Bring back the Ancient Greek Games cycle
The Olympic games is a peculiar phenomenon. For two weeks every four years a huge array of sporting disciplines flit across and hold the…
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The Olympic games is a peculiar phenomenon. For two weeks every four years a huge array of sporting disciplines flit across and hold the…
Anyone who saw the Waratahs versus Chiefs match recently would have been surprised by the sheer force of what was described as the Palu/Skelton/Tatafu…
Sonny Bill Williams is in a curious position. Despite numerous caps for the All Blacks and years in the NRL, he is still not…
One of the curiosities of sports organisations is the inability to see how a successful model works, and then reproduce its best features. Nowhere…
There is an event that transpired over the past weeks that should have filled the powers of SANZAAR not so much with mild tremors…
In order to survive against the invasive attentions of European and Japanese rugby, not to mention the NRL, AFL and football, rugby needs to…
Rugby's critical advantage over other sports is its ability to generate long passages of building, fluid momentum that grow and grow. This includes defences…
Japan's victory over South Africa gave World Rugby exactly the perception it wanted: that rugby is growing from strength-to-strength, and that tier two nations…
In light of the fiasco playing out in the Wallaby management and squad this week and the general decline of the team, the question…
The recent concerns expressed over the practice of players being allowed to continue playing after concussions have brought light to an issue far too…
The second chapter of this somewhat slow-burning series has arrived, and with an apparently meagre theme, hardly justifying large-scale treatment. But while the subject…
This is the first in a series of articles addressing the fundamental issues the new head of the ARU, Bill Pulver, must face with…
The starting Wallabies XV for the most recent South African Test match was the following: Robinson, Polota-Nau, Alexander, Sharpe, Douglas, Dennis, Hooper, Samo, Phipps,…
Since the impressive appearance of Ewen McKenzie in Queensland, the Reds have emerged as the most successful sporting team in the state by playing…
The Wallabies' recent woes have been the result of a lack of power in the forwards and to a lesser degree in the backs,…
The purpose of this article is to suggest a way to resolve the current impasse within SANZAR over the South African desire to field…
Anyone with a passing interest in the fate of English rugby, or even rugby as an international game, should breathe a sigh of relief…
This article does not aim to describe how one team is superior to the other, to score little points, or to favour New Zealand…
The Warriors' success in making the NRL final is simply the result of a long process whereby the NRZU considers the threat of rugby…
Imagine you're a less than top notch rugby nation such as Scotland or Wales. You can beat one of the top five teams once…
They might not as the Australian teams would then start to win, and RA would therefore make more money.
Moana Pacifika is a fine team but it’s not designed to do what a South Auckland team would do and raid NRL youth ranks and take over the whole area for rugby. As south Auckland is such an opulent talent pool, the other new team in North Harbour would train their guns on raiding it from league too.
The NRL are likely to get more acquisitive and will aim to plunder New Zealand with or without a new team, so both New Zealand need to expand (as should Australia, though it’s harder) to fight them off.
'It's time we grew up': The jarring hypocrisy that proves All Blacks are getting key call all wrong
Super rugby crowds in New Zealand aren’t stellar, so let’s imagine what would happen if the All Blacks started to choose overseas players.
Firstly not only would the entire All Black squad leave, but even the All Black hopefuls who probably fill a couple of other Super teams would choose double pay abroad.
At this point the Super rugby teams in New Zealand would be a skeleton of what they are now. Almost every match-winning player would be gone.
Crowds wouldn’t have any All Blacks or standout players to watch.
And then what about the results? Even against Australia’s troubled teams if you took away the whole All Black squad and another 30 or 60 players from the New Zealand franchises they would start to lose to the Australian teams, and wouldn’t win the tournament.
Then if the crowds aren’t great now, who would turn up to watch New Zealand franchises being beaten by Australian ones every week?
So without crowds and viewing figures on TV down, you suddenly have a financial shortfall.
Would you make more TV money because the All Blacks might win a little more? No, because they win most of the time already and it was only a questionable appointment as head coach the past four years that interrupted it.
At this point what’s to stop rugby league opening a few more teams and taking over the failing markets in Christchurch, Wellington etc…?
They wouldn’t be unstrategic enough to place weak teams there either, but competitive teams fans would go to watch.
At this point, even the number of All Blacks overseas would drop and with it TV money.
So, overall New Zealand and Australia’s system of only choosing nationally-based players is necessary for the game’s survival at home.
A simple way to improve the All Blacks is to start two more Super franchises in South Auckland and in North Harbour, and pillage the rugby league playing ranks in Auckland, so that the likes of Benji Marshall, RTS and Joey Manu are got before they are taken by the NRL.
'It's time we grew up': The jarring hypocrisy that proves All Blacks are getting key call all wrong
‘“What we need to be able to demonstrate is that we can be really consistent. A lot of the things that you do in rugby, don’t take a whole lot of talent. They take a whole lot of effort, they take a little bit of intelligence and IP in the game, and then the talent tends to be the icing on the cake and we’ve just got to make sure that we bake the cake in the best possible manner.”
That’s fine for the lowly Six Nations, where the other teams are often not that talented and so if you’re just very reliable you can beat them. To make a result certain, you want reliability above all other considerations.
But against repeated talented competition you have to make sure you’ve got a talented team over a reliable team. Again and again coaches have tried reliability over talent for the Wallabies and failed.
