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The ARU and the Superfluous 14 team Wasted Force has yet again underlined the parlous state of Australian Rugby.
Our display at the World Cup would have left any self respecting Under 14 coach asking for more commitment, yet the players walked away with their wallets in tact and moved on to further lucrative contracts to help them manage the pain of defeat. I don’t remember any level of accountability for the less than satisfactory but nevertheless generously rewarded display.
Last week we were served up yet another no-neck, decked out in a pardon-invoking suit, unconvincingly delivering a pathetically scripted, tear veiled, vomit-inducing plea on television that “I have a weakness … an alcohol binge-drinking problem …”
How much more of this single-figure-IQ thuggery will we have to tolerate before empty stands and no junior Rugby players send the undeniable message to the ARU that we find abhorrent this culture of self interest and megalomania? The abject cruelty and mindless disregard for fundamental standards of behaviour demonstrated by these and other players over recent months should have brought about their instant dismissal.
If the ARU, The Western Force or the PR clown who wrote that pathetic statement served up on TV last week as a sincere apology really think that the Australian Rugby public are so bereft of intellect and conscience then they are wrong. Rugby in Australia is currently about to be flushed down the toilet, and on current standards that’s where it belongs.
When Alan Jones said; “… when you spend too much time … in the gym, these fellows get a bit soft in the head” he was clearly dead right. Rugby and those supporters who love it as a game deserve better and believe me they will insist on it. Imagining that those of us who played only paddock Rugby are somehow owed less than a moronic elite is a flawed assumption and not one on which to base a growth strategy that will see Australian Rugby prosper into the future.
As appalling player behaviour drives away sponsors; administrator self interest continually leaves supporters out in the cold and parents decide that Rugby has nothing in the way of values or life models to offer, Mr O’Neill and his Committee will have to cheer very loudly indeed if they are to successfully imitate a crowd.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.