After standout performances in Super Rugby Aotearoa, Caleb Clarke, Tupou Vaa'i and Hoskins Sotutu are some of the new faces in the All Blacks this year. Video / All Blacks
COMMENT:
Rugby Australia faces a stark reality check.
The dawn of a potentially negligible broadcast deal, which is expected to strip millions from RA's annual budget next year, has brought to an end the bold public statements of recent weeks.
Claims of issuing New Zealand ultimatums and steadfastly maintaining faithin the sustainability of five Super Rugby franchises is set to be challenged as the realities of attempting to survive next year loom in the form of the fraught financial bottom line.
Privately, Australian rugby knows drastic cutbacks across all levels of their game may be imminent.
The tender process for RA's broadcast pitch, which centres on bidders cherry picking different competitions and test matches, closed last Friday and there has been little in the way of positive statements since.
What we know for sure is offers will reach nowhere near the same $57m-a-year investment RA had been receiving.
Former RA chief executive Raelene Castle last November knocked back a five-year offer from Fox Sports worth $35m annually in favour of pursuing deals with Optus and free-to-air providers.
Since Castle's departure in late April, though, some projections now suggest Australia's domestic competition will earn $10m per-season.
Noises outside the tent do not paint a rosy picture, either.
Compared to rival codes, Foxtel boss Patrick Delany last week placed Australian rugby well down the pecking order, suggesting a low ball offer from his company at best. He mentioned AFL, NRL, cricket and motorsport as "tier-one sports" and said others were "going to have to adjust".
"We are now quite fearless of losing a sport," Delany claimed.
Broadcast revenue funds the game in every rugby nation. This is, therefore, where the rubber meets the road for Australia.
Interim RA chief executive Rob Clarke had been bullish in public about the future of the domestic game but, behind closed doors, the realities of potentially cutting millions from the budget will be causing serious angst.
Significantly less broadcast revenue will again test the notion of maintaining five teams and Clarke, a former chief executive of the Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies, may need to be removed from that touch point to avoid a potential conflict.
The Western Force are clearly anxious about their future. Despite being welcomed back into Australia's domestic competition this season, the Perth-based team on Tuesday confirmed they are in talks with New Zealand Rugby about possible relocation next season.
Australian rugby will almost certainly be in survival mode next year.
All Blacks' Codie Taylor is tackled by Wallabies captain Michael Hooper. Photo / Photosport
Should RA opt to maintain its five teams, cuts elsewhere are inevitable. Leading players may be asked to further slash wages which could spark a mass exodus of top-tier talent, while the community game that builds the base is also likely to suffer.
Castle pulled off a major coup in signing Dave Rennie as Wallabies coach and he will be desperate to retain as many of the next generation as possible. Rennie could soon, however, instead find many of his best assets basing themselves offshore.
Surviving through to 2022, when a potential trans-Tasman competition is considered more viable in an improved Covid-19 landscape, will be a big ask for Australia.
New Zealand Rugby is sure to be watching Australia's broadcast developments with interest.
NZR chief executive Mark Robinson has his own challenges to work through, having stated the preference for an eight-to-10 competition next year that will not eventuate.
But with broadcast partner Sky secure for the next five years, and Super Rugby Aotearoa proving hugely successful, Robinson is in a much more stable position to plot longer term plans.
NZR's polarising expression of interest process is understood to have received seven to nine formal applications – outside the five existing franchises. That includes the Bay of Plenty rugby union, Moana Pacific, Kanaloa Hawaii, the Asia Pacific Dragons among others.
If collaboration can be achieved between some parties it is believed two bids could form credible entities beyond next year.
By 2022, following another expected season of Super Rugby Aotearoa, New Zealand could have seven teams keen to join an expanded competition.
How many Australian sides line up in a potential trans-Tasman venture in 2022 is likely to be heavily influenced by their next broadcast deal.
As much as New Zealand rugby needs Australia, it also needs them to hold their own on and off the pitch.
