Time to be bold: Rugby Australia faces defining decision

That's what Australian rugby needs right now. Boldness on and off the field, because the future of the game in Australia currently hinges on decisions being made on the other side of the Tasman.

More details of New Zealand Rugby's Aratipu review were revealed on Thursday, Stuff reporting the preferred model was an eight-team competition with either two or three Australian sides involved.

Rugby Australia is treading sensitively around their trans-Tasman neighbours, hoping all parties will reach agreement to have at least 10 teams playing against each other in a Super Rugby rebuild next year.

The reality is much more grim. It appears NZR could push for at least two of the five Australian teams to be axed, leaving RA and the five franchises at the whim of officials in another country.

One of rugby's biggest hurdles to building momentum over the years has been negotiating with SANZAAR partners who don't face the same challenges that are present in a crammed Australian market.

The problems have been exacerbated by the coronavirus shutdown, but the glimmer of light could actually be going it alone in Australia rather than being dictated to by other countries.

So just like Lolesio asked himself when he squared off against Matt To'omua last week, rugby faces the same question: how bold are we willing to be?

There is obviously more at stake than a one-on-one contest between playmakers. One wrong move in the trans-Tasman negotiations could cost millions of dollars and destroy Australian rugby.

But Lolesio won that battle because he was bold, and Australian rugby can potentially do the same if they decide it's time to take control of the future.

Waving goodbye to New Zealand in a Super Rugby sense would be a massive step backwards. The Australian game would be reliant on a domestic broadcast deal, which would deliver a significant haircut to the funding available, and have to spread talent among more than five teams to make a competition viable.

The alternative is bowing to New Zealand and having to cut Australian teams, players and coaches. The fans would go, too. Because as much as New Zealand thinks the rugby world revolves around the north and south island, Australian fans weren't exactly flocking to trans-Tasman derbies in recent years.

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So it's time to be bold. Whether that just means playing hardball with the NZR by refusing to cut teams in the hope an agreement can be reached, or cutting ties and trying to hit the reset button.

Maybe the NZR will understand it needs a strong game in Australia more than it realises. The timezones align for perfect broadcast deals, the travel time for teams is minimal and there's potential to build something great from the ashes of Super Rugby.

Maybe they will wave goodbye and wish Australia luck, knowing they've dominated the Bledisloe Cup for almost 20 years and Super Rugby for much of the same period.

Stepping backwards doesn't have to be bad. If New Zealand wants to call the shots as a dictator rather than a partner, then why not take a chance on something different?

There is plenty to be excited about in Australian rugby at the moment. The Brumbies scored their first try off the back of a slick set move last week and scored five for the match. Lolesio and a host of youngsters are dotted around the competition, billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest is back in the RA tent and Dave Rennie is arriving as the new Wallabies coach.

This could be the chance rugby needs to build the game from the ground up. The existing franchises could join Forrest's the Western Force and Global Rapid Rugby teams in a competition to call Australia's own.

The risks are evident but the opportunity is also there for everyone to see.

SANZAAR officials are still holding on to hope the traditional format with teams from three or four countries will continue next year. Coronavirus and international travel restrictions is making that increasingly unlikely.

"I have actually been quite bemused by it all," SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos said about the prospect of a Super Rugby overhaul. "Because it is more coming just out of certain sectors within New Zealand around not wanting to play in South Africa and wanting to do their own thing. It just seems to be a bit of a chorus in this part of the world."

The "chorus in this part of the world" is getting louder. Change is coming whether SANZAAR likes it or not, and now Rugby Australia has to take its chance to get ahead of the curve.