The team who cried foul…
Australian rugby officials are in an uproar over a recent decision by the Springboks to rest their top 21 players for the Tri-Nations test match in Sydney on July 7, 2007. Australia have gone so far as to suggest cancelling the match, though contractual obligations make that unlikely.
New Zealand, the other member of SANZAR (the partnership body of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and the Australian Rugby Union which jointly owns the rights to the Super 14 and Tri Nations) have joined Australia in their demand for an explanation and, presumably, a change in the roster. New Zealand Rugby Union chairman Jock Hobbs summed up their position very clearly.
“We’re talking about the integrity and meaningfulness of international rugby. It’s critical; it’s the very heart and soul of our game…”
Now, from a player’s perspective, I think we can all empathize with the disappointment of being sent a second-string side. However, in the grand scheme of things, Australia and all the other Tier 1 and Tier 2 national rugby teams have had this coming and you know what they say, ‘What goes around comes around’.
If you’re new to international rugby, I should first say that Tier 1 teams are essentially New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Occasionally you might consider England and/or France in Tier 1. Historically however, the UK teams and France have been Tier 2…’the best of the Northern hemisphere’ as it were. Tier 3 teams and below usually fill out the world rankings outside the top 10 on the planet.
Tier 1 and Tier 2 unions have been sending second-string development teams to the rugby paupers of the world for years. For instance, those of us living in the New World are well used to seeing domestic advertisements for USA v. England ‘A’, Canada v. Australia ‘Gold’ or some other such non-sense to vaguely indicate that the players we see on Setanta would not be appearing at out local venue…we would only be seeing the understudies.
Just a few weeks ago Australia had planned to rest their most influential players for a pre-Tri-Nations clash with Fiji (ironically, this was in preparation for the first Tri-Nations clash with South Africa on June 16, 2007; the July 7 match will be the second test between Australia and South Africa in the championship). For the 2006 Fall tours, veteran Australian captain and scrum-half George Greegan decided to take a rest to prepare for the 2007 World Cup which was at the time 10 months away.
Tier 2 teams are also engaging in such low class tactics, but not just with Tier 3 teams. In the 2007 Spring tours, England, France and Wales all sent under-powered teams to the Southern Hemisphere. Surprising how there was barley any complaint from SANZAR.
Even in domestic SANZAR competition, this concept of resting the stars prior to the World Cup is pervasive with Australia being very vocal about sitting Greegan and other stars such as Lote Tuqiri, Stirling Mortlock and Stephen Larkham.
So, my advice to the SANZAR unions and to all rugby nations is as follows:
1. Put up or shut up. If you send under-powered teams overseas or anywhere, expect the same in kind. I would appreciate quiet acceptance of such insult. Take all the test caps and put them on your mantle and be happy.
2. Show your might, always. If you are the best rugby nation, I expect you to showcase it at the highest level at every opportunity. Sending an underpowered team insults the host union and does nothing to promote the sport in the host country. This is particularly true in Tier 3 nations where rugby is not usually listed on the evening sports shows or in the newspapers as other sports are much more popular. Thus, the primary draw for the match will be the chance to see the best players on the planet (not the U23 players you are grooming for stardom 5 years from now).
While the Tier 3 team may not appreciate getting walloped, in the long run you are doing more to promote the sport. If you send your best and crush the opposition, the defeated team has a realistic view of where they are on the oval planet. However, a narrow loss to your ‘second XV’ sends the message that the status quo in the Tier 3 team is ‘almost good enough’. I’ve watched the rugby chiefs in Canada and the USA pride themselves on such small victories and all it does is breed complacency.
So don’t be polite, don’t send a development squad. If you truly want this glorious sport to be developed around the planet, bring your full game every time and pretty soon the tide of rugby power will spread more evenly across all the rugby nations. Like I said earlier, ‘What goes around comes around’.
