Outside of the phenomenon of the Japanese football J-League and millions convincing themselves that cricket is actually worth staying up for, John O’Neill’s trick of convincing most of Australia that union is, and always was, an intrinsic part of the national fabric and psyche ranks as the marketing coup of the century. His superbly-timed explotation of a temporarily-weak NRL was a masterstroke in filling a void that rugby fans, of both codes, were desperate to see. Having a once-in-a-lifetime generation of superb players (Eales, Finnegan, Burke, Roff, Larkham, Gregan, Giffin, Kefu et al) was just lucky. We will never have that depth of talent again. These factors created the illusion that hid the truth of the matter. That is, that rugby union is just not a very big sport in Australia. It’s support base is fickle because it is not in the blood of many people.

I mean, who talks about the great union grand finals? How many people could name the top few Waratahs of the 80s? Who was Trevor Allen? What is Steve Finnane most famous for? Who was in the ‘84 Grand Slam tight-five? Who could legitimately answer these questions? But everyone in Sydney knows about the Eels- Bulldogs rivalry of the 1980s; the Lewis-Geyer confrontation in Origin ‘91; the thrilling ‘89 GF. And, people actually go to league club games. How many people go to union club games in Sydney? Squat.

So to expect us to have a steady stream of top-notch talent is a big ask. The current crop is a pretty fair indicator of where we sit on the world rugby ladder. Average. Possibly middling. Union is just not part of our culture the way it is NZ and SOuth Africa.

Add to this that the current team are pretty much all soft. There are no genuine bullies or hard men in the team. No one to strike fear into the hearts of opposing packs. There are also no creative ball runners. You find them in league these days. Who among the current Wallaby backline is anywhere near the standard of league stars like Greg Inglis, Jarryd Hayne, Justin Hodges or Michael Jennings? Exactly. None. The Wallaby’s backline is one-dimensional, both individually and collectively.

What I am trying to say is that we are just not very good at rugby at the moment. And our guys are soft. There is not much you can do about it.

The bible would have been shorter.

Interesting that Boks have now called up Jean de Villiers for the match on Saturday. So much for the foreign policy selection of the Boks. Adi Jacobs has gone home with an ankle injury. How fortuitous.

Apparently he picked up a glass in a Springbok team meeting and chucked it against the wall, showering the players in fragments. Then he said: “There. That’s passion. Gone in an instant”.

Now as I say, I’m a novice to this game having arrived north of the border a few years back, and only being recently exposed to this game through a rah rah tragic of a boss. However from my observations, it would appear that the Wallabies results reflect that of the dire predicament of rugby in Australia. I may be mistaken but the 2nd coming of O’Neil was hailed as a shot in the arm that rugby needed to reaffirm its standing as one of our leading sports. However little, from my point of view, has changed. Similarly, the coup in delivering Deans to the top job with the Wallabies was perceived as an absolute steal and one that was going to transform the Wallabies into a force again to be reckoned with. Both appointments provided hope however I’m yet to see this transcend into a) any improvement at state or grass root levels and b) any improvement in the Wallabies results.

As an AFL fan, I may be postulating the obvious (or the naive) but it would appear to me that there are two areas in which the ARU could begin to sure up rugby within this country.

1. Surely there needs to be a commission/board, free of ego, that can work together to primarily inject funds into the future generation of players (i.e. grassroots rugby, schools etc much like the AFL do)

2. With regards to the Wallabies, play the kids. They are the future and the time to expose them to big time rugby is now while there is still time to get formations, structures correct before the next World Cup.

Can anyone provide me with an answer to if these are realsitic points (apologies if they are already being actioned). Is there the corporate support to finance development in grass roots rugby and expansion? Surely, with the advent of Melbourne securing the final spot for S15 there is an opportunity to begin to expose Victorians to the game of rugby (Victorians of all ages but especially the kids).

I love sport in general and have really begun to take to rugby and the intricacies of it. I think Victorians are more likely to embrace this than the Storm as historically, union has had a presence in some school programs down there. I just cannot understand why in this day and age, it is being administered (and played) in a fashion that is alienating fans?

I don’t believe changing out the players or coaches will make a lot of difference. The players and coaches should be professional enough to work out how to get out of this trough they’ve found themselves in.

I’ll tell you something for free though, the players will need to recognize that if they don’t start winning, then Deans will be the first to get it in the neck. I don’t know how much respect they have for Deans and whether or not they believe he should stay, but we’ll soon find out if they don’t start winning……soon.