By Jonathan B Geddes

SYDNEY Rugby Union president Grahame O’Donnell has declared that the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup can solve an ongoing issue for Australian rugby by becoming the third-tier of the game.  

In a wide-ranging interview with Rugby News to mark the end of the premiership season, O’Donnell has also revealed the challenges facing clubs, talks about the big opportunity presented by the revitalised Wallabies, the new player points system and why he believes Shute Shield clubs should look at changing the schedule of some games.

DON’T SHED A TIER 

THE upcoming Super Rugby AUS is the latest attempt at a third-tier competition in Australia but the long term solution to this perennial issue may be hidden in plain sight with Sydney’s Shute Shield and Brisbane’s Hospital Cup       

“We really hope that we are the third-tier,” O’Donnell told Rugby News.

“We probably need a bit of clearer direction and strategy from Rugby Australia where we actually sit.

“These two competitions have the potential in my eyes to be the perfect third-tier system for Australian rugby.”

He said the SRU would be very happy to work with Rugby Australia, be it financially or in any other way, to make that happen.

It will be very interesting to see how the rugby community embraces Super Rugby AUS and whether the new format can succeed where others have bitten the dust.

 A PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE  

O’DONNELL said the 2025 competition provided everything that the Shute Shield is well-known for.

“It’s tribalism, its passion and also community,” he said. “And we saw that in spades again during the year.

“The Shute Shield is footy for the rugby purists where you can just go down on a Saturday arvo to a local ground and watch a really good game.

“And I think the season had a real professionalism around it – and that is growing every year due to the professionalism of the coaches, the players and the individual talent.”

THE CLUBS DILEMMA

DESPITE all the positives, the premiership clubs also face some big challenges in the current sporting and economic climate.

O’Donnell knows the lay of the land better than anyone and what clubs have to deal with being a former lower grade and Shute Shield coach as well as a recent club president at Northern Suburbs.   

As he observed, the Shute Shield is a mix of a bit of professionalism and a bit of amateurism.

“We are in the middle ground where clubs will continue to struggle to find sponsors to support their rugby program,” he said.

While coaches and general managers are fulltime, O’Donnell said much of the footy is still run off the smell of an oily rag.

“And that’s where our trap is,” O’Donnell said.

“We are seen as this fantastic community game but the players and the coaches are expecting a level of professionalism that is putting pressure on clubs to make more money and get more sponsors to be able to produce what the players and the coaches expect.

“And that is obviously still going to be the struggle.”              

THE WALLABY FACTOR 

HE said the rejuvenated Wallabies and the upcoming home World Cup will bring more people to watch and play rugby in the next year or so.

“This is our opportunity,” O’Donnell said. “What we can’t do is waste that opportunity.

“We have seen a turnaround from the Wallabies and what we’ve all got to do at a Shute Shield level is to take that chance and make sure we get players into rugby rather than go to the other codes.

“And this is probably our best chance in a long time of doing that.”

A GAME CHANGER

THE SRU president believes Shute Shield clubs should look at scheduling some games away from the traditional 3pm kick-off on Saturday.

“I do think we have look at the fact that pretty much at 3pm every Saturday we have the top tier of virtually every competition whether that be Shute Shield, subbies or schools all playing at the one time,” he said. 

“I understand the drawback to that is ground access because a lot of the grounds we use are  council grounds.

“But somehow, at some stage, I think there needs to be games on different days and at different times.

“Other codes that well.”

He said with all the games at the same time potentially some kids won’t be as stuck onto a club  as they could be. 

THE NAME OF THE GAME

AFTER five great seasons of loyal support Charter Hall have finished up as the Shute Shield’s naming rights sponsors and the wheels are well and truly in motion to fill that breach.

“There are prospective sponsors we are talking to over the next couple of months,” O’Donnell revealed. “There are some really exciting prospects and we just have to make sure it is a fit for Shute Shield – and it looks as though a couple of them will be.”

IT ALL ADDS UP

ANY player points rankings will always attract controversy and won’t please everybody.

O’Donnell said the new system for 2026 is the result of extensive research by SRU General Manager Peter Watkins who looked at how it worked in competitions across the globe.

Then followed a consultation process with the clubs.

“We made sure we gave time to every one of them to talk through what their challenges were,” O’Donnell said.

“What we need to do is make sure there is a really strong emphasis on clubs bringing through junior players.

“We want to make it a far more even competition with Super Rugby players right down to juniors. That is the goal.”