McLennan riled Kiwis – but he has a point

THIS week’s “cat amongst the pigeons” award goes to Hamish McLennan, chairman of Rugby Australia and newly-appointed leader of the Wallaby nationalist movement.

McLennan upset his neighbours in New Zealand, not to mention his own Kiwi head coach, by suggesting that his country might ditch the current Super Rugby Pacific arrangement in favour of a beefed-up domestic competition.

On the face of it, he was talking out of his shorts. One of the principal reasons the union game is where it is – that is to say, up a gum tree – is that the Australians have never been able to run a home-based competition worthy of the name. When the New Zealanders had their National Provincial Championship and the South Africans boasted the Currie Cup, the other great southern power had diddly-squat.

It was only because the Wallaby nation was too important to the international game – too big to fail, despite being too small domestically – that the “franchise” system took hold and quickly spread to the Celtic lands and Italy. Only in England and France did the club game stand firm, much to the irritation of world governing bodies.

Yet if we look a little harder, McLennan’s argument has merit. Aware of the growth of club rugby in Japan, he wonders if a wellfinanced Australian championship might generate the kind of partisan support enjoyed by Rugby League and Aussie Rules – if not in numbers then at least in spirit.

Even if it never happens, or he turns out to be wrong, he has at least annoyed the Kiwis. “Water off a duck’s back,” he said of the criticism from across the pond. “New Zealand’s done what’s right for them for years and years.” Fair point.