Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle says there's no "magic bullet" to reviving Super Rugby crowds after a number of disappointing turnouts in 2019.
Average crowds for Super Rugby have been low this season, with conference leaders the Brumbies battling to get more than 8000 to home games and the Waratahs, Reds and Rebels all struggling to attract big crowds this season.
Castle said a move back to a straight round robin structure from a three-conference system in the next broadcast deal, beginning in 2021, would be a step in the right direction when it comes to crowds.
"Off the back of a change from five to four (Australian Super Rugby) teams, it's taken a while for people to recognise that that's created some improvement in performances and last year we've seen it, this year we've seen it.
"Our teams have won more games more consistently against both South African and New Zealand opposition than what they have previously.
"The conference formula is probably not ideal - it's certainly not perfect, it does create confusion, that's why we're going to a straight round robin in the new broadcast deal.
"So, there's a combination of working closely with the clubs, making sure we're communicating well.
"The upside for fans, is we're working with our broadcasters and Fox to make sure that they're doing all that they can to help us, which they're really open-minded to so there's no magic bullet, it's about lots of hard work."
Castle said there were a number of factors contributing to the declining crowds that differed across different teams.
"I think it's a concern for sport across Australia really," she said.
"I think there's a lot of codes, particularly in the Sydney market, that are probably finding it quite challenging.
"I think for the Tahs, it's been difficult moving stadiums, going from stadium to stadium to stadium.
"The SCG whilst it's a venue with a lot of history is not the ideal rugby viewing experience and started the year at Brookie (Brookvale Oval) which arguably is probably the local yokel experience that everyone felt they really enjoyed so I think it's not going to be easy and that's something we'll work closely with our Super Teams, Tahs in particularly, about what their schedule's going to look like going forward.
"It takes a while to get momentum back when you've had a tough time in a couple of years and we're seeing that with the Brumbies.
"They're playing outstanding rugby, they're top of the conference, they're playing a style of rugby that brings together the best of forward capability but also scoring some good tries off the back of that.
"We expect that those Canberra crowds will come back and get behind the boys."
According to coach Daryl Gibson, there are still five Waratahs - Michael Hooper, Rob Simmons, Sekope Kepu, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale - who need to miss games as part of the national World Cup rotation policy and NSW has just two regular season matches left in Super Rugby.
An upset win over the Rebels in Melbourne kept their playoffs chances alive and as long as they have that hope, Gibson has been adamant they won’t be rotating any players.
There will be plenty of eyes on NSW should they beat the Brumbies in Sydney this weekend as they prepare for a final round match against the Highlanders in Dunedin.
Where other teams have spaced out their rotations more sporadically or left a handful of players home during overseas trips, the Waratahs have more often than not fielded their strongest side after an inconsistent start to the year.
Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle said there were always going to be complexities around how the rotation policy played out but that the agreement was fairly clear for all teams.
“These things are never easy and straightforward,” she said.
“We've got super Rugby teams trying to win Super Rugby and you've got the Wallabies trying to win the World Cup.
“So recognise that it is challenging but we all sat down - Michael Cheika, and the four Super Rugby coaches and their high performance teams well before the beginning of the year and agreed on something that we agreed was all workable and so we would expect that will be delivered on off the back of the fact that we made the agreement before Super Rugby started.”
Asked whether there would be any kind of intervention from the national body, Castle said Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was in regular contact with all Super Rugby coaches.
“They haven't named their team for this weekend so we'll wait and see," she said.
"I know that Michael Cheika and the Super Rugby coaches have been in constant dialogue so I would expect that to continue over the next couple of weeks."
Waratahs assistant Chris Whitaker echoed coach Gibson’s post-match comments that they would put out their strongest team against the Brumbies with a finals spot still up for grabs.
The Waratahs began the season spacing out their rotations and left three Wallabies in Jack Dempsey, Bernard Foley and Adam Ashley-Cooper out of their side to face the Sunwolves, a game they ultimately lost in Newcastle.
Amid a mid-season slump, Whitaker said the decision was made to pick their best team every week to stay in the finals hunt.
“There was an initial plan put in place but as you know things change throughout the year, so you've got to be flexible in those type of things,”he said.
“We had a period there whee we just weren't winning enough games so we just thought, ‘What we're going to do is pick our best team,’ so I suppose there's some decisions to be made these next couple of games.”
Asked what would happen if they were to win this weekend, with a finals spot still in play and just one match to go, Whitaker said that was up to Gibson.
“That's not my area,” he said.
“I do my bit and the guys above me will look after that bit. Our goal is to win every game we play in, that's what we're going to try and do.”
