Leading coaches Ewen McKenzie and Jake White claimed the Super Rugby competition isn’t operating on a level playing field and Australian teams must overcome enormous disadvantage if they’re to consistently succeed.
Speaking at the season launch for the Australian conference on Thursday, former Springboks coach and new Brumbies boss White said he’s now seeing first hand how far Australian teams are behind Super Rugby’s powerhouse franchises in his native South Africa and New Zealand.
While Australian teams are restricted by a salary cap and to a squad of about 35 players, South African clubs like the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks are unlimited in the size of their numbers and how much they can pay players.
White, who is attempting to rebuild the Brumbies and return them to their glory days, said it was “phenomenal” that teams like the Waratahs and Reds have found a way to be consistently competitive given their comparative lack of resources.
“The one wake up call I’ve had is just how gifted South Africans are in terms of the player resource they have,” he said.
“It’s very different in Australia to be fair. In South Africa they’ve got players coming out of their ears, they don’t have salary caps.
“In some ways it’s tougher for an Australian side to do really well in this competition, but it’s been proved by Ewen and the Reds that it can be done.”
Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie said it’s a common misconception that the SANZAR organised tournament is even for all 15 teams.
McKenzie said money was the main thing holding Australian teams back but urged the game to strive towards consistency across each of the three countries.
“They’ve got a lot of equality now in the Australian conference and I’m sure the others (conferences) do as well, but ultimately you’ve got to look for that (overall equality),” said McKenzie.
“It’s a question of affordability and each economic circumstance is different but it’s something they can look at maybe.
“Ultimately we’ve got to grow and it’s a complicated beast but I think Queensland have done a good job in the last couple of years in terms of growing the code in the face of league and AFL and soccer, so you can do it.”
ARU chief executive John O’Neill said Australian teams have always had to “punch above their weight” with the Brumbies and Reds having to claim titles by being innovative and intelligent.
“If it was just about numbers, England would have won seven World Cups by now, and they’ve won one,” said O’Neill, who confirmed reports he’d been approached by English Premier League giants Manchester City to be their new CEO.
However, O’Neill, who reportedly missed out on the lucrative posting, said “it was a normal business reaction” to respond to City’s interest and stressed he was committed to seeing out his contract with the ARU.
Queensland and NSW are firm favourites to again be the best performing Australian sides, however McKenzie said the Brumbies, Western Force and Melbourne Rebels couldn’t be written off.
McKenzie believes the Waratahs, who host the Reds in Sydney in round one, will perform differently to last year under new coach Michael Foley.
“I just don’t see how we can come to the conclusion that there are going to be any runaway winners anywhere … we saw last year nearly every derby game we played was tight,” McKenzie said.
