Clubs show the big boys how it's done
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday September 1, 2009
GIVE me the choice between watching the Wallabies play the Springboks at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday or the last round of the Shute Shield club competition in Sydney.I know where I would rather be €“ and don't bother trying to tempt me with a free airline ticket from Sydney to Brisbane. I would easily pick a game in the 22nd round of the Shute Shield.Such has been the contrasting entertainment value between watching the Wallabies, who are winless so far in this year's Tri Nations and struggling to find their way, or Sydney club rugby. I know I am not alone.Whispers of better value for your buck at club games have grown into open declaration along sausage sizzle-scented sidelines where crowds this season have been healthy.Rugby fans this weekend will pay $139 to $69 for an adult ticket to see the Wallabies play live, longing to not just see them win again, but play as their flashes of brilliance show they can.But in a time of economic hardship and where return for every dollar spent is demanded, it is in the club game that most are now reaping the greatest satisfaction €“ especially for a $15 ticket.Let's not go near the exorbitant prices for food and drinks at a Test compared with a club game.No doubt, problems still exist in Sydney club rugby €“ foremost being that the 12-club competition is still to achieve the depth with which the NSW Rugby Union can be satisfied.The fact is that the rugby punter can still find a club game confident of watching a tight, engaging and running clash €“ helped by the Shute Shield still being run under the experimental law variations [ELVs] that include the short-arm penalty and frequent use of the quick tap.Sydney University might again be the competition frontrunners, but they have been shown to be vulnerable. Translated, that means beatable as rounds five, seven and eight showed with losses to Southern Districts (33-21), Randwick (20-14), and Gordon (43-8). Also interesting is that of 125 games played from 21 rounds, 33 have finished with a difference of seven points or fewer.Add the frequency of four tries or more scored by teams, and that tribal support at club level today seems to exceed that at Super 14 or Test level because it represents the local community, and the Shute Shield has all the makings of becoming revitalised as the competition it once was.It must say something about the state of Sydney club rugby that injured Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock walked away from attending his first game on Sunday feeling happy he went.Sure, he went to watch his club Gordon come from behind to beat Eastwood 34-32 at T.G. Millner Field to secure the Highlanders a place in the Shute Shield semi-finals.But for Mortlock the warm glow of an afternoon well spent was more important than the result."There was a good crowd, a good atmosphere €“ everyone was getting into the game. And the players were playing really, really well," Mortlock said yesterday. "I think the standard from what I can see, [shows that] everything is going really well at club rugby at the moment."Here's hoping in the not-too-distant future the same is again said after a Wallabies Test.Spiro Zavos €“ Page 29
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
