Rugby Australia is turning into Fort Freefall

I may be accused of being old fashioned here, but where has the principle of integrity gone in sport these days. Given the codes scoreboard, the empty trophy cabinet and the scale of supporter disenchantment, one would think the chairman and the coach would walk of their own volition. We are obviously living in a time of delusional self entitlement which affords reward despite woeful performance. The ARU board are the custodians of the legacy, principles and ethics of Australian rugby which is no small burden. they are failing the nation and code bismally through their continues support of the dopey delusional and misguided national coach.

RA spend a year trying to ignore the Force fiasco in the hope that the Force will die a silent death. They cut our funding, cut our votes at Board level, tried to bankrupt Rugby WA, made secret deals to prop up the Rebels and have nothing today to show for this betrayal of a part of the Australian rugby community. The Force supporters are motivated for our love of the game, our understanding of how central the Force is to the survival of rugby union in our state so that our children can play the game all the way to become Wallabies, the injustice of this whole fiasco and the fact that no-one took accountability for getting the decision wrong. Until the injustice is addressed, I will continue to remind roarers of what happened and especially the role of those like Clyne in the darkest time in rugby. Clyne betrayal our trust, played dirty, played the man without the ball with the intend to cause permanent injury, lied to tribunal/referee, played in a way that we cannot shake hands and have a beer after the game - what he did was just not rugby or unworthy of a Chairman of any organisation and especially RA. While he is there Rugby in Ausrralia cannot move forward.

@ Hoy - Of course Larkham is hamstrung by Cheika - everyone is because he picks the teams. The attack is hamstrung every game by picking hooker's who can't throw into lineouts well, picking props out of position in the scrum, sacrificing the lineout with 2 short bankrowers. Chieka also picks poor open field kickers so the attacking kicking game is hamstrung. Then the defence is hamstrung by picking poor defenders at positions 10, 12, 13 and 15. The defensive kicking game is hamstrung by picking inaccurate short range kickers with poor strategic and tactical nous. And Cheika decides the overall game plan too. These plans are always the same Plan A with no Plan B.

EFF - we're not interested in your obsessive delusions. Other roar members - please stop feeding the fantasies of these would be martyrs.

@ Rugger - you're wasting your breathe with these ex Force die-hards. They delight is playing martyrs and re-writing history that the Force were not parasites who continually grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. They'll still be here in 10 yrs time blaming everyone and everything for the demise of their past delusions. Ignoring them is the best option as almost all do here now.

Everyone attacks the RA but below replacement birth rate in the white middle class combined with disinterest in working class areas means player numbers will only drop.

Problem is that people who move from business to sports admin bring the culture with them. A sport like rugby is hard hitting and direct whereas business is all risk avoidance and mitigation. I am guessing that the first question asked is "What is our legal liability?" not "What is the best decision we can make for the future of rugby in Australia and the Wallabies". I am sure this is followed up by questions about :KPI, 360 reviews, mentoring, upward managing and any other load of *^&&%.

By the Friends of Sydney University Rugby.

“This is an independent Board of Directors committed to advancing the best interests of Rugby throughout Australia.’ I don’t know what they are committed to (other than feathering their own nests) but they certainly aren’t committed to advancing the best interests of Rugby in the two-thirds plus of the country that is not on the East Coast. I think the notion of an “independent​ Board of Directors” is the problem. They are so far removed from mainstream rugby they’re completely out of touch. The first criterion for Board appointment must always be a love for and experience in the game from under 6s right through to the national side. The second is that the Board must contain a wide range of experience including representation from Community Rugby with everyone having direct involvement in our game at some level and balanced​ from all states.

+ 1000%

Pocock is a Zimbabwe boy who spent a few years in Queensland as a teenager. He played all of his senior rugby at UWA in Perth, the Force and then the Brumbies.

Pocock is a Zimbabwe boy who spent a few years in Queensland as a teenager. He played all of his senior rugby at UWA in Perth, the Force and then the Brumbies.

At least you Qldrs have an excuse! In NSW we get rid of players that the Brumbies, WA and even the Kiwi's turn into great players, whilst the Tahs players are still arguing about what's the latest haircut and where to get the best macchiato!

The Board of directors & Chairman of Listed Company’s are held accountable by regulators, financial markets & shareholders. RA have none of the above to worry about so can do whatever they like and there is F&@# all any of us can do about it.

Who and how are the Board appointed

People talking up the A-League is just ludicrous. They have FTA presence and their games on SBS rate on par with most Foxtel Rugby games.

Apparently now it's Johnson as DOR and Cheika as HC still. Marginally better than sacking Cheika to only replace him with Larkham.

The Wallabies possibly decline (if you consider that they weren't equally bad in 2016). The Super Rugby teams defeated more teams outside Australia.

Not really as it required RA to spend the same amount in grants to the Force.

I don't think that's true at all Sheikh (Pocock and Higginbotham). Different positions in the back row. Consider that in 2007- 2009 the Reds played the following back rowers: * AJ Gilbert * Poutasi Luafutu * Andrew Shaw * Ezra Taylor * Albert Vuli Vuli * Tom McVerry * Mark Gilbride Had Pocock stayed, by 2007 he would have been capped over somebody like AJ Gilbert, by 2008 a regular 23 member (and likely surpassed Croft). The Reds wouldn't have needed to recruit Braid for 2009. He basically, very likely given who got game time at the Reds, would have debuted a year later. He left for opportunity though. You can't blame him. But it's not like he was unwanted. As for the Reds players. Well if they wanted them, they should have prioritised them. The way Sharpe was signed and then was recruiting players at training - that part was a little distasteful.