Tru Tah, you may well be right but thats not my point. All I am saying is, our countries best say that bloke like Lote and Dell lifted the expectation on conditioning of our outside backs….whos better to judge that? You or Latho etc?

I am a contractor, thus I work on on time and pay based contracts – not unlike a sports contract (They are both employment contracts). I have also employed contractors and guess what – regardless of the status of the employee (contractor, full-time, part-time etc) you can still get sacked, you simply can not have a “you can’t sack me” clause in the contract.

My point was that maybe he was just an underperforming (of late) employee and a management decision was made to remove him and redistribute the capital through employing other workers. Which, as the ARU email stated, makes this merely an employment issue and therefore not a public issue. The ARU are right to let Lote and his beaks decide how public the reasons are made.

maybe spending too much time in the weights room was Lote’s problem, spending too much time on his guns and not enough on his speed??

The fact is NRL converts will never be Rugby Boys in the eyes and hearts of many Union Rah Rahs, or tools as I like to call them.

If Lote, Matt Rogers or even Dell had gone to the right schools and never been near a NRL pitch everyone would have loved them – no questions asked. As it stands, many Union Tools can see past a persons background so the NRL boys need to 1) never drop their form 2) never do anything wrong 3) be 10% better than anyone from a privileged background – Then maybe one day they will be accepted 100% by the Union Tool society.

I love and play union and consider the best game to ever be invented. But sometimes I am ashamed of the bitter, narrow minded ‘eastern suburbs or north shore’ attitudes a section of my fellow fans have.

The truth is both Lote and Dell changed aussie rugby forever. I remember hearing Latho (considered the best by most) talking about how the attitude in the weights room changed the minute Dell turned up at the reds.

The old reds under the beds routine,blaming Lote’s rl background.Next we will have rl blamed for the GFC/global warming.
Suggest you maybe check the background of Mr C Shepherd(who was a Wallaby) involving damage to a car, not that long ago.Funny no rl background.Surely he must have handled a Steeden somewhere along the line.
Players have to take responsibiltiy for their actions.They are over 18 years of age,they are eligible age wise to fight in wars.
Blaming a former code smacks of pomposity ,and the usual “get out” clause.Heard and read it all before,and just roll my eyes.

Jameswm – i’ve seen some long bow’s drawn on this site, but this is one of the best.

Poor Rugby, try all they might for 7 years they just couldn’t drum that mungo out of him.

Watch out for those League players hiding in your cupboards and under your beds.

And don’t worry Tahu, Barnes, Elsom, Rugby likes you now, but when you fall, they now who you REALLY are.

What would anyone want to switch to Rugby with rubbish like this?

Neither Lote or Martyn or any of the league players set themselves up as role models. The corporatisation of sport has its own attendant evils.
Complex questions need reasoned answers and an absence of moral posturing.
These comments are offered as a sports lover and not as an expert in any field.

I don’t think you can lump Tahu in with Lote. Tahu’s a good player in a different position – one occupied by the Wallaby captain.

Lote had his moments of being the best winger in the world. I still think they should have been breeding him for the back row. And yes League is of course an option, but he’d make more from playing rugby in Japan or France.

No Rabbitz, it can’t be that simple he has a contract which according to the rumour mill they tried to buy out, he refused so they sack him! You may be able to retrench in the normal workforce but I think you’ll find unless they’ve got a good reason they can’t just sack the man!

Thank you for these figures. I don’t have a problem with posters taking an adverse view of Lote’s recent form, but when it descends to the level of denying his past achievements, then Rugby and its supporters have sunk to a new low.

Some of the comments on this thread have been stupid, there is no other word for them: One poster wrote “Tuqiri couldnt even get his head around the basics of rugby …” – In view of Lote’s achievements that better describes the person who wrote this!

And: “Let this be the last of the converts. Tahu must be shaking in his boots. The ARU have done waht they could in the last 9 years to promote rugby league its time they gave up and concentrated on union again.” – What rubbish. There will be many more converts and Rugby will be the richer for them.

