Exclusive: Justin Harrison agrees to play for Brumbies
Roar Pro
By The Roar, 29 Nov 2009 The Roar is a Roar Pro
Sydney, March 16, 2005. Waratahs lock Justin Harrison at a press conference today in Sydney. Justin Harrison has admitted to making racially offensive remarks against a black South African player during last weekend's Super 12 rugby match against the Cats. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
On Monday, Justin Harrison, the controversial and tough as a plank second rower, will turn up for training with the ACT Brumbies. The Roar has learnt that Harrison has signed terms with the Brumbies for the 2010 season, and that the ARU has refused to endorse the contract.
The stage is set for a bitter battle between the Brumbies and the ARU over Harrison.
The ARU has refused to allow the Brumbies to sign Harrison as a local player. The ARU is within its rights to do this. The Roar understands, however, that the Brumbies will try to sign Harrison up as an overseas player, a right that the franchise may be able to exercise without the endorsement of the ARU.
But whether this tactic is open to the Brumbies management remains in doubt.
Harrison made his Super Rugby debut with the Brumbies in 1997. He became a Wallaby in 2001 in the third Test against the British and Irish Lions. His lineout snatch against the throw in the final minutes of the Test effectively ended the Lions fight-back.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science from the UNSW in 2008. In 2004 he played a season with the NSW Waratahs. He was accused of using racial slurs against the South African winger Chumani Booi in 2005.
Then he joined Ulster and earned a reputation as a sledger. He joined Bath in 2008 and left in May this year. A RFU disciplinary panel charged him and three other players with ‘conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game.’ Harrison was banned from playing or coaching rugby until January 13, 2010 after he admitted taking cocaine and fighting with a member of the Harlequins playing staff.
The ARU, apparently, believe that a player with this sort of record should not be given a contract to play Super 14 rugby for an Australian franchise. This year the ARU has taken tough action to clean up the behaviour of a number of players. Harrison has been a serial offender in the past and the ARU is unwilling to give him a further chance to play rugby in Australia.
The Brumbies case is that Harrison has served his suspension and that he has pleaded for a chance for redemption.
There is, moreover, a shortage of tough, experienced second-rowers in Australian rugby, and in the Brumbies franchise. With Matt Giteau coming back to control a backline loaded with talent, the Brumbies say they need a tough enforcer, a Brumbies equivalent of Bakkies Botha, to provide the grunt and the muscle in the forwards for the backs to work off.
Whether the Brumbies get their enforcer, though, depends on how successful they are in their off-the-field fight with the ARU.
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Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 2:59am | Report comment
Mmm… this is intriguing. Harrison seemed to flourish in Australia prior to his departure to Europe, and I’m sure he will again. His ‘type’ seems to be far more willingly accepted in that part of the world
It was well known in Bath what he got up to on a regular basis so unless Harrison has undergone a massive personality change then I can’t see what is in it for the Brumbies/Australia.
pothale said | November 29th 2009 @ 4:58am | Report comment
Tough as a plank second-rower?
Some delicate wordplay by the Roar, methinks. I think when he was christened Plank that’s not the comparitor the author had in mind.
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 5:47am | Report comment
I love this enforcer chat. He was brutalised in Europe and apparently Will Skinner nearly punched him all the way back to Australia during the Harlequins v Bath bar brawl.
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:44am | Report comment
An enforcer is not some one who can brawl. Rather it refers to a player that protects the quality of the ball as it emerges from the ruck and maul. They do this by entering the breakdown with force and using good technique or strength to prevent or deter the opposition from disrupting the breakdown structure.
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:58pm | Report comment
I’m aware of that, which is why I noted that he was brutalised in Europe. He’s a pretend enforcer, a never-was. The reference to him getting bashed highlights this, as the incident illustrated a self-perception that he was tougher than he was, something that was also true of his time on the rugby pitch.
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:40pm | Report comment
With Harrison captaining the Ulster team they won their championship in 2006 (I think the year is right). Bath won the European Championship Cup in 2008 with Justin in the team. The Wallabies beat the Lions with him in the pack and he started in a WC final.
You perhaps are a bit harsh on JH as he seems to have achieved more than most, teams do not do well with soft second rows.
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:43pm | Report comment
So are you suggesting that he was solely responsible for the success of these teams?
Incidentally, Bath did not win the 2008 ECC with Harrison in the side.
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 10:00pm | Report comment
KO,
I am suggesting that teams with “never was” players in the forward pack do not do well at the pointy end of the season. Teams he has played in have done well, this suggests to me that he is quite a useful player both skill and strength.
This is a quote from Eddie Jones.
