There are many moving parts to the above article. I would encourage all to source and read Cully’s article about the true health NOT of world rugby published last week. Let’s be clear despite SA winning the last 2 RWC their domestic comp is broke just like AUS is. Wales is the same, many English clubs are insolvent and NZ would be in a terrible situation except for Silver Lake. With regards to Super Rugby I have long held the belief the only winner out of this comp has been NZ. We have either been a willing participant or have been duped into year after year competing in a comp where apart from the very limited success have failed. The slide of the Wallabies coincides with our failure in Super Rugby. It has cost Aus Rugby a fortune and what have we got to show for it. I agree totally on getting rid of the “Giteau” Law. Develop young players let overseas clubs pay them what the world market determines as a realistic price and as a RWC looms see which ones want to come back and play for AUS. Rugby must come to grips that players now value dollars over national service, they may not say so but always look what they do not what they say. Recent RA signings are foolish as each player’s value should be determined by a world market place and then RA decides to bid or not similar to the IPL auction. Tupou is the highest paid rugby on the planet if the KPI is minutes played. There are very few players left or should I say fans left in AUS who would rush to the turnstiles to see them play. If RA wants to out bid the competitors in an auction then they have to have very clear guidelines as to why they are going above others to secure that player for a domestic competition whatever that competition looks like.

From my reading of this, it is about the IRB taking control of Aus Rugby. Like most people they have realized that the code and it’s administration in Aus is close to dead. With 3 big events coming up and with them not wishing to bail out Aus post 2027 they have said enough is enough. After all they are continuing to finance the code. There is little prospect of a PE investment and there are no assets to mortgage other than the upcoming tours and cups. So rightly so they have said we want “our man in Havana” so to speak and whilst he no doubt will “report” to Waugh and the board he will really be reporting to wherever the IRB headquarters are. This year past has proven that successive boards and CEOs are out of their depth due to many reasons. Time has been called and in my view the board will just be a rubber stamp type of administration and Waugh will be the spokesperson and that is all and really they have brought it on themselves as the new chairman and Waugh were part of the last 12 months and that should not be overlooked.

Regarding comments from our NZ “friends” please remember that all they want to do re Super Rugby is to continue to bleed Australia dry which we have been more than willing to help them with.
What seems to be lost in this conversation is why is WA Rugby and Forrest at odds over the vote and why did the other “private” ie the Rebels franchise back the previous chairman. Also sorry unless the minutes of the board meetings when all the sackings and signings are released then one can only assume that Herbert, Waugh et al were ok with them, if not why didn’t they resign on principle.

Upon reflection there is also something else which it would be nice to get clarity on. Now I don’t profess to know the exact time line but was the removal of Rennie and Marinos a done deal? Given the chairman was having discussions with Jones either prior to or during the spring tour of 2022 then maybe it was all over for the CEO and coach no matter the results of that tour. Would Rennie still be there if we would have beaten France, Ireland and Italy, I know what iffs? It does look a bit cute that a member of the board is quickly made CEO and the 2022 review is not published.

Regarding the review. The terms of reference are narrow ie 2023 season. Re the panel members it would seem no matter what his qualifications Mr. Harrison should not be a member of the panel as his wage is paid by people who are part of the review ie the players. That is simply to big a conflict of interest and would not be tolerated in a review that has true independence. The problem with the terms is that it would seem to not include anything from the 2022 review that was not published so that in effect the rugby public could not see the report on Rennie and his staff and for that matter the players. It would make it difficult for the public to then either support or not the current board and chairman with the appointment of Jones. The result is not the issue the issue is what information was the board acting on and was there any dissenting opinions prior to what on face value seemed to be the chairman acting alone. Clearly also what would be helpful would be the minutes of the board meeting with regards to the action of replacing Rennie. Until the 2022 and minutes are made public then all the unhelpful speculation will continue and understandably the public will show little confidence in the current admistration.

So what did we learn from the weekend in SR. I would think not much that we didn’t already know. Firstly, no depth in the front row. The lose of Bell for however long is huge for Australian Rugby and therefore their RWC chances. Lack of quality depth in the hooking position, knew that anyway. The only province to have any real 2nd rowers is the Brumbies. Back row plenty of depth. Half back, maybe the Brumbies starter is now 2nd pick. 10’s no clearer and please Lynagh, he is 78kgs brushed off in defence yes on debut but that’s all. Depth is ok in the midfield and wings. Also don’t get carried away with the new ones, in a poor side the Qld winger was their best. Full back little depth and no answers yet. From what I saw and now with Bell’s injury only the Brumbies will make the top six and possibly because how poor the Highlanders were and we don’t know about the other two sides another Aus franchise may crawl their way into the top six but certainly no guarantee.

