THAT meeting: It might not feel like it, but this is a big week for Australian rugby

The Wallabies may have left our shores and thrashed Wales, but in the corridors of power in the brick monolith at St Leonards, movers and shakers have been moving and shaking.

It’s an all-too-familiar story for Australian rugby fans, who are subjected to never-ending bickering, leaked emails, divided camps and under-siege CEOs.

Can you name me the last CEO of the ARU that wasn’t under siege for a majority of his tenure?

Can you name the last time there wasn’t somebody bitching and moaning about something, anything, because someone said something they didn’t like.

For too long it’s been the Australian rugby we’ve been accustomed to.

‘Australian rugby is a basket case.’ Less a fact and more a self-perpetuating myth, driven by anyone it suited at the time. Why it would ever suit anyone who wants rugby to succeed in this country is beyond me. But that’s the way it has been.

Get used to it.

Back to that monolith though – the russet focus of all the ire people can muster.

Go to the corridors of power in St Leonards and wait long enough and you’ll probably run into the current head, Bill Pulver. Bill would probably smile, say hello, and ask you how you are. He’d mean it too.

Bill is actually a lovely man who has been generous with his time to The Roar.

Because he understands, as he hustles off to his next meeting, that a different kind of power resides on these pages, and on the virtual and tangible pages of other publications nation-wide. The power to influence story-tellers in pubs, watching the Wallabies play (and, in this year’s case, lose to) the All Blacks.

The power to drive opinion and discussion, to ask easy and hard questions, to wonder why things aren’t better, and why XVs’ participation is down but women’s participation is up. To ask why Viva7s is the next participation medium for the sport, not sub-districts third grade followed by team beers and probably a snag too. Three of both for me, thanks!

But if we go back into those corridors of power, there was a meeting this week (maybe the one Bill was hastening to make as he glanced to his right while shaking your hand) between the ARU and its ‘rugby constituents’. That’s what the press release called them, the full text of which is below, but who they really are is a group of former Wallabies with plenty of love left for the game they play in heaven, headed up by the charismatic and impressive Simon Poidevin, these days more involved in business but still clearly holding influence in rugby.

You have nice guy Bill and some genuinely nice people from the ARU. Former second rowers, fly-halves, fullbacks. Not the exact picture of the cronyism, club-robbing and wallet-stuffing that you might believe if you listen to that bloke in the pub.

Simon Poidevin and the constituents are also there, wanting to have their two cents heard about the state of the game in Australia, and whether it will ever reach the halcyon days of winning World Cups and being on Weet-Bix packets again.

If you want a summary, this article is a good rundown of who was there.

What this article doesn’t talk about are the 43 individuals who Simon Poidevin is representing. Good old Poido, now the one cast as the ‘face’ of his side. The spendthrift clubs, wasters, suckers on the teat of the game. He’s the face of those guys.

In reality?

Former Wallabies. Former players. People who give a stuff, but aren’t exactly tight with the ARU, nor tight or necessarily fully up to speed with the exact way things have been done in that office. Now club coaches, school coaches, club and school administrators, patrons of the game and some who’ve given significant support to the game at all levels.

All of them, through their time or through their wallet, have given plenty to this game, and if you sit down and talk to them are only interested in, well let’s just go full Trump, ‘Making Rugby Great Again’.

There’s a distinct sense of Trump’s victory, taking full advantage of disaffected citizens at the coal face of America’s industrial downturn, relating to constituents in Australian rugby, running on the smell of volunteers’ time they have to ask for more and more of. Selling their assets. Scrounging for talent.

Frustration isn’t the right word. It’s much deeper and more intense than that.

But if you’re looking for a picture of this side as a self-serving set of club officials looking for a funding spike and a free-to-air TV contract with 7Mate, again, just like with the picture of the ARU, you’d be disappointed.

Brett Papworth, for all his public bluster, is a good man who wants rugby in this country to succeed. Simon Poidevin I’ve not met, but all the contact I’ve had with him and the words exchanged about him say he’s no backroom thug looking to pad his pocket with ARU change.

And yet this meeting took far too long to organise. It took public fallouts, leaked emails and all the usual methods Australian rugby fans have gotten used to for two parties invested in the future of the sport in this country to come together and talk.

