- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Many articles on this site like to start with a quote, so here is mine.
‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again for the same poor result.’
Seems to me that it applies perfectly too all levels of Australian rugby.
Anyway I would like to take the opportunity on this platform to make some observations of being involved with rugby on numerous levels over the past 25 years.
Let’s start with the bottom of the food chain, junior rugby – something, I was like many dads involved with. The majority of competitions are meaningless.
They involve players from U14 level upwards competing whether they be in GPS, CAS, ISA or others against players of standards not equal or more concerning numbers of teams that are not the same.
There is a way to start to fix this. Unfortunately I have learned that the solution has not been embraced by CAS schools for the 2017 season. The solution would have allowed schools across different competitions to play each other, thus challenging themselves.
Stop with the terms ‘High Performance’ as this in my view sends a poor message to those who do make it, suggesting they are in some way gifted and those who don’t as they are second rate. Create a strong club competition on Sundays so that GPS boys can play a game and stress to these schools that this is important for rugby as a whole.
The glaring example of where rugby in Australia is failing is the U20 competitions and the World Cup. The ARU has done and is continuing to do a miserable job in this area.
The Colts competition and indeed from U17 level up is once again that term meaningless. Solution? Start up a competition on a Sunday for U17 through to U20 so that clubs and or schools can enter it. The ARU should step in and enforce the clubs not to play U20 players in grade rugby, telling them they must compete in this comp.
Then there’s the Shute Shield. Cut it adrift and make it completely amateur. The standard has become so poor that virtually no players are of a standard required at higher levels.
In Sydney Penrith, West Harbour, Gordon are basket cases and Parramatta is close to that. Indeed this year Manly clearly had issues.
Any side who leaks 60 points a game on average is a disgrace. The sooner the ARU gives up the better. They won’t win the battle against the old hard heads who only step up when their former club is threatened with extinction.
If you don’t believe me, go out and watch West Harbour v Penrith and see how many people are there etc.
The NRC is on the face of it a worthwhile exercise but as the Australian Super sides have done so poorly an internal competition for the feeder clubs provides another meaningless exercise. We must plead with New Zealand and South Africa to enter either one or two U25 sides from Australia into their Mitre and Currie Cups.
Assure them we won’t make the finals. Tell them we are not good enough but the players that we put into these sides might learn about tough rugby on a weekly basis and so might the next generation of coaches.
I don’t know about Super Rugby except we don’t have enough talent and the competition is not set for excellence. Ee play too many useless home derbies. I think we really should have only three franchises.
Then there’s the Wallabies. I have a couple of thoughts on the matter. Firstly, can someone please explain to me why the captain is taken off after 50-60 minutes both for his Super side and the national side?
Virtually no other country does this. Secondly, don’t worry about Clyde Rathbone’s article discussing which Australian player would make an Anzac side. Consider which player would make a New Zealand Super side.
The answer is frightening to say the least.Thirdly, a quote for Rod Kafer after the first Test really concerns me, that you can’t teach skills overnight, well I would have thought that you need a skill set to be selected to start with.
The final point is rugby sevens. Does anyone out there understand the world comp? It seems to me to be a gravy train for officials and players that are not “suited” to the 15-man game.
For those of us who saw Kurt Beale at school we would know the standard of players of that level has shrunk each year. The reason is simple but cruel.
I know that this will create a lot of adverse reaction. After U13s, rugby is left with the rejects, i.e. the tall guys that AFL, rowing, basketball etc don’t want.
We get the quick, reasonably solid boys the ones rugby league and football don’t want. We get the Islander guys the ones New Zealand doesn’t want.
How the ARU puts resources into guys that won’t play union after school is beyond the pale. Over the last four to five years I can think of at least three cases where young men were selected in Australian schools when then had already signed contracts with NRL sides. They are all now playing first grade for these clubs.
Anyway I hope I have provoked some thought. I think this might be fixable but only if the ARU take the long-suffering base with them.
It will at least take five to seven years in the wilderness. However, the alternative is that we will be in the wilderness forever. As much as it pains me to say this but the best long term result for Australian rugby would be to lose all Test matches in 2016 which hopefully would mean the clean out we require.
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.