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On Friday Australian Rugby Union Chairman Michael Hawker advised that John O’Neill was resigning. Perhaps he was pushed as his list of achievements can read more gruesome than a mortuary stocktake.
Roar Expert Spiro Zavos wrote an interesting article titled John O’Neill sort of does it his way and defended the performance of the departing CEO.
We can look at this from another angle that suggests either O’Neill was making a raft of poor decisions, or he had no control over the governance of the game.
Of course the official line is O’Neill’s resignation is due to an increasing workload associated with his Chairmanship of Echo Entertainment, the company that owns The Star casino.
Yet, in an ironic twist, Hawker’s tribute to the departing CEO, which smacks of a sell job, provides a neat summary of how bad it got.
“Under his leadership, a Governance review into the game has been initiated; planning for the 2013 Lions Tour is well underway; the Wallabies have improved from fifth in the world when John returned to the game in 2007 to now second behind the All Blacks; participation levels are at an all-time high; the ARU has strengthened its financial position; we have increased influence at the International Rugby Board; Rugby has been further expanded with a fifth team in Melbourne; and the new Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship has been launched with the inclusion of Argentina, refreshing the Southern Hemisphere Test competition.”
We can ignore for the moment Hawker’s vague generalities on the ARU making more money than prior, participation rates and the claim that Argentina’s inclusion in The Championship was O’Neill’s victory.
Let’s go deeper and analyse why the Wallabies, sorry, the Wallabies Pty Ltd, have enjoyed a rise from fifth in the world to number two during O’Neill’s tenure. Since Deans was appointed coach in 2008 their win rate has been 58%, which has proved enough to secure a global ranking on or about second in the world.
This is a fine achievement given the lack of depth, and more a result of the playing group’s grim determination to not fail their country.
And yet the Australian public continue to bang their fists on tables like disgruntled creditors; the fury increasingly pointed at their Kiwi coach. It begs the question as to what the public expects: to beat the All Blacks?
The Wallabies, with their injuries and lack of depth, are currently not good enough to achieve this goal, and this is not Deans’ doing, it’s O’Neill’s. The talent is increasingly going league, AFL, and soccer, and the ARU’s job desription is to ensure this doesn’t happen.
The public doesn’t seem to acknowledge this, and Deans is being made a scapegoat for the ARU’s significant failure to develop and secure a talent base at the grassroots level of the game – in the schools where it is made.
What sits heaviest, however, is the suggestion that the Rebels’ inclusion into Super Rugby in 2011 is a genius move to be lauded. This was a disaster for the Western Force, who were abandoned at the altar in preference for the ARU’s new play-thing in Victoria.
The Perth franchise were already struggling to field a competitive team, achieving around eighth prior to Melbourne’s inclusion. Either directly or indirectly for the Force, this had the effect of a drain on players, funding, and impetus, not to mention their coach, who abandoned them mid-way through last season.
Adding to this is a grassroots shambles, driven by states that cannot agree to play nice in the interests of themselves or the national game. There are 15 grassroots competitions in Queensland and NSW and not a single competition between them, other than state representation. It’s the ARU’s job to centralise operations, and they’ve failed to do this.
Of course the new CEO’s job number one: decide whether to replace the coach.
This entertains an interesting question as to who would be best for the job: Ewen McKenzie, Graham Henry, Clive Woodward, Mark Hammet, Alan Jones?
A new coach would be a shame, because Deans is a proven winner with a rugby formula that couldn’t be translated in this country. And, despite the pressure in arguably world rugby’s toughest job, he’s not blamed the players. Even when they haven’t followed the game plan.
I asked Deans in 2010 why, in his opinion, he had the continued support of the Australian public, despite rumblings about his win/loss record.
His response?
“I wasn’t aware I had the support of the Australian public.”
Unfortunately for Australian rugby, that appears to be ringing true these days.
If the ARU was doing it’s job and providing Deans with the talent, then Australian rugby would be flourishing.
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.