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Opinion

Cheika and Australian Rugby Union's triumphs should be praised, not dismissed

25th October, 2019
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Roar Rookie
25th October, 2019
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Australia is a country that is renowned for many things. Beautiful beaches, deadly creatures, a laid back attitude and, of course, a love for sport that no other country comes close to.

In addition to that love comes an astonishing, almost superhuman-like trait, to make this great Southern land capable of punching above its weight in sporting contests.

Say what you want about the now former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, Rugby AU boss Raelene Castle or anyone else associated with the 15 man-a-side code in Australia. What they’ve accomplished with rugby union during their tenures in Australia can be described as triumphs by passionate people with that trait that was previously mentioned.

Bloody gritty Australians that won’t shy away from a fight. No matter how dire things may look.

It’s no secret that rugby union is on the decline in Australia, or at least that is viewed by the majority. Waning junior participation, TV ratings, domestic competition crowds, an increasing desire from Australian-based Pacific Islanders to follow rugby league instead through their connections to Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.

To put it bluntly, Cheika fought an uphill battle to maintain a competitive nation in rugby union tournaments. A stronger pacific island presence in the Wallabies outfit is viewed by many as a reason for Australia’s ‘failings’ but, rather, it may very well be the outcome following those ‘failings’.

Long gone the house hold name, the aura, the Qantas-Wallabies ads of Australian kids singing their hearts out for ‘our’ rugby union team. Now the perception of elitism due to the sports’ ties with private schools. Fewer Australian-born kids than ever now find the prospect of playing for the Wallabies an appealing prospect.

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What Cheika has done, despite these circumstances, in getting the Wallabies to the final and quarter-final in union World Cups, is very much Superhuman indeed.

Not making the fiercely contested top four this year however has mainly been attributed to the contractual dispute between Israel Folau and Australian Union. Raelene Castle, the figurehead of a fiasco, has falsely labelled as a ‘leftie organisation restricting free speech’ (because as we all know, nothing resembles left wing values more than a big private company taking on workers).

At the end of the day, it’s corporate virtue signalling done for PR. When a sport whose national team rated around 1.8 million viewers in their last game in the 2011 Rugby World Cup falls down to around 700k in 2019, you need to puff out your chest on certain issues and profess your condemnation for bigoty and hateful groups (even if it contradicts with your sport historically, especially to do with its conduct in the 1940s in France), in an effort to get your name out there.

Some people don’t like it. Well, tough decisions are never universally liked.

Yeah, Rugby AU aren’t perfect. But they’re fighters. Bloody gritty Australians.

And at the end of the day, isn’t that all that matters?

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