Whilst you can debate the pros and cons of this decision. For me the remarkable part is the 5 year contract. Firstly, anyone with much of an idea excluding many emotional types, Australia has a very soft draw in the RWC, we should make the QF and can easily make the SF. Secondly, therefore Eddie’s KPI’s should not be taken on this result. Thirdly and finally his contract should have been 3 years which would include 2 Rugby Championships and a British and Irish Lions tour and let’s see where things are like then. Also where does this leave all assistant coaches, 5 years tells me that MacKellar is on the outer and Eddie naturally will want new faces.

A deeper concern is that there is a real possibility of losing 7 or 8 of the next 9 test matches. By then the handing wringing will have reached a fever pitch of those very very limited number of people who either understand or care or for that matter both in Australia. Unless the Wallabies can get their best side on the park which is the side from last year when they beat SA twice then a QF exit looms in the RWC. With the 2025 British and Irish Lions Tour and a 2027 home RWC serious work has to start now about who the coach should be and might be and what players are available from the current group or indeed heaven forbid RL. I would suggest that the players currently aged around 20 to 26 are the ones to consider. As for coaches well I would like to throw a couple of left field names into the mix, Bellamy and Stuart from the NRL. Neither has baggage in rugby and therefore isn’t beholden to Super Rugby. On the selection side given NZ when Retallick is fit pick Barrett at 6 and SA has Steph at six why doesn’t the brains trust think of picking Frost at 6 with the locks as is and if one goes off he can shift in there, he has a big motor and therefore can go the full game.

Firstly regarding the NZ commentary which has been for many years the best for mine because they are willing to be critical of their own but on the weekend I think their bias was more a function of the pressure the nation is feeling, not an excuse but maybe an explanation. On the game from SA it simply reinforced to me that there are 4 very good teams, in no order, SA, NZ, France and Ireland and on any given day if one plays really well they will beat the others and just maybe NZ has to come to terms with that. The Wallabies for mine have too many issues with only 13 months to the RWC. The spine has not been sorted. No idea due to age, injury or ability the 15, the 10 and mainly due to the increased issues of injuries at contact training the 2. The positives are the depth in the back 5 of the scrum and the midfield but the rest depends on the absolute best being available and whilst that can be solved for 2 and 15 10 looks a far bigger issue.

Going through the “report card”. Tupou yes was short of a gallop BUT skill set re pass and silly penalties needs to be worked on. Bell good that he is so young. The injury on sat. was a worry. The others while solid appear like father time is knocking. Hookers look solid with Porecki certainly improving. At best without injuries the locks are solid with Frost a talent. My best three would be Swain, Frost and Arnold with Frost starting as he can go 80min. The backrow. Well I think Valentini suffered from now being the hunted. 6 there is depth with those in the wings in the mix. Personally I would take the captain’s roll from Hooper. His lack of understanding of the flow of the game is and always has been a problem, ie going for 3 when Sexton went to the corner and scored sending a huge message to the AB’s. Also he doesn’t communicate well with refs. Personally I would play McReight instead. Half back won’t change. Maybe McDermott slightly overplayed his hand on sat.5/8 when time and space is taken most struggle as Noah did on sat. Midfield ok probably Ikitau at 13 as Hunter is more a 12. The back three. As we sit Hodge never ever to be picked again. Aside from all else he is far too slow. I am not that excited by Wright unless he tightens up his defence, caught out badly twice on sat. and also his decision making needs work. Kellaway should get the nod at FB. Having said all of that. On a good day we can beat England and SA but we have an enormous mental problem with the AB’s and it would be a major upset if we beat either Ireland or France. Don’t be fooled by last year. That was their B/A side. Have a look at the talent that will be in their squad but probably not in their 15 that played for the Baba’s.

Talk about egg on people faces. What a “cabal”. The shortest and misjudged coup ever. Farr-Jones and Kearns completely lack credibility. Whilst arguably they have the best interests of the game at heart neither could divorce themselves from their disapproval of in Farr-Jones case the Folau issue and in Kearns case not getting the CEO job. With Eales I assume about to take the Chair they have made grave errors of judgement. Both should disappear from the stage ASAP, along with another of their cheer leaders in Alan Jones.

I think you will find the game in question is the 2011 game v Samoa. A meaningless lead up to the RWC and if I remember rightly coach Deanes was very angry after the game re the effort by certain players. Regarding the “mistakes” by players I had a laugh as this is situation normal for the Wallabies at the moment, no need for a betting probe. Re the players under suspicion if you google the game ESPN gives you the team list and a game day summary, certainly makes interesting reading.

