Rugby Australia boss lifts lid on new global tournament

Former Wallabies captain Phil Waugh has just kicked off his first week in the hot seat as Rugby Australia’s new chief executive.

The 43-year-old former flanker, who has replaced Andy Marinos, plans to bring the same competitive fire and tenacity that was a hallmark of his 79 Test career.

Waugh spoke with Wide World of Sports about some of the game’s most burning issues and his extended conversation with Nine’s Karl Stefanovic will be available to watch in full on Stan later this week.

Watch the Wallabies, All Blacks, Springboks and Pumas in the 2023 Rugby Championship on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand

Q) You have just returned home from meetings in Europe where the new Nations Championship was no doubt a major topic of discussion?

A) Yes, it was around how do we make Test matches and Test scheduling more meaningful globally? And so, with the Nations Championship and instead of playing friendlies, how do you put more meaning into those Test matches between the north and the south? I think it’s really exciting for all nations and also for the emerging nations.

Q) Obviously those discussions happened before you started as CEO but it sounds like you are fully supportive of the concept?

A) Yes, I love the concept. We play a lot of Test matches between the north and south which are big Test matches but don’t necessarily count for more than just the game itself. And so the Nations Championship will put more meaning into it.

I think it is really helpful.

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Q) It is a very similar move to cricket’s World Test Championship isn’t it – no doubt you and other rugby leaders have been tracking how that has been going?

A) Yes, a very similar concept and as you know, we’ve got a lot more teams that are at that top level and can genuinely beat each other than cricket does.

So I think it’s a really good concept.

Q) Do you think it will have any impact on how Australian rugby players view the landscape in terms of staying on home soil or pursuing contracts overseas?

A) Well we’ve got to make sure that we fund the game appropriately here to ensure that we’re competitive financially. But then, to your point, make it meaningful Test matches between World Cups as well, which is really important. So that’s the plan.

We want to have all our Wallabies playing in our domestic comp and that’s the challenge.

Q) Of course the natural concern is that the Nations Championship will dilute the importance of the Rugby World Cup. Do you see that?

A) No, I don’t think so. The World Cup’s still a tournament-based competition whereas this will be games here in the south, games up in the north. And then you’ve got the Rugby Championship as well. So it just means that every Test match you play, wherever it is in the world, counts for something.

So I think it’s actually quite a good variation to what the current World Cup provides.

Q) What do you make of the promotion/relegation concept? Like you say, the depth in world rugby is better than ever…

A) Yes, we have 20 teams at the 2023 World Cup and when you think about the difference between the 20th team and the 24th team in the world – should there be 24 teams in the World Cup? We’ll just see that growth continue across across the globe.

Q) It is no secret that the balance of power has shifted towards the north in recent years with Ireland and France topping the men’s rankings and the north dominating the world under-20 championship. It is a big challenge for the south to keep pace, isn’t it?

A) Yes, as you say, the pathways and the amount of rugby being played in the north – with both men’s and women’s – it’s been pretty impressive.

We are seeing that in South Africa at the moment in the under-20s and the challenge for us is how do we invest in those younger age groups to ensure that we’ve got the right people playing our game and we’re genuinely competitive?

Even the way the north are playing now, with a little bit more ball movement than they have historically. They’ve now got that southern hemisphere influence allied with what’s always been strong in the north, that set piece.

So it’s an interesting time in world rugby. We’ve won all but one World Cup (2003) in the south. And now you’d say going into France that the northern hemisphere teams are probably the favourites.

Q) So what is the key to the south actually restoring that ledger given that the north will probably always hold the financial upper hand?

A) Our pathways produce supreme athletes – whether they are superior to the north is a question mark. But certainly we’ve got a lot of depth in athletes. It’s then just how do we get them playing rugby and then how do we get them staying in the south?

Pathways is really important because we’re currently losing a lot of players early, into countries like France. Young guys get France citizenship and then can play for France.

So really important to secure players through the pathways.

Q) What are the priorities as you start the first week in the hot seat?

A) I am lucky that I already know a lot of people across rugby. But it is really important to ensure that we drive the right culture into the game and the culture of belief.

We can beat anyone in the world and we just need to believe it. Eddie (Jones) is doing a really good job of that within the Wallabies environment and we need to do that as an organisation as well.

Q) How does the Nations Championship affect how you will lay out the Rugby Australia calendar in regards to Super Rugby and beyond?

A) I think that’s up for discussion, certainly some conversation around a global calendar and how do we align with the regulation nine release windows, closer with the north.

There’s a lot of conversation around global calendar and scheduling.

Q) And what are your thoughts on Super Rugby expansion? Hamish McLennan dropped your name recently as being keen on a push into the USA through Hawaii?

A) If you think about the 2031 World Cup being in the US, it’s natural to assume that the US need to get stronger. How do we support that? Whether it’s Hawaii first and then the west coast after – I think we need to think quite laterally around the growth of the regional game, around Super Rugby Pacific.

It’s going OK at the moment but I think we’ve got a long way to go to get it back to the premier provincial competition in the world.

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