And Brisbane rugby wasn’t even there!

That’s a whole other thing.

The game is not in rude health. It isn’t flush with money. Ratings, even Wallabies ones, are down. Fox Sports’ main channels aren’t broadcasting the Spring Tour – beIN is on a feed from the UK and Europe. Bill gets paid the big bucks to run this show, though not as many bucks as the blokes running the other games, or the bloke before him.

UPDATE: Two games to be played on free-to-air after SBS’ 11th hour deal

Make no mistake, this meeting has taken time to organise. Would it be private? Would it have to be public? Would all the stakeholders be brought into a room to yell and scream at each other, descending into a rabble until someone official throws their hands in the air and says “enough.”

Some might take pleasure in that – “Australian rugby is still a mess” they could say.

I don’t. I’m jack of that Australian rugby. I want an Australian rugby that holds talks between individuals with solutions. Not angry stakeholders or constituents. Not people who conveniently leak emails to their preferred voice.

None of that.

Which brings us to the meeting.

Would the Australian Rugby Union and genuine nice guy Bill Pulver come to the table with a real olive branch, or would it be a flimsy plastic limb? Would the stakeholders offer anything more than empty threats, empty promises and inconvenient questions with no real answers?

Because if you’ve had anything to do with Australian rugby you’ve probably heard about the emails, or the backroom whispers, or the fact that this ex-Wallaby hates that one. And you haven’t heard about two apparently conflicting parties working together with solutions squarely in focus.

If you haven’t figured it out already, the biggest problem is not that there will be no closure from these undertakings. There may well be no changes of substance. There may be.

The issue is the culture around which these discussions are built. Approaching Australian rugby politics is like a scene from the Hurt Locker. Entering the fray with any position conceivable earns you the ire of someone. Hell, I’ve probably made a number of enemies already.

None of it’s constructive.

But the fact is that this week was important. Two parties who deserve to be listened to held a productive meeting. Whether or not the review of the five-year plan was called for before or after the meeting is almost, almost, irrelevant.

The ARU engaged with their constituents – how the constituents hate being called that – and the former Wallaby Greats got time to air their piece. This is a step forward.

It is not a leaked email. It is progress.

Small steps. Less antipathy. More people working together for the betterment of the code.

That’s good.

And for context, here is the full text of the press release from the ARU:

ARU TO REVIEW STRATEGIC PLAN AFTER MEETING WITH RUGBY CONSTITUENTS
November 8, 2016

The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has committed to a review of the 2016-2020 Australian Rugby Strategic Plan following a meeting of key Rugby constituents in Sydney.

The meeting, co-chaired by ARU Chairman, Cameron Clyne and former Wallaby, Simon Poidevin brought together representatives across all facets of the game including community Rugby, schools Rugby, senior club Rugby, and the professional game including administrators, players, coaches and volunteers.

A range of topics in the game were discussed with an emphasis on the strategic direction of Australian Rugby at the grassroots and community level.

ARU Chairman, Cameron Clyne said: “Today’s meeting was very constructive and the ARU has made a commitment to review its current strategic plan in light of the discussions at the meeting.

“We had a strong representation of stakeholders from across all levels of the game and some good progress was made in terms of sharing knowledge and ideas for how to best move the game forward.

“Obviously a major part of the discussion was around the game at the community level and that’s where a lot of the emphasis will be placed in the review of the current strategic plan.

“Our plan is to commence this review early in the New Year and we will continue to work with our stakeholders to get the right outcome for the game. Everyone in the meeting had only one concern, and that was, what is in the best interests of the game of Rugby.

“It is important to note that there were many months of consultation committed to forming the initial strategic plan and every level of the game was engaged in the process, including fans.

“Clearly there are issues that come along in every organisation and in any strategic planning process there should always be opportunity for review.”

Wallaby number 614, Simon Poidevin said: “All of the people present in the meeting are working toward the same end – growing participation and our great game.

“They came to meet the ARU personally because they are passionate about the game and want more Australians to have the opportunity to know and love the game as they do. A goal the ARU shares.

“A great deal of expertise was offered to the ARU and it is thankful for it. Everyone agreed for the conversation to continue”

No further comment will be made regarding the meeting.