Why the NRL must expand into Christchurch

In the interest of transparency, I should declare that I write this blog as a strong Rugby league fan. Rugby league, while dominant in Australia and PNG (bless their hearts) is dwarfed internationally by Rugby Union. I find this, in terms of product quality and spectacle, inexplicable, but clearly, I’m in the minority, Below I attempt to explain some factors that have led to Rugby League having such a poor international footprint, how some green shoots of international revival are appearing and how a second team in New Zealand is vital to continue this expansion

Introduction

The recent case of Joseph Sua’ali’i provides a good example of the greater international exposure of Rugby union. A good player in Rugby League, he has achieved super star status in Rugby Union after only two games for the Wallabies. Rugby league super stars such as Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster are well known only in parts of Australia, NZ and the UK. The sad part of this lack of recognition is that players like Greg Inglis and Darryn Lockyer will never achieve the global recognition that their talent deserved.
Dual international Michael O’Connor provides another insight . On his Wallabies tour of the UK and Ireland, he and the team were presented to the Queen. On a Kangaroo tour he met the Mayor or Wigan. Despite this drop in social standing, O’Connor preferred League as a game.
The reasons for the lack of international exposure by the Rugby league are varied and tied up with the greater success of Rugby union. This didn’t need to happen. Rugby League thought internationally from an early time. The Rugby League World Cup, first held in France in 1954 predates the Rugby Union World Cup which began in New Zealand in 1987 by thirty years, Yet , Rugby Union world cup has enjoyed a much greater international exposure, what happened? why did Rugby League fall so far behind and why did the Rugby union gain such a strangle hold in international participation?
Various reasons in no real order

Social status and class perceptions

From the unset of the Rugby split in 1898, Rugby League was portrayed (and was) a working- class game. It grew out the need for working class players in the North of England to earn a wage and have insurance against injury. Much bitterness attached to the split, which remains in more refined forms to the present day. Consider a more gentlemanly game (especially in the south) Rugby Union found fertile ground in private education and the Universities of the UK. Students from these schools and provided the bulk of the British administrative class, serving King and Country around the world. They took their game with them. Playing Rugby Union in British Commonwealth Countries was a ticket of admission to the middle and upper classes and an affirmation of Britishness, in contrast, most Government schools in the North of England played soccer and no social status attached to playing Rugby League

Institutional barriers

The Rugby establishment in the UK introduced several discriminatory practices to isolate the breakaway game and punish its participants( (Https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780203088357-17/sporting-apartheid-rugby-union-war-rugby-league-t.
These included
• Lifetime Bans: Rugby union players who switched to Rugby league were banned for life from playing or even being involved in Rugby union1. This policy was strictly enforced, effectively ostracizing players who chose to play Rugby league. Possibly the most extreme example of this was the banning of the former Welsh Captain David Watkins from Cardiff Armes Park after he signed with Salford Rugby league club
• Social Stigma: Rugby league players often faced social stigma and were viewed as lesser athletes compared to their rugby union counterparts. This was particularly evident in the media and public perception, where rugby union was seen as the sport of the elite, while rugby league was associated with the working class.
• Limited Opportunities: Rugby league players had fewer opportunities to represent their country on an international stage, as rugby union was the more globally recognized code. This limited their exposure and potential career advancements1
However, like all repressive system, the Rugby Union form broke down from both internal pressures and political action by North of England politicians that forced the British sports council to threaten cessation of funding to the Rugby Union if they continued their discriminatory practices towards rugby league (Rugby Union: Sports Council Funding (Hansard, 4 March 1993) . Faced with these issues, Union officials who had discriminated against defectors to Rugby league since 1898, now became great advocates of professionalism.

