It’s been interesting reading some of the comments on my columns from the armchair experts asking why I talk so much and don’t do something to help Australian rugby at grassroots level.
The reality is that I’ve tried and it just wasn’t welcomed.
I thought I should give some insight into my unwelcomed efforts over the years.
In 2010, I was asked by the president of Sydney University to set up a Sevens academy at the University, which has remained the dominant club side in NSW rugby over the past decade or so.
The future of this code is bright after being granted approval as an Olympic sport for 2016.
This means an opportunity for rugby players to win an Olympic medal, an offering no other code can offer, not forgetting the appeal to women as they too have the option of winning a medal.
My aim was to promote Sevens as a viable alternative to the 15 man-a-side game. And create an avenue to increase the popularity of rugby and get kids to choose rugby over the many other sporting codes on offer.
We set up an internal Sevens competition, supported by most of the houses at Sydney University. We got a sponsor on board. It was well supported and very successful.
Then realising we needed a feeder system, we turned our focus to school level, particularly the government sector, to generate players through a system which would be set up as an academy using universities’ facilities and structure.
From the investigations I did, it was disappointing to discover that little was being done to promote Sevens rugby in Schools.
One of my ideas was to try approach government schools and encourage them to offer Sevens as an option.
I was unexpectedy surprised at the positive response I received after speaking to a few contacts high up in the school system – especially out west, where union is dominated by league.
Unfortunately, the whole thing fell apart after a year due to the ARU allowing the national Sevens side to compete in the local Sevens comps.
Due to strong ties to the ARU, half of the University players were called up for the National team and no longer available for us. I found this very frustrating and unfair for the clubs as the point of the local comps is to allow club teams to gain experience and win prize money to improve their club facilities and help with travel.
Fast forward to February last year, by which time I’d been running my rugby academies in Hong Hong for about a year.
I approached the NSW Waratahs and proposed to set up a weekly coaching academy for 30 or so kids at the Sydney Football Stadium every Friday night.
The Waratahs would give each club around Sydney an opportunity to send 30 kids to be coached by myself for two hours or so. The focus was to be on the basics in a fun yet structured environment after which parents could join in for a BBQ.
And so the discussions went like this: “Great idea but you have to go to ARU to see if it will work”.
Then I was told “we must approach the Waratah sponsors first to avoid any conflicts”.
That’s when all the excuses started.
To cut to the chase, after months of excuses, they made it out to be too complicated and that was the end of that.
So for all of you out there, that’s why I have my academies overseas. There’s a market there for it and, unlike in Australia, these grassroots initiatives are actually supported by the various governing bodies.
Perhaps part of the problem is that I don’t go by the rules and I am willing to share ideas with anybody.
Back in ’96, just after I retired, Alex Evans, who coached the Wallabies for many years, came to my house to say he was leaving the game.
He said he had approached the ARU with an idea to get him and I to travel around Australia promoting rugby and nuturing grassroots through coaching kids and club/school coaches.
You can guess what happened to that idea …
Sadly, I have tried and over the years to help coach kids’ schools and clubs.
After moving away from coaching rugby into the business world for almost fifteen years, I have recently realised that rugby is still my true passion and coaching and passing on my knowledge is what makes me tick.
I still want to help, but my time has passed. I’ve got to go where the opportunities are.
So to all those people who comment, “why don’t you do something about the current state of Australian rugby”. I have tried. But there’s only so much you can do.
WoobliesFan
Guest
coming back to this thread after Cooper's Twitter toxic tell-all. A change is coming soapit......
Matthew Skellett
Guest
As long as Mr O'Neill is in charge Campo it's all about the Private School monopoly and not the National Interest that prevails =may he be deposed quickly -everyone else can't wait for the prospect
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Using what for money ?
Krasnoff of Noosa
Guest
Hang in there Campo! The problem is right at the top. It’s way past time for excuses. O’Neill has robbed Aussie rugby by removing the 3rd tier ARC which would augment broad player potential, and demonstrated his preoccupation with the dollar bottom line at the expense of team ethos by cramming a test against Scotland without proper preparation time for the Wallabies. And now, guilt ridden as a result of the Wallabies poor performance in the World Cup and the Bledisloe, he joins Deans, who has shown himself to be out of his depth as a coach at this level, with poor selections and a dithering mindset, to bemoan the loss of top players. If the ARU doesn’t purge itself from the top, the Wallabies are doomed to fiddle around on the periphery in front of a steadily diminishing spectator group.
Dog
Guest
The ARU
Pug
Guest
It doesn't get reported because rugby 'journalists' like doom and gloom. This year was the most watched super 15 with both crowd and tv viewers, but people for some reason like to believe rugby is always going down hill.
