It’s one of the first life lessons every inquisitive kid learns. Whether it be sandcastles, Jenga blocks or Lego… if you’re building something and you want it to stand up without collapsing in a heap, you must first construct a broad, solid base.
On the evidence of last week, it seems that’s not a life lesson Rugby Australia shows any sign of coming to terms with.
To recap, Minister for Sport Anika Wells announced a government investment of AUD$90 million in the future of rugby union, specifically noting how “With this investment, we are building rugby union, with legacy programs focused on grassroots participation, particularly for women and girls.”
Asked immediately afterwards, “On the back of that grassroots growth, do you expect to see the Super Rugby Women’s comp expand between now and 2029?” Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh, made it clear where his priorities lay:
“Yeah, we’ve got, again, very targeted goals of going to the final weekend in 2029. We saw how important it is to go deep into the tournament in 2003 when we last held the Men’s Rugby World Cup. We saw that with the FIFA Women’s World Cup, that going deep into the tournament doesn’t just capture the sporting lovers of the code, but it captures all Australians, and it’s our aspiration to go through to the final weekend in 2029 with our women’s.
“And so, we know that the length of the competition isn’t ideal at the moment, but we are playing 10 tests per year with our Wallaroos, which is a considerable investment at that international level. So, we’ll be accelerating that investment into ensuring that we can reach that goal in 2029.”
Albeit a challenging task, it’s worth trying to reconcile those two statements, because this is what sits at the heart of Australian rugby’s malaise over the last twenty-three years.
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