Wallabies legend Tim Horan has urged Australian rugby to make the most of its early clear air before the NRL season kicks off on March 11.
Super Rugby AU launches on Friday with a double header featuring the Reds v Waratahs and Force v Brumbies.
While the first round will be competing with the Australian Open tennis, the next two won't and give rugby a golden opportunity to attract fresh fans on its new home on Nine and Stan Sport.
"The game going free to air is important," said Horan, a two-time Rugby World Cup winner and Nine/Stan commentator.
"Everyone just needs to get behind the game. There has been a lot of politics and people bagging rugby and this is our chance to shine.
"Super Rugby, just get behind it. Let's get our backyard in order first.
"Get our domestic competition strong, club competition strong, get our finances back again, a good structure and foundation and let the players do the talking again."
Super Rugby AU will feature some further law tweaks this season but Horan hoped referees kept their whistles in their pockets when possible.
"Really important for rugby is we need to make the laws a bit more palatable for people in Australia to understand," Horan told Wide World of Sports.
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"And that's TMOs making quick decisions, referees understanding who's watching the game and why, and if we can get the game to flow a bit better.
"Less stoppages so that the game can flow because we will get a lot of rugby league fans watching the game early on. And they're used to the game flowing.
"Scrums, lineouts, that's a contest, I get all that but if the scrum collapses once – I reckon you should be having 15 seconds to set the scrum again. And if you don't it's a short arm penalty. Make the game flow."
Horan believed that the domestic competition would be attractive to spoilt for choice Australian sports fans.
"We need Australian teams winning two games every weekend and that then leads into the Bledisloe Cup," Horan said.
"Domestic comp, it's going to be good. Because what the domestic comp did last year was 1) two Australian teams are winning every weekend and 2) people were starting to get to know the players better because you were seeing them in a good timeslot.
"So that's important for boys and girls and everyone who follows the game, they start to understand who these players are. There was a rhythm to the competition."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/rugby/super-rugby-au-2021-stan-sport-nine-tim-horan-opinion/0f89c727-d675-4eba-9bb5-2ab7da4bd55f
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