Sydney rugby clubs have lashed out at restrictions placed on NSW Waratahs Super 14 players which have made them unavailable for club duties for the next two weeks. Furious club officials say 20 players have been ordered to rest by Waratahs coach Chris Hickey.
But Waratahs management say the reaction is unfounded, with almost one third of the squad available for club selection this week.
Nine Waratahs are tied up with Wallabies or Barbarians commitments, three are involved in the Australian under-20 squad and the remainder are either injured or on “active rest”, which is the official two weeks recovery period under the Rugby Union Players’ Association (RUPA) agreement.
Coach Chris Hickey said he is not blocking his players from lining up with their club sides.
“We made the pledge that when players are available they’ll be released back to the Shute Shield, and that will occur even more now that the Super 14 has come to a close for 2009,” Hickey said.
“Obviously there’s a fair percentage of our squad who have been selected for the Wallabies, for the Junior World Cup and for the Barbarians and they aren’t yet available. There’s also a few on the injured list.
“The remainder are on active rest, but the majority of them have chosen to play for their clubs this week which strengthens the competition greatly.”
The eight Waratahs who will appear for their clubs this week are Ben Batger, Matt Carraro, David Dennis, Matt Dunning, Adam Freier (pending injury), Beau Robinson, Chris Thomson and Jeremy Tilse.
Halangahu, Carter and Dennis will line up for Sydney University and join Tilse in the side to take on Eastern Suburbs at home.
Carraro and Kepu will be in action for Randwick at TG Millner Field against an Eastwood outfit which includes Batger, while Dunning is due to return from injury on the bench.
Beau Robinson will skipper a Warringah side which includes 2009 Super 14 rookie Chris Thomson against in-form West Harbour.
Wallabies Benn Robinson, Al Baxter, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Dean Mumm, Phil Waugh, Luke Burgess, Timana Tahu, Lote Tuqiri and Lachie Turner are taking the chance to freshen up prior to national duties.
Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne and Damien Fitzpatrick have been chosen in the Australian side to contest the under-20 Rugby World Cup.
Scrum Importance
Guest
Old Man Emu, just to clarify a minor point - The reason Beau could not play for Gordon was they (Gordon) had already signed their quota of 1st grade players from the previous season (from other 1st division clubs) when Beau decided to try and join them - it had nothing to do with Norths not releasing him.
Midfielder
Guest
Guys On topic for this thread is a cut and paste I have taken from the smh today on Football... and that football is now in the process of setting up connections with the state leagues (read a number of the old ethnic clubs as well). The bit that may be of interest to you where RU is used in part for the reason to re connect ... and it does directly relate to the Rugby issues in this thread (BTW the article is much longer than what is copied below). http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/second-tier-can-only-strengthen-game/2009/05/25/1243103487824.html ..."For a variety of reasons, some justified, the FFA has been determined to distance itself from this part of its history. But there was always going to be a time when the FFA had to recognise its past, respect it and engage it. That time has arrived, and not before time. All those former rugby types inside the FFA need only to draw on their own experience to understand that. By focusing almost entirely on the Super 14, rugby has all but destroyed the club competitions that underpin it. The failed attempt to redress the balance with the artificial Australian Rugby Championship simply compounded the problem. Rugby disrespected the traditional talent supply lines - the likes of Brisbane Brothers and Randwick - and has suffered enormously because of it. There are many who believe the sport may never recover. Football hasn't yet reached that threshold, but D-day is fast approaching. It is five years since the former NSL clubs were sent back to their state leagues, and their motivation is waning rapidly. Sooner rather than later, it will reach the point of no return....""" HMMMMMMMM strikes a nerve with me and the club rugby teams.
Yikes
Guest
Tahriffc - I doubt that anyone who knows anything at all about Sydney club rugby would find any single one of my claims "outlandish". All I have said is that the clubs are (taken together, not individually) something of a short-sighted, squabbling rabble. Now this has nothing to do with them being the heart and soul of the game. I agree they are. This also has nothing to do with us dismissing them or not caring about their plight. Where have I suggested either of those things? Fred asked for why I think they are currently a (to use his words) dissatisfied and incompatible faction. I answered him. I don't see how Fred is an analytical pugilist just because he swallowed a thesaurus and seems to be hiccuping big words in odd places.
mother teresa
Guest
yikes,i think your up against the ropes as fred and tahriffic seem to be the analytical pugilists in this encounter. do you know who this PR man is?please share
Tahriffc
Guest
Yikes Your making some pretty outlandish claims here. Club rugby is the heart and soul of the game - without Club Rugby the game has a very short future. If they are upset - they need to be given due respect and the issues addressed - rather than just dismissing them as being self interested and not caring
fred
Guest
yikes, yes indeed and negotiators understand this and the more gifted look for an integrated settlement..the listening and empathy and real understanding surely is possible when all parties stop looking through their own lens. the masses out in clubland must be appreciated otherwise both are travelling in circles never destined to amalgamate.in short neither has it totally right and no one should plead superior knowledge. the performance at nswru and waratahs would have little to do with the clubs and masses but imo more to do with the mgt and leadership at the former.(who you would think were better qualified to lead) thanks
Central North
Guest
Who is this PR man?? Yikes can you name and shame? And if the Sun Herald just paraphrased this questionable press release in yesterday's truly crap article, that's even more shameless..
