After what has been one of Rugby Australia’s most tumultuous periods, including the Israel Folau saga and our underperforming Wallabies, RA has decided to restructure their junior pathway further in a deliberate attempt to exclude schools rugby from their agenda.
They will further underwrite the schools rugby pathway by deciding to choose two academy teams from New South Wales and Queensland and a team each from Western Australia and Victoria to hold their own championships in July next year in direct conflict with the Australian schools championships, which would have occurred around the same time.
This year there was one team each from New South Wales and Queensland, from which they picked their under-18s team. It was not a schools team as it did not go through a schools pathway or selection process.
While they did have success in defeating the New Zealand under-18s, this is another flagrant attempt to completely undermine and reject any relevance of a schools pathway, even though such a pathway has successfully existed for around 50 years, affording almost 200 schoolboys each year the chance to further their development and represent not only their associations but also their state and country.
As far as I know, this decision was made without consultation, even though RA has always maintained that its priority is to acknowledge both the schools programs and their roles in identifying junior talent. Transparency has been lacking throughout the process, which appears to deny that teachers and schools have any role in helping develop schoolboy teams.
Rugby Australia is inundated with capable coaching and administrative personnel to go it alone and ignore the fact that for the past 50 years teachers have made a valuable contribution to developing our young players. There are a number of former Wallabies out there who could attest to the opportunity their school pathway and coaches gave them. For RA to completely ignore this is typical of the dysfunctional way it operates.
When will they realise that all rugby groups need to work together, not against each other?
Isn’t it time for a complete clean-out at RA? It is this arrogance and ignorance that continues to plague rugby in Australia.
It’s time to take a broomstick to RA and get some people in these positions who can bring the rugby fraternity together for the common good before it’s too late… if it isn’t already.
Danny McGowan
Roar Rookie
I personally think this is one of the best things the ARU could have done , and you are miles off the mark to suggest otherwise Tokoloch, if you looking for things to attack the ARU about I think you should be looking for something that is not so obviously a stab at stirring. First time I have read that someone is against Rugby being more inclusive than just the private shoo; pathway,
Mungbean74
Roar Rookie
Thanks mate!
Mungbean74
Roar Rookie
Nice one! I played league at Coombabah HS. Played union in Japan. AFL as a junior. They are all good. Love my union though!
LBJ
Roar Rookie
Thanks for this article. I’m sorry I missed it. The ARU is simply re-confirming its view that only elite players are of value. The idea that rugby is a positive component to the growth and development of healthy young boys and girls is irrelevant - they just want to identify the future professionals who they can monetise for their own benefit. The separation continues.
Harty
Roar Rookie
I'm pleased to see a wider perspective being promoted. Despite attending one of these schools and my son attends one now, I think emphasis on GPS and similar school rugby feeds into the elitist reputation that rugby union in Australia has. Focus on the clubs where the kids will play a lot more games and/or add an FA cup style competition for the schools.
Harty
Roar Rookie
Here you go Mung. https://www.gcdru.com.au/
Kick n Clap
Guest
Mungo- If hes’s not bad player, try get him to test he’s self by going playing League there against a lot better athletes. You never know? Both you and him might start to enjoy it even?
Paul
Roar Rookie
I think RA must work hard to deconstruct the notion it's a private school game. The reality is that the appeal is a lot wider than that. Victoria is a great example of this. Some of the biggest grass roots support of the game are in the western suburbs stretching from Footscray, Altona, and out to Werribee and Melton, in the north in Broadmeadows and Preston and in the far east in Endeavour Hills. Club wise Digby Ioane came from Hills, Rob Leota from Seaford, Jordan Uelese and I think Matt Toomua from Preston/ Northcote. I have a feeling Feret Sa'aga came from Eltham. If you add in Rob Valetini, he went to Westall Secondary College in Clayton, again definitely not an APS or even AGSV school When you look at it from a schools perspective there's a mix, with a couple frlm St Kevin's but there's actually a pretty diverse spread of state and private schools. With that in mind and back on to topic, making the pathway out of juniors to the junior elite and beyond it makes sense to make that pathway a bit more diverse and accessible.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The point of the academy is to consider those. In the previous system you had to be playing for a school team to be looked at.
