Australian Rugby needs to reconfigure: 5 Mins with Fitzy 

I played a lot of rugby and my son was a prospect to play, but,...as a 6 year old the cost was $350 for the year and the bloke I spoke to was less than interested. The local AFL club was excited and it was $100 for the year including uniform, ball gear etc. It was an easy decision. AFL doesn't even consider Rugby and NRL competition, ...It has to change

Watching this in late October 2023 thinking it was a reaction to the Wallabies disaster at RWC2023 and Eddie Jones. It took me a while to realise this was from three years ago.

When you see as many people go to Queensland cup games as super rugby games, changes need to be made.

Same what's going on in NZ. So many talented players taking overseas contracts, leaving the crumbs in NZ. The All Blacks at present are half the strength they were 10 years ago.

Yeh they spent millions of Wendell tikuri and Rogers... little investment in junior rugby Focused on private school selection and created a star mentality players with precious haircuts... and to tip it off Fitz and other become woke

Rugby didn’t collapse because of covid. It collapsed because of super rugby.

I'm a Pom . and i reckon it's happening to us too.. A lot of the so called emerging nations from 10 years ago are now top quality.. We have just seen 2 top clubs go to the wall.. Union over here will be ok -ish because our Rugby league is just as bad due to ridiculous salary cap.. Kids over here are just mesmerised by Football... Which personally i think has turned into a dreadful game these days..

Spot on Fitzy. Same issues here in USA. Was pushing 30 years ago for bottom up investment and longer term orientation... meaning some mature sacrifice. Unfortunately, many people are enamored with the big money of domestic professional sport sloshing around and want a pay out for themselves in rugby. The pyramid will indeed become inverted and collapse.

I could actually watch him this time! Good conversation, good points and I have to agree with everything here. As a kiwi, I would love to see the sport grow again but I too have seen and been in too many collapsed scrums.

Past tense: it's not collapsing, it has collapsed.

1)"Crouch.....bind.....set......Time On"- can't wind the clock down by deliberately collapsing scrums 2) Allow props to put their arm on the ground to stop it collapsing Problem solved

Peter Fitzsimmon's doesn't get it. The key issues with rugby union in Australia is (1) It's not played in public schools. It's mostly a private school game. You can't field national franchises or the Wallabies from 20 private schools. (2) It's got an image problem, it's seen as an upper-class game and rugby union won't expand its supporter base whilst its seen that way. (3) It's broadcasted purely on Fox Sports. Not everyone has pay TV. Rugby Australia needs a free-to-air TV deal. (4) Super Rugby needs to involve only Australian and New Zealand teams. No one, respectfully, cares about South African. Argentinian or Japanese teams. (5) The game is boring. It needs to rethink its rules. The challenge with that though is, the more it changes for expansive play, it becomes rugby league.

The clear problem with Aus rugby is the expansion to WA and Vic, non rugby areas diluting the talent from NSW and Qld, thereby reducing team cohesion. It really is that simple. We only need three provincial teams from the heartland.

Have just watched this interview,May 22,and what Fitzy is saying applies just as much to NZ rugby.The NZRFU is transfixed on Super rugby.The players have gone soft and need rest weeks and in some cases time off to play rugby overses.When the players retire they want a big enough nest egg so they never have to get a real.Some of them struggle to pass and catch properly.I fear too many ABs are just hanging on for next years World Cup and Foster scared to make the hard calls and NZR is sitting on their hands sadly.

I know the Wallabies had great results after John Eales retired but in my view the decline started for the national team at least after that.

As a Rugby League fan and not much into Union but I know enough. It has always been in front of the ARU eyes. Screw the Tahs, the Reds, the Rebels and the Force along with the Brumbies. You have a really old grass roots RU comp that's been running in NSW and QLD for 140 years, use them, they are you Eastwoods, Parramatta two Blues, Penrith and all the others. Pick the best ten club teams from NSW and QLD, add the Melbourne team along with Perth and Canberra, possible Newcastle and you will eventually create a Tribal culture in Australia within half a decade. It's what works with all codes. It's what England have in their Premiership Union, same as France. From a lowly Mungo.

