The Roar » Rickety Knees

Why rugby is making even more of a difference

Rickety Knees — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:38:07 +0000

In generations gone by, boys went through a right-of-passage to evolve from being a young boy to a young man. The process was about the boy confronting his fears and in the process evolving into manhood.

There is little opportunity in modern life for boys to make that transition. With the exception of the services (defence, police, fire etc) the metro male has little opportunity available to transition his way into manhood.

Life in this century is about accumulating stuff and status is about how much and what brand of stuff he has – rather than who he is. We all know of emotional juveniles walking around in 40 year old bodies gauging their success on the number of boy toys they have.

Rugby is a sport that offers this evolving opportunity. Where boys confront their fear of tackling, being hurt and playing in an environment where fellow players also are getting injured.

This is the primordial psychological step of placing the body on the line regardless of the consequences, and surviving. Breaking that fear barrier in the process!

The emotion that separates man from the animal kingdom is empathy, which can be defined as the identification with or experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. Unlike other contact sports, rugby instills life core empathic values which include respecting yourself and your team mates, your opposition, the referee and spectators.

Whilst winning is important, equally important is how the game is played and what happens at the end of the contest, for example, forming a tunnel to cheer the opposition off the field, or in the Wallabies case forming a tunnel at the end of the recent Wales versus Wallabies match to honour the retiring Shane Williams. These empathic values underpin the culture of Rugby and help to define the Rugby male.

The recent inclusion of Rugby Sevens in the Olympics is a watershed for the game. Admirably, the ARU is now taking Rugby Sevens to the schools, placing an emphasis on fun and enjoyment, an opportunity for others to make the step from being a young boy to a young man and experience the empathic culture of the great game of rugby.

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Article link: Why rugby is making even more of a difference. Written by Rickety Knees, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Junior Rugby on the Central Coast NSW is Alive and Well

Rickety Knees — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:50:41 +0000

Last July I berated the ARU in my Roar article ‘ARU abandons Junior Rugby in regional NSW’. It had been predicated on the very poor state of junior Rugby on the Central Coast, with just 6 teams competing in the u/12 competition and 3 of those with insufficient numbers to properly compete.

This was coupled with the fact that we thought we were losing our ARU funded Development Officer, as we were being told that he was not going to be replaced.

I am pleased to report that our Development Officer has been upgraded by a new Development Manager and that there is a new vitality emerging from the ARU. There is a new “School’s Rugby 7s” program being implemented to work in with the Rugby in the Olympics program which will see an aggressive 7s program rolled out Australia wide.

More pleasing has been the development of a High School Rugby 7’s for Year 7 tournament that will see the high schools of the Central Coast competing for the Jesse Parahi Cup later in February – Jesse is an Avoca Beach Sharks junior who is a current member of the Australian 7s team and is in contention to represent at the next Olympics. Nine High Schools have signed up to play with one school fielding 3 teams! We are hoping to have a final number of around 15.

The Rugby 7’s for Year 7 tournament will see between 200 and 300 Year 7 boys (12/13 yrs) boys play 7s Rugby – many playing Rugby for the first time. It is hoped that all will enjoy their experience of Rugby and that as a result some may decide to play Rugby this winter. As Rugby can do, it has brought together passionate rugby people in the community – Clubs and Schools – to work together with our local development manager for the advancement of our game.

Time will tell how effective the new vigour for Rugby 7s is within our rugby community but it would seem the rugby ball has already started to roll on the Central Coast.

Article link: Junior Rugby on the Central Coast NSW is Alive and Well. Written by Rickety Knees, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Cricket Australia finally heading in right direction

Rickety Knees — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:39:22 +0000

In January of this year I wrote an article looking at Cricket Australia, where I deemed them to be ‘infected by the Endemic Clandestine Cronyism (ECC) parasite’. I highlighted in what I believed was a moribund jobs-for-the-boys organisation that lived in a vacuum ,believing that they had a “good year” despite emphatically losing the Ashes [...]

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Has running rugby gone by the wayside?

Rickety Knees — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:53:18 +0000

Michael Foley’s recent comments suggest there is more 10-man rugby in store for the NSW Waratahs in 2012. He is quoted as saying that the Tahs will play to their strengths, which in the Tahs’ case are their forwards. While the Tahs’ backline is defensively strong, it is at best limited in its attacking capabilities, [...]

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What do we do between World Cups?

Rickety Knees — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:33:32 +0000

What is on the menu? Yep, same old, same old Tests with coaches continually talking about building for the next Rugby World Cup. Northern hemisphere sides fielding their second or third XVs; John O’Neill threatening them with who knows what and the same old, same old happens again. Argentina will add a new dimension to [...]