“Justin is a bright footballer. One of the brightest, I reckon. It’s just that he had a pretty tough upbringing out there in the middle of nowhere and drew on it in his rugby. They’re the best players, the hungry ones. People like Justin make a team what it is.” http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/club-rugby/justin-harrison-younger-players-arent-always-better-than-the-older-ones-1667223.html
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 10:33pm | Report comment
You are correct. JH was not part of the winning team in 2008. He joined the team later that year. I am unable to find any information as to how he played.
Amband said | December 7th 2009 @ 3:32pm | Report comment
I’ve looked at some info on the net about that brawl and see nothing about harrison copping a flogging from a 5’11 bloke named ‘Skinner”
Pippinu said | November 29th 2009 @ 6:53am | Report comment
Guys – it’s still big news – on two fronts:
1. That the Brumbies have managed to get another big signature over their two big local rivals; and
2. That the ARU would decide to step in and stop the Brumbies from making a perfectly legitimate signing.
The anti-Canberra mentality remains alive and well in the ARU – you’d would have thought that the time had finally arrived for the ACT to actually receive some favourable treatment on the rugby front from those Pitt St farmers.
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:24am | Report comment
As a non-Australian I’ll keep the context in mind. Thanks.
Chris said | November 29th 2009 @ 10:50am | Report comment
Wouldn’t be the first time the ARU did their all to destroy the Brumbies. Amazing how the Brumbies are still Australias best team. Go the Brumbies! Go Justin Harrison, you legend!
Pete said | November 29th 2009 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
PIP, anti-Canberra mentality, com’on, seriously. If the ARU had blocked Giteau or Elsom going to the ACT, then I think you’d have a case, but not Harrison.
I’m afraid there is too much paranoia amongst some Brumby supporters. Did the Waratahs claim the ARU was against them when they blocked Tiquiri playing with NSW after his ARU contract was torn up? Did the Reds claim the ARU were out to get them when they tried to sign Tiquiri as an amateur, which the ARU blocked. Did the Waratahs cry foul when the ARU blocked Andrew Johns signing with the Tahs?
Like it or not, the ARU is making decisions which it sees are in the best interest of the code. Putting aside Harrisons recent indescretions – Signing a 36 yr old who won’t be there in 2011 is not in the best interest of the code. He will block the path for an up and coming player.
If I was a Brumbies fan, and the Brumbies were looking to fill their overseas player quota, you’d have to ask is Harrison the best overseas player you can find?
Cattledog said | December 1st 2009 @ 10:20pm | Report comment
Good reasoned argument Pete. Seems everyone cries fowl of the ARU. Thank God there’s someone there keeping some of the lunatic decisions in focus.
Red Rooster said | November 30th 2009 @ 3:13pm | Report comment
Please Pip you are better than that. Dont think that Harrison wasn’t hawked around to all the teams so he could achieve some sort of redemption. This was not a race to sign an up and coming player, rather a risk taking venture that the Brumbies were happy to participate in. He is best mates with some of their coaches so it is not hard to see how it came together. The word is they only signed him because Kimlins injury is bad so if he wasn’t crook then they wouldn’t have signed him. The fact the ARU is not keen is no surprise and everyone knows that this would be the ARU reaction
Hammer said | November 30th 2009 @ 3:16pm | Report comment
Oh he was hawked alright…
Pippinu said | November 30th 2009 @ 3:27pm | Report comment
You don’t reckon the Tahs and Reds wouldn’t have given it a bit of thought?
I understand the circumstances – and surely that’s pretty good contingency planning?
Pete said | November 29th 2009 @ 6:42am | Report comment
Henjak was turfed out for a bar brawl. Sailor was suspended for 2 years for illicit drug use. If the ARU endorses Harrisons contract it would smack of double standards, so it didn’t. As much as I was impressed with Harrison’s perfromance during the 2001 Lions game, I can’t understand why the Brumbies would take such a risk with a player that will turn 36 at the start of next season.
Any idea why Sailor had a 2 year ban, whilst Harrison only had an 8 month ban?
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 6:46am | Report comment
Harrison’s ‘mistake’ wasn’t proved as he bravely fled England the day after the story broke and thus avoided a drug test. I believe that in subsequent interviews he only admitted to taking a substance he believed to be cocaine, and not that he had actually taken cocaine. The word from Bath is that he was a regular user, as were the Stevens, Lipman and Higgins.
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:46am | Report comment
Sailor was caught with drugs in his system during the season. Thus performance enhancing.
Pete said | November 29th 2009 @ 2:36pm | Report comment
Harrison was lining up for a Barbarians game the following week so his drug use could be classed as performance enhancing as well. I have nothing gainst Harrison himself, I just don’t like drugs in sport.
