Mazda Australian Rugby Championship
The inaugural season of the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship kicks off on Friday August 10. Eight clubs from around Australia will compete for the Mazda Cup with the final to be played on 14 October. The ARC features more than 90 contracted professional players competing for teams from Western Australia, the ACT, Victoria, NSW (three teams) and Queensland (two teams), and promises to be a national rugby competition that is second to none. The need for a national competition has been discussed and debated for more than ten years. In May 2006, the Australian Rugby Union hosted one of the most inclusive consultation processes the sport has seen. A two-day workshop was held involving 70 of Australia’s leading administrators, coaches, players, club representatives and referees who worked through all the issues and came up with a commonly agreed position of an eight-team national competition. Primary Objectives The primary objectives of the Australian Rugby Championship are: - Bridge the widening gap between club rugby and Super 14;
- Give aspiring Club Rugby players who are not in a Super 14 squad a clear pathway to representative selection;
- Give Super 14 players who miss out on Wallaby selection the chance to play their way into the Wallaby squad;
- Develop a deep pool of experienced, battle-hardened players who are ready to step up to Super 14 and Wallaby level;
- Provide fans with high quality matches, featuring 'the best v the best';
- Further expand rugby in the non-traditional rugby states and make rugby a truly national game;
- Minimal disruption to the club rugby season;
- Allow National Competition players to return to club rugby the next year, thereby increasing the standard of play in the club rugby competitions.
Teleceast details The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has secured the rights to exclusively televise the Australian Rugby Championship from 2007 through to 2009. The ABC has committed to covering 19 Australian Rugby Championship matches each season on ABC1 and ABC2. Further telecast details regarding the Championship will be available soon. Teams | Navy Canberra Vikings | Manuka Oval | | Ballymore Tornadoes | Ballymore | | Central Coast Rays | Blue Tongue Stadium | | East Coast Aces | Carrara | | Melbourne Rebels | Melbourne Olympic Park | | Sydney Fleet | North Sydney Oval | | Perth Spirit | Member's Equity Stadium | | Western Sydney Rams | Parramatta Stadium |
Player Numbers The new competition requires 224 players (eight teams of 28 players). Approximately 95 of these players will come from the Super 14 teams (contracted players who do not make the Wallaby squad). This leaves approximately 130 places available for non-contracted players who are looking to step up to a higher level of rugby. The ARU has received expressions of interest from more than 500 non-contracted players who are keen to fill these 130 places.
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