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Wallabies problems are structural, or a lack thereof

Rickety Knees — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:04:15 +0000

Oh no, here we go again. The umpteenth writer writing the umpteenth article about the glaring problem with Australian rugby – the lack of a second tier competition! The reality of our recent World Cup campaign was that we were just not good enough. Our lack of depth of talent saw three positional changes to [...]

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Have the All Blacks peaked too soon?

Rickety Knees — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 20:47:47 +0000

The All Blacks were sublime in defeating the Wallabies two weeks ago at Eden Park. In that match they played as close to the perfect game of rugby as I have seen. Right from their haka through to the fierceness at the breakdown, with Carter as the orchestra conductor, the All Blacks demolished an over-confident, [...]

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Walla-boys become Walla-men

Rickety Knees — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:29:33 +0000

Leading up to the recent Test with the All Blacks, the exuberance of youth within the Wallabies shone through. There were statements about “being able to carve up any team”, there was speculation about what Cooper might do and the brilliance of Beale and O’Conner. Unashamedly they talked themselves up. The young man’s world is [...]

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Mana, Gen Ys and the ‘metro rugby male’

Rickety Knees — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:45:03 +0000

Much comment has been made about the Wallaby forwards not meeting the challenge of Samoan and All Blacks forwards. Many commentators view attacking the Wallaby soft underbelly as the blueprint to beating Australia in the rugby World Cup. Some background. In previous generations of men, pubescent boys were taken from their mothers (which still occurs [...]

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ARU abandons junior game in regional NSW

Rickety Knees — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:18:04 +0000

The ARU is responsible for the development of junior rugby in NSW, and to this end in 2010, the Central Coast had a full-time Development Officer (and an excellent one at that) to help with the all consuming challenge of keeping rugby competitive in the region. The 2011 under-12 Central Coast Junior Rugby Union XV [...]

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Waratahs’ culture is their biggest problem

Rickety Knees — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:58:06 +0000

Waratah management will soon meet to review the season and plan for the next. This season will get a pass mark for rugby results, mitigated by the injury toll (which incidentally was no worse than that of the Reds and other teams). It will get a fail on the finances and the continuing decline in [...]

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Time for Brumbies to relocate to NSW

Rickety Knees — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:01:28 +0000

Brumbies player Adam Ashleigh Cooper runs the ball during the first half of Super Rugby competition between the Queensland Reds and the ACT Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Saturday, June 4, 2011. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

A forgettable 2011 where the ACT Brumbies were able implode in a most unspectacular fashion, has presented the club with a dynamic opportunity for change.

Referees killing game with scrum penalties

Rickety Knees — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:01:18 +0000

Like many disgruntled fans of rugby, I am over the time wasted on scrums. Having spent the vast majority of my rugby life as a forward, I didn’t enjoy scrums then – and I certainly don’t now! What is most infuriating is when the ball is clearly won by a team, yet the scrum collapses [...]

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Is player power in rugby the way of the future?

Rickety Knees — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:17:49 +0000

Former Brumbies flyhalf Rod Kafer says the player-driven culture in the ACT should be mirrored by other Australian teams, not shunned. Playing a game of contact sport in many ways is the same as going into battle in war, thankfully with a different end result. In the military, units are structured into groups with set [...]

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My Waratahs mea culpa

Rickety Knees — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 19:20:39 +0000

In the past, my razor sharp knife has been out for Chris Hickey and Phil Waugh. Earlier, I opined that I believed that Hickey and Waugh, when under pressure, would default to playing one dimensional ugly rugby. I was wrong. Defensively the Waratahs have been sublime. Hats off to John Muggleton, the bellringers delivered across [...]

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Cricket Australia is infected by ECC bug

Rickety Knees — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:29:48 +0000

Cricket Australia suffers from the Endemic Clandestine Cronyism (ECC) parasite. Individuals infected by this parasite can immediately identify other ECC carriers. Coupled with this, it produces an overwhelming primordial desire to meet in secret and devise a strategy for organisational survival – no matter the cost. The ubiquitous ECC network then quickly links the carrier [...]

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Andrew Hilditch: you are charged!

Rickety Knees — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:43:54 +0000

Mr Hilditch, you are charged with being derelict in the conduct of your duties as Chief of the Australian Cricket Selectors. You are specifically charged with the following. - Having allowed Australian Cricket to meander over the past four to five years where you have chosen not to make decisions that may have placed you [...]

Article link: Andrew Hilditch: you are charged!. Written by Rickety Knees, on The Roar - Your Sports Opinion

Rugby skills are learned playing junior rugby

Rickety Knees — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:11:05 +0000

There has been much written recently about the towelling dished out to the Wallabies by the All Blacks. Commonly, it is agreed that at the heart of the problem was the Wallabies’ lack of basic skills. As a junior rugby coach, it saddens me that out of nine eligible Rugby Clubs in my area, only [...]