I saw the Tahs vs the Rebels at the SCG earlier this year. There was about 700 people (at best) in the stadium including those that were staff. It was a very sad sight. As Fitzy says, there needs to be a strategy to bring it back Rugby to all levels of the pyramid with a focus on the bottom and top quadrants. Make rugby available to every young kid and nurture them all the way to the top. Too many sports fighting for talent in a small talent pool

If rugby wants to grow again they need to focus on growing rugby 7s in public schools for both boys and girls and then continue it on it in uni and club land.

do we still play rugby union in Australia ! WE'LL ILL BE DIPPED!

I’d watch this but 5 mins with Fitz video is 9 mins long. 5 mins will Fitz would be the perfect amount. 😝

Bring back Israel folau 😅😅😅😅

Such a wise man, its the same over here Fitzy, yes even in Christchurch, Canterbury NZ. I still love our ANZAC connection, but I am now just an old baby boomer!

I love Union but after watching England SA final I'm still traumatised and can't watch it. Not because England lost but because of the dire, dour firm of rugby SA played. They really need to sort out the scrum in terms of teams playing for penalties in the oppos half. Scrums were once a way of restarting the game..now its the opposite.

8:30-42 is spot on, same problem rugby league started to have when they had unlimited tackles and they needed to introduce limited tackle-sets

Just here to see the comments 😂😂😂

Rugby Union needs to get back to tours

Not nearly the same level but this is what happened to canadian rugby, worrying about the tip of the pyramid, pouring $ into supporting the national teams, actually raising the fees of grassroots rugby for the direct purpose of supporting the national teams... grassroots really dropped off at the intermediate level. In the end the national team suffers and we need to rebuild

Agree with the the AFL comments

That's why it's called "Ground Roots" because from ground level, is where it starts. In New Zealand, when we were born, the dad was ready with a rugby ball to shoved into our chest then the milk. 😀

Brace is a great host.

I like the last word.. campeze sport... Can Still remember that good bloke..

Luckily RA watched this three years ago and now, today in 2023, everything has been fixed.

My opinion on problems with rugby... 1. It's viewed as an "exclusive game" for the privileged who can afford expensive private schools. 2. Politics. The average person just wants to enjoy 80 mins of sport without crap rammed down our throats. We watch sport to get away from politics. 3. Fans are taken for granted. I could be a mile off. Just my 2 cents.

I love both Rugby Codes, but to start pilfering Rugby League Players, means the junior development of the game is sick.

I hope that they pick some rugby league players for the Wallabies

Not necessarily a bottom up investments but a broader expansion to public schools actively in champion chomps....

Increasing from two to five provincial teams is the reason that the Wallabies are now so consistently weak. Australia could, at a stretch support maybe three teams. Those players would then have more chances of coming from winning cultures and having ready made combinations in place when selected to play for the Wallabies.

Gee Fitzy even I remember that Tonga beat the woeful Wallabies in 1973 not 74.. Probably the worst International loss by any tier one team until recently. I'm not even Australian.

Peter FitzSimons and his wife need a reconfigure

just be good at the scrum and you won't be complaining about them.

Indeed, it's about time too that RA has new people in charge and hopefully they don't backstab Joe Schmidt later like Dave Rennie.

Fitzy, we have spent 300m in the last 20 years on players to lose, how much has taxpayers paid in that time?

Big difference with the AFL and most other sporting leagues is it’s not-for-profit and is the custodian of an entire sport. I believe all sporting clubs and leagues should be member owned, and I would not support any one that wasn’t. All the money you pay to watch A-League, NBL, and mostly NRlL goes to club owners, not to grass roots sport

Long live Rugby League

The reason the AFL pyramid is so financially healthy from top to bottom is because AFL is a much better product. Objectively. speaking. From a commercial POV. Soccer is classical music, Rugby Union is Jazz, Rugby League is Country Music, but AFL is rock and roll. The appeal of the product gives the illusion of genius administration.