Vman2
Roar Rookie
I wish Madagascar was not so desperately poor. It would great to see them complete with the likes of Kenya and be on the world 7s circuit. A reward for the public following they have.
Vman2
Roar Rookie
That response is a bit disingenuous. The point being made was that an academy of 50 players can't have identified all the potential out there who are not in private schools. Personally I don't know how wide this academy net is, but I suspect it is a valid concern. Who has made it into this 50 was not the point made. The question raised was who has not considered?
Istanbul Wingman
Roar Guru
45,000 plus on hand to see Madagascar blitz Nigeria 63-3 in Antanarivo today. Yesterday Senegal hammered Mauritius by a similar score, 63-0 in Dakar. The crowd there looked like a few hundred.
Barry Smyth
Roar Rookie
It's swings both ways, mate of mine coached the NSW U16 Academy team and said that a few of his ”schoolboy” players were pulled the week before his games.
Barry Smyth
Roar Rookie
” While they did have success in defeating the New Zealand under-18s, this is another flagrant attempt to completely undermine and reject any relevance of a schools pathway, even though such a pathway has successfully existed for around 50 years, affording almost 200 schoolboys each year the chance to further their development and represent not only their associations but also their state and country.” I think this comment in your article says it all. The first time the pathways for both schoolboys and none schoolboys have been amalgamated and we have this kind of success over the U18 NZ team, kinda indicates that itS working.
Hoy
Roar Guru
I think the huge elephant in the room here is that the schools have quite a bit of talent playing for them already signed to league teams. As Bobby says, Schools don't really have any loyalty to rugby in Australia. They have no care for that person's pathway in rugby once that person has moved on from their school. The fact that schools only play what? 10 games a year, but monopolise the top talent is a problem as well.
Ex force fan
Guest
Yes we are doomed and should not ever even attempt to call for changes.... because the Board are made up of like minded people that pick like themselves in key Executive and Board position. It can never change even if it should. As Force supporter I have nothing to lose to to call for change as RA does not represent me.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Bond Pirates. Best junior club on the coast.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Of course the academy looking to refine the very best only caters to the top 50. The majority of players aren't potential professionals.
Tokoloch
Roar Rookie
Problem with this is that the Academy caters for just 50 kids who may be lucky enough to make these two teams. Whilst most Australian Schools players in the past have come from the private system, it again fails to factor in the other 83% of kids who don't go to private schools and may be getting lost to other codes. If our junior community rugby programs were are strong as they were in the past, then hopefully a lot of these kids may have been picked up through this. But as we all know, these programs are dying with fewer kids playing rugby on a weekend (maybe this is where we should be focussing). Whilst some may extoll Castle for doing something about it with the Academy (and I doubt if she actually had anything to do with it), what is being done to promote and develop junior programs? It is interesting that RA have said that they will continue to monitor kids playing on weekends and in schools, the fact is that this is not catering for the many thousands of possible potential players out there (because it is just recognising those kids in the private system who play any regular rugby). I would always encourage both RA and Schools to work together (as they have in the past), but such an Academy undermines just what school programs can offer. If, as has been suggested, we should 'cast the net wider', then just how wide do we go? To NZ or other parts of the world to find senior coaches? I wasn't aware that we had a 'wide net' in Australia and maybe this is the problem for Australian rugby and until we can develop and promote Australian coaches - and this is often done through schools, we will continue to languish behind the world. Let's just hope that Rennie can bring something to the table, at least we can't go much further down the rankings and so he is starting from a fairly low base. Maybe if he can have some success, then we can extoll the virtues of Castle, who has until now, been a fairly faceless CEO.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
By ‘interest’ I think you mean ‘power base’ don’t you Train?