There are a lot of problems confronting our game in 2020. Some of them are a result of money intruding into our sport, many are not.
There is no doubt many things need to change, but just wishing back the good things from the amateur era is wishful thinking.
My dad recently asked me if I could remember the circumstances of Mark Ella being suddenly elevated to the captaincy. It only rang a bell, or quite a few, with the order of events eluding me. So, I checked it out (thank you, Peter Jenkins, for Wallaby Gold).
The ’81/’82 Wallabies held high hopes for their UK tour but after narrowly beating Ireland, lost the next three Tests. Despite being badly outplayed in the forwards they scored eight tries to three, but Paul McLean had a poor run with the boot and the team arrived home to a lot of criticism.
Coach Bob Templeton was overlooked for Bob Dwyer in 1982 for two home Tests against Scotland and a 14-match tour of New Zealand. Dwyer’s appointment was not well accepted north of the Tweed and this was compounded with the selection of Mark and Glen Ella for the first Test at Ballymore, with Roger Gould and McLean relegated to the bench.
The short story is that Australia did not get the forward parity it expected or the consequent backline dominance, and Michael Hawker as part-time goal kicker got one from five. Following that loss, Gould and McLean were restored and Australia crushed Scotland with McLean recording a record individual score in his final test.
The euphoria was dampened with the subsequent withdrawal of nine Queenslanders from the winning team, including captain Tony Shaw, for the tour of New Zealand. It was widely speculated that this was a protest against Dwyer and, as a young New South Welshman, this is the way I have remembered it.
While this may have been a factor, it turns out that those players issued a statement at the time expressing their support for Dwyer and the Australian team. Many of those players were longtime Wallabies and felt they could no longer financially afford to continue and many of them subsequently retired.
I suppose at the time it was just another complaint about money by Australian sportsmen and it made no sense to a young man like me. 40 years later I look back and see that, for a bunch of maturing men, some with up to ten years’ service, there was a cost. Three months in the northern winter of 1981/82 and then a seven-week tour of New Zealand in the winter of 1982.
Together with the training and playing in between, it was a ridiculous ask. Amateur rugby had passed its ‘use by’ date. David Lord’s first attempt at an eight-nation professional ‘circus’ almost got off the ground and which delivered a significant impetus for the push for a World Cup.
Being an amateur player was not sustainable in 1980 and if there was to be an elite rugby game in Australia in 2020 it had to become professional. The big challenge for Rugby Australia is to transform the game to restore the values that sustained it for more than a hundred years before it became professional.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
You have to play to your strengths or away from your weaknesses. My unhappy recollection would be that QLD players didn’t need to know how to play running rugby and NSW didn’t have the players to play 10 man rugby.
Christopher Roche
Guest
You need to understand that the majority of the QLD players didn't know how to play running rugby and the majority of the NSW players didn't know how to play 10 man rugby.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
Hi Muglair, What you say is correct about the South African ''Franchises'', same with NZ, SAANZAR does not want to alienate the adjacent provinces, one example of many, Otago + Southland = Highlanders.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
I may have misread this, and you are questioning the non-geographic SA team names. I wonder if there is an issue that the teams are centred around certain historically strong provinces but notionally are trying to capture the supporters of neighbouring provinces rather than alienating them. Should ask the South Africans perhaps?
Muglair
Roar Rookie
I think it would really affect my support for the Waratahs. While I am somewhat disillusioned at many levels I remain a deeply committed Waratah supporter at heart. I have never lived anywhere else but NSW and have no other allegiance. I just can't comprehend supporting two different NSW teams, and I seriously think I would end up supporting none. RA just keep falling to new levels of commercial incompetence, I guess they have not yet reached rock bottom.
concerned supporter
Roar Rookie
Muglair, you say, ''it becomes very confusing for Reds/Waratahs supporters if NSW v Qld is the ‘real deal’. '' Agree 100%. Maybe it would be more clear for all supporters if we played against Natal,Transvaal, Northern Transvaal etc, etc.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
However my sister has arrived for a post COVID visit with a pile of cuttings. Maybe I should subscribe, Mark's premise is along the lines we have been discussing on here. At some point ARU/RA turned left where they should have turned right. They are so arrogant that they refuse to admit it, double down and push harder to the left, then can shelter behind the revised constitution to shield the board from scrutiny and criticism. Worse news in another cutting. One of my big concerns is that we would end up relying on a "saviour" who would have a substantial mandate to carry out their own plan. Following the Wiggs/Carroll debacle that saviour is now McLellan and the board will have ceded him substantial power. A former COO, who was not an undisputed success, is taking time out in the middle of his retirement holiday to lend a hand. There is no balance as we have a temporary CEO who will (rightly I think) defer to a Chair who will have ongoing accountability for decisions made. While getting a competition up and running and negotiating a TV deal are urgent I suspect these will be 24/7 activities. What would be important is fixing the relationship of RA with its supporters/customers. I read that McLellan is highly motivated by a state of origin and I am betting the people he is negotiating with will think that is a good idea too. It could become part of the TV deal for five years. My biggest reservation about changes to Super Rugby is that administrations have not done enough to connect supporters with their SR team under the current format, so we do not even know exactly what else is wrong. I am not sure that a rugby SOO will be successful as it becomes very confusing for Reds/Waratahs supporters if NSW v Qld is the 'real deal'. I am not sure how that fits with supporters in WA, ACT or Victoria either.
sheek
Roar Guru
Carlos, Of course! I originally wrote Hugo, then decided to change to Porta, but forgot about changing the 'o' to 'a'. That's my excuse, & I'm sticking to it!
