Former Wallabies captain Phil Kearns has delivered Australian rugby a brutal reality check, saying the cash-strapped code simply doesn’t have enough quality players to field five competitive Super Rugby franchises.
“We have too many teams in Australia, there’s no doubt,” Kearns told The Australian.
“Our talent is spread way too thin. And there are some. I use the term advisedly, ordinary players playing Super Rugby. If you’ve got ordinary players, you get ordinary teams. Which is why we’re not excelling against the New Zealanders.
“Physically our players are probably up to it, certainly the good ones are. But skill wise we’re definitely not there and that’s a function of just we’ve got our talent spread too thin and we are coaching the wrong things.
“The vast majority of our players still come out of New South Wales and Queensland and despite the Rebels being around for, what, 10 years? And the Force is pretty much the same, they’re not producing the quality or volume of players that we need to be competitive.”
Phil Kearns believes there’s not enough talent in Australia to sustain five Super Rugby sides. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Kearns’ comments ahead of Super Rugby’s showpiece event in Melbourne, with the Australian city to host all 12 teams over three days.
The Super Round looms as an early measuring stick for Australia’s team, with the Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies to each play their New Zealand rivals.
All three Australian sides are outsiders, with the Brumbies perhaps Australia’s best chance of notching a win against the Chiefs on Sunday. The Waratahs are $8 outsiders against Rob Penney’s Crusaders.
The Rebels and Force will also play each other on Friday night, with both sides looking for their maiden win of the season after heavy defeats to the Brumbies and Chiefs respectfully last weekend.
Super Round is also being played in the backdrop of the Rebels falling into voluntary administration in late January, with the cash-strapped franchise given an extra 60 days by the Federal Court to determine their financial situation last month, as they try to avoid going into liquidation.
Although a return to four Australian Super Rugby franchises appears likely, The Australian previously reported that the Brumbies are also at risk of going under and said the game could even return to three teams. Rugby Australia and the Brumbies have refuted that possibility.
Kearns said his preference would be to keep the Brumbies given their deeds on the field.
“I would probably be erring towards the Brumbies staying in and I say that really from the lens of they’ve shown for a long time that the program to improve players has been well proven,” he said.
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Former Wallaby Phil Kearns believes Hamish McLennan (L) was on the right track with trying to reform Australian rugby. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Kearns also hit out at the state unions for their pig-headedness in orchestrating the Queensland-led coup that saw former RA chairman Hamish McLennan ousted late last year. It followed McLennan’s desire for reform, including centralising the game, and his crucial role in bringing back Eddie Jones to coach the Wallabies, which fired spectacularly.
“Here you’ve got again the lunatics trying to run the asylum and we’ve seen that they can’t run things in their own cell, let alone in the asylum,” Kearns said.
“It’s just a farcical situation and Hamish paid the price for their stupidity. Their pride was standing in the way. I thought it was immature.
“I don’t think they had a grasp of the issues and some of the positive things that Hamish had done for the game. They’d had their feelings hurt along the way. Like, who cares? Hamish might have said and done a few things which was a little bit bold – but what do you expect – he’s got a nickname of the ‘Hammer’. Sure the Eddie Jones decision was wrong but many others, including the majority of rugby supporters in Australia, supported the move.”
The two-time World Cup winner added that Australia’s Super Rugby franchises had to accept the code was broke and urgent action was required to get the game back on track.
“I mean, New South Wales were open minded enough and wise enough to go down the path that they’ve gone there, whereas these people now, the guys from the ACT, we’re now seeing that what they were saying is a total farce,” Kearns said.
“They were all broke. We’ve seen the way that has played out in Victoria. We haven’t seen the others just yet but to put up this bravado when they’re in so much trouble ….was just hopeless.”