An interesting read with some clear thoughts as well.
After watching last weekends Super games and discussing them with friends I have a theory as to why players who were on the outer have stepped up their play. The theory is that with the new panel they feel that they actually have a chance to get into the Wallabies. Nevertheless, what RA haven’t told us is what actual power the two new selectors have and whether Chek has to take any notice of them.
It is understandable that Chek favors those who got the job done in 2014 with the Waratahs and 2015 with the RWC in that they made the final. However, most of these players are well past their peak and are showing signs of that every time they play. Kepu with the penalties he gives away, Phipps with continuing injuries, Foley with lose of speed and time, Beale with lose of pace, AAC just old and Folau playing out of his best position. Chek’s other favs from the Waratahs are also not really stepping up to the mark ie Hannigan just a dumb player and Demspey out of position and isn’t big enough.
The other issue is that it would seem that Chek still has too much say at the Waratahs. Most rugby people who have some idea would like to see the back line there as follows. Gordon, Foley, Hunt and AAC midfield, Folau and Rona/Newsome wings and Beale at full back. This would then send a message to Beale that the best he can hope for is that he is a bench player in the RWC and it will be up to him how he handles it.
At the moment Foley is at best the no3 fly in Aus. Next weekend the picture will be slightly clearer with the Brumbies away to a NZ team and the Rebels at home to a NZ team so lets see how Cooper reacts to a hard nose defensive outfit against him. Also the Reds midfield which face a stern test against the Crusaders as will their pack.
To close where I started the most interesting comment was that one was made by O’Connor and that it would appear Chek didn’t comment on the comment.

Many of the suggestions on this site are basically on the mark. Yes we need to fix junior systems and yes we do need to centralize Rugby in this country. We do need to clean up our act off the field and know on the field and I just don’t mean results. Clearly what the last week has shown is that Cheika has lost at least part of the dressing room as has the captain. So the board and CEO should go HOWEVER is there an administrator out there that has the strength to do of this that a board would appoint given it would sign away their own states rights, I doubt it. Most of the people that are Australian in the coaching set ups o’s won’t come back until some baggage is cut loose. Without a viable and successful U19 set up we are 5 to 10 years away form perhaps climbing back into the top five. Maybe a short term solution would be that Hooper resign his captaincy, Cheika change his set up as he seems to struggle with selections and indeed communicating truthfully with the public about them, changes at board level and although the CEO may have to stay. If Cheika does decide to go surely the CEO and board goes as they have backed him in. Nevertheless, players and some commentators should also take a close look at themselves. Kearns saying that the current pool of 4 or 5 “young” hookers is exciting, really has he looked at them much, one wonders, one seems to get injured a lot, one is on his last legs, one has major issues with discipline and all of them have a great deal of trouble throwing the ball in.

This by no way is a defence of Cheika or his assistants as I think they have done a poor job BUT the win record of the Wallabies has consistently dropped under Deans, McKenzie and now Cheika. All three coaches have good CV’s. The results of the Wallabies correlates with similar results from the same period for the U20’s. The side will not rebuild I would think for at least 5 to 7 years as there is very little talent coming through to replace those leaving after the RWC. Australian Rugby has been a sleep at the wheel and simply has not either understood the requirements to grow talent from junior ages and even when they have had talent they have let it slip through their fingers to either other codes or indeed other nations. Post RWC and I am sorry that there are so many fans out there that keep deluding themselves we either don’t make the QF or lose then the re building stage will REALLY commence. It will take a hard sell to convince any fans left that at some stage the Wallabies MIGHT get back into the top 5.

Clearly this squad and I deliberately don’t use the term team as they are not is in total disarray. Selecting two outside backs who can only play on the wing. Management has lost control, I also don’t use the term coaches as that would be comparing them to actual coaches. Certainly as a repeat offender Beale’s contract should be considered and what due diligence was done on AAC prior to signing, he should have known the team protocols he is not a newby!!! Hooper it would seem can’t control others within the squad and for that matter neither can Cheika.

Regarding a lot of the views re the “coaching” staff and associated performances of the Wallabies.
The main concern is that the gap is closing between 2 of the southern teams and 4/5 of the northern teams but that gap is widening when it comes to the Wallabies. The Wallabies will be grouped with Scotland, Argentina and France in “rankings” 6 to 9 for the future until a long term overhaul has taken place and hopefully the results will take the team up in the rankings. Now lets not worry about the current “coaches” taking the Wallabies to the RWC as RA can’t afford to replace them and anyway who would want the job, either working with MC or the top job. Finally can we stop referring to MC as the coach, he is a motivator. Larkham like many gifted players who would see things when he played that only he could see has not and will not be able to transition to a highly successful coach. Like Warne and Andrew Johns their talent is so rare and can’t be explained or passed onto others as they themselves have difficulty explaining it.

