Brumbies will win Super Rugby one day

 

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By pjbreck, 17 May 2011 pjbreck is a Roar Guru

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 ACT Brumbies, Australian rugby, Brumbies, rugby, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Super Rugby 2011, tony rea

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“Brumbies win Super Rugby.” That is what I expect will be my headline in the coming years. Obviously, I am not talking about this year. Nor, sadly, next year.

Enough has been said on how pathetic the team has been this year, so I won’t go on too much about it.

The Queen once said in her address that “it has turned out to be an annus horribilis.” I think this sums up the Brumbies this year – poor performances, sacking of a coach.

And to top it all off, people are turning away in droves.

I know that this shows Canberrans are ‘fair-weather fans’, but, when it is below zero and you are forking out your hard earned, you deserve for the team that to put in.

The lack of which was famously highlighted by Tony Rae’s blast of the team on the weekend. The fans feel not only disillusioned by the team’s efforts but disenfranchised by a lack of community integration. This current set of players seems to have lost touch with Canberra people.

What we need to do is look and see if and/or when the Brumbies will ever return to the previous glory days and how they can do it.

One thing to understand though is that the team up until a few years ago was a little bit of an anomaly in that it had an abundance of world 15 players let alone Wallabies.

The current squad would be lucky to have a couple of Wallabies.

To regain the team’s status, I think the first thing is to look at how it was achieved in the past. Some of it was luck (having three Canberra born world 15 players), but a lot had to do with the recruitment of strong coaching staff (think Rod McQueen and Eddie Jones) and the ethos that the Brumbies will be a running rugby team where players were encouraged to enjoy their rugby.

The last and most important was that the Brumbies invested in the local community. This gained the Brumbies a healthy supportive crowd.

So what needs to happen now?

The first steps have been taken. Get a good coach on board. Jake White’s appointment is exactly what was needed.
Secondly, before Jake White looks at his roster for the next few years, his first task should be to get the fans buy in again. Be seen around town.

I remember seeing George Smith with his family at a balloon festival a few years ago. This is the sort of thing that the Brumbies need to do more often. Not just the charity work (a lot of this does go unnoticed), but getting in amongst the paying public. This will get the fans in touch with the players and hopefully get them coming back. I hear a lot of people saying that they won’t be renewing their memberships for next year. This has to be priority number one.

Once the community is back on board, White then needs to look at how to get some top class players. This needs to be done in a couple of ways. First, he needs to identify some young guys with potential. Difficult I know as all other franchises, the NRL and European clubs will be competing for them. But not out of the question. Secondly, a bit of good recruitment. I think it would be better for him to look outside of Australia for some quality. This would mean coming in there would be no interstate baggage or perception of the Brumbies franchise.

Once that is done make some really tough decisions. It is clear that some of the current coaches are not up to the grade. I am not saying that they won’t ever be, but get them to learn how to coach. Look at Owen Finnegan, he was sacked by the Brumbies, but instead of walking away, he now coaches the local Gungahlin Eagles team (who are second in the local competition). Owen’s decision to learn how to coach will only improve his ability. Perhaps Jake should swap out one of the current coaches for Owen?

With these basics in place the Brumbies will have a chance to improve. They can at least take heart in the fact that the Reds were in the same position a couple of years ago. They improved by appointing good coaches investing in some youth and buying in a few good players.

One last thing, for the first time in a long time I made a decision not to go to the game on Saturday. I felt dirty with myself that I didn’t go. I will definitely going to the final home game. I ask all Brumbies fans that they do the same. Just remember, the Brumbies don’t have the same potential financial backing that other teams have. New South Wales want a second team.

I, and my fellow Brumbies fans, have had it good for a long time. We need to keep the faith in the club (they are trying to change) or there is every chance that we will lose them entirely.

Go those Brumbies! See you at the game.

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