Australia rugby is boring because of the way they play. No one wants to watch that. They have lost their flair that was once formidable and equal to the All Black's. ARU is to blame for the decline and shortsighted vision of where it is heading. Crusaders system as well as the All Black's is from Wayne Bennett. How is it they saw the value of his system and ARU didn't.

Sports big in Australia but not rugby union why ???

Australian Rugby League is doing just fine.....oh you mean Union.....you should specify......They are both Rugby.....use the term for which you are referring to.

RU is a completely different sport to the much more open running game I first saw. It's now slow, attritional, brutish, bigger players, constant stoppages (ref blows his whistle more than 3 times than previous). I think Aussies have the lowest tolerance for this type of play among RU nations due to having a contrast with RL (no other RU nation has this contrast, as altho RL is also played in England it's not high profile nor does it have the quality of the NRL). I watched the 2023 NRL final and thought "any Aussie kid watching this ain't gonna tune in to RU"...the back play in RL is constant (RU has barely any now), and so stars are created (Cleary), in contrast to RU which has no stars as players cannot shine like they used to. Im Irish, and that Ireland vs South Africa RWC game was a dreadful 80 minute arm wrestle (most games now tend to be). Unless they do something about the gameplay of RU it is finished in Australia and is in big trouble elsewhere (four English club teams have folded). It needs to be sped up, no more mass subs (max 3 per game, so players must be trimmer to last the 80), cut down referee involvement, and also cut the ref's mic throughout the game too.

Rugby is not collapsing. Australian Rugby may be. But surprise, surprise, Rugby Union is much more than Australia. It is the fastest growing sport in the world. I just watched two new teams, Moana Pacific and Fiji Duma. What a great future for both. Watch the Sevens Tournament. Teams from non-traditional tug year countries making great progress. For example, the USA is growing and will soon be a world force. Women’s Rugby is becoming a major world sport. Northern Hemisphere Rugby remains strong. Argentina is a good example of how a team can rise into a major force. Just saying.

This is what happens when you shitcan your best player you had, for exposing his religious beliefs !!!!!!!! One thing about Australian Rugby that needs to change, is the politics !!!!!!!!! The ARU needs to cut the Aus teams back to 2 or 3, and go back to simplicity !!!!! The other issues that people are bringing up here, such as "It's got an image problem", "It's seen as an elitist sport", "It's played in private schools", "It needs to change its rules, because it's boring".......etc, have no clue about the origins or the nature of rugby in general !!!!!!!!! Those issues have existed for years and it's seen the Wallabies win two World Cups, go to another two world cup finals, and produce countless talented rugby players, some of whom then went to play league, Michael O'Connor, Ricky Stuart, Scott Gourley, and Darren Junee !!!!!!!!!.............Go back to basics ARU, and please don't replicate another Israel Folou debacle .............

Rugby Australia is failing because there selection process is flawed, rugby is for everyone not just private schools. Wake up Australia, look after your juniors at all levels. Talent is every where in Australia. Too many times I’ve seen kids get selected because they go to a private school. That’s so an English mentality from back in the 1900s

Well he's nailed it in one: * Invest in the base of the pyramid and make it grow wider. * Eventually it leads to the top of the pyramid growing higher. The problem for RU: You want a sport all the kids can just turn up on the playground or park and immediately start playing so long as they have players and ball and space and that's it: Anywhere, anytime, anyhow and have fun. Football/Soccer has this. Touch Footie has this too though the rules are a bit hard and there's a bit too much mindless grind. But in essence, RU is limited. What made it attractive was physical competition and then beers afterwards: And people having a riot of fun whatever happens. Easy to play, quick fun. RU is probably going to collapse in Oz - there's better options for the above for kids now. And again League is faster and more fun, European Union is turgid and injury prone. The players removal is what League did already. The other option if Union wants to stay Union is imho: Make the PITCHES BIGGER to accommodate more players while allowing more space to reduce those BORING and DANGEROUS GRIND moments in games.

NZ is similar. Grassroots has been neglected. And rugby is terrible spectacle to what it was. The 2019 world cup was complete crap once pool play finished.

