Goodbye Giteau Law? RA set to scrap controversial rule

edt out

KCOL, trust in the belief that any player who is good wants to pull on a national jersey! Only if it increases their value on the club scene (cynical I know) but the allure will always be there for a gold jersey. SA has no issues in getting o/s players to come home for a game or series and they are currently no 1 as they will tell you 30 times an hour.

I'm cautiously happy about this. Yet to see precisely what they will do. I think arguments run passionately on both sides of this debate are valid. You can make a series of compelling for and against in either direction. And ... you can have different outcomes. For example, Super rugby may die (it's already in palliative care, slight rally last regular season, but not back in the general ward), but the Wallabies might get stronger (marginally). Over time, the WBs may get a lot better as the changes keep players in the game as they have more pathways (i.e. the world is their oyster ). And ... with stronger WBs, the local game gets stronger, after initial set backs. Or not. Two things for sure ... the current system, WBs, Super rugby and club rugby (a separate issue really) are not healthy, and this may be a step in the right direction, but it does not solve all issues; Second, it will be a decade before we know if this was a good idea or not because the few names being thrown around are not going to stop our backs from kicking away ball or throwing foolish passes, and ... where is the number 10, number 15 and 12?

Scrap the Giteau Law to field the best players.Put them with the yoyng upcoming ones so they can learn of them.

Fair logic Toehill. A better structure than laissez faire.

Yes piru, before we release the Genie from the bottle we need to be fully aware.

It's not just trying something new though, it's forever changing the way this will work. Long after the current coaches and board members have retired, we'll have issues with clubs not releasing players etc etc. Maybe I'm wrong and it will be the norm going forward, but there's no going back

I don't know Piru. 19 years without the Bledisloe seems pretty long term and from this years results they are not getting any closer. Maybe time to try something new.

I think this is ill advised. It's sacrificing the long term in the hope of a short term hit

Nor do I. It’s common wisdom though

“I am not on the Skelton train. He was limited as a test lock previously and I think he will be the same now.” While not an out and out lineout option, he brings enough now to allow for other selections to compensate for that. But then, as a Kiwi, I’m quite alright if you don’t pick him… read into that what you will.

I don’t think the Australian referees are that bad. You do need more of them though.

“Skelton did not cement before he left what’s changed” Clearly you haven’t seen Skelton lately? He seems a different player and a very different physique. Also, you can edit your own comment after you’ve posted, for like 45mins, little pen icon in the corner. Means you don’t have to reply to yourself.

Currently DR can pick a couple outside the Giteau Law restrictions. Apparently Marika and Kerevi were going to be it. This is just the final step in removing that self imposed OS restriction RA had put on itself. Interesting times ahead.

I think we all want some kind of an NRC/national comp. Covid for now isn’t making that easy. Particularly with all these hard borders from what I can see. I don’t live in Oz due to being stuck in UK as my partner is British and she can’t get a visa. But from what I can see even sports like AFL and NRL are battling to keep their games going. So an NRC I fully get won’t be possible but if we could get it back in 2023. Maybe as a stand alone national comp and we do away with super rugby. Invite the current teams into it, maybe rebrand Tahs to Sydney Waratahs and Brisbane Reds, add a country team into somewhere like Sunshine Coast and Hunter maybe in NSW. Have a 7 team national competition, 8 if we can add a Fiji Drua too. Then maybe the top two from that join a champs league TT. I don’t know I don’t have those answers. Just ideas.

I don’t even expect many to come back and perform as well as before they left. 10 month season and then flying in on Monday of the test isn’t conducive to performance. Players in Japan will be pretty well available due to season times at least.

We always needed a next tier in NSW. In the 80s I reckoned they should have had regular competition between some amalgamated clubs maybe once a month or so on Sundays; N/S/E/W Harbour say. A common objection was who would play or who would watch. Young elite athletes always want to test themselves at the next level. We badly need a NRC to improve our SR level. RA make it up as they go. They could have easily gone with two TT teams for 2021 and built up a NRC competition underneath. I accept they have zero concept of promoting rugby but it would have been close to the equivalent of SR AU anyway. 7 professional teams and revenue from SRAU/NRC and a share of TT. There would have been more interest in the SRAU/NRC if the TT teams were competitive as well. Instead we now think it is a good idea to just let the top echelon of players go overseas and we are left with a SR AU competition that RA is happy to acknowledge as second rate. Add their incompetence at staging and promoting SR games and we are dead in the water. The current board will be fine, they are maximising performance in the next RWC but then ... what? During subsequent RWC cycles there will be fewer and fewer quality players to pick from. Good players will look to move early and secure national representation in the country where they live and play. Better income and a chance of being competitive, Australia gets the leftovers.

For professional rugbybplayers there was definite laziness from some. See my post in WGs latest article for an example.

Hugh RE give it a go. Is it a case of putting the genie back in the bottle if we try to reverse out of a mistake?

Aldo in a pack with plenty of jumpers he’d be an asset. Even soft and fat when we had him he was good. Very soft hands for a unit. And he is a serious unit. Makes Eales seem like a matchstick.