By Jon Geddes

RUGBY doyen Gordon Bray says the game he loves would reap the rewards from representative players again turning out more regularly in the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup.

And he argues that young talent would learn more playing some tough club footy rather than being cocooned in academies.

No one’s observations on the state of the game carry more weight than those of the man who has earnt the distinguished title as “The Voice of Rugby” - a legendary commentator, grade player and referee.

Bray, whose outstanding new book The Immortals of Australian Rugby Union has just been released, recognises the importance that the club competitions in Brisbane and Sydney have had on the Australian rugby landscape.

“It’s been everything, if you look at our golden era back in the 60s when the Wallabies drew the series with South Africa, they were all club players and were on a shilling a day when they were on tour,” Bray told Rugby News.

He said at that time the competitions provided a stepping stone into the NSW and Queensland teams when the gap in standard was not that great.

“The thing about the Shute Shield was that it was very tribal and all the representative players were there,” Bray said.

SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

WHILE rugby may be a very different beast in 2024, Bray sees club rugby as still playing a vital role in the Australian rugby landscape.

“The fact you had all the best players in the Shute Shield - that impact really used to inspire everyone,” he said.

“I guess that is what we miss today - we want to see a lot of those professional players back playing club rugby,” Bray said. “It not only helps the crowds, but it also helps the players themselves.”

And he said young players were also missing out on the hardened competition they would get in the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup.

“A lot of these guys in the academies are still growing, they are still maturing,” Bray sad.

“The players need to have the experience of mixing with some of those old heads and it’s a much more rapid learning experience I think.

“It’s a fast tracked learning experience rather than going through academies.”

And Bray can see no harm in some players going straight from school into grade, if they are good enough.

He cited Queensland No.10 Tom Lynagh as a good example of that.

CALLING THE SHOTS AND BLOWING THE WHISTLE

BRAY started calling club rugby on ABC TV in 1980 when the legendary Norman “Nugget” May retired.

But his association with the broadcast started long before that.

“What really inspired me as a youngster was watching the ABC match of the day even back in the late 50s and early 60s when TV was very young,” Bray said.

Before he started commentating Bray cut his teeth as May’s scorer.

He went on to cover the Shute Shield match of the day on TV over a 15-year period with the likes of Ken Catchpole, Trevor Allan and Mark Ella - and that expanded to 20 years including his radio work.

Bray also played grade with Eastern Suburbs for a season and a half after leaving Homebush Boys High before his playing career ended when he joined the ABC.

He also refereed for 10 years and controlled second grade in the Sydney club competition.

And over his career Bray has called more than 350 Test matches.

AN IMMORTAL CHALLENGE

WITH his impressive credentials stretching over more than four decades, Bray was the only man to take on the daunting task of picking Australia’s best-ever 15 rugby players for the new book.

“I was researching and writing it over two years,” Bray said.

He was helped by his extensive rugby library and the scrapbooks he had complied since he began commentating.

“It was very hard,” Bray admitted. “And I defy anyone to say that any of those 15 players should not be there.”

It is significant that each of those 15 Immortals came through the club system.

Bray also names his All-Time Wallaby team, which is sure to trigger plenty of debate.

Just as fascinating are the 16 champions who missed the top 15 but received Honourable Mentions.

“One of the things with the book is I want to let some of the emerging generation see who were the players that got us to the top, how we go there and let’s have a go at getting back there again,” Bray said.

The Immortals of Australian Rugby Union by Gordon Bray, Gelding Street Press $39.99.