Central North
Guest
Who is this PR man?? Yikes can you name and shame?
Yikes
Guest
Fred - could the reason be that the clubs are only ever thinking about what's in their best interests and not what's good for club rugby?
fred
Guest
yikes.no not looking at the grassy knoll but im impressed you have a retentive memory ;youre great on specifics. "mostly the clubs fault,many nswru"----nothing specific.;but follows with a major generalisation "club rugby has always been dysfunctional" so i ask again why is there such dissatisfaction and incompatibility between club and nswru .IS this ubiquitous. im sure arvid petersen wouldnt find this incomprehensible; could the reason be poor leadership at nswru? im now looking from the window on floor 4.;you clearly are into magic bullets
OldManEmu
Guest
Another interesting thing about Beau Robinson that did not do his career any favours is that last year he sought a change of clubs from Norths to Gordon - but Norths would not release him - and the poor kid had to play a couple of games for his junior club Dubbo Rhinos while the whole mess was being sorted out. For the unititiated, If Sydney First Grade is A Grade, the Dubbo Rhinos in the Central West NSW comp is about F Grade. From all reports he absolutely brained them in Dubbo and his opposition did not know whether to ask for his autograph or attempt to tackle him. And now he is playing club Rugby for Warringah.
Yikes
Guest
The "dissatisfaction and incompatibility of these factions"? "Clarify the circumstance"? What on earth are you talking about? If you're asking why club rugby seems to be such a problem child, I'd say there are no specific antecedents. Club rugby has always been dysfunctional. There are many reasons for this - mostly the clubs' fault, many NSWRU's. Still looking to the grassy knoll, fred?
fred
Guest
YIKES, consequences of poor management maybe at nswrugby? consequences have antecedents;what do you attribute the dissatisfaction and incompatibility of these factions? if we spoke to a learned chap like arvid petersen ,how would he clarify the circumstance? thankyou in anticipation
Yikes
Guest
Maxxy. He's a guy the clubs arranged to do PR for them independent of NSWRU, I believe. In the press release he set out to the media, the 2nd biggest story of the weekend was the fact that it was Phil Harry's 50th wedding anniversary. Yes, folks, that was the 2nd biggest story in clubland this week. His third story was "Ex-league players struggle with more dynamic game and closer defence of rugby". He could not name a single player who was struggling. Whatever the clubs are paying him, it's too much.
fred
Guest
YIKES;somewhere tucked up in this nsw subtefuge is the reason the waratahs failed to reach the finals after dropping mckenzies sucessful troupe last year; these"problems" are simply byproducts of ineffectual and partisan politics and posters clearly are all tiptoeing around what they already understand Those guilty are distressingly inadequate AND feel need to rationalise.
Maxxy
Guest
Can some explain the "PR man"? who is he, who is paying him, why the need, ??? Yikes you seem very close to the action can you help me on this Beau Robinson for me would have been a perfect impact player this season as he has proven in the past - I guess there was a focus on the lineout or is it that you would most likely be taking the captain off the field. Can anyone explain how the selections work at the Tahs - there was muted an independant selector being involved after 07 - did this happen? Who does this Hickey, the coaches, others?
Yikes
Guest
Tahriffc - well some clubs may have been annoyed that their players were on rest, but basically, the PR bloke made it all up! Embarrassing. The bloke is deadset useless. The fact that someone in rugby is paying him something tells you everything that is wrong with rugby. Re Beau, as WCR says he was injured, but he's been playing fairly consistently for Warringah this season since.
Working Class Rugger
Guest
Beau Robinson was injured during this year's S14 evidently. Should be getting alot more game time in the Sky Blue jersey.
Tahriffc
Guest
But what happened to make the clubs furious in the first place - does this mean there was a backflip from NSWRU once the clubs started blowing up Club just wouldn't get upset all of a sudden for no reason - there must have been something that sparked them off
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
Can any follower of the Sydney club rugby scene please tell me what Beau Robinson has been up to for the last two years? At one stage he was making regular S14 appearances off the bench, and I thought he looked immensely promising - especially I liked his aggression. I really thought that by now he would have superseded Phil Waugh. Instead, he seemed to disappear, so I had been assuming he had headed overseas. Thus I was interested to read above that he's still with the Waratahs ... but evidently those flaming locks are not seeing the light of day. Why not?