Should Rugby Australia be compensated for Mack Hansen's Ireland call-up?

yeah but it's funny when Eddie Jones says it https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/eddie-jones-delivers-savage-swipe-18377002

Do you mean the All Blacks, with players born in NZ and of Fijian, Tongan and Samoan heritage? This idea that NZ poaches Islanders is so fkn old, boring and incorrect.

TL;DR: Mack Hansen enquired of all Australia’s Super Rugby clubs whether there was a place for him. This after having played in just 14 matches over 3 years. Answer, “no”. So he tried his luck overseas, in one of Ireland’s lesser clubs, and was talent-spotted. Part of it was knowing someone who knew someone, as these things often are. Indeed, “What Color is your Parachute” says this is the best way to find a job and recommends the method. He’s seized his chance in Ireland, and has been promoted to the national team. I look forward to a rugby investigative journalist interviewing the talent spotters and decision-makers at each of Australia’s five Super Rugby franchises to discover where each franchise believed Hansen fell short, and how he did not fit into their plans. As for compensation, I’d be more interested in Olympic athletes paying back the millions spent on them at the Australian Sports Academies if they don’t get gold. After all, the national academy was set up in response to New Zealand (New Zealand!) getting more golds at the Montreal Olympics than did Australia. So the goal is gold medals. As we know from following Australian sport, if you come second in the world you might as well be nineteenth or fiftieth or some other stupid figure, because that’s how many Australian sports fans operate. It’s been some time since I heard a figure, but I think the National Institute of Sport and similar structures costed out at about $43 million per gold medal. That’s a lot of money, and it’s taxpayer money. Rugby development costs are trivial in comparison. It’d be reasonable for say, $10m refund to taxpayers from each athlete for not getting on the podium. Call it $5m for just a bronze medal, and $1m handed back for just a silver. This is free market user pays and is fair on the taxpayer and on the athlete. Edited for typos

Finlay Bealham (Aus) was also in that squad

Generally Aust rugby doesn't really invest in the players. The parents do sending them to a private school or the school does in the form of scholarship. Otherwise once again its the parents driving them to a club, rep game. There aren't really any development officers, even junior coaching clinics cost money to attend. I wouldn't say ARU and state unions invest in junior players. Players leave as there are 5 pro teams in Australia in comparison to the 100s of other pro teams around the world that pay better... its a no brainer. And when he left, in his position Aust rugby was paying Folau a stupid amount in comparison to everyone else.

'There should be no further funding by a governing body to a player that has taken but not given back.' He was paid to play. He played. What do you mean 'not given back'. Terrible article.

Exactly Will and our brains trust cabinet is looking rather empty.

Exactly my point Val. And we see the same thing time and time again.

Ken I'm tired of seeing good talent leaving Australia only to come back the complete version of themselves.

Good point Mirt and I have over simplified somewhat. Our ex-players don't aspire to coaching rolls having often come through the private school system, more lucrative occupations are available. The point is our dire level of coaching needs to be centre of discussion if we are to develop and retain our amazing talent. Darrell Williams had never been a head coach before the Waratah's. What a disaster that turned out.

They could settle for $250

Howdy, he is good but only had 14 opportunities out of 3 years since he was 20 through Brumbies set-up. Once again best position of 10 or 15, couldn’t get look in with Banks, Wright then they brought in Loleisi who then started for Wallabies who played U20’s after Mack. He’d spoken to all Aus SF clubs before making up mind to try Ireland as SF said they couldn’t ensure starting op. He did what was best for himself & seems to have best call at present, early but exciting days, let’s not victim blame as he was offered this opportunity.

Marika - Fiji Quade - NZ

and Hooper is so overrated!!

Actually it's the Principality Stadium now. Millennium is sooo 20 years ago!

I think this could be a case of "Careful what you wish for" because this is clearly a reaction to a recent move by World Rugby to limit rugby immigrants from playing for lands not their own. Ireland on Saturday had four players (out of a squad of 23) not born in Ireland. They were Jamison Gibson Park (NZ), Bundee Aki (NZ) Joey Carberry (NZ) and Mack Hansen (Aus). Of those Carberry is the least controversial case as he qualifies on both ancestry and residency, having moved back to Ireland from New Zealand with his Irish parents as a young child. Hansen qualified immediately because his mum is from Cork but the other two have not a drop of Irish blood between them and qualified to play based on living and playing in Ireland for three years. That was the old World Rugby rule and as Ireland approached it systematically by offering contracts with Irish provincial teams to interested players from the SH (and got quite a few choice recruits as a result) the lawmakers were lobbied to put a stop to this sort of thing and so they increased the residency requirement to five years. What this will do is encourage recruiters from Ireland (and I suspect from Scotland and Wales as well) to focus more on players who qualify on ancestry grounds. There is no shortage of O'Keefe's, O'Malley's and Gilhooleys in Australia with very obvious Irish heritage and it doesn't seem to be too hard to unearth guys with non-Irish surnames who qualify down their distaff side. The advantage, to both player and recruiter, is that people with "ethnic" qualifications can play immediately, whereas those from places like County Samoa now have to commit to five years continuous residency with no guarantee that they will be contenders for national places after that time. Personally, as an Irishman, I had no problem with people like Aki, Gibson-Park and earlier examples like CJ Stander coming over here to play for Irish provinces and claw their way on to the team. I think it is preferable, no disrespect, to someone saying "Hang on, I think my Granny was from Roscommon" and claiming their place on those grounds. Bundee and CJ were and are legends in Connacht and Munster respectively because they put down roots in the place and committed themselves for years. The fact that Stander post retirement has gone back down to the sunshine of the Western Cape has not changed that one iota. Look out for all those aussies with Irish names --of which there are millions. If they show any early promise, the IRFU will be sniffing around.

Yeah, watching it. Italy doing well.

Interesting. Halftime in Paris - France 18-10 Italy.

OK, off the top of my head and from memory. Francis, Tompkins, Johnny Williams, Rowlands, Jonah Holmes of Wales. There are a number of others born in England, but I’ve concentrated on the Welsh squad members born, raised and played all their rugby in England until discovering a granny who once owned a Shirley Bassey record. Now the Scots. All three scrum halves (Price, White, Vellacott) were born in England, Ben White who scored the try against England yesterday, played for England under-20s and is in the ‘grandad once had a can of irn bru’ variety. Then there’s Bayliss, Skinner, Harris, Duncan Taylor, Chiristie. Hamish Watson was born and raised in England and was at the Leicester academy until 18, if memory serves. There’s a number of others born and raised in England, but played in Scotland under 20s etc, so I haven’t counted them. Italy have Varney and Polledri. Obviously, there’s a number of players on the fringe of squads or not in the recent squads. So, yes, I’m confident I could pick a full team that would probably beat Italy.

Oh go on then FunBus - I'll nibble. Name your half-decent team. Ireland has 7 moved as adult English-born players: Treadwell - Lock Burns - Outhalf Gallagher - full-back Addison - full-back Haley - full-back Wootton - wing Arnold - midfield Kieran Marmion was born in Eng but raised/learned rugby in Wales.