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I write to Bill Pulver, Robbie Deans, and co, as a disgruntled supporter who is fed up with bureaucracy evident in your organisation over the last five years.
While everyone is sick of punters throwing in their two cents regarding every selection and decision making process, I have decided to base this letter on factual evidence I have accumulated over a period of time.
I would like to address a few major issues in the administration of rugby that I feel have not been fairly answered.
Ticket prices
As we all know, the upcoming tour of the British and Irish Lions is a momentous occasion for all involved in Australian Rugby.
My query is why you have priced passionate supporters and families out of attending these Test matches? I am a university student and paid roughly $290 for a ticket to the Brisbane match and $150 for a ticket in Melbourne.
Would you call it justifiable to work roughly 22 hours to watch two hours and 40 minutes of rugby? You have effectively priced all junior and senior players, the overwhelming majority of families and a truck load of life-long supporters out of attending these games.
As a result you are left with a ‘corporate dollar’ crowd who detract from the atmosphere and the enormity of the occasion due to their lack of knowledge about the game.
Is this the type of crowd you want trying to drown out thousands of vocal British and Irish supporters? Will these supporters be there for you in a year’s time when the Wallabies are playing Scotland at Blue Tongue stadium or Argentina at the Gold Coast?
You need to reward the people who support the game with the chance to attend these matches and not sell yourselves out at every given opportunity.
Selections
Should the players bother putting their body on the line week in, week out in the Super Rugby competition?
Quade Cooper has played every minute of this season for a very successful Reds team. While he was quiet for the first few weeks he has built into the season and until last weekend the Reds were unbeaten for eight consecutive weeks dating back to Round 5.
On the flip-side I recently read that Berrick Barnes has played a total of 77 minutes all year, yet he managed to slot straight into the 25 man squad.
After 14 rounds of Super Rugby can Robbie honestly say that Berrick Barnes has outplayed Quade Cooper and Matt Toomua with two cameos off the bench?
Not to mention that if Pat McCabe had not been injured over the weekend he would have been selected, after just one start for the Brumbies in the game they drew to the cellar-dweller Southern Kings. I think I need not continue with this argument!
Let’s look at a few of Robbie Deans’ comments in the media this week justifying his decision making. First, Robbie blamed Quade for Ben Tapuai’s form slump, saying that he should try and do less of the playmaking himself and use Tapuai as a second ball player.
This may be a fair comment, but you only need to look back to the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Test matches where Robbie played Pat McCabe and Anthony Fainga’a in the centres.
While both these players are good defenders, neither of them have any ball playing capabilities, forcing Quade to run the show on his own. For Robbie to now say that Quade should offload some of the responsibility to his 12 is a contradiction of the style of game Robbie has forced Quade to play in the last couple of seasons.
After selecting the squad, Robbie also said that Quade should have been defending in the front line if he wanted to be selected.
I know the majority of his decisions and comments have minimal logic behind them, but wouldn’t this have been useful to say 10 weeks ago rather than giving a player two matches to prove his worth?
The Waratahs
I can’t help but notice the number of Waratahs selected in the Wallabies set up over the last few seasons.
In 2012 the Waratahs finished the Super Rugby in 11th place winning just four out of 18 fixtures. Although they lost to the Reds and Brumbies both at home and away that season, eight Waratahs were selected in the starting XV for the opening Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney.
Considering the Waratahs also lost games to the Force, Highlanders, Chiefs, Crusaders, Bulls, Stormers, Cheetahs, and Hurricanes how could we possibly expect the Wallabies to perform? (I am guessing Robbie used the fact they beat the Rebels twice as criteria to pick them all!)
Fast forward to 2013 – while the Waratahs have moderately improved to eighth place, it was no surprise to see 10 of their players being named in the 25 chosen for the initial Wallaby squad. This was interesting considering the Brumbies and Reds are currently sitting in third and fourth place respectively.
Alarm bells should be ringing – is Australia setting themselves up for ambush against the Lions?
The other comment we keep hearing is the ARU’s priority of ensuring a strong Waratahs team to maintain the support of the Sydney market.
How many years did the Reds get thumped for before they became financially crippled and the ARU woke up and threw some money at them?
The Western Force have struggled to win games since their inception and you never hear the ARU drumming up support for their franchise.
Sport works in cycles and to unfairly favour a team because they play in front of a certain market is ludicrous. To select players from a losing team because they come from a certain place where the ARU’s administration also happens to based is even worse.
Administration
I was interested to see that although the ARU posted an $8.3 million deficit for 2012, John O’Neill was paid $2.1 million in salary and incentives to effectively leave the organisation a year before his contract was up.
Was it really worth the ‘golden handshake’ to replace O’Neill with Bill Pulver? Early evidence suggests not, with Pulver struggling to sign sponsors for what is the most highly anticipated event in Australian rugby since the 2003 World Cup.
I will be interested to see how he goes next year in a regular Test schedule. Is there any chance you could please shed some light to the supporters as to why you have made these decisions and how you can justify paying out O’Neill’s contract leaving the game in the state he did?
So as the Lions series draws closer I am posed with a decision. Do I continue to support the Wallabies as I have done my whole life only for these inherent issues to be swept under the carpet? Or do I back the Lions for a three–zip series domination so we can finally see the back of Robbie and see a few long overdue changes made?
I look forward to your response.
Mark Legh
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.