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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 four are fielding u/11 sides. This is where basic skills are learned!
Junior rugby development in Australia focuses on private schools as being the primary source of players. On average, these schools play a maximum of ten games per season.
James O’Connor, for example, would have played about 50 games of junior rugby before getting his Western Force contract. He may have played another ten Academy games before starting with the Super 14 Force, and then perhaps another twenty before being picked for the Wallabies.
His experience level is likely to be less than 100 games before playing for Australia. Contrast this to kids from New Zealand and South Africa, who play two to three times more games than a typical Australian junior.
That is between 100 to 200 more games.
Australian Rugby is trying to develop its rugby infrastructure with a top down development strategy by expanding the competition to include Melbourne. John O’Neill has recently suggested that there may be a u/20 competition next year.
This is a step in the right direction.
The Wallabies, increasingly, have made themselves available to the public in places like St Marys. This is also a good step. The Super Rugby franchises, especially the Waratahs, need to do the same.
The most important initiative is to take rugby to the public schools, which is not being done. At a minimum, it would be great to see junior public school knockout carnivals.
The Wallaby production line is currently operating at 50 percent capacity.
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.