NRL’s $5 billion TV windfall will put more strain on Australian rugby
The Junior Wallabies kicked off their world championship campaign with a 90-22 victory over Spain in Georgia on Sunday morning (AEST).
They look like a well-equipped, strong and talented team to beat France in the crucial pool match on July 7.
But the long-term challenge will be to keep its best players in the program once the NRL’s massive new broadcast deal, reportedly worth $5 billion, emerges.
Junior Wallabies No.10 Finn Mackay and No.12 Treyvon Pritchard were masterful and pushed the line with their running game. While the Wallabies forwards showed off their strength, neither played their hands too much in a disciplined performance.
Mackay, Pritchard and others will be part of a generation of players coming into their own as the NRL’s spending power increases from 2028.
Australian rugby has a huge challenge ahead as there will be no World Cup or British and Irish Lions series to dangle like a carrot to keep them in the game.
The newly announced Anzac Day Bledisloe Tests in Brisbane in 2027, 2029 and 2031 will be interesting for players but that may not be enough to keep the NRL wolves away from the door.
Meanwhile, France-based prop Lehopa Leota received a yellow card for the Junior Wallabies but otherwise made a positive impression. He can definitely move for a big man; His first appearance as a half-time substitute was a strong move.
Why do all roads lead to Japan?
South Africa and Argentina’s exit from Super Rugby has effectively destroyed the grand rugby touring tradition for many Australian players.
They are being sold on the idea of being part of an international sport, but those opportunities are now only open to those selected for the Wallabies.
There are also a few Australia A matches being held in the United States this year, but the old Super Rugby adventures in Cape Town and Durban are no more.
With Perth and PNG joining the NRL in the coming years, Super Rugby no longer offers players anything significantly different and the financial gap between the codes will widen from 2028.
Super Rugby needs an international component. It’s unlikely to be South Africa.
Japan looks like a much more realistic option, especially given there is appetite among that country’s Rugby League One (union, not league) power brokers to set up post-season fixtures against Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby teams.
The format, at least initially, could see Japan’s top two teams host the top Australian team and the top New Zealand team in Super Rugby.
Years left until the World Champions Cup
The debate about the best club in the world won’t be settled anytime soon. The competition, now titled the World Champions Cup, will not take place in 2028 as originally planned.
Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge, one of the competition’s biggest champions, recently told this imprint that scheduling issues meant they would not be able to run 2028 but there was “optimism” for 2029.
But the international rugby calendar is a bit like Tetris: it is almost impossible to put all the pieces together.
The World Champions Cup format remains the same; Seven teams from Super Rugby Pacific will participate, but it remains to be seen whether this will be successful.
It would be extremely frustrating for Super Rugby teams if this cannot be accommodated, but Japan offers an alternative.
Progress in Japanese rugby has not been linear, but the under-20 team were deadlocked at 21-21 at half time against the New Zealand under-20 team at the weekend before the Kiwis secured a 38-21 victory.
Meanwhile, Eddie Jones’ Japan XV, which includes former Junior Wallaby Dylan Riley, could unearth a future star in number 10 Ryunosuke Ito, who pushed the Maori All Blacks all the way in the 38-31 defeat in Nagoya.
Dupont on its way to Australia
Superstar Antoine Dupont won another French title for Toulouse on Saturday, but more importantly for the Wallabies he appeared to come through the final against Montpellier unscathed.
This raises the possibility of Dupont joining the French squad for the Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane, which would be a huge win for Rugby Australia.
Dupont has not participated in a southern hemisphere tour since 2017 and the strength of Les Bleus’ touring squad will bolster the credibility of the new Nations Championship.
Dupont will not play against the All Blacks in Christchurch next weekend, but the French have such depth that the upset in Dave Rennie’s first Test in charge of New Zealand cannot be ruled out.
They have a big, mobile pack and a number of backs who could trouble the All Blacks. The New Zealanders have largely written off the French and that’s a big mistake.
Gordon should take first place at No 10
Carter Gordon hasn’t had the smoothest of Super Rugby campaigns, with injuries disrupting his season.
But he has played 10 games, averaging 65 minutes, and has done enough to be the Wallabies’ No.10 against Ireland in Sydney on Saturday.
Ben Donaldson also had a strong season for the Western Force, but coach Joe Schmidt showed just how keen he was to welcome Gordon back to Wallabies colors last year and although the end-of-year tour was disappointing, the Reds No.10 showed some good signs.
Gordon’s goalkeeping remains a question mark, but his aggressive running style and confrontational defending upfront will offer the Wallabies something different against Ireland, while Donaldson’s ability to cover number 10 and full-back makes him an excellent bench option.
Gordon and Donaldson will get their chances this year, but Gordon represents the Wallabies’ best chance of taking the game to Ireland, especially given their likely No.10 Sam Prendergast will not be able to escape the ongoing scrutiny of his defence.
Paul Cully is a rugby columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
