It seems that the Australian proposal has a nostalgic feel to it as well. There seems to be an appetite to getting back to and growing the domestic state and inter-state competitions as feeders for the Wallabies.
For a union that is in some turmoil in terms of management and results on the paddock, this may be a good idea.
They have to do something. Firing managers and coaches only goes so far, maybe the essence and culture of the game and its followers needs to be taken more into account.
Maybe the ARU has got too far away from the grassroots of the game in Australia.
Of course the New Zealand rugby scene has changed dramatically since professional rugby arrived in 1996, for good and bad.
Many clubs struggle to field decent senior teams, many have amalgamated over the years and some have disappeared.
One of the biggest upsets in Wellington Rugby occurred in 1979 when Taita Rugby Football Club and Naenae Old Boys combined to form Avalon Rugby.
In Lower Hutt Taita and Naenae were almost tribal areas.
Never the twain shall meet was usually the norm in terms of sport and also socially to a lesser extent. Die-hards from both clubs were livid. Some even went to the dark side; League.
The reality was that neither club could exist on its own, they needed each other, now making Avalon a significant player in the Wellington club competition.
This scene has been mirrored in every union, major and minor throughout New Zealand since the 1970s. Union has now to share its appeal with many other sports for girls and boys, the round-ball code especially.
The 1981 Springbok tour damaged the game's image in many homes, boys not being encouraged to play for some years after.
Rugby union is a game for all body types, there is a place for everybody in the 15-player code but there seems to be reluctance from parents, mothers in particular to allow their boys and girls to play what they perceive as a rough, even thuggish sport.
Numbers of young players have dropped from the high points of the 1950s and 1960s where clubs and schools had multiple teams in every age and weight grade.
While the introduction of Rippa Rugby and the dividing of age grades into different weight divisions has helped to keep the game alive from the grassroots clubs and schools through to the senior ranks, the game is diminishing in participation and viewership.
Older readers will remember the days when club games attracted hundreds of spectators, even thousands on certain days.
Inter-provincial rugby was the highlight of the rugby year. Our local heroes were the senior players in our rugby clubs. Some were held in absolute awe if they made the local provincial representative team.
They were only outclassed by those lucky few who even just got an All Black trial or made the Junior All Blacks or Maori All Blacks.
I remember in the 1970s walking down a street in Masterton with my wife and this elderly gentleman was walking towards me. It was George Nepia, the most famous man in town, just ahead of Brian Lochore, still revered more than 50 years after his selection in the 1924 All Blacks tour of the British Isles.
Just being in the presence of an All Black was amazing. If he spoke to you, your mates heard about it forever afterwards.
Are our Australian cousins on to something? Maybe the NZRFU should also get out of Sanzaar and consider the concept of a strong professional club competition, leading to provincial competition cups, selecting the form players for the All Blacks and Maori All Blacks.
Super Rugby started with hiss and a roar but is fizzling. Many, myself included, used to avidly watch our favourite teams, not so much anymore.
