Aussie Pro Rugby
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I had time last week to sit and think a bit about what I have seen recently and what I reckon it means. This is a piece I contributed elsewhere setting out where I think Australian rugby is right now. It was sparked by reports about the ARU appointing this bloke and that to assist Dave Rennie, such that they will need a second bus to follow the team bus about. This does not imitate what was offered to Robbie Deans or Michael Cheika.
Here we go ...
Dilkington – I venture Kane is observing the honoured tradition practised by several prolific contributors here at The Roar of pretending an intimate connection with someone on the inside, almost implying they may be a member of the ARU board.
This is, of course, a most interesting time, much like the heady days of welcoming the new age of Eddie, Connolly, Deans, McKenzie and Cheika followed soon after by an impatient campaign to have their attacking / defending / selection ineptitude dispensed with. Those campaigns are waged by the sworn enemy factions of NSW, QLD, Sydney University, Randwick and the players cadre, controlled by the NSW veteran heroes past and current.
No-one seems to have noticed a revival of the familiar cast of Scott Johnson and Wisemantel (both of the Mighty Woods and therefore good men and true) Fisher, Taylor, Grey and so on, who have waltzed around the Australian and European coaching scenes for years, to muted applause now and then. They have also been belted by our experts here for being as useless as Michael Cheika. I see Taylor’s decade at Scotland as defensive coach(?) produced the 5th best points conceded by the six nations teams - they got in ahead of Italy.
With Castle inexplicably now being eulogised as a canny negotiator, just up the page a bit, it can only be a matter of time before Larkham is forgiven and added as attacking coach. He can then re-join Nathan Grey on the platoon of camp followers. Nathan was voted out here a while ago because he is from NSW or something, and the Waratahs cannot tackle.
No, I am unconvinced by what the ARU has stumbled into for the immediate future.
Someone here calls for a ten-year plan as if it is a fresh new idea. Sir Graham Henry laid out the blueprint for such a thing 12 years ago; Eddie McGuire and Mick Malthouse laid out theirs in 2000. Both produced the expected successful result.
The ARU didn’t notice because it was too busy quickly spending the $42 million odd it banked after the 2003 World Cup. John O’Neill was clever but not clever enough to copy NZ Rugby’s or Collingwood’s lead. His successors demonstrated they were nowhere near as well qualified or able as him.
We now have a CEO who is demonstrably incompetent, with a lousy record at Canterbury Bankstown and since. We have tried a New Zealander as coach, which displeased more of the five warring factions (and assorted bit players) than it pleased. Rennie has been handed a squad which is incomplete as to skills, combinations, history together and so on. Some of them talk earnestly about maintaining a tradition of running rugby (last sighted from Horan, Little and a couple of Herberts, last century). They haven’t had a First Five since Larkham departed 12 years ago, nor a Number 8 since Totai Kefu.
I’ve lost track of where the Board is up to. Seven years ago the ARU reorganised itself based on a report by former Minister for Sport, Senator Mark Arbib – just seven years ago. That worked out well, eh? If one owned shares in the game one would be entitled to ask “You want to reorganise things in 2020 – how much money did we waste on commissioning a report and implementing change in 2012, which fell apart two years later?”
There will be a new board after March next year. Ann Sherry has gone – apart from being a notable woman during this era of marquee boardspersons her contribution is unclear. She has collected a lot of board memberships so I assume she was very, very busy doing other things a lot of the time (external director on 12 or 15 boards plus 5 or 10 other bodies she chaired or managed or led - clever person?!?!). Cameron Clyne jumped before being pushed a few weeks ago. Brett Robinson’s term is up – he is a decent fella – sincere – but, like John Eales, I don’t know what he has been doing there for the last decade.
There are a lot of people pulling a handsome wage or fee from such fabulous disorganisation.
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Junior Wallabies assemble in Canberra, full squad list (12 Jannuary 2020)
A few older articles:
Junior results show system overhaul bearing fruit (1 Jannuary 2020)Junior Wallabies plotting path to international redemption in 2020 (2 Jannuary 2020)
'Give them time': Junior Wallabies coach pleads for patience as U20s transition to Super Rugby ranks (3 Jannuary 2020)
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@Stargazer said in Aussie Rugby:
I see most of the squad plays for a club side with "Academy" in the name - Reds Academy, Waratahs Academy - and one for a club named "Rugby Sevens".
That's good that the ARU continues to stress the importance of comprehensive development of newcomers through Colts and lower grades, learning the game and absorbing its culture in a conventional club environment, little by little. How to tackle like, for example
Polota-Nau- oops, sorry, like the turnstile of interest to the Tokoroa coppers, your Quad... oops; like Kurtley .... -
Rugby Australia 'are going to go heavy' on Will Skelton following Saracens salary cap scandal
Rugby Australia have declared they are going to go heavy in pursuing former Wallabies lock Will Skelton in the wake of the Saracens salary cap scandal.
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Top rugby host sacked on eve of Super Rugby launch
Popular Fox Sports rugby host Nick McArdle has been let go on the eve of the new Super Rugby season, amid further cuts to the broadcaster's rugby programming. Executives told McArdle his contract would not be renewed on Wednesday, the day before Fox Sports and Rugby Australia were due to launch the new season together in Sydney. Wednesday marked his 13th year at the pay TV broadcaster. His departure is an ominous sign for the game, which is about to go to market for a broadcast partner for the next five years, and is part of a raft of cutbacks for the 2020 season. Two sources told the Herald that executives briefed staff there would be no dedicated mid-week rugby shows and only a skeleton staff, including veteran commentator Greg Clark and former Wallabies Tim Horan, Phil Kearns, George Gregan and Rod Kafer would be retained on contract, to work across the weekend games. Along with Clark, McArdle became synonymous with rugby over his time with Fox, winning over audiences with his calm professionalism, light touch and courteous but forensic interview style. The news follows the departures mid-last year of up and coming commentator Sean Maloney, rugby executive producer Simon Gee, veteran director Matthew Heaton and football department executive producer Murray Shaw. The cuts come in the context of significant financial losses within Foxtel's controlling shareholder News Corp, which flagged cuts to the broadcaster's spending on "non-marquee sporting content" and another price rise for customers after a financial loss of $417 million in 2018. -
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@Stargazer said in Aussie Rugby:
Two sources told the Herald that executives briefed staff there would be no dedicated mid-week rugby shows and only a skeleton staff, including veteran commentator Greg Clark and former Wallabies Tim Horan, Phil Kearns, George Gregan and Rod Kafer would be retained on contract, to work across the weekend games.
Horan is a terrible commentator. Kafer doesn't realise there's already a cheerleader on the panel.
They should've left it with Gregan, Clark and McArdle. Or swap in Louise Ransome.
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@mofitzy_ said in Aussie Rugby:
Folau has joined the Super League club Catalans Dragons. Either his comments didn't make the news there or the they just don't care.
ah, have you seen the NRL outcasts the Super League has taken? they have very few fucks to give.
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Fox Sports to pull pin on Rugby Australia - reports
Rugby Australia is looking for a new broadcasting partner with Fox Sports reportedly pulling the pin on their deal at the end of 2020.
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@Tim said in Aussie Rugby:
Fox Sports to pull pin on Rugby Australia - reports
Rugby Australia is looking for a new broadcasting partner with Fox Sports reportedly pulling the pin on their deal at the end of 2020.
It doesn't help that Fox is struggling to remain relevant in the TV space, with pressure from Netflix, Disney + & Kayo eating into their subscriber base, and recently HBO registering a trademark in Oz for future straming services. Bye bye content = less money to spend = RA getting the arse
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There goes my Kayo subscription.
Stuff
