D-Day arrives with broadcast deal to shape future of Australian rugby | Bret Harris

RA’s ‘showbag’ includes an assortment of goodies but whatever products it manages to sell the rivers of gold that sustained the game have dried upFriday looms as D-day for Australian rugby and its new broadcast agreement, which will determine the future of the game in this country for the next five years. Rugby Australia set 4 September as the deadline for broadcasters to submit their bids as it attempts to leverage a deal – or deals – that will maintain rugby’s status as a major sport.When rugby went professional in 1995 it was a seller’s market. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation beat the bre…