Regarding the weekend game, I think as soon as MT took over the goal kicking it sealed BF’s fate, ie won’t be in the 23 for next weekend. However, things didn’t improve much in that area when KB came on for his time.
As for the RWC the issue is that our fearless motivator sorry I meant to say selector sorry I meant to say coach can’t settle on a 10 so close to the tournament. Nevertheless, at least MT does what all our sides do and defend in the position that he is selected in unlike QC, BF & KB. This is an area that few people discuss. Why is it so important? Aside from the message it sends ie accept poor defence techniques as AUS’s ONLY world class player is devalued as in rugby now the turnover and attack off same is GOLD and as our playmakers are not ready to take control, as they are normally on the wing, on phase one ball we have a SLOW forward hit up and the guess what defence has realigned.
Fair to say that the Wallabies sit alongside Scotland, France and Argentina outside the top 5 and are most unlikely to go past the QF’s no matter if they win their pool or not which may not be a bad thing if WE have the strength to clean out the WHOLE sport.

Regarding your reading matter, it is of course no coincidence that Rugby is played at military colleges around the world. It is a game of strategy and attrition. I am convinced that our current leader is a motivator and not a coach, he and is team of advisors are truly giving the backline no hope by week in and week out shuffling them around and even during the game they pop up in many different positions, only the half knows his role.

Surely that’s it what I am trying to say, you didn’t read further. Hello we scored 6 points no tries and through the RC we don’t score points and therefore we have lost a lot of tests recently. “Attack” means in itself execution not just creating opportunities and as I have said this team for better or worse doesn’t have the skill set to execute and deliver. Sometimes people should look past and understand just that. I am not having a go at them for their inability and please don’t get me wrong the cupboard is bear mother hubbard, there is no-one there, what I am looking at is why there is no-one there.

Whilst many of the opinions voiced are well thought out maybe the questions that need to be asked is who was responsible for signing off on the value of Hooper’s contract which effectively has also increased the value of other contracts. So even if he deserves to be replaced we should view it through the prism of no money. The same applies to removing the coach and his staff and indeed all other coaching staff down the line. The august body RUPA naturally would be up in arms about it but maybe coaches and players should get a base salary and then be paid on success like most other people who work, wouldn’t that be novel.

Hi guys,
Have written and read on this site for sometime and watched as we have reaped what we have sown.
A few home truths. M/s Castle got the job due to no-one else wanting it. It is my understanding that she is applying for the CEO job at the GC Titans. The board is useless. The Wallabies are where they should be due to lack of depth in some spots, lack of skills and lack of ability. We play in a protected Super comp that rewards loosing. The NRC and State Comps are appalling when stacked up against NZ and SA comps. The U20’s have been a rank failure for the last 7 years. The code has no money so even if we wanted to not matter what the results are we can’t sack Chek and his staff. Kafer and Bryne should be coaching at U18 level as that’s where skills should be honed as I would assume that by the time they are at Super or Wallaby level they have them but clearly not.

The real and pressing issue with all of this is what are the intentions re the ARU regarding Mr. Forrest. A read of Fitzsimmon’s article yesterday is most enlightening. This is not about rugby, it just happens to be the lightning rod about WA versus the Eastern seaboard, it’s about issues that go back to Rio Tinto and BHP and possibly Mr. Forrest’s father. To me he has little interest in rugby but wants his pound of flesh so to speak as many of the people or their like inhabit the ARU and boards of the company’s mentioned. He has the money if he so wishes to effectively bankrupt the code unless the ARU give him his pound of flesh. One solution would be for the ARU to opt of talks and let the premiers of WA and VIC sort it out as both are Labor and both have had publicly spoken their views on the matter.

After reading the reports a couple of things come to mind. Firstly, where was Mr Forrest when the Force needed $800k and got it from the ARU? Secondly, now that the court options have been completed will Mr. Forrest offer contracts to the Force players who have not yet signed with either AUS Super sides or overseas sides? Thirdly, I think TPN has played more than 60 tests so is qualified to play for AUS no matter where he plays his rugby, no doubt Mr. Forrest will look to match his ARU and Force contract straight away. There is a old saying actually show me the money don’t just talk about it. I am somewhat cynical about this as I think Mr. Forrest knew full well that the court case would be lost and now what do I do. It will cost a lost more that $50M over two years to get this up and running.

Ok so last night Chek made an inference that the players are not fit enough mentally and physically. We have 5 weeks until the RC kicks off, release the Brumbies back to their side and the remaining stay in camp with Chek etc, have a conversation with the remaining fans that the franchises these players play for can’t make the finals and it would be good by the way if these franchises picked players from say the U20 WC side for the remaining three games. For instance what use is it the Waratahs playing Skelton, play Swinton. Reds play the 5/8th, Rebels start the 1/2. I know this isn’t going to happen because too many people now in AUS rugby only worry about their own little patch.