Bakkies
Guest
Why doesn't this get reported by Rugby ''journalists.'' I hope Growden's replacement is a massive step up. Hopefully the Hurled are going to have a full time reporter on the game rather than using cut and paste AAP articles. I hope the redundancies there were to cut the expensive wage bill and replace them with younger journalists on a lower wage.
Bakkies
Guest
He does clearly read the comments and responds to them collectively in his next article. Rathbone was like that to start with but he now responds to comments which is great. Whether he will do that now that he is officially back in the game as a pro player will be interesting to see.
krill
Guest
I would have more respect for campo if he didnt spend his entire career after rugby knocking the game which was so good to him. He sticks the boot into Australian rugby every chance he gets
Druid
Roar Rookie
Goose Step, I am on the committee, I know they haven't made contact. There are only 2 development officers for in Sydney's West, which covers many hundreds of schools and probably 10 or so clubs. I know they run a number of schools gala days and particularly this year and last year they have had a focus on the Penrith district probably to the detriment of Eastwood and Parramatta which appear to have shown declining numbers over the last couple of years. In the end, their are only two of them so they can only do so much.
pug
Guest
Rugby at the juniors level is thriving at the moment. There are record numbers of kids playing in QLD, WA and SA. http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/community/threads/the-growth-not-death-of-rugby-in-australia.11672/
goose step
Guest
Druid you say "would not have been contacted" by ARU staff. do you know this or are you speculating? i am in the southern districts and the ARU staff are all over the place with school / club activities. And i am not on any committee or formal group - just a parent. share why you dont think they have?
Druid
Guest
Not sure what you mean by the differences between Western Sydney clubs and North Sydney clubs? I am involved in one of the biggest Rugby clubs in Western Sydney club and we have healthy numbers and have had some growth over the last few years. The ARU not NSWRU control all development, in saying that, our club would not have been contacted by a development officer since April, but not sure if this is any different from the North Sydney clubs or Central Coast clubs though, I would suspect not.
Bakkies
Guest
Who is going to fund their travel plus even in school holiday periods they have to complete school work which is the main objective of them going to school.
Billy Bob
Guest
Yes, and with support from other coaches, you could serve a lot of kids. My two for a start. Good article Campo but just like the rest of us in our armchairs, all parties might need to do some adjusting for the common good.
Moreton Bait
Guest
More power to David Campese, Aussie rugby legend and I have nothing but respect for him. However, I have sent my son along to his training sessions in HK. The majority of the drills were identical to those run weekly at the Mini clubs; rugby coaching 30-40 kids for a couple of hours is hard work. The real lesson for the ARU is how well the HKRFU support and develop the game at grassroots level - Minis and Colts - via the Hong Kong rugby clubs (AND at schools). At junior levels the involvement of parents is always vital but the support provided through excellent professional training for coaches is truly eye opening. I am almost through my IRB L2 coaching certification (didn't cost me a cent) and I am just one of many, many dads out coaching kids all over HK every Sunday from September to April. Something approaching 4,000 kids 12 and under playing rugby every week. Now to a high profile ex-player like David those numbers also represent a market and opportunity. Nowt wrong with that, but Campo should call like it is - he's running a business, not a social service for the good of rugby (the volunteers and Mums and Dads do that). His Academy costs about A$200 per head for about 5-6 hours of warm ups and drills over 4 days - so David's coaching works out at about A$36 per hour per person. To put this into perspective I pay about A$88 rugby club member ship fee for the whole season per player and receive enthusiastic qualified coaching for 2.5 hours per week for 30 weeks including full kit and 6 or 7 tournaments, including games at the HK Stadium during the Sevens. The kids love spending some time with Campo, no doubt, but mainly the kids I spoke with comment that the sessions were just like regular training every Sunday, often the same drills with a bit of SAQ thrown in and a game of touch. Nothing wrong with making a good honest buck Campo, but please don't overstate your value to the development of HK grassroots rugby. Best of luck with your rugby coaching business, the more the better!
Mick
Guest
Campo, great article. Unless you name is Edward de bono organisations don't seem to like thinkers outside the box. I have not read gregans book nor do I intend to. Played 30 plus tests too many and player power strangled the wallabies. Here's hoping that the new changes to the waratahs might....just might start turning the oil tanker in another direction. I remember going to concord oval watching the sevens ages ago. For young players developing rugby skills there is no better. Maybe you should make the waratahs go to sevens camp and stop the kicking?
Johnno
Guest
Goose step that all sounds good but why are they doing nothing for 15 a side rugby then.
Bakkies
Guest
Jim I suggest you go on to League Unlimited and see the vitriol against Rugby and AFL over there. A true eye opener.
Dog
Guest
What about a third tier of schoolboy rugby?