A missed opportunity. One that slipped through the net. Sad.
None of that is strong enough.
It is a tragedy for Rugby Union that Cameron Murray has re-signed with the Rabbitohs until 2028, for so many reasons.
For starters, among all the handwringing about team selection for Rugby World Cup 2023, one fact that hasn’t been spoken about enough is the absence in Australia of an inside centre good enough for the international stage.
Cameron Murray. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Samu Kerevi was that, he was World Class. But after doing his ACL while inexplicably playing Sevens, he hasn’t been the same.
Even if Kerevi can find that kind of form again, it doesn’t feel like he has a lot of rugby left in him.
That journeyman Lalakai Foketi is the back-up and James O’Connor seemingly next in line at 12 makes Rugby’s failure to grab Cameron Murray all the more disappointing.
Earlier this year, All Black star Aaron Smith told the Ice Project Podcast:
‘He’d be a gun. Cam Murray, his schoolboy highlights are pretty gangster and [Angus] Crichton is the same, big centres, ball runners, offload, stay in the play for the whole time. They’re your workhorses but they’ve got that bang, that’s what you want your midfield to be.’
Angus Bell, who for mine was the best forward on the field against France on Sunday, went further when talking about Murray, his fellow Newington alumni:
“When I was at school, I was in Year 9 and I was watching him play First XV in our school system, and he was the best player on the field by a country mile every single time he took the field… The position of inside centre suits him so well – he’s not huge, he’s very evasive, unreal ball carrier, the courage is 100 out of 100. He would be, I reckon, the best inside centre in the world.”
Perhaps Angus Bell was signalling Australian Rugby HQ.
Anybody who watched the Wallabies lose to France will recognise that for all Bell’s work in tight, all the claret and fillet, the Wallaby midfield was carved up like foie gras on brioche.
Sadly, there is no emerging Tim Horan or even Elton Flatley. Not even a school boy prodigy on the horizon.
At a stretch, if Tom Lynagh is good enough to be the Wallaby 10, Carter Gordon might be a candidate to play 12. But that’s a big ‘if’ followed by a ‘might’.
And it equals a big problem for Eddie Jones as he shamelessly positions the Wallabies for the future.
Angus Bell, Tom Hooper and Fraser McReight together with Carter Gordon and Mark Nawaqanitawase are already improving with every game.
Max Jorgensen, one who wasn’t lost to League, will join them as a regular international soon enough.
Eddie Jones. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
But there is nobody to fill the vital gap at 12.
Cameron Murray would have been perfect and it’s tragic it hasn’t happened.
That a young guy who turned down captaining NSW U18 Origin so he could play Union for his school should have been lost to Union at all is a travesty.
That the same thing happened with Pat Carrigan after he captained Gregory Terrace just shows how negligent administrators have been for the last 10 years – no, 20 years.
But I digress.
If reports are accurate that Murray’s extension is a 4 year, $4.6million deal, Australian Rugby should have beaten it.
And before someone takes a pop about ‘grassroots’ and ‘investing in the game’, how do you that when you’re losing? When the game is so desperate for airtime, Eddie has to ‘eyebrow bash’ every media conference?
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
How do you explain to a 16yo schoolboy star that he should stick with Rugby when Rugby didn’t stick with Cameron Murray, when it couldn’t even attract him back with the calendar of events we have coming over the next 4 years?
There is also an undeniable leadership quandary in the Wallaby set up. Five Wallaby captains in 18 months.
Even if Skelton is the answer, and the jury is out on that, it’s a short term answer that probably won’t be around in 2025, let alone 2027.
Tate McDermott is an impressive young man but by no means guaranteed a starting spot next month let alone next year or the one after that.
Cameron Murray was a future Wallaby captain, if ever I saw one. Composed, experienced and a hard worker.
One of the rare footballing leaders who threads the needle between being overly vocal and leading by example.
It is a damn shame Cameron Murray will bid farewell to Redfern only to arrive at Maroubra where he’ll stay until 2028, when he’ll be 30 years old.
That a Lions series, home World Cup and a probable Wallaby captaincy could not tempt him back to Union shows just how far the game’s star has fallen in this country.
Julius
Roar Rookie
you do understand rugby is played elsewhere, not just in Australia?
Rob9
Roar Guru
I’ve just found where you pulled that list of most valuable rugby clubs from. It reeks of being a fake. There’s barely a comprehensible sentence in the article. This on Wasps: ‘The team is currently having the net worth around $184 millions and is still increasing as the team has signed new deals with multiple rich brands’. If you can make sense of that, it simply isn’t the case. Everything in there is totally bogus and isn’t even worthy of being take with a grain of salt. More like a dollop of doo-doo.
