Rugby teams to play against what will essentially be Shute Shield teams with a few extra Waratahs players. Sydney is Australia's largest market for rugby union, its the corporate heavyweight of rugby union in this country, the competition will lose money and fail if they don't make inroads in the Sydney market, if this competition is to be a success it needs the top 150 players in Australia starting each weekend(minus wallabies).