Foley slams ARU after Nick Cummins departure

Your mate hears from his kid who hears it from some blokes who heard from Folau that he may be interested. That does actually sound like the Gospel. Blessed are the Cheesemakers.

I think the ARU are doing a good job under the circumstances this leadership inherited and I'm bored of the way every time anything goes wrong it's the ARU's fault. Our Super teams need to stop hiding behind the ARUs skirts and recognise they are 5 of 50 professional clubs in the country. The Force are in one of the worlds richest economies at this point in time. If the argument that Cummins is worth something to the wider Australia rugby community is to actually hold water, then surely he rates enough in WA for one of those 23 jumper sponsor's to be interested in making him an ambassador. Rather than blame the gov'mnt like a f'pleb, the Force should source the answer.

No idea about how much Cummins' dad needs for his treatment financially and he has 7 other kids that don't earn as much as Nick. Some are still at school to prepare for uni or apprenticeships so will need support. His dad also has to the mortgage/rent, school fees, loans and to put food on the table. Those costs would be difficult for the ARU to match contract wise given Cummins standing in the player ranks.

This, why bother when you could go to france and become the highest paid player of both codes in the world?

Saying northern (in particular European) Rugby is less intense is garbage. Their season has twice as many games and much more on the line with Relegation, League titles and European competitions meaning every game counts, unlike super rugby where if you are outside the top 10 you might as well give up.

The ARU didn't have to pay him a cent more than they already were. He was contracted to them and they released him on compassionate grounds, so it wasn't about the ARU kicking in more money that they don't have. Foley has a very valid point in that the ARU have cut loose a player who has a following that has crossed over to SA, NZ and through all the codes in Australia. Show 100 Aussie rules fans in Melbourne a photo of the Wallaby captain and I'd be surprised if 5% knew who Hooper was. Show the same group a photo of Cummins and I bet my house most recognise the Honey Badger. His personality is good for the code and he creates brilliant free publicity every time he opens his mouth. Why pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing when the Badger can do it better for free?

That wasn't an issue when they started. Corporate boxes were over subscribed and the team was offering some of the biggest salaries in Aus sport to attract marquee players. The Force have paid the price for years of mismanagement and poor on field performances. Some sponsors may have reached their natural end date. Despite no major sponsor they had no problem getting local businesses to fill in the front of the jersey. As for paying him more depends on their salary cap and the ARU.

Yes but that is too logical. The ARU have set a precendent to show it can be done with George Smith playing in the Lions Series. They are too stubborn to make a change for good. It was the same thing with Joe Roff playing AIs while at Biarritz. They won't pick Giteau, Timani, Ioane and Mowen when he goes in a AI series to rest others who have played in the 4 Nations and/or require surgery to be fit for the preseason even though it has been done before. This should be priority as players need to be fit and ready for RWC selection in 2015. The AI window allows players to be released by their clubs.

I think you misunderstand the big differences between business in Perth and Canberra which affects third party opportunities in what the teams could offer financially as a package. With access to mining companies the Force had access to new money in Rugby. Bankwest became a new sponsor to the game. Perth also offered different lifestyle opportunitied that Canberra doesn't (bigger city, beaches, better winter weather) have in regards to attracting players. That was the view back than when the Force were recruiting with open slather in a free market and that the Brumbies would be a difficult prospect to attract players due to a far smaller corporate market. Government departments aren't going to top up player salaries. The Brumbies being shipped off to Melbourne was a common idea. I remember Rathbone being off contract and feted around the country to attract his signature. That sort of circus has stopped but drawn out contract negotiations still occurs. Rugby was in a stronger position back than and O'Neill wasn't the ARU boss. In 2009 Rugby was struggling in Australia and sporting clubs are difficult to finance as they don't make a lot of profits. He also didn't want to make the mistakes of the past with the Rebels in regards to targeting the other teams for players with big deals topped up by corporates so put the salary cap in place to level the playing field. It also stopped the free market. The cap and tougher ARU contracting made it difficult for the Reds to retain Higginbotham.