Administrative ineptitude (with reference to Australia)

It would be difficult to overstate the ineptitude , in terms of advancing the game, of most officials of the Rugby League in Australia, some examples include
• Taking nearly 100 years to move the game outside of New South Wales and Queensland ( The Auckland Warriors (1995), The Adelaide Rams and the Western Reds began in 1997 and the Melbourne Storm (1998)
• Rejecting cooperation with the World’s largest media company (News Limited) and fighting the Super League War
• Turning their back on a truly national competition in 1998 by shutting down the Rams and Western Reds as part of the super league war settlement and a giving a massive boost to AFL in the process
• Neglecting the famous Great Britain/Kangaroos tours and providing only infrequent internationals with New Zealand
• Making no attempt to encourage the game in the Pacific , South Africa or North America.
The only jewel in the crown was the State of Origin series which is regularly exported interstate, and which draws a large international audience, again proving that the game when played well is both exportable and able to survive despite poor management

Some green shoots

The formation of the NRL provided a springboard for domestic expansion and consolidation with additional teams in Queensland being added and the success of the Melbourne franchise. But still little was done internationally.
The impetus for change came more from a player’s revolt rather than administrative action. Tongan, Samoan and Fiji players chose to play for their country of ethnic origin rather than either Australia or New Zealand. Despite their small size in terms of population Tonga and Samoa emerged as genuine first tier test teams. Tonga beat Australia in 2018 and Samoa defeated England to get to the World Cup final in 2021, Fiji and PNG also became much more competitive with PNG joining the NRL in 2028 and talk of Fiji being the head of a Pacifica team some later date Reviewing the creation of the PNG NRL team the ABC commented
“The passion PNG has for the game can be inspiring, intimidating and overwhelming in turn.”
Encouraging as these trends are, it should be remembered that these are small population economies with most of their active players being NRL or with affiliated state-based competitions While Rugby league added Tonga, and Samoa into the international competition , the Rugby union expanded into Italy and Argentina
Nevertheless , the growth of Rugby league in the Pacific probably means it has already supplanted Rugby Union as the main game and demonstrates that , when the two codes go in direct competition, as in Australia, and increasingly in New Zealand. Rugby League is highly competitive r (https://www.rugbypass.com/rugby-league/news/people-are-getting-bored-former-all-black-makes-startling-admission-that-nrl-has-overtaken-union/)
The other “green shoots relate to the arrival of an aggressive and expansion minded chair of the ARL in Peter V’Landys. While the Los Vagas experiment is unlikely to bring immediate results in terms of international export of the game, it has breathed new life and ambition into the NRL and the realisation that capturing only a small proportion of the US sports market is still highly beneficial.

Second Team in New Zealand is crucial

Only in Australia and the North of England has rugby League successfully competed with Rugby Union for popularity. In New Zealand, while Rugby league has , historically, been popular in Auckland, it has lagged well behind Rugby Union in New Zealand as a whole and its international team ranked well below the All Blacks. The recent popularity of the New Zealand Warriors both in crowd attendance and media coverage has been seen as an indication that the balance of power in the two rugby codes may be changing. Well known Rugby sportswriter Gregor Paul has identified 3 reasons why the NRL will increase in popularity in New Zealand

THREE KEY FACTS

• The NRL is Australasia’s most powerful football competition, with a growing presence in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.
• The NRL has strong revenue flow, detailed expansion plans, a growing audience, and simple rules.
• Rugby lacks a clear strategic vision for Super Rugby Pacific and is riddled with debt.(
He believes that
“It’s not quite game, set and match league – not yet at least. League has one critical blow left to strike. One of the NRL’s expansion teams is going to be in Christchurch and having two professional teams in New Zealand could potentially change everything. There will be an increased intensity in the player market – another cashed-up club looking for talent, and inevitably, the number of young rugby players willing to convert or defect to league will significantly increase”. (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/10-reasons-why-rugby-league-can-crush-rugby-union-gregor-paul
/The analysis by Paul is overly pessimistic and discounts the deep hold Rugby Union has in New Zealand. However, many of his points are valid. The game needs structural change , too many players on the field , overly complicated rules with consequent frequent interruptions from officials and incompetent financial management. This all makes for a sport that is not resonating with younger new Zealanders.

Conclusion

A second League team in New Zealand would have the added attraction of a local derby , provide career paths for young players and strengthen the national side. It is an expansion opportunity to broaden the international appeal of the game and cement its place as the dominant code in the Pacific and Australasia. This can be the springboard for greater international coverage