The comparison to Jonah Lomu is irrelevant – Lomu was not available to play for Australia. Lote was, and in his day was one of the most significant wingers to don the Wallaby jersey. If its time for him to go now, then so be it, but only fools denigrate his past achievements.

Thankyou Lote, 67 tests, there are many that would have loved to say they have that under their belt. You weren’t my favourite player but hey I am an old front rower and was always pissed off when getting out of a ruck or maul and seeing wingers going in directions i couldn’t follow. But hey i trust the coaches of the time and they thought you were there……btw loved it when you played flanker in the world cup.

Thankyou ARU and JON. For running ARU in a far more constructive way than we have had for some time. For having the balls to say when time is time to a player…..who is more importantly an employee therefore ARU pull the strings not the player etc. I dont need to know all the info, you do your job, when i want your job and all the details i’ll come and get it (well you know what i mean I’ll get the PM job first its easier).

Having been very very close to community rugby for many years and others know this, the current generation coming through (socially not just rugby) have an attitude of ‘I believe i am good enough and therefore i will be playing (doing) what i want’, I believe i am good enough therefore i am. We (as Society) have spent years empowering people to believe this ….fine and good for the soul apart from the bit where we forgot to tell them that also means to take responsibility for themselves.

So ARU made a decision…at last I can show the ramification of action to players….no more pussyfooting. May not be the commercially perfect thing and yes the dollar means something (a big thing) but its not everything. I’d rather be involved (give 30 odd hours a week voluntary) in a sport giving to society than having a focus on every player being a wallaby because THEY think so….Its life boys get out there and earn it

Whilst I have no idea what caused it, i feel sorry for Lote. He might not have been the best winger in australia but the guy tried hard and did his best for his country. to treat him like thats disgraceful. When they have no more use for him, chew him up and spit him out.

has everyone forgotten this is someones lively hood? and that legal proceedings are in play?

Sure it seems Lote has done wrong and it will no doubt come out in the wash..but for f*%K sake! some of you blokes just need to whinge and love a drama so much you miss the point. Now its the ARU, Ol’ Boys Club bias and double standard at work ‘hiding’ the truth…or are they just doing the ethically correct thing to do and wait until all the T’s are crossed.

So I guess you also want to know the employment arrangements for your medical specialist, which you would pay more than $140…

How about your plumber or the check-out chick at Coles?

Despite the pedastal that sportsmen and women are put on, they are still normal people and employees who should be afforded some normal privacy.

Channel 10 news announced it as “Tiquiri first learn of his sacking by email’ and then I covered my butt im my rpevious post by also stating “if the reports are accurate” or words to that effect.

So NO…..not everyone is getting excited. It’s definitely what was stated. And again I add IF you can believe the report.

Clear enough?

I don’t know about you guys, but when I go to an international rugby match there seems to be a lot more grown-ups than kids.

Unless Lote – robbed a bank and mugged a little old lady – whats the real problem? The real problem is a bunch of old time conservative good old boys insisting that all players must live through their 20s as squeaky clean, never say or do anything ungamely or unsightly (unless its on the field – which Lote has historically managed to do both on and off the field.).

Role model argument – sure…but 100% of the time – come on (kids don’t read newspapers anyway, they wouldn’t even know what it means to get drunk and disorderly when celebrating a win).

Lote’s had his fair share of problems (mostly to do with celebrating… as did his old mate Sailor)… but do those that govern need to be so….pedantic…so 1950s everythings perfect, sunday school, preachy, fake flowery stuff.

Lote… many of us loved to hate you…but you were a good villain. Your 67 tests were a great service to your country. The ARU have done you wrong.

Quote “, which was announced late on Wednesday by an ARU email”.

‘Lote had a far better kicking game and was far better defensively than Lomu ever was.”

Bahahaha, Kicking game? Nice one.

Physio maybe?