If you want to watch a game with 13 players go watch rl

Rugby in Europe is already much better than commented on here. Last year's premiership final was amazing. So many tries scored and this year has seen some open rugby even still. The problem seems to be you guys in Australia lol get playing better and reduce the teams to 2 or 3

They all bow to the corporations forgetting the real fans and the builders of the sport, Now it is all about money and players being paid obscene amounts of money that the ordinary bloke couldnt imagine. The pursuit of money is killing sport everywhere.

Australia needs to buy more Tongans,Fidjians and Samoans to get back as rugby force,but they must do it quickly because Eddie Jones is also shopping to strengthen Englands rugby team

"Fitzy fans" imao.

They should form a National club comp. But so call super rugby has proved to be a failure ! Great clubs like Randwick , Eastwood were great to watch. But now its too late . Rugby is slowly dieing . Clubs are fo;lding up. Kids now going to NRL. AFLL @ Soccer .

Practicalities aside, combining league and union from two struggling codes into a united healthy one, would solve all their problems. Keep all the teams, modify the rules, lump them all together and let them slug it out in divisions with relegation.

Its dead. Its fate was sealed behind pay walls. No eye balls no sight, no mind. Fitzy is also whipped by his woke wife who went woke and then broke (or pocketed enough to make the station go broke) either way someone went broke - definitely didn't help yawnion out in any way

Fitzy Fans! LMFAO

If its collapsing maybe it because or YOU critics

Sevens is much better to watch

The problem is Rugby is boring to play, and boring to watch.!!!!!!!!!!!!

Australia needs Rob McQueen back early 90s and 2000s but rugby uion dead All blacks kill the wallebys game

Tool.

You know channel 9 is done when they get this flog on for an opinion. LMFAO!

Don't recognize him without is doo rag on.

Woke rugby 😅😅😅😅

He could be talking about WELSH Rugby 😢Welsh rugby is in a terrible state

When will Fitz and the Rah Rah brigade learn and understand Rugby Union only exists for blokes who are not good enough to play in the NRL have something to do. Rugby Union is boring, has no following and lives on the North Shore of Sydney. Rugby Union is only going to get smaller in Australia as the RL embrace the pacific islands as a RL hub and young islander boys want to play rugby league rather then RU.

LOL! Rugby Union is not a genuine global sport. Get a bit bored of the Rah Rahs banging on about this. There is a handful of professional Rugby competitions in the world. Its only No1 in a couple of sparsely populated Soouth Pacific islands. I could name 10 pro sports more global than Rugby.

Campese sport… with tacking.

WRONG Union is collapsing. League is doing just Great thanks. LEAGUE IS ALSO RUGBY. I AM SHOUTING. Union wants to be called Rugby and to have Rugby League called League.. "World Rugby", "Rugby world Cup", it's all Rugby, Rugby, Rugby with no mention of Union. If they could drop the second part of the name, I think they would. League for legal reasons can't be called League as other sports have copyright issues over the word. But that's not Union's problem. In the North there was a campaign to also call Rugby League Rugby. NZ aren't the power that they used to be. Australia has a private school system to supply it. The North is much more professional and win many more games and the crowds down south have dropped off. SA have left and now play up North, (because SA is in the North, Isn't it). NZ have won the Rugby Championship more times than all the other teams put together. They have countless Grand Slams. Nobody talks about those slams because doing so acenuates the difference even more but they exist. In short there is no heathy competition. That is the problem. Instead of downsizing and going for expansion maybe letting Japan into the Championship and increasing the number of teams from Argentina in the club competition, we get less and less Union and more and more elitism then the Public don't watch. The whole Rugby word is ours thing, is another example of that elitism. This is what has to change.

So australians want to ruin rugby union? If you want to watch rugby league then do that, don't ruin something great.

When this guy speaks no one listens, bye

Fitzy you need to send a message to the parents! Sell to them the idea that nrl is too dangerous for their kids. Weekly league injuries, 5 broken ankles per week, 5 serious knee injuries per week! over 20 head injuries per week. It’s getting dangerous. 😁👊🏽👈🏽

Your bald head is collapsing lol 😮