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A good mate of mine, I shall call him ‘Pete’, played with the Ellas down at Randwick District rugby club in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
When I say “with,” it was usually as a replacement for centre Gary Ella when he was on rep duty.
In any case, Pete was an excellent rugby player in his own right.
Another of his team mates at Randwick was the legendary flanker Simon Poidevin, who won renown as one of the toughest Wallabies in our history.
An intriguing thing about Pete and Poido is that they are both successful businessmen in a similar field and possess a strong opinion on a range of topics they are unafraid to express.
In other words, they are very much alike.
I don’t know Poido personally but I’ve heard from several sources he is as obstinate in his views off the field as he was uncompromising in his play on the field.
But I do know Pete and I consider him one of the finest people I know. He is totally unpretentious.
Despite mixing with many ‘high flyers,’ he remains grounded. He is dismissive of people who put on “airs and graces.”
What I particularly like about him is his fearlessness in expressing an opinion. B
eing deemed politically incorrect doesn’t bother him if something needs to be said. I cannot help but think if more people were willing to express their opinion honestly, we might have fewer problems.
Too often the ‘good’ majority stay silent.
If the quality of a person can be measured by your willingness to hop into a trench with them during a war, then Pete is one guy I would willingly hop into a trench with.
Anyway, at a BBQ on Boxing Day, as told to me by Pete’s wife, he and Poido, despite being former club team mates, found themselves on different sides of the Australian rugby spectrum.
Poido saw only good in the development of Australian rugby, was a stout defender of Robbie Deans, and felt the game was heading in the right direction.
Pete apparently took the opposite view on almost every point – Australian rugby was struggling, the game has become boring at test and super level, the fans are walking away, the Wallabies are misfiring, Deans is not the answer, or no longer the answer, and grassroots rugby is being ignored.
I find much the same thing on The Roar.
There is an element that refuses to accept criticism in any form, even when it is offered constructively.
Both Poido and Pete love their rugby. But whereas Poido appears to be looking at rugby through “rose-coloured glasses,” Pete can see the game he loves with all its warts.
The moral to this is that if we think there’s no problem, then there’s also no incentive to attempt to change and make things better.
It is in this vein then that I have told the anecdote above.
Bill Pulver is the new CEO of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), replacing John O’Neill. Pulver’s early comments are quietly comforting. But only just.
If Pulver’s name and face seems familiar, it’s because his daughter Madeleine was the victim of a collar bomb hoax back in 2011. Pulver handled that distressing drama with significant courage and dignity, not to mention a cool head (at least outwardly),which augers well for his tilt as CEO of the ARU.
In Pulver, we have one successful businessman replacing another. As Pulver himself argues, whether in business or sport, it’s the bottom financial line that matters.
And it will be on his financial stewardship that he will be judged.
I’m sure event the most anal amongst us would understand this!
But even so, if the continuing viability of Australian rugby is essential, it won’t achieve its aim without one helluva shake of the proverbial tree.
Australian rugby ranks fourth (out of four football codes) in terms of player participant numbers. That alone must be worrying.
It probably also ranks fourth in terms of match attendances and TV viewership. And all of these indicators are tumbling, along with sponsorship.
Consequently, I find it curious that anyone can think everything is just “Jim and dandy” in Australian rugby.
Of particular concern is the “product.” Frankly, Australian rugby sides, from the Wallabies to the super rugby sides, have lost the ability to play expansive, enterprising, engaging rugby.
There are only six major coaching and playing contracts available – Wallabies, Waratahs, Reds, Rebels, Brumbies and Force. Essentially, that’s it.
Consequently, those head coaches and their assistants are obsessed with ensuring they retain their contract. So conservative rugby designed to reduce mistakes and ensure better win ratios has become the mantra.
Unfortunately, it is coming at the cost of a more attractive brand of rugby that might appeal to a broader range of fans and attract more youth to the game.
In other words, short-term gain at the expense of long-term welfare.
Therefore, one problem I have with Pulver is that he comes from the “inner sanctum.”
He was scrumhalf to Mike Hawker at flyhalf at Shore School. Pulver says his entire family are rugby tragics. I don’t doubt that for one moment.
But the folk of Mosman, Sydney, along with other North Shore enclaves and their fellow Eastern Suburbs brethren, have a seclusive and ultraistic view of Australian rugby that isn’t entirely in step with the broader community.
I just hope Bill Pulver will get out and around a lot more than his predecessor John O’Neill did, and talk more with the common folk, rather than the like-minded sharing the same views.
Ultimately, this only provides a distorted view of the health and direction of the game.
Finally, both Bill Pulver and Australian rugby have been through tough times.
Now, brought together, we can only hope for a change of luck.
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.