This is especially true for the Wallabies. The All Blacks might have the luxury of choosing between two talented 9s, one more reliable than the other, or the Springboks two talented 6s, one more reliable than the other.
But the Wallabies don’t have that much talent and there is often only one player in a position at the level of talent needed, who may or may not be reliable. So if not reliable, you can’t replace him with a less talented but more reliable player as that player just won’t be good enough.
Instead you need to find a way to work with this unreliable player to make him steadier. It’s part of the art of coaching, and has been done time and time again.
Schmidt will find that with the Wallabies playing stocks this is his task, rather than selecting the reliable over the talented.
'Talent can be fickle': Schmidt avoids rushing to conclusions as JOC calls for 'Reds-heavy' Wallabies
Good article, again along with the other fan articles hidden at the bottom of the page by the current Roar format so no one sees it.
‘But it was also a nod to what is becoming increasingly obvious. Australian coaches are best served spending time overseas on extended apprenticeships in multiple environments.’
Whether at home or abroad, the main thing is that they actually do some apprenticeships and prove something before being given control of Super franchises.
Discovering the blueprint for Super Rugby success: How Kiss managed to get away from a one-dimensional style
Teams should be allowed to break the salary cap so long as the players they bring aren’t coming from Super rugby. This would enable some strengthening of the Force.
'Worst rugby I've ever seen': Force coach apologises for horrendous performance in loss to Moana Pasifika
Are the Force spending up to the cap..
'Worst rugby I've ever seen': Force coach apologises for horrendous performance in loss to Moana Pasifika
If he funded it more though it would be more competitive.
It’s presumably because RA refused his 50 million that he won’t put more in now.
'Worst rugby I've ever seen': Force coach apologises for horrendous performance in loss to Moana Pasifika
One element of the thinking here is this maybe:
The only thing that matters is the Wallabies and that means winning the World Cup.
Super rugby, and the domestic game: these are all a lowly second.
So if it takes 2.6 million for the coach to buy an AFL psychologist and other extravagances then isn’t that better than the risk of losing because of not having done everything possible?
'Everything was approved': Eddie hits back at $2.6m RWC budget blow-out, says Wallabies can build team around young gun
But imagine, if someone put 2.6 million in your account and said ‘go spend’. Would you be able to resist?
'Everything was approved': Eddie hits back at $2.6m RWC budget blow-out, says Wallabies can build team around young gun
What was the 2.6 million actually spent on?
'Everything was approved': Eddie hits back at $2.6m RWC budget blow-out, says Wallabies can build team around young gun
Work is always more distracting that the issue of league converts unfortunately.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
‘Well one can be credible and still work. Not mutually exclusive.’ I wish that were true.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Yes, it’s so obvious that the coach is the issue for the Force. What if Les Kiss had been in charge.
'It hurts': Force's season goes from bad to worse as Lealiifano, Kepu lead Moana Pasifika to upset win
Rebels need a top coach.
If you’d swapped the coaches what would have been the result?
McReight masterclass, Uru statement: Reds smash Rebels in Aussie Super Rugby derby
Perhaps time for Twiggy to get a new coach.
What if Les Kiss had coached the Force?
'It hurts': Force's season goes from bad to worse as Lealiifano, Kepu lead Moana Pasifika to upset win
I’ll take lack of credibility over needing to get back to work any day of the week.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
‘Kiss is showing us just how good he is.
Maybe the next inline for Wallaby coach’
Slow down. A coach should have to do more than a couple of good games to become Wallabies coach.
McReight masterclass, Uru statement: Reds smash Rebels in Aussie Super Rugby derby
Most of the money is third-party deals apparently, and just for this particular players.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
They could have spent the money on someone who’d proven more in league, but I suppose were more attracted by his rugby background.
The biggest mistake in rugby league convert spending from RA or the ARU was actually Sailor and Rogers, not because they got them, but because they waited until their late 20s to get them. Four years earlier and they would have had most of their careers.
To avoid the mistake this time they’ve gone for someone at pretty much the ideal age. Ideally he would have done as much as Folau or Inglis/Hayne by that stage but still.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
That’s amusing. Israel Folau is the fourth top try scorer but player 30-50 fewer tests than the players above him in the list, which means at a scoring rate he’s the equal top of all time, and Tuqiri’s similar.
So if equal top try scoring rate isn’t top talent, then I’m not sure what is.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
No, because there’s a difference between well and exceptionally well.
South Africa have the crowd base to produce good crowds double or more the number of stadia they use and the massive playing numbers to develop far more talent. They are heavily constricted by the five team format and with a larger model would have been vastly more powerful.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
I wasn’t replying in direct grammatical relation to your question but creating a new grammatical structure. So they succeed refers to rugby league converts as a group. The individual case is a proof representing the efforts of a larger group.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Then who will play for the Wallabies in the place of the lost two? There’s no way SS players would be ready or good enough.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
None of those would have got in: closest would be Beale, Genia, Cooper.
Toomua is as good as Inglis?
Kuridrani as Hayne?
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
South Africa isn’t very comparable with Australia in this respect. Crowd sizes are far bigger and it could have close to 15 teams with good crowds, so even losing more elite players would have to go a long way to seriously endanger the popularity of the game.
'It's time we grew up': The jarring hypocrisy that proves All Blacks are getting key call all wrong