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:42pm | Report comment
He did not get caught in a drug test. This is the difference.
Campbell Watts said | November 30th 2009 @ 2:00pm | Report comment
Because he scuttled out of the country before a test could be conducted on him!!
Firestarter Bob said | November 29th 2009 @ 6:52am | Report comment
The Brumbies are lucky they aren’t a NRL club. Imagine the media hysterics if a NRL club tried to sign him with an off field record like that. Given the punishment Sailor got, the ARU are well within their rights to look after the code’s image.
ilikedahoodoogurusingha said | November 29th 2009 @ 7:52am | Report comment
As a Brumbies supporter I have to say that I am not too sure about this one…yes we need cover for Kimlin and his injury, but Harrison?
Pippinu said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:27am | Report comment
We know he can play – it becomes a question of whether he has got over his own personal afflictions – there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that as players get older and wiser they can improve in their off-field frailties.
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:28am | Report comment
I’m no overt conservative by any stretch but I’m peturbed how a 36 year old professional athlete could develop a drug addiction problem in such a small, rugby mad town like Bath. How do you suddenly start and then stop?
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:51am | Report comment
Addiction? Has he claimed an addiction?
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:59pm | Report comment
It is reasonably well known in Bath that he Lipman, Stevens, Crockett and Higgins were regular drug takers.
Davey said | November 29th 2009 @ 10:21pm | Report comment
KO, I’m not saying you haven’t, but I hope you have some pretty good mail to make that call.
Pippinu said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Knives
it’s nothing new – it happens all the time – such people need support – like anyone else in the community.
Knives Out said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:09am | Report comment
I agree with the support stance but if Harrison is to make such a mistake at his age (which is not to say that he hasn’t always had issues) then it takes a leap of faith to suggest that he would suddenly be on the straight and narrow. His career has been completely dogged by controversy (especially in England), and drugs aside I’m not sure if he’s a good man to have aboard.
Brett McKay said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:08am | Report comment
Guru, I’m in the same boat as you – this is theoretically a good sigining, but I’m not completely comfortable about it..
Campbell Watts said | November 29th 2009 @ 7:57am | Report comment
Goes to show the lack of depth in aussie rugby if they need to resign an old, grumpy, coke-snorting war horse like Googie!!
Severian said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:27am | Report comment
He’s not tough, but he’ll win the lineouts for them. If he breaks the rules again, deal with it then. We don’t have enough respectable quality tight forwards in Australia to be ignoring them.
The ARU did the right thing as far as their public stance goes, but they should be taking every reasonable measure behind the scenes to get him in a Brumbies jersey next year. The game is in serious trouble in Australia right now, and having the Brumbies play attractive rugby and be a genuine contender for next year’s super 14 will help turn that around.
I’m a Tahs supporter, btw.
Amband said | December 7th 2009 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
too many Queenslanders in the team. We need more brumbie and Randwick players, and get away from Private school preferences
Firestarter Bob said | November 29th 2009 @ 8:28am | Report comment
Pippinu I think it is in fact more accurate to say “The anti-drugs mentality remains alive and well in the ARU”. Nothing to do with anti-Canberra.
Pippinu said | November 29th 2009 @ 10:08am | Report comment
As Cosmos says below – if NSW or QLD had got the signature the ARU would have let it happen!
Lorry said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:01am | Report comment
I’ve never understood this incredibly conservative attitude to RECREATIONAL drug use by athletes. If it doesn’t affect them on the field or at training, on what grounds can they be hung out to dry by the club, media etc?
How would you like it if you were constantly and randomly drug tested at work? If one has to operate heavy machinery, I understand but, if not….
Former Wallaby Peter Fitzsimmons (one of the few rugby-loving lefties, along with Mike Carlton) is the only person I’ve heard speaking out against recreational drug-testing and how unfair it is.
And let me just anticipate a response to what I’ve said: Yes, they do get paid alot, but then why don’t we test, say, politicans, corporate high-flyers etc. These people are also ‘role-models’.
The AFL has the best policy of the three football codes to illicit drug-use although I still believe compulsory drug-testing is an infringement on one’s civil liberties.
Viscount Crouchback said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:39am | Report comment
Are they crackers? Harrison was bog standard on the field in Europe and a complete liability off it. And what is he now? 45? Heavens above, one could understand some desperate English club – with their penchant for geriatrics – taking on the fellow, but an Aussie franchise? Utter madness.
anopinion said | November 29th 2009 @ 9:56am | Report comment
My tongue in cheek reply is, wouldn’t the Wallabies love to have a bog standard second rower in the team this year.