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Rent-a-rugger: Is a domestic loan system a solution to Australian rugby woes?

28th April, 2016
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The Crusaders are flying high. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
Roar Guru
28th April, 2016
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Should the ARU enforce a loan system between Australian teams?

Jono Lance, before he did his leg in, had the chance to show his talent this season when he finally secured regular game time with a move to the Force.

The fullback for the Reds in their championship-winning final in 2011, Lance had found his career on the backburner somewhat after moving to the Waratahs and promptly finding himself behind most of the starting Wallaby backline.

Staying with the Reds, Andrew Ready has managed to outmuscle capped Wallaby Saia Fainga’a as the starting hooker in Queensland. Despite being 20-years-old and in his debut season, Ready has already made six impressive starts so far.

Next season, though, similar to Lance at the Waratahs, Ready should expect to find himself benched (or, worse, behind a resurgent Fainga’a and out of the squad all together) when the Wallabies skipper and hooker Stephen Moore returns to the Reds next year.

Ready joins a host of other youngsters in the supposedly shallow pools of Australian rugby talent to find impressive form in Super Rugby this year, despite the various stumbles on and off the pitch so far.

At the Tahs alone, Jed Holloway and Jack Dempsey have impressed, as has Tom Robertson, the medical student who started as fifth (or less) choice prop earlier this season. In the backs, Andrew Kellaway and David Horwitz are finally getting a chance to prove their potential.

Considering the promise and excitement of youth players coming up the ranks, the uneven spread and the lack of talent in a few areas, could a loan system be a good solution not only for the franchises themselves, but for Australian rugby in general?

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As Stephen Hoiles pointed out when discussing the benefits of a draft in Australian rugby, the mass of players reside in Queensland and New South Wales, so would they really want to be sent to the other country on a whim?

However, if there was a loan system, not only would the relocation be temporary and a return home guaranteed, but it’d also help the centralisation of Australian rugby strategy and prevent the provincial politics that cloud the game for having franchises hog all the players.

It could be argued that Ready will learn more from Moore than being loaned to, and playing regularly for, the Brumbies. Currently, Stephen Larkham will be deciding between the 35-year-old Josh Mann-Rea and journeymen Robbie Abel and Albert Anae as his hookers next year.

The five young Waratahs mentioned above were either all contracted last year, or around the squad, yet didn’t have many, if any, Super games last year while veterans well down the Wallabies pecking order like Matt Carraro, Mitch Chapman and Stephen Hoiles were given plenty of minutes.

Former Waratahs Michael Alaalatoa and Ben Volavola didn’t play at all in 2015, and they’ve now joined Reds reject Nemani Nadolo in now playing for the Crusaders. And it’s hard to believe that any of them – all Australians boys of Islander descent – would be there for the pay or miserable weather and funny accents.

What’s worse is now that Volavola finds himself behind the second best Israel fullback, Israel Dagg.

The state of Australian rugby becomes particularly concerning when you consider the dearth of dedicated scrum halves. The three Nicks – Phipps, Stirzaker and Frisby – are the only starting Australian 9s in Super Rugby.

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Will Genia’s available too, although Cheika has said he won’t pick any European players for the England series. Regardless, Genia’s play has failed to be inspiring for the best part of three years anyway. Nic White, having 22 caps, doesn’t qualify for the Wallabies.

An injury to one or both of Genia and Phipps would throw the Wallabies’ passing quite literally into disarray.

Seeing as game time is usually considered the best way to develop players, foreseeing this situation last year, wouldn’t it have been better in the medium-term for the ARU to have either given the Brumbies the next best Aussie scrum half, or told them to not sign Argentine Tomas Cubelli and play one of their youngsters instead?

To stem the flow of young talent eager for game time, force Super teams to develop Australian talent and ultimately improve the Wallabies, should the ARU develop and enforce a loan system between Australian Super teams to get the most of out the shallow pool that is Australian rugby?

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