RA CEO Phil Waugh is looking to further the exposure of Australian players to high-pressure Rugby as the Wallabies deal with a potential early World Cup exit.
This issue was raised by Wallabies assistant Pierre-Henry Broncan before the win over Portugal, pointing the the Cup competitions and promotion/relegation formats of European leagues as a key difference between the development of Northern Hemisphere players and skills under pressure.
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With no NRC or third-tier competition during the World Cup, Super Rugby clubs have partnered up with South African and Japanese clubs to bridge the gap.
The Western Force defeated the Cheetahs last week in the third game of a four-match series whilst the ACT Brumbies are in Japan, set to play games over the next fortnight against Suntory Sungoliath and Black Rams Tokyo.
Waugh was looking to formalise the partnership alongside NZR counterpart Mark Robinson, whom he will meet with over the next 24 hours.
An initiative that has been flagged in the past has been the creation of a World Club Challenge by World Rugby, which would see the best in the world face off as part of an aligned world calendar.
“One piece that’s becoming more evident is we just don’t play enough Rugby, we don't play enough competitive rugby. Super Rugby is pretty condensed and then if you're not playing test rugby, then is the next level enough pressure to drive better performances?” he pondered to reporters.
“I’ve been working with Mark Robinson because this is not just an Australian challenge. I think it's going to become more and more of a regional challenge and also a challenge to New Zealand. So we need to get really creative around how we think about scheduling but also the competitiveness into the north.”
Waugh is under no illusion the results in France were far from a pass mark, with the team needing a sizeable Portugal win over Fiji to book their spot in the quarter-finals.
Whilst Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has been quick to shift focus to 2027, Waugh concedes that it doesn’t excuse the fact they are set to miss the knockout stages for the first time in history.
"I think you come to a World Cup looking to win, you don’t go looking to win the 2027 World Cup when you’re going to the 2023 World Cup,” he said.
“A lot of people spent a lot of money to come over here and support the Wallabies and they came here hoping to win the World Cup and that was certainly our expectation or our commitment.
“I’d much prefer to talk about the disappointment of not performing to where we’d like rather than the excuses that we’re building for 2027 because I just don't think that washes and that’s good enough.
“I think it's been no lack of desire and commitment from the Wallabies. It's just we haven't been good enough. I think the other positive is that we've had a really loyal fan base travel over to France and we've let those people down as well. I know that’s not a positive but it's certainly a positive that we do have a really committed, loyal fan base, we just need to do a better job of delivering for them.