Yep ARU should of matched the Japan clubs terms. He was a great advertisement for the game in WA and Australia. Rugby in Aus needs more exposure and he was helping that, the lovable larrikin, and he was also pretty handy on the field. Sucks ass

Why doesn't the Force just pay him more? Isn't Foley complaining about his own team's inability to attract sponsors? What does he expect? The Force is unvialble as self supporting enterprise. Maybe Foley should focus his complaints there.

You are ignoring the tiny wee fact that there was not enough business interest in actual equity investment. There are newspaper articles from 2009 confirming JON had looked researched business cases and went all the way up ro prospectus stage but stopped short because there was no interest. Of course there are going to be salary caps. That's a given. There are salary caps in the NRL and many of the most successful leagues in Australia but they exist BESIDE private equity. Third party deals were and actually encouraged. Problem with third party deals, which you are obviously aware of, is that they were unsustainable. I'm sure they're still allowed within the salary Cap. Salary caps stop clubs from going broke it has nothing to do with 350k population bases.

So why pay the players good sums to get them to stay when they aren't playing? The clubs are the paymaster to justify the wages they pay them to play not to sit around for three month off seasons which would drive them bonkers. It's their job and like us mere mortals they get four weeks off a year. In Europe they play more games and they get to go home to their families every week. It's the reality of professional rugby.

Owen accusing others of making things up now that's a first. Private funding was messed up long before the Rebels were set up. It wasn't to do with investors investing in stakes in a team. That wasn't on the table. There was no salary cap back when the Force launched so teams with bigger third party sponsors in their region could offer way more than teams like the Brumbies who are based in a 350k public sector dominated small market couldn't. The third party deals came from various sponsors that were willing to top up contracts not private investors that pumped money in to a specific team.That's why the salary cap was put in place to create an equal competition for players rather than having the teams with big sponsors willing to top up contracts to get the best players from across the country to play for their team. Reds fans like FOS are still bitter about this. Giteau, Mitchell, etc moved to the Force due to the big deals on offer as soon as the deals fell through they upped sticks and the players were owed money. Both fell out with their agents. The ARU had to put the foot down.

SA and some clubs in France.

Thats because Japanese rugby is multiples less intensive than Super Rugby. And you know that. So...apples to Oranges. Super Rugby players are managed under their CBA to play less than around 25-30 matches per season. What you can't get your head around (and probably never will) is that it actually isn't the number of matches that ismost important but how long they are spaced out ie. After the NRC there will be no longer any off season for Australian Super Rugby Players. NZ players have put up with this situation too. There is no period of the year where they are not bashing and crashing and stretching their bodies to their limits. None. Name a month. They are training or playing. You think fine. I say player drain. I say Nick Cummins. I say players will continue to choose offshore leagues where they are treated better, paid more, get longer contracts of secured money. All things you decry as silly but all things that players say are important for them and their families. Time people started living in the real world.

Nickoldschool and Bakkies you seem to be blowing large amounts of wind on this topic. Do you actually know whether the ARU tried to court private equity? Did you actually check that out? They did. Before the Melbourne Rebels were even set up John O'Neil sounded out business interest in private equity investment in the other four existing Franchises. There was none. After the Rebels failed so spectacularly, financially, investors stayed away, and the ARU was understandably cautious. John O'Neil spearheaded the setting up of the A-League and his vision for Super Rugby's privatization was along those lines. Bill Pulver feels the time is finally right, it seems investors are interested in the Sydney club. It has nothing to do with their fan bases. The Highlanders in NZ are still 100% owned by the NZRU while the other four are 50/50 pruvatized. You are making things up.

Frees up a lot of dough for the next big league convert

The ARU doesn't want to disadvantage teams that are less attractive commercially due to a smaller market ie the Brumbies. When the Force started up there was a risk that the Brumbies would be gutted due to the higher third party deals on offer in Perth and Sydney. Luckily for the Brumbies the Reds were imploding and completely unattractive so the Force signed their depth and captain and the Tahs got a few scraps too.

A lot of what Owen types doesn't make sense and you are restricting them to a short season. If the season was longer players wouldn't be looking for other deals to keep match fit. George Smith played for Stade Francais in the Japan off season. It hasn't been uncommon for Aus players to go and play NPC or CC post Super Rugby.