Eastwood reflects rugby's lack of vision

I was reminiscing about my old club (Macquirie Uni) where I played 25 years ago before leaving the country. It now appears a shell of its former self. Hard to believe it was once in 1st Div SRU. All memort of that history now seems lost. Now I see it has been "rebranded", with the ludicrous situation of new red-white-black club colours and a club song that still goes "we'll fight for the honour of the Green". I suppose times simply change and we're old duffers pining for our youth.

Harcoo - Great summation of what is wrong with rugby. These symptoms run across the whole of Sydney rugby and maybe across the whole state. The only difference is some subbies teams like Epping are doing well with more players than they can cope with but that's not all of them. I did hear two weeks ago from a mate of mine that country rugby is coming back a bit but don't have any experience in that myself. I can't see another way apart from turning shute shield into an amateur comp but maybe that is impossible. I also think that the Randwick suggestion that Sydney reduces into a couple of clubs like Uni and Randwick as a part of an Australian comp like the NRL is a tough road to haul from a financial POV. The rest of the clubs would continue to play in the Shute Shield. Difficult questions and difficult times.

I went to Epping through the 80's and when I left, we had 1st XV through to 3rd XV as well as 15 a's and b's. The area was different then, but also the same. In the 6 years I was at Epping, only Neil Tyler and Gary Topham ever showed an interest in helping our rugby nursery, recruitment was inactive; at the time 2nd Div Clubs were more active with the likes of Drummoyne and Hornsby. Even Gordon were more active than Eastwood. Their was a touch of "arrogance" about Eastwood thinking that we would all just trot down Vimiera Rd because that was just how it was. Epping, as far as I can see are flogging their zone rivals, and yet still have little representation in CHS, Combined Schools and Australian Schools, and realistically the players in those teams are whom Clubs are really after. Club Rugby in Sydney has 4 grades and 3 Colts teams, they have diminishing volunteers, diminishing crowds and increasing costs. Sell a beer? If you do, you will need to have crowd control. Insurance, jerseys, coaches, player payments etc etc etc So they must chase higher profile players in order to then chase 1st Grade Premierships that lead to television coverage that will then lead to Corporate Dollars through sponsorship,...in order to actually survive,...before they can give any attention to the local area and players. Rugby all over the country is in a sad state of affairs because the business model is all wrong, but the only way to fix it is to completely shatter it and start again, but the district and state unions won't agree to that as it will see the end of some powerbrokers and their gravy trains. It should be a top down National approach that would see rise to another tier of rugby, would see the stae union fat cats pushed out, would see the thankless volunteers at clubs being eductaed on how to run a business with clear business development plans, would see better talent being retained at clubs, and within Australia, would see a single player payment strategy in place so that clubs could "draft" talent and create a more even playing field, that would then see more interest from a television rights perspective that would in turn lead to a healthier overall competition that provides a pathway all the way through to the wallabies for both players and coaches. How can I say this, I coach at a 1st Division Club, unfortunately, (still not at Eastwood) and I see why it should happen every week from November through to September. So long as Eastwood continue to have good coaches and a strong 1st Grade team along with some good future talent in the Colts program., they will continue to get tv games, that will give them the opportunity to survive, even if the area around them changes. Evolve before you have to change!

Some good news ... the Epping player was just knocked out ... but badly ..however he is talking today and has movernment .. still does not change my orginals thos of early this morning...

C'mon sportfreak, let it out, i want to hear it

Saw a tackle in the match between Epping & Rooty Hill about 16:00 on Saturday ... the Epping player lay on the ground without moving the ref called half time about 10 mins into the match... I guess the guy lay their for about 20 mins or so before the ambo arrived ,,, then another ambo... I actually felt sick as in the 40 to 50 mins from when he went down I never saw him move.... I tho Fark inside imagine if he is really sick... I mean broken neck or something... First does anyone out their have some information about the Epping player.... What upset me was the way both teams took the field while the medical people and the ambulance was still on the park and were kinda rushing the ambulance off the oval so they could re start...Don't know quite how the players continued on with the game... Many many moons ago in a RL match I was involved in a player got smashed in a fearsome tackle at Camdem ... much like this the game stopped until help arrived ... when the ref blew the game on a player just caught the ball and kicked it out and we all walked off shook hands no one wanted to play anymore that day ... the game was called a draw ... both sides went too see if the player was OK.... This match on Saturday both sides just played on spired on by their coaches... shame on both teams.. it was park rugby .. even if playing for a place in a grand final... at park level when a player is this badly injured show some respect... Rant over...

Demographics change. 5 years ago there was no senior rugby team in Balmain. Now the reformed club has 5 senior teams and a colts team. Is this a reflection of 'Rugby's vision'? I doubt it but it just hilights demographic changes. My old school now goes down to the 7ths, whereas when I was there it went to the 5ths. Sydney High had a competitive team in the 90s. Now they don't. Actually don't get me started on the direction of the selective state schools..... What a (non rugby) disaster that is becoming.

Yesterday's ABC match of the day was at TG MIlner and there looked to be about to be a few thousand there. Any ideas on how much $ this generates?