Rob9
Roar Guru
You talk about ‘doing some real numbers’ but I’d like to see references for some of those ‘facts’ you’ve presented? Where are you pulling the half-billion dollar value of Racing? The $3b value of the NRL? For instance, you’ve quoted the ‘brand value’ (different to market value) of the Panthers at $46m which is a figure from a time where broadcast revenue (professional sports golden goose) had not long been 20% of what it is today. You then go on to suggest that a rugby team that recently went into administration before being removed from the Premiership mid-season is worth four times more than the NRL’s supposedly most valuable club. The ‘real numbers’ suggest that Wasps debts are worth about four time more than the outdated Panthers brand value you’ve presented. I’m picking up on some seriously crossed wires.
JimCam73
Roar Rookie
SBW 'struggled to make the test team' 58 times.
JimCam73
Roar Rookie
Just because there are world class inside centres like Danty and Allende does not mean Murray would not be able to be an international class inside centre. Too late now.
LHP
Roar Rookie
This is effing gold young man. Nice analysis, bravo. Nothing like cold hard facts served chilled to quieten the brainwashed.
MattTheContrarian
Roar Rookie
RWC 23 is going to be massive, and it will be nice to see the stats coming out after it, as the stats on World Rugby's webs are a bit outdated. Someone said to me the other day - what difference does it make if RL is like checkers to Rugby's chess? More people can understand checkers and can play it as you dont have to think hard. Well. He had me there.
TDAndo
Roar Rookie
I don’t mind watching League when there is nothing else to watch on the TV, and I think they have some really good athletes; however, most of League’s ‘greatest game of all’ hyperbole is just self-inflated provincial hype designed to cover the game’s many shortfalls and enduring inferiority complex, and to make League supports feel better about themselves. So let’s do some real numbers, not just hype, hyperbole and opinion… The English were really disappointed last weekend when only 55,000 people turned up to watch England play Fiji in a practice match for the World Cup, as they are used to 80,000 always turning up. Conversely, the 2023 version of the self-proclaimed ‘greatest contest in Australian sport’ aka State of Origin only managed to attract 48,000 people to Adelaide Oval (which seats 53,000). There are three professional Rugby League competitions in the world – Australia/NZ, England and France. Just some of the top flight professional club-based competitions in Union include The Premiership (UK), Top 14 (France), Super Rugby Pacific (Australia, NZ, Fiji, Sam/Tonga), United Rugby Championship (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, South Africa), and League One (Japan). That’s before we get into professional 2nd-tier professional competitions across the world including the NPC (NZ), Currie Cup (SA) and Major League Rugby (USA), and before the European Championship tournaments. All that, of course doesn’t take into account the first-tier international tournaments…The 6 Nations, The Rugby Championship, The Rugby World Cup, and the second-tier international tournaments such as the Rugby Europe International Championships, the Pacific Nations Cup, and the Asian Rugby Championships. 857 million people watched the 2019 Rugby World Cup on TV, while 30 million watched the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The Rugby World Cup sits third in the list of most watched tournament style World Cups after Football (Soccer) with 3.3bn viewers, and Cricket with 2.6bn viewers. In terms of players, there are about 300,000 Rugby League players globally, while the last World Rugby census lists 9.6 million Rugby Union players. In France alone there are half a million Union players, but only 8,000 League players. There are nearly six times as many Union players in New Zealand than League players. Madagascar has nearly the same number of Union players as England has League players. India has as many Union players (220,000) as Australia (178,000) and England (44,000) combined in League. For reference, the world’s third biggest football code for participation behind Football and Union is American Football with around 5 million players. Rugby Union 7s is now an Olympic sport and, although no-one really cares, a Commonwealth Games sport too. Rugby League is certainly stronger in Australia than Rugby Union, but only just, 175,000 to 138,000 players; and both are still dwarfed by other sports in the national participation numbers, with League sitting 7th in the national totals well behind Basketball (800,000), Aussie Rules (555,000) and cricket (550,000). The whole of the NRL is valued at around AU$3bn, while the All Blacks alone were sold to a private equity firm for US$2bn. Even this is dwarfed by world-leader the Dallas Cowboys who are valued at around AU$8bn. The highest valued Rugby League club, the Penrith Panthers, is valued at AU$46m, while the top valued Rugby Union club, Racing 92 (France) is worth more than half a billion dollars. The 10th place on the Union list – Wasps (UK) A$184m – is still worth 4 times as much as the highest ranked League franchise. If you sold the entire NRL at its listed valuation (AU$3bn), you would still not be able to purchase even a single club team listed in the top 50 valued sports teams in the world. You need A$3.1bn to buy #50 – Paris Saint Germain football team in France. League definitely gets good viewer ratings in Australia, but is neither Australia’s national sport (AFL and Netball), nor a true international sport able to compete with Football, Cricket, Union. Globally, it sits on the second tier of football codes well behind the giants of Football, Union and American Football, and alongside Gaelic Football and AFL. It can be fun to watch, and certainly has some athletic appeal, but let’s not kid ourselves, Rugby League is a largely unknown, provincial variant with appeal to a small portion of the world’s population who largely live on the East Coast of Australia and the North of England. It is ok to think that League is the best version of football for you to watch – that is, you might prefer to watch League and are proud of it. That is a matter of opinion and no one can take that away from you (and nor should they, we live in a free democracy). But…quit with the ‘greatest game of all’ nonsense…the numbers don’t lie…Rugby Union is both hugely popular and highly successful.
