2023-10-01 11:51:37
Soon the end of the ordeal? There is still one match left, this Sunday, October 1 (at 5:45 p.m.) against Portugal, just to flatten out a few tries if possible to sign their membership, all the same, at the top of the oval basket. But Australia, in any case, no longer has its destiny in its hands, forced to wait for the Fijians’ last match against the same Portugal, a week later, to confirm, very probably, its elimination from this World Cup. .
For the first time in the history of the competition, the Wallabies are not expected to advance to the quarter-finals. In their suitcases, they will bring back from their stay in France a defeat against the Fijians (15-22), the first in sixty-nine years, and above all a scathing correction inflicted by the Welsh (6-40), the worst gap (34 points) never recorded by Australia. Supreme humiliation: never before had a great southern nation (Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) been beaten so comprehensively in the World Cup.
Australia at the same time fell to tenth place in the world rankings. A terrible fall for a nation twice world champion (in 1991 and 1999), and still a finalist in the 2015 edition. The shock wave raised a lot of indignation on the other side of the planet, the former Australian giant David Campese (101 caps between 1982 and 1996) saying he ” devastated “but finally “hardly surprised that Australia finds itself in such a situation”.
Far behind the XIII and Australian football
The decline of the Wallabies has been in the news for a long time. Since the beginning of the 2010s, the fragility of Australian rugby union has fueled some expert debates within the federation, Rugby Australia (RA), but in a quiet manner. The rebound of 2015 still masks a recurring problem: the lack of attractiveness of the discipline in a country where the .
From 2016, Super Rugby, the championship between provincial teams from southern nations, is constantly changing its formula. The South African, Japanese and Argentinian teams, in the grip of financial difficulties, soon left the championship, which, from 2022, and theoretically until 2030, stabilizes at 12 teams, six New Zealanders, five Australians and a Fijian. These upheavals blunt interest in the competition, while conversely, the National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Football Championship (AFL) gain in popularity.
As a result, the resources available to the XIII and the Australian “footy” will continue to increase, the XV remaining the poor relation of the trio. In 2022, Rugby Australia’s revenues were only 14% of those of the AFL. Example with broadcast rights: they currently bring in 390 million euros per year for the AFL, 273 million euros for the NRL, compared to barely 16 million euros for RA. Difficult, in these conditions, to offer the fifteen players salaries capable of competing with their oval cousins. In ten years, the gap has widened considerably: quite similar in 2012, salaries have increased by 275% since then for players of the XIII, by barely 25% for those of the XV.
The need for complete restructuring
The best hopes therefore turn away from the XV, barring exceptional circumstances. Rugby Australia offered itself one in the spring of 2023, taking out its wallet to poach Joseph Suaalii, current nugget of the XIII, for 3.2 million euros over three years. The strategy was not unanimous, knowing that RA is not rolling in gold. In the midst of the Covid crisis, the federation only avoided bankruptcy thanks to a loan of 9 million euros from World Rugby.
The question of means is obviously at the heart of the strategy to put in place to restart the machine. “Rugby in Australia needs a complete restructuring. We need to have a more centralized organization to be competitive”recognized after the slap against Wales Hamish McLennan, the president of RA elected in 2020. Discussions are already open with the owners of the franchises of the Super Rugby teams, RA imagining co-management to gain efficiency, the Australian teams being absent from the list since 2014.
The implication would obviously require opening the wallet. And these are not the only expenses to consider, with women’s rugby also calling for help. At the end of August, some of the Australian internationals published a statement pointing out the lack of resources allocated to the development of women’s rugby, despite the stated desire to professionalize their practice by 2025.
The upcoming meetings are certainly promising, with the next tour in 2025, for three matches, of the British Lions (a selection of the best English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish players), and especially the organization of the men’s World Cups. (in 2027) and women (in 2029). But it’s still about putting on a good face. The least we can say is that the Wallabies did not start the long campaign to come in the best possible way.
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