Midweek tour games could restore fading allure of rugby, say Deans and Robinson

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 22:53

THE opposing coaches in tonight's Murrayfield Test match between Scotland and Australia have much in common, but one intriguing enthusiasm they share is a desire for a return to old-fashioned tours with midweek games.

Robbie Deans, the Wallaby coach, hails from Cheviot on New Zealand's South Island, and he remembers fondly making his All Blacks debut against Scotland at Murrayfield in 1983, particularly waiting anxiously for the last-minute conversion attempt by his opposite number Peter Dods to drift wide as his side hung on for a 25-25 draw.

He has endured criticism in the past year as some Australians wrestle with the idea of a man from across the Tasman driving their team forward, and up to now without results. Andy Robinson has only been in the Scotland post for an 'A' tour and one Test match so far, but had a decent honeymoon period in Scotland when steering Edinburgh to the top three in the Magners League two years in succession.

Both men have a deep-rooted love of rugby, and it was interesting to hear Deans express concerns about how international rugby might be losing its lustre. Just over 43,000 tickets were sold for tonight's Test match, two-thirds of Murrayfield's capacity, and Deans believes the answer is to take the game back out of the big stadia and into the historic old club grounds. That, he feels, would benefit the sport enormously and also negate the need for coaches to field weakened sides in Tests, as New Zealand have done in their last two meetings with Scotland.

"I toured last autumn for the first time with the Wallabies," said Deans, "and we had a young squad but it was just back-to-back Test matches, so there wasn't the opportunity to play young guys in midweek games to get them up to speed the way we used to learn as players.

"I enjoyed that tour to Scotland – was it 26 years ago? – and the games we played, and that was a big part of rugby for me. So, this year I organised our tour so that we would have midweek games, and we got two – against Gloucester and Cardiff, and it would have been nice had we had one up here in Scotland, too.

"Look at the enthusiasm there was with a full house at Gloucester, and I'm sure we will get a good crowd next week at Cardiff, too. And look at Leicester and Saracens, who have beaten South Africa this week – that's great for the game.

"In rugby now we have this cyclic run around the World Cup, and there are suggestions that this may have impacted negatively on some of the Tests we have now; that they have lost a bit of their status because coaches use them to expose some players who don't genuinely warrant their selection.

"Having more midweek games on tours would allow us to bring on that next generation without the tokenism of Test selection, and would absolutely help restore Test matches to what they were. Because we have midweek games on this tour, I never had any doubt that we would be putting out our best side against Scotland, and against England, Ireland and Wales. That's how it should be."

Deans continued: "It's more than just the Tests themselves. These midweek games help rugby because now the international game is only ever played in the biggest stadiums and only ever watched on TV for some.

"It is becoming inaccessible to the rugby population, the people in the club grounds every week, the people who really love the game. Playing in those provincial settings, as we did back in 1983 in Scotland, is fantastic because kids witness that and say 'gee, I could do that some day', and that's how our game works.

"You are dealing with franchises now rather than representative sides, but it is still genuine rugby. There is a passion and intensity to it, and the opportunity for good players who may not otherwise get that opportunity to play against international players. That is what this sport of ours has been founded on."

Robinson agrees, but admits it may not be easy. "For us the issue is the time of year for our tours (June]. If we didn't have the IRB Nations Cup next year I would consider a midweek game when we tour Argentina, but the key is making sure your midweek team is as strong as it can be...

I don't know if we'll get it back next year, but it's something I'd like to see come back in the game."