sheek
Roar Guru
The Wallabies could improve themselves enormously by recruiting league players in almost every position. But they can't afford them. The reality is this: Oz league has the first-raters, second-raters & third raters in quality, while Oz rugby has the 4th-raters & 5th raters in quality. That's why NRL is killing it, despite being a big fish in an insignificant international pool. And that's why rugby is becoming ever so much more insignificant in this country. No talent & no money.
Kai Levuka
Roar Rookie
But does it compare to a rainy night down at Wollongong? :)
Kai Levuka
Roar Rookie
Semi Radradra … 6 foot 3 and over 100 kg. Fiji’s ‘reserve’ inside centre Josua Tuisova is their former winger and weighs close to 115kg
high horse
Roar Rookie
he was probably studying hard for his HSC and Newington would have restricted his ability to play RL.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
In 2023. Maybe not. John Eales would probably be like Rob Simmons in today's game for example.
SSTID
Roar Rookie
I hear this argument a lot. A world tournament once every four year is hugely successful - therefore rugby is popular and successfully. I don't disagree that the RUWC is hugely popular and successful event, but I would disagree with the second part of your (implied) proposition - that rugby is popular and successfully. I just looked on AUStadium website (which covers all stadiums in Australia) and the average attendance for rugby games in Australia for 2023 was 11,403 people over the 10 games held in Australia, in what is the premier rugby union competition in this country. We all have our narrative and blind spots. If you think this is the measure of success for your game - then I wish you well in holding onto that belief.
Wizz
Roar Rookie
They will never ban boxing UFC or most other proper combat Sports...but NFL rugby codes are doomed doesn't make sense..
Wizz
Roar Rookie
What about a play that loops around a decoy Bobby or Kerevi midfield run..Get the fullback and wingers involved..seems so predictable.
Wizz
Roar Rookie
Are we now suggesting Tim Horan wouldn't make it now with his lack of size?
Pickett
Roar Rookie
Waratah Shield games, trial games, practice x 2 for the Saturday game, special occasion games (eg a game v Joeys), CAS v GPS games etc Get smart Max.
Rob9
Roar Guru
It’s not about getting a ‘better chance’ as a professional going through the NRL. That wasn’t the point of the comment and while rugby’s limited professional opportunities in Australia presents a significant challenge for the game, I don’t necessarily believe that to be the case. Of course in the scheme of things, RA ‘poaching’ extends to a minute percentage of rugby league’s player pool and rugby’s incoming talent. But again, it’s about the message that it sends- it doesn’t have to be a significant number. In fact, I think the one off ‘big fish’ does more harm than players like Tom Wright who quietly slipped across. But this is the problem; this is as much a marketing ploy for RA/Eddie as it is anything. The more noise the better as far as they’re concerned. While this might get a quick sugar hit beyond the rusted on fan base (I think the extent of that is still questionable) this strategy achieves very little (if anything) for onfield outcomes and it’s sending out a detrimental message to young rugby players and the rugby resources and communities that surround them. Rugby’s pathway in Australia is a lot stronger than some give it credit for. Our U20’s have placed higher than NZ at the last 2 World Championships, we had a 2-1 record over them this year and we were runner up at the last U20 WC pre-covid. It’s a multifaceted problem but as you’ve alluded to above when mentioning the challenges in competing towards a professional contract at 1 of 17 NRL clubs, Australian rugby’s truly engaged player pool and the fact that there’s 2 significant contact football codes that tend to draw in the bulk of the best talent is what burns rugby more than anything.
Nat
Roar Guru
I understand that, however, the assertion that a kid has a better chance of walking into an NRL team let alone succeed then into RU is fanciful. Even a prodigy is just another kid in NRL as evidenced by Suaali'i. Having 17 clubs means 30 full rosters of talented prodigies you must succeed in just to get noticed at NRL level. I agree that RA buying NRL players on inflated contracts does little to promote RA pathways but the guys Eddie was mentioning are the 0.01%. He's targeting more than talent he wants seasoned professionals with a very high standard. RA might be better advised sending kids to NZ to develop. It's a hit to the ego but if they can get through the grades and make a SR NZ team and still stand out it will benefit the WBs. NZ league has benefited greatly from NRL development.