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When Bill Pulver was appointed to replace the outgoing John O’Neill as ARU CEO, my first reaction was, has he any rugby nous?
He’d certainly been in the headlines when his daughter Madeleine went through hell with that bomb-collar around her neck.
And it was made clear from the outset Pulver went to school at Shore with former Wallaby Michael Hawker, who is doing a great job as chairman of the ARU.
But was there a danger Pulver was rugby’s answer to NRL boss Dave Smith?
Banker Smith has proved he has no rugby league nous, and is therefore struggling to make his presence felt, or even be treated seriously. When the Welshman didn’t even know who was captain of the Kangaroos early in his brief, it was a long way back.
But Pulver is in far better space than Smith, even though he had nothing to beat.
Until we get to Wallabies being available for selection even if they were overseas, and Saturday afternoon internationals.
The only way to combat the French pillaging international rugby with their seemingly bottomless pit of money from a super lucrative television deal, is to allow Australians to play overseas yet still be available for Wallaby selection.
At the moment Wallabies must stay at home to be eligible. If that outdated decision continues to be inflexible, then Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, Nick Cummins, Will Skelton, Scott Higginbotham, and Scott Sio – to name the best of them – could all be lost to Australian rugby after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, when the French will swoop.
I specifically left Wallaby captain Michael Hooper off that list because he gives the strong impression he’s a Wallaby to the marrow of his bones, and no lure of the big bucks will drag him away.
You can see Pulver’s point of view, he doesn’t want to weaken the home product for Super Rugby, and while that’s very noble, it’s not realistic. Seven figures-plus a season will generally beat mid-six figures. That being the case, Folau and Beale, the two most exciting Wallabies, will be lost to Australian rugby if Pulver digs his toes in on this touchy subject.
Bend a little Bill, insist on any Wallaby wanting to get paid the big bucks overseas that they must be available for a fortnight before any Wallaby Test. That must be an integral part of their contract with any overseas club, or that club will take the same attitude as Pulver’s taking now, and not allow any release at any time.
While you are at it Bill, let’s have every home international played on a Saturday afternoon so rugby can get back to being a family affair. That record 43,188 crowd at last Saturday afternoon for the third Test against France proved Allianz must be the venue for all rugby Tests outside of the All Blacks and the Boks – Only ANZ can cope with the crowds for those two clashes, even though it’s the most hated venue in Australia.
So you have a bit of work to do Bill Pulver. Don’t let the game they play in heaven slip to hell when Ewen McKenzie has started the comeback.