Are the Wallabies becoming too much like the Kiwis?

Interesting comments... I recall from my days growing up playing AFL the behemoths that used to terrorise us as 15 year olds were having rings run around them by the time they were 19... the other kids had learnt to step, blind turn,sell a dummy, kick of their wrong foot etc out of pure necessity... the big kids never did... hence their skill level when they began to play against adults frankly was poor. Im sure this would apply to Rugby... How good was Tim Horan at 15-17?? Would anyone have predicted the superstar he was about to become at that age?? A boy gains a lot of power speed and size in that final two years from 17-19. You cant judge how a player will turn out based on how he is performing at 17. Thats why a colts program is so important. As for school footy... isnt there something to be said for giving kids a game?? Sure you want to win.. but not at the expense of inclusiveness right?? Just being part of the side means so much for kids, I recall even 16 year olds would shed a tear if they werent picked for our local club side.. being in the team conferred all sorts of priveledges.. girls suddenly liked you, you got invited to parties.. teachers treated you less of a moron...parents asked about your parents... it created a whole social network.. ..... cherry picking players from outside your area to me is just plain wrong.

The influx of non-Australian players has had negative consequences, although being a woman, it may be that my love of rugby over the years was based on a different set of criteria to the male fans commenting here. Perhaps for men, the only thing that matters is that the Wallabies win - end of story. How they win or by what means is to them completely irrelevant. Just briefly, my personal experience of schoolboy rugby had strong bearing on my feelings on the subject. Firstly, my own sons played rugby from young age at both club and GPS schoolboy level, but neither were star players. Many of their friends were, however. My older son's year level in particular had one of those truly outstanding groups of young players that every coach dreams about. A core of them had worked their way up from primary school getting better and the commitment, fire and passion they brought to the field each year, the loyalty they had to each other and the pride they felt towards the school they represented was reverential and deeply held. As members of the As in Grade 11 the team was undefeated in the GPS comp that year and most of the players confidently looked forward to being selected for the Firsts in their final year. I wasnt there the day they learnt the truth but my boys and friends spent many nights at our home recounting the shock and devastation that they all felt when they were first told by the school that their hard work, coomitment, and loyalty counted for nothing in real world. The school had decided not to take any chances and 'imported' six or seven Islanders to the school,directly from their villages, for that final year. The boys would be boarding for the year with the express purpose of ensuring that the school won the Rugby. The immense size of these boys meant that the nimble boys with flair, agility and speed did not have a chance. I will never forget the look on the faces of those boys who had dedicated blood sweat and tears with the one goal of making it to the Firsts in their final year, and the deep sense of betraysl. That was a lesson that those boys will carry for the rest of their lives. When it comes to sport, nothing counts against the importance of winning. It is a very different message from the one I was taught. I no longer care too much whether the Wallabies win or lose and I really dont believe the players care, at least not the way they once did, and not the way that Grade 11 A schoolboy team did that year.

aussie has a deep well of pasifika talent living here too and can do more to give back to the smaller nations, by doing that, aussie rugby will grow - pasifika nations graduate to aotearoa nz because we are poly bros, it took a while for nz to feed back to the islands, but now we, i mean kiwis are reaping the rewards, especially when the pasifika nations are playing or touring aotearoa, the turnstiles ching away madly, the grandstands swell up, the vocal support is deafening and as we all know now after 2011, the rugby is fantastic..As someone has said, there are heaps of kiwis over here in aus playing quality rep rugby who by virtual of being outside the country are ineligible for all black selection. As for James Tamou, the blues jersey is only a top, the kiwis jersery is about mana

"Are the Wallabies becoming too much like the Kiwis?" Well I guess we can dream cant we?? Be nice to have all the trophies in the cabinet, an 85% winning percentage.. etc etc..

Great to see Burkina Faso getting a mention.. bout time someone took notice of their rugby achievements.

I guess you never read Snobbys post below mate?

BMW - there are already restrictions around that with residency clauses of 3yrs etc etc. I think anyone who pulls on a national jersey would have some emotion. Dont sell them short just because they were not born and bred in a particular country.

it'd be a crime ABF. I've played both and a lot of the skills i learnt in league (mainly running lines and hard front on tackling) translated over very well to union. to me the difference between league and union is league is a simpler faster game and relies alot on youth and physicality. union you can use certain tactics (eg mauling) to beat a big strong fast team. league its all about being big strong fast.

"Right now, I just wished our Aussies copied the Kiwis in just about everything. It would improve us no end………." Haha! I must admit that when I read the headline for the article, my thought was "I wish - starting with a forward pack with some starch..."

@Snobby and Justin I agree with the sentiments here, but I guess in the extreme case (where any player could play for any country, regardless of place of birth or residency) national sides would become just like club sides, with the world's best players scrambling to join the strongest teams. We all know both Aus and NZ have been pillaging Pacific islands playing stocks for years... I like the idea that pulling on a National jersey should mean something to the players involved (and to the fans), so the idea that a player could fly in one week and pull on that country's jersey the next, doesn't greatly appeal. Not suggesting that's likely to be the case any time soon, but I think some limitations should be put around it

Or defaulting to kiwis - they are certainly not good enough for wallaby selection ... But I wouldn't be surprised if he bungs them in

Lynn and Harris are so far removed from Wallabies Selection too. I wouldn't put it past Deans to pick them though, he has a habit of picking out of form players.

You're kidding right ? - these 2 are so removed from AB selection they aren't even in the same book let alone same page .... If Lynn and Harris are being touted as wallabies there is something massively wrong with Aust talent development - they're journeymen pure and simple .... If you're talking locking players away re eligibility - look no further than the Timani lads - the younger one can't even travel freely yet due to visa issues - expect him to be the next run on 1 test lock in like his brother

Well done Snob. Ignorance is bliss sometimes.

Good stuff here, rugby reflect changing migration patterns around the planet. Plenty Kiwis, Pacific Islanders and South Arficans live in Australia,and also NZ, USA etc (refer to comprehensive table above) and choose to resettle and become citizens in their new homeland. I'd like to be more like our Kiwi cousins and develop a good half dozen exciting, top line inside backs real soon, the current crop in S15 are real good. If not, can someone go and entice one or two to relocate??? Im proud when a migrant represents the Wallabies (Dan, Clyde, Tiiaan, Greg Davis, Radike, Robbie .......)

I think Deans has shown he prefers JOC at 10. To be honest I am not sure Cooper will get back in the 10 jumper this year. He has come out publicly and bashed Deans’ tactics and selections during the RWC, and Deans does hold a grudge. Id have Barnes down as 3rd choice 10 and 3rd choice 12 if I was picking the squad, but I’m not.

English and South African rugby is far more entertaining than what has been produced in the Australian conference.

Couldnt agree more Snobbie. Perfectly put...

Sheek - you are right, this is nothing new and in fact the question that seems to be coming from Sports Freak in reality is this - Should we ignore people living in AUS who are excellent rugby players and concentrate on born and bred Aussies only? To me its a nothing argument. I dont like poaching players form other countries. However Australia is a country that is popular for people to emigrate to. That will continue and some of those people will be rugby players. I say if they are good enough, get them in. A lot of the players mentioned have actually come through our development systems. I really dont see an issue.