Aussie Pro Rugby
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Rugby Australia is reportedly set to respond to the Wallabiesâ latest Bledisloe Cup hammering by scrapping the controversial âGiteau Lawâ. According to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald, the sporting body will either remove or loosen the current law, with potentially immediate effect. Currently, the rule only permits players based overseas to pull on the gold jersey if theyâve played more than 60 Tests and spent seven seasons playing in Australia. -
@kiwimurph the cynic in me would point out that the players currently overseas weren't good enough to win it, but RA has to try something.
The risk they're running is there's no real reason for players to hang around and commit.
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There's some truly average names in this list:
88 Australian rugby players plying their trade abroad* Props: Sekope Kepu, Jermaine Ainsley, Paddy Ryan, Shambeckler Vui, Sam Talaki, Paul Alo-Emile, Guy Millar, Dave Lolohea, Oli Hoskins, Les Makin, Tim Metcher. Hookers: Tolu Latu, Hugh Roach, John Ulugia. Locks: Rory Arnold, Will Skelton, Harry Hockings, Rob Simmons, Adam Coleman, Sam Carter, Luke Jones, Dave Dennis, Kane Douglas, Lopeti Timani, Richie Arnold, Hugh Pyle, Tom Staniforth, Phoenix Battye, Alex Toolis, Sam Jeffries, Patrick Tafa, Michael Stolberg, Corey Thomas, Ben Toolis, James Moore. Backrowers: Sean McMahon, Liam Gill, Angus Cottrell Scott Higginbotham, Reece Hewat, Tala Gray, Colby Faingaâa, Adam Korczyk, Jordy Reid, Jarrad Butler, Jack Cornelson, Ben Gunter, Lachlan McCaffrey, Lolo Fakaosilea, Maclean Jones. Halfbacks: Will Genia, Nick Phipps, Ben Meehan, Matt Lucas, Ryan Louwrens, De Wet Roos, Harrison Goddard, Nic Stirzaker. Five-eighths: Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Christian Lealiâifano, Mike Harris, Zak Holmes, Isaac Lucas, Sam Greene, Jack Debreczeni, Mack Mason. Centres: Samu Kerevi, Duncan Paiaâaua, Bill Meakes, Curtis Rona, Sione Tuipolotu, Ben Tapuai, Tom English, Guy Porter. Wingers/fullbacks: Kurtley Beale, Henry Speight, Sefa Naivalu, Peter Betham, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Eto Nabuli, Ben OâDonnell, Taqele Naiyarovoro, Luke Morahan, Joe Tomane, Semisi Tupou, Cam Clark, John Porch. *Players with Super Rugby or Australian sevens experience -
âWhen you look at the pool of talent from which we are selecting in comparison to our biggest rivals; be it New Zealand, be it South Africa, be it Argentina, be it England - they have access and the ability to choose their very best players no matter where theyâre playing,â Marinos said.Does this clown not know the criteria for selection for NZ and England?
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@akan004 said in Aussie Rugby:
âWhen you look at the pool of talent from which we are selecting in comparison to our biggest rivals; be it New Zealand, be it South Africa, be it Argentina, be it England - they have access and the ability to choose their very best players no matter where theyâre playing,â Marinos said.Does this clown not know the criteria for selection for NZ and England?
It's Marinos, so no.
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@antipodean At best a minor bump in performances at the expense of accelerating the exodus. More likely, you accelerate the exodus and the Wallabies stay as bad as ever.
I see only a handful of players on that list that might make a difference to the Wallabies:
Gill, McMahon, Kerevi, Arnold, Skelton, Latu - maybe Sefa if he's in decent form. The rest are dregs. -
@serious @NTA @barbarian
Genuine question: would all those guys makes Super squads?
I think it would potentially make you incrementally stronger, nominally, but would they be available?
Much of RC, Bled is outside the International release windows isn't it?
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@booboo said in Aussie Rugby:
Much of RC, Bled is outside the International release windows isn't it?
And this is he issue - if we let guys just go overseas, having no real idea what quarantine is going to be needed in future, and we have to let the clubs release them in their own good time.
It is a fucking pipe dream.
Hey yeah what about instead we remove the stupidity from our development systems so that the nation has a unified approach to talent identification, acquisition, and development?
Oh wait, that is too hard because of the multiple fucktards in positions of power across the board.
As someone said on Twitter after the loss: historically we've rarely been near the ABs, because of the way things are done here. Besides a short period of something approaching dominance, why are we so obsessed with this now?
Let's take the odd win and work on rebuilding the footings.
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@nta I've often said that I think Aussie rugby hamstrings itself by overly focusing on the ABS and the Bledisloe, most especially around marketing.
In a market that only loves a winner, building up year after year to a failure is counter-productive
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@mariner4life said in Aussie Rugby:
@nta I've often said that I think Aussie rugby hamstrings itself by overly focusing on the ABS and the Bledisloe, most especially around marketing.
In a market that only loves a winner, building up year after year to a failure is counter-productive
Yep but since around 1998 it is a staple.
Good thing civilisation will die in a fireball before we flunk out at the pool stage of RWC 2031.
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@mariner4life And yet i get slagged of as a moron and a surrender monkey for suggesting that maybe having three Bledisloe's in a row - two of which are at Eden Park - isn't the best idea ever.
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@derpus said in Aussie Rugby:
@mariner4life And yet i get slagged of as a moron and a surrender monkey for suggesting that maybe having three Bledisloe's in a row - two of which are at Eden Park - isn't the best idea ever.
It gets interpreted as "We shouldn't play NZ" which is also wrong.
Fact: we're to play the ABs at least twice a year in perpetuity. We might as well get used to the idea.
Has been an interesting convo with Ben Darwin on twitter this evening around the overseas selection thing. His basic point is this: it'll provide results for a few years, then the well runs dry.
Talent is one thing, combinations is another.
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I can see both sides of it, and I don't think there's a clear right or wrong answer.
On the one hand, the lure of NH cash is not going away. The players over there may not necessarily be our superstars, but there's a number that could conceivably play in our best XV. Particularly in positions we're currently thin - hooker and second row spring to mind.
Given the Wallabies are still the most important team in Australian rugby, if we can make them stronger then we should, and it's as simple as that.
However the potential impact on Super Rugby teams here could be significant. You don't want to turn local rugby into the A-League - a mix of youngsters and veterans all hoping to move overseas or retire.
I suspect RA will end up with a policy that is somewhere in between what we have now and 'open slather'. Allow the Wallaby coach to bring in 3-6 guys to sure up positions of need, while erring on the side of local players wherever possible.
And that doesn't preclude you from also doing all the things here in the meantime to widen the talent pool, work on our structures etc etc etc
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@barbarian said in Aussie Rugby:
I suspect RA will end up with a policy that is somewhere in between what we have now and 'open slather'. Allow the Wallaby coach to bring in 3-6 guys to sure up positions of need, while erring on the side of local players wherever possible.
Must avoid slippery slopes.
Best players versus best combinations is another argument, and also how much a broadcaster will pay for a competition stripped of its best talent.
