Is this the end of Rugby Union in Australia?

With the recent news that Rugby Australia struck a deal to guarantee the same base pay for men and women’s sevens and Super Rugby starters, things are seemingly looking good for the sport down under. But all this positive news glosses over the fact that the sport has seen a sharp decline in popularity in recent years — a fact that Rugby Australia doesn’t seem to want to address at all. 
To hear local commentators talk about the sport, you’d think that it was the only ball sport played in the southern hemisphere. But the truth is that back in 2016 it was the 26th most popular sport in Australia. According to statistics released by Business Insider in March of last year, union had lost over 63% of its players since 2001. Now, we’re not talking about professionals moving overseas. We’re talking about younger enthusiasts and those who play for local teams on a Sunday. Ballroom dancing, softball, and even Snooker rank higher than union when compared to the popularity of football (or as they call it, ‘soccer’), which tops the list as the most played sport in the land. 
For a sport to lose so many of its grassroots player base should be cause for concern, but Rugby Australia seems more interested in commercial success and TV rights. World Cup winner and former Wallabies captain Nick Farr-Jones last year noted in an open letter, “There are grave concerns with the rugby community that the continuing failure of the Australian Rugby Union to acknowledge and support the grassroots of the game will accelerate an already alarming decline in both participation and support of the game in Australia.” 
He wasn’t wrong, and the sharp decline looks to pick up in pace as the general public’s sense of apathy towards union shows no signs of improving. 
Yes, you read that right — apathy. 
It’s a notion that seems unfathomable to us here in the Northern Hemisphere. Here you have a sport that has produced some of the world’s greatest players and a national team that won an actual World Cup, but most Australians would rather switch over to the darts when the Wallabies are on the TV. Ask the average Aussie on the street who George Gregan is, and you’ll be met with a blank stare. In any other country with such a successful rugby team, a man with 139 appearances and 59 as captain would be revered. In Australia, Gregan’s name is spoken only by those with a deep passion for the sport. 
Take Europe, for example, where the Six Nations fixtures are hotly-anticipated by not only the die-hard rugby fans, but also the general public. Of course, Italy is still making headway in the sport, but the idea that members of the public wouldn’t know the name of a former legend in any of the other competing sports is unthinkable. Australia, it would seem, is a bit of a sporting conundrum when it comes to Rugby Union. 
So, what is it about rugby union that makes it so unpopular in Australia? 
Could it be the frankly ridiculous decision to screen the already unpopular rugby union internationals on paid channels instead of terrestrial TV? Or could it be the lack of attention afforded to the development of fledgling players? Or is it just that Australians really don’t care about rugby at all? Whatever the reasons, one thing is for sure: If rugby union in Australia continues its downward trajectory, in less than a decade we could see the code become an amateur sport once more, and it will be a sad day for a nation with such a rich union history. Unless Rugby Australia does something to address the sport’s decline, its return to amateur sport status will be guaranteed.