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The house of Australian rugby is built on sand

Rickety Knees — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:10:36 +0000

There has been much written about the poor state of junior Rugby in Australia. The effects of which is now being felt in the performance of the Wallabies – particularly in the belief that the Wallaby players are just not tough enough. In our junior competition on the Central Coast there are a mere four [...]

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A letter to the new CEO of NSW club rugby

Rickety Knees — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:27:54 +0000

Dear new CEO, the game in NSW is in a state of malaise and yet chairman of Waratahs rugby, Edwin Zemancheff, recently expressed his appreciation of “the great results Jim L’Estrange achieved in running Australia’s oldest and most successful rugby organisation.” I am curious on Zemamcheff’s spin on what defines “most successful.” There is a [...]

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Chronic pain of being a Waratahs supporter

Rickety Knees — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:15:10 +0000

The changing opinions of Waratahs supporters – one week damning the team and the next extolling their virtues – has drawn criticism from our overseas Roar contributors. However, in our collective defence, we are on a rollercoaster ride. How else do you describe it: the team is consistently inconsistent. We just don’t have any inkling [...]

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Are Waratahs playing to win the Super 14?

Rickety Knees — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:46:50 +0000

Guilty of mastering ‘winning ugly’ in 2010, the question needs to be asked whether the Waratahs are playing to win the Super 14 or just to make the finals. Assuming that the Tahs make the finals, they are likely to face either the Bulls and/or the Stormers, both of which have beaten the Tahs this [...]

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It’s time for a National U/25 Rugby Competition

Rickety Knees — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:38:44 +0000

The ARU has welcomed the new broadcasting deal which sees 35 per cent increase in funding and an increase of local derbies in Australia from 6 to 20 per season. The five Australian Super Rugby franchises all have academies where they are investing in youth. These players are excluded from the club scene and spend [...]

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It’s time for Coach Hickey to make his mark

Rickety Knees — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:36:42 +0000

In 2009, had the Waratahs scored just one more try, they would have made the Super 14 semi finals. Ironically, previous coach Ewen McKenzie was sacked for playing ugly rugby in 2007. In 2009, Hickey took ugly rugby to a new level of ugliness. In the off-season, three high profile backs were recruited in Berrick [...]

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Who will be the next great Wallaby fly-half?

Rickety Knees — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:15:36 +0000

Australia's Stephen Larkham is tackled during the All Blacks v Australia tri nations rugby match at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday July 21, 2007. New Zealand 26 bt Australia 12. AAP Images

Every Rugby World Cup winning rugby team has a world-class general playing at 10. In the past, the Wallabies have been blessed with Michael Lynagh and, of course, Stephen Larkham.

Will Waratahs entertain us or drive us away?

Rickety Knees — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:30:25 +0000

Waratahs' Wycliff Palu comes under pressure from the Highlanders' defence during round 3 of the Super 14 Rugby match at Sydney Football Stadium, Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

There has been much written about 2009 being Annus Horribilus for Australian rugby. No Australian Super 14 team making the Super 14 finals laid the foundation for this.

Why isn’t Phil Hughes opening against the West Indies?

Rickety Knees — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Every now and then a sportsman with amazing talent and unlimited potential arrives on the scene. I am talking about Phillip Joel Hughes, a diminutive and prolific batsman from Macksville, NSW. His coach, Neil D’Costa, said: “He’s not even 21 and look what he’s done. We’re talking Steve Waugh Medal, Sheffield Shield player of the [...]

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It’s time to ask the ARU some hard questions

Rickety Knees — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:02:05 +0000

John O’Neill recently stated ”leading ARU officials would meet Deans to conduct a review of the season to work out what improvements had to be made to ensure the Wallabies end their slide well before the next World Cup”. Given that the Wallabies are sadly lacking in playing talent in general, and specifically in world [...]

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Where to for the Wallabies from here?

Rickety Knees — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:59:07 +0000

The pain of watching Scotland gallantly defeat the Wallabies was palpable. The Wallabies had taken some steps forward with their performances against England and Ireland but have taken a massive step backwards with their inept performance in Edinburgh. Reviewing 2009 will show that Australian teams performed poorly in the Super 14. This was exacerbated by [...]

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Robbie Deans, bring Vickerman back home

Rickety Knees — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:52:06 +0000

Dan Vickerman played some 55 tests for the Wallabies before leaving at his prime to follow an academic career. Some would say that he left because he did not feel valued by Australian Rugby. It is believed that John O’Neill tried to drive Vickerman’s contract price down and in the process Australia lost its best [...]

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