I was at EBHS early 90's and only ever was 2 open grade sides, 1st XV, 2nd XV. NSW rugby used to use TG to their advantage, making use of the ground for semis every year. This ground should have been made the home of Sydney Rugby, as it would have been cheap to hold semi finals and finals at this ground. Rugby at club level could not afford to be taken away from such spiritual homes, and as stated the ground would be removed from the rugby world altogether. Rugby administrators need to move away from allowing a few teams to get all the Super rugby talent, and split them up into all sides equally. Sure allow juniors to play for their local club, but players should be moved away from playing for only Syd Uni, Randwick, etc.. Create a better depth of rugby across Syd club rugby and a better quality and attract more fans, and more players that can develop to better players playing next to 4-5 rep players in there teams. Last thing club rugby needs is 1-2 teams winning every year and ending up with the St George rugby league scenario.

Eastwood have become a sad shadow of there former self. they struggled to even field 3rds and fourths this year. why are some clubds getting weakier, but other subbies clubs in the area (Beecroft) getting stronger? Something needs to be done to merge subbies and club land. as previosuly stated, C'Town should be in the elite comp.

they'll never leave, but i agree with rick g, you just have to try and buy a red rooster chicken at 6pm when the coaching classes are coming out to see the coaching classes

I agree Willy - I'm certain the new Eastwood isn't interested in rugby. I live down the road in Denistone and my wife teaches music in the area. The Asian parents are highly aspirational for their kids; weekends are filled with music classes, academic coaching, language classes, more music, etc. Very little time for playing sport unfortunately. The more I think about it, the more a shift north-west makes a lot of sense (even though it'd go from a 5-min drive to 30 min or more for me t osee a game :).

I recently visited a client in Eastwood and was stunned at the change in the cultural and racial demographics of the area. Even 10-15 years ago it was a classic middle class Australian, white collar suburb. And now it is a thriving Asian community - almost another China Town in the 'burbs. Not that there is anything wrong with that - you'll get an incredible peking duck in Eastwood mall - but it is such a marked change, I really couldn't believe it. I am not sure the new Eastwood is interested in rugby...

Sheek Balmain are gone for all money mate ... put your house on it...might be tempted to go and watch if Giteau & Mitchell are playing ... could be tempted to write up a match report of how the low life Balmain Boys (don't cry just whinge) inspite of their spoiling actions lost out to the brave Epping boys who played the game in the true spirit of rugby...

they should advertise more at the granny smith festival actually also before the GFC Macquarie University where about to become the primary sponsors of eastwood, then pulled out.

i was born at ryde hospital and have lived on the other side of eastwood all my life, i went to st kevins (hillview) and was approached numerous times to play (since i was big, shame i was a wuss at the time) my parents have lived in this region for 30 years, my mums from hong kong. it is kind of sad that eastwood are in such a ruckus considering what they had when i was born and young. i have witnessed (angrily, for many reasons) the change of the demographics in the area and have been trying to think up ways of enticing the, basically, anti social chinese, korean and japaenese population to play rugby. soccers always been bigger however. still dont see much AFL. northern Spirit where pretty big and i played for St Andrews AFC. i would like to point out though, that there are only 2 league clubs in the area, basically (which is fantastic) whilst there are still many rugby clubs. the industrial parks, whether they've been there a while or not can still be considered in development, and many of the workers (again white, middle class) as youve said have moved either to the north shore (the old eastwood families) or the hills (the type of people who could have been eastwood families) and come into the parks. its just a fact of life that the demographic has taken over the area. my family are getting ready to move to the north shore soon, dont really like the idea, but much of eastwoods character has changed and doesnt accomodate for us anymore. its a shame. the name comes from eastwood forest in england, near epping forest. thought you might wanna know

Bay - I also went to EBHS - but it was almost 30 years ago (how old do I feel now!) Back in '81 EBHS fielded 1st's, 2nd's, 3rd's, 4th's (who played in the 3rd grade comp), plus a full compliment of 15's, 14's etc. The 1st's and 2nd's both won their competitions, with the 3rd's being knocked out in the semis. The 1st's were also finalists in the Coca Cola Challenge Cup, and Waratah Sheild. 7 of the players in the 1st's went on to play for NSW Schools, and 3 of those then went on to represent Australian Schools on their undefeated European tour. 2 of those 3 went on to represent the Wallabies - Brett Papworth and Ian Williams. Despite the change in demographics, EBHS continues to be the leading rubgy school in the zone, being zone rugby champions in 2006, 2007 & 2008. In 2008, they won the 1st's, 2nd's, 15a's, 15b's, 13a's and 13b's (don't know about last year). These kids must be playing local rugby for the school to be that strong, so we need to ask why are they not feeding through to Eastwood Rugby? I don't think it is completely a problem of competing sports either - back in '81, EBHS also produced Australian Schoolboy representatives in Baseball (2) and Tennis (1). They also won the 1st's soccer zone comp for the first time that year. Gee I feel old....

Midfielder, Slightly away from the topic, & not particularly important in the scheme of things, but Eastwood is such a misnomer. Eastwood as opposed to Westwood? Or Northwood, or Southwood?? Western Suburbs changed to West Harbour because it no longer represented the Western Suburbs of Sydney, which had moved much further west. Thus West Harbour (of Sydney) is actually more appropriate to their location. Now the suburb Eastwood was probably named after a person, as in say Clint Eastwood, rather than representing a geographical location. But it's a misnomer, all the same. I've read that Eastwood grew out of an original merger of the Epping & Eastwood clubs, with Eastwood becoming dominant. And won't Epping be up against it this Saturday in Subbies, with their opponents Balmain having two guest players by the names of Giteau & Mitchell!

Link Yes a medical school & the country biggest library under construction and a railway station.

Mid, didn't they just build a hotel and hospital on Mac Uni campus as well?