In 2011, the best and worst thing possible happened in Australian rugby. The Queensland Reds claimed the Super Rugby Championship in a Cauldron thriller over the Canterbury Crusaders.
The problem was this sparked a chain of events which triggered the demise of the Super Rugby clubs in Australia, and ushered in the era of New Zealand Super Rugby dominance.
Within a couple of years of the Reds triumph, McKenzie was rewarded with the Wallabies coaching role. Robbie Deans and his team were given the marching orders. Out walks Deans and his coaching staff, in walks McKenzie and his team.
Good news for the Wallabies. Bad news for the Reds.
Unfortunately, Jake White, the World Cup-winning head coach of the 2007 South African team, was overlooked for the Wallabies head coach position. At the time he was a successful Brumbies head coach and had turned the Canberra-based side around. Without a credible path to return to the international coaching ranks, White left the Brumbies.
Bad news for the Brumbies.
Then the worst thing possible happened in Australian Rugby. In 2014, another Australian Super Rugby team took the title.
This time it was the Wartahs, and in claiming the title, Cheika become the first coach to win both a Super Rugby Title (Waratahs) and Heineken Cup (Leinster).
Australia’s head coach Michael Cheika laughs during a press conference. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Out walked McKenzie and his first-class coaching staff. In walked the victorious Cheika and his first-class Waratahs coaching outfit.
Good news for the Wallabies. Bad news for the Waratahs.
Cheika, wanting a stronger Wallabies attack, brought in Larkham as attack coach. This meant Larkham had to end his head coaching stint at the Brumbies.
Good news for the Wallabies. Bad news for the Brumbies.
There comes a point when bad news for the Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies becomes bad news for the Wallabies.
Unfortunately, we have obliterated not just our head coaches, and the next is a key point, but a lot of the great assistants. Attack coaches. Fitness coaches. Incredible talent has been lost either overseas or from the game all together.
So where are they now?
Ewen McKenzie now works as a Project Manager on a waste to energy project. Ewen McKenzie’s Reds attack coach Jim McKay has just returned to the Reds after several seasons as head coach of the Kobe Steel in Japan’s Top League.
Jake White is now coach of Toyota Verblitz in the Japan Top League.
Robbie Deans is a coach in the Japan Top League, the successful Panasonic Wild Cats.
Michael Cheika and Steven Larkham are the respective current Wallabies coach and assistant coach.
Clearly there is something fundamentally wrong and broken with the Australian system for this coaching void to have happened.
And the ingredients are there for it to occur again.
Every few years in Australia, there are calls for wholesale sackings at the Wallabies. People want the next best shiny thing. Some cite the need to run rugby like a business and then toss in the names of Super Rugby coaches to take their place.
Awesome. The merry go round starts again. More pain for Super Rugby, and in turn the Wallabies.
Surely the goal should be to have a great Wallaby coaching team, and a great Super Rugby coaching teams. The two are intimately linked.
Then there is the what ifs? How many Super Rugby Championships could Australian teams had won if the Waratahs had stuck with Cheika’s team, or the Reds with McKenzie’s team, or the Brumbies with Jake White’s or Larkham’s team.
Ewen McKenzie thinks. (AAP Image/ Dave Hunt)
How would that have translated back to the Wallabies?
What is done is done. Can’t change the past. Can change the future.
The problem is this, coaches, just like players, have a combination of burning ambition to represent the country, a desire for higher paychecks, greater recognition, and some even enjoy the challenge of playing rugby at the highest level. Thus the goal is international rugby.
So how do we convince great coaches to remain in the Australian Super Rugby framework?
The first is opportunity. Super Rugby is not on the international stage. Nor is the Heineken Cup. What about this – two years prior to the Rugby World Cup, hold a Super Rugby Province of Origin World Championship?
Here Super Rugby and Heineken Cup teams would unite in a rugby extravaganza, State of Origin style. Think State of Origin on steroids. So sorry Europe, Will Skelton belongs to the Waratahs.
The Waratahs’ Will Skelton. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Rotate tournament hosting rights every four years between the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere powerhouse countries. For southern hemisphere this would mean three pools of ten teams playing in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina. The top six teams and two qualifiers play in Quarter Finals and knockout phase of tournament.
The key here is branding. Maybe, just maybe. it is time for a perception change in Australia whereby we seek to raise our Rebels, Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies brands internationally. Every two years Super Rugby is the focus, the following two years the focus is on the World Cup and International teams.
The second is money. Should the Wallabies gig be the top paid rugby coaching gig in Australia? To be honest, I’m not so sure. To safeguard the Wallabies, great Super Rugby coaches with proven records could be compensated accordingly. As they say, money talks, bull-dust walks.
The third thing to correct is the international poachers from France, Japan and other European teams.
The best way to stop this may be the Province of Origin concept to be enforced internationally, with players only able to switch within a country.
It is important also that the NRC, ITM and Japan Top League are somehow aligned to avoid the Japan Top League conflict with Super Rugby and enable all players in these competitions to play for Wallabies and All Blacks.