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
Porta, not Porto. I remember the very yellow jerseys!
sheek
Roar Guru
Carlos, Cheers! 1979 1st test won by Pumas 24-13, two tries each. Two tries to Madero, 3 drops by Porto. 1979 2nd test, won by Wallabies 17-12, 3 tries to one.
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
Sheek, I just realized I saw most games the Wallabies played in Argentina in 1979! It felt so exotic then to have an Aussie team at home. Unfortunately, besides recalling the Pumas won one game, I can’t remember much. In one of the games one of the local players was Alejandro Puccio. His father led a group that kidnapped and killed some of his friends. They were caught and Puccio ended up killing himself. I played against him a few times b
Muglair
Roar Rookie
I was not assessing whether the Concord move was good, bad or indifferent. It was more a comment on trying to break away from the established culture. I was a bit vague because I can't remember the details and don't feel like going to find them. We are still struggling with the changes that need to be made to make rugby successful in the 2020s. In many ways we are facing similar challenges to the 1970/80s, I wonder if the answers are there.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
NZ wanted a way to get SA back into the international rugby and saw RWC as a vehicle but Jenko places too much weight on Lords tournament as the Australian spark! It was contribUtory but not singular. I understood the move away from the SCG as Rugby was going to play second fiddle to the trust. It didn’t work out in the end but when rugby moved back to the SFS it did so for a one off capped price. Not good business!
Muglair
Roar Rookie
What is amazing is that it took another 12 years for professional rugby to get off the ground
sheek
Roar Guru
Muglair, Lordy says he likes me, although I think for one reason or another he's running out of friends. He's never been the same since he lost his son to drugs, which predates me meeting him, although I've known him on & off for a decade. The reason why I say he likes me, is to point out that despite this, he remains incredibly secretive. For example, if I call him up for a coffee or lunch, he will meet me at the venue. Even though he doesn't get around as sprightly as he used to (he's 81 this year), he is loathe for me, or anyone else it seems, to know where he lives. Which leads me to the second point, despite several cheeky inquiries as to the identity of the 208 players he signed way back in 1983, he just chuckles at me & shakes his head. That is info I would love to have purely for my own satisfaction. I reckon any dedicated rugby fan from the early to mid 1980s could quite easily name 3/4s of those signatories, perhaps 80-90%. But the last 5-6 or so names for each country would be toughest. So far Lordy is determined to take the secret with him.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
You will have to pardon me Sheek, I am about to nitpick, an expert since Saturday. Lord's circus was eight countries - 25 players plus one coach = 208. He claimed a decade later that he had to approach 213 to get the 208 signatures although he only needed to approach 40 candidates for the 40 management positions. To the point of my article, he made no claims to genius, the message from the players was ringing loud and clear. To Sheek's point, it probably demonstrates the regard he was held for that many to commit. He also said at the time he would honour his promise to each participant that he would never reveal their identities. I certainly have no idea who was involved and do not recall it becoming public knowledge. Sheek? Back around that time David also had the Brooklyn Hotel, where Grosvenor Place now stands. A long lunch over beers with two hamburgers with the lot. The best in town for mine.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
I suppose part of that is the game was played to a point, for fun and enjoyment. For Brothers and Queensland where was the incentive to play away from their strengths? Like my recollections of that day at the Sports Ground. I think NSW won in a canter with the Ellas in full flight. Or maybe Queensland won easily again and it was a huge disappointment. I think that probably sums up most of those 12 games :crying:
sheek
Roar Guru
Muglair, It's instructive that Mark Ella's NSW career went from 1979-84. I don't think he missed any more than one match (if any). I don't know how many matches his brothers played. Queensland dominated the period 9-3, so the message should have been clear to NSW, it didn't matter how brilliant your backline was, if you couldn't provide them with regular, good possession. After the 1980 series against the ABs, Ella boasted that the Wallabies could beat anybody with only 40% clean possession. What Ella didn't say, is that while you can do that some of the time, even half the time, you won't be able to do it all the time. Oppositions soon wise-up, & the most successful teams have to be flexible in their tactics. Being flexible in your tactics also means a high skill level across all the elements of the game. If you look at Aussie rugby circa 1978-84, both the conservative Qld style & razzamatazz Randwick style were successful, but sadly, the Wallabies failed to develop a skill level that allowed them to transfer from on style to the other as circumstances required. They also too often picked the wrong players, who were too wedded to one style or another. I guess Ella is part of this criticism.
sheek
Roar Guru
Max Power, Do you think so? Lordy had some serious health issues in these past 5-10 years that may possibly have affected him. This is the guy who started Rugby News at suburban grounds in the early 1970s; edited many editions of the Australian rugby yearbook; started up monthly mags in both rugby & cricket; was perhaps one of our first regular player agents, representing players in cricket, golf, tennis & swimming; captained Mosman 1st grade cricket team & was given the scoop on WSC by Kerry Packer, before a betrayal by his own Channel 7 soured the relationship. And much more. Oh yes, in 1983 he had the signatures of 213 rugby players from 8 countries, plus a coach, manager & at least one ref from each of these countries. Only the inability to get a TV deal prevented him from having the first pro rugby comp. If Lord was awful, I don’t know what it says about the rest of us do-nothings.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the nice words Nick. I agree with a lot of that but there is also relativity. Jenkins also noted that NZ had been pushing for a WC (why wouldn't they?) in the early 80s but it took Lord to give the ARU a shove to join them. We still suffer from entrenched attitudes that do not have to be publicly justified today. NH still look from the outside to not have entirely thrown off the shackles. Bitter cynics would accuse them of having never changed :silly: The 80s were a turning point no doubt but even then trying to move rugby into the 1980's was not a smooth running transition e.g. Concord Oval and NSWRU.