What do you think of some of these measures to not only retain Australian talent, but to take the final step of integrating international clubs? What other steps could be taken to ensure Super Rugby talent is retained?
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
I think it's easier said than done, especially in Australia where the game is slowly dying. Ireland is producing a lot of talent now, so would be more robust than Australia. Even South Africa is struggling, despite producing so many good players.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Jacko, I think it's absurd to think it should be any closer than the current relationship. There is obviously a place for both the amateur and professional games. However, I think the idea that the clubs should be the second tier, or much much closer to the international game, like Jock thinks, is absurd.
Andrew Joseph
Roar Rookie
We’ve got to get you out to Australia McCrum. Not sure if you are running intereference. If you were, well played son. If not, welcome to origin… https://youtu.be/qxpap_syBt0 https://youtu.be/iBt6Sifc8VE
Andrew Joseph
Roar Rookie
Haha. Allways take the underdog tag. Its all upside from there. Did you notice how Hansen was quick to shift underdog status back to the All Blacks after the got rolled.
Jock the sock
Guest
Clubs are the only pathways for athletes. Great clubs create great national teams. Twas and his support for the Ra and their top down approach and academies have failed remarkably.
Derm
Roar Guru
Indeed, Fionn. So if you have to live with a certain amount of player exodus, you look at your source of production and pipeline to maintain a sufficient flow of quality.
Jacko
Guest
So you agree that Pro and amature ALREADY work together yet you called the idea absurd further up......Even in Tennis apparently which is mainly an individual sport not a team sport. Pro and amature are permanently connected whether you like it or not.
Derm
Roar Guru
Ok - so State of Origin has massive ratings in Australia for an Australian Rules/Gaelic football hybrid? And Brad Thorn played it. Massive TV ratings in Australia. If State of Origin means players have to be born in a particular state then this works in Australia, how does this work for clubs in most other countries, since their players are not based on geographical location? Even the Irish provinces have players from other provinces, as well as other countries. The 6N record between Ireland and England is 11-7 and 3 of the last 4, so I don't think we'd sneak in as underdogs somehow.... ;)
Jacko
Guest
Yes 100% correct....Amature clubs at that TWAS
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
Thanks Derek.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
You don't actually need to lose that many players of super rugby or international quality to drastically reduce the quality of your sides.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Jacko, super rugby or even international players sometimes go back and play rugby too when they are returning from injury, etc. In tennis, French and German pros sometimes go and play pennant (club tennis) in the off season or when they are home having a training block. But, like in rugby, there is a very clear and definite separation between the professional game and the amateur one, it is just inevitable in professional sport. It seems to me Australia and New Zealand have very similar structures, aside from the obvious difference that the former is a decentralised model, and the latter a centralised one. A-League is also very much a second tier tournament by soccer standards. Not criticising it, just saying things as they are.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
We usually get a win over the All Blacks leading up to world cup, because New Zealand tries to peak for the world cup, not before it. South Africa lost to Japan that year. Since when is beating Wales, Fiji and Scotland (thanks to the referee) the mark of a good season?
Dan in Devon
Guest
This why State of Origin died in the AFL. Clubs wanted to protect their assets. English football has had a similar problem in the past.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Then it was the Ref????????
Derm
Roar Guru
Yes it would be a surplus of players - of varying quality. My point in response is about whether there is sufficient level of quality in those that remain. If you set up or manage a pipeline system of producing players that is predicated on the likelihood that 30-35% will move country, then you need to ensure your rate of quality production is sufficient to start with. In Ireland, there’s now 200 Irish-born players, another 53 who’ve moved to Europe and another 15-20 to US and other countries for opportunities/work/better money. The provincial academies have moved from having 30-40 players to 75-80 currently in order to build the talent and sufficient depth. Plus they have IQ Rugby which tracks and identifies Irish-qualified players playing in the UK and France, and in next 12-18 months will start working in the US.
Richard Lamb
Guest
"I suspect Hansens announcement was linked with timing of what was happening back here in oz" ... You think Hansen's announcement to step down as AB coach was announced by NZRU to coincide with something happening in Rugby Aus? Not trying to be a dick, but I have no idea what that means. Can you explain your logic a bit further please?
Nicholas Bishop
Expert
Yes, you are making the pertinent points Geoff.... The English Premiership and French Top 14 clubs are built upon the acquisition of the best foreign talent, and would have zero interest in letting that talent go back to its country of origin for the kind of comp Andrew proposes. They want to compete as themselves, not stripped of their finest assets! Since the governance of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup has been in their hands ever since 2014, why would they volunteer to dump or suspend those tournaments in favour of a new competition where existing contracts mean nothing?? It's a bit like saying, 'Okay we understand that you guys up in the North have contracted some of our best players, but let's pretend for a season or two in the World Cup cycle that they don't exist"! I like the energy and chutzpah of the article Andrew - but it's pie in the sky :)
Derm
Roar Guru
Hey Muzzo. Rennie has signed an extension for another season only - June 2020. Pivac is signed up to Wales though from July 2019 for four years.
gatesy
Roar Guru
You said it - People want the next best shiny thing