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Hamish whatever his name is deserved to go for his gross stupidity over jones …
Gary
Roar Rookie
And I have such Doyen’s such as you and the Sheek to thank for it :laughing::laughing:
Cliff Bishkek
Roar Rookie
Gary, I am glad you have been educated. I t is an amazing achievement.! :laughing: :laughing:
Biscuit man
Roar Rookie
ECA I think Brumbies could be doing more to grow their market eg Playing games in Adelaide as an example. Many people in Rural NSW wont support Brumbies as they see themselves more aligned to NSW. That market doesn't exist for them even although the Brumbies claim it. I have mates in Cooma, Wagga and Goulburn and they all support Tahs because its NSW. If we are going to grow the game teams like the Brumbies need to be supporting additional markets outside of their core base town. Canberra is just too small to sustain a professional rugby union side in 2024. Its nothing to do with their success. Their success has not grown rugby union in Australia and their success has been limited. Last title 20 years ago. As for supplying the bulk of the Wallabies it hasn't helped results there in fact the opposite. Maybe we need to move away from choosing too many Brumbies in the national team. The question has to be asked why dont the Brumbies players do as well at test level as they do at provincial level? Probably a Brumbies cultural thing(Small town Canberra vs everyone out to get them) that can't be replicated at test level. Not sure. The bootom line is that the Brumbies need to be doing more to grow markets outside of canberra or they should be booted. A team in Melbourne or Adelaide would be a better choice to grow the game. Winning doesn't necessarily equate to rugby union market growth as the Brumbies have found out. Maybe they should spread their home games between those 3 cities. Thats a better investment for the game.
Gary
Roar Rookie
Oh Cliff what an education!
Ballymore Brumby
Roar Pro
Don't think there's any risk of anyone calling Kearns a genius.
Cliff Bishkek
Roar Rookie
Have heard of both Evans, and both Allen & Alec contributed greatly to Australian Rugby, and the latter to Queensland rugby. I believe they worked well together. I do hope you are learning Gary!
East Coast Aces
Roar Rookie
For the people who think, because the Wallabies were good in the 90s we should go back to less teams, I wonder if they also think we should get our best players to work for XXXX part time too since that's what used to happen when we won the first Rugby World Cup. Maybe we should get Alan Jones back to coach. (Just keep him out of the change rooms)
East Coast Aces
Roar Rookie
Yeah so because NSWRU can't run a professional team without terrible results and massive debt needing to be transferred to Rugby Australia, who also can't run a test team without terrible results and massive debt, we need to cut our most successful professional rugby team, one that supplies most of our best Wallabies. I am a diehard Reds fan so not a one eyed Brumbies fan. Cutting teams won't grow the game, and it won't improve The Tahs or the Wallabies. Anyone who says it will, probably still thinks trickle down economics is real.
East Coast Aces
Roar Rookie
Can someone point to the sustained improvement in Super Rugby and Wallabies results after we cut the Force? Because from my memory the Rebels had 1 good season thanks to being improved with extra Force players, only for the talent to drain away overseas and a year later we were right back to where we were before, struggling to win even 1 game against NZ teams before Covid put us out of our misery. Then we got the Force back and Rennie had a number of draws against the ABs and a couple of 1 point losses and Foleys time wasting costing us a win. Cutting the Rebels will not improve the other Super Rugby teams long term. It will mean less professional opportunities for Aussie kids to play rugby, and just as much if not more players going overseas, both early in their careers and in their prime.
Gary
Roar Rookie
Your continued promotion of the Parrot does you no good at all I’m afraid , even seemingly good Rugby man that you are . You are right I know none of these men you nominate having only lived and breathed Rugby for 55 years . I do remember Ward Pally Austin however so it’s a Rickerpoody and a Fandoogly to you !
Biscuit man
Roar Rookie
You're getting confused between on field success and commercial viability. In the context of staying alive it doesn't matter what on field success has been achieved. It's about staying alive commercially and the potential size of market. The Brumbies are no longer viable commercially. If RA owned the problem they would be made defunct. Canberra no longer cuts the mustard as location for Super rugby side. It's been that way for sometime but they play the politics well.
Biscuit man
Roar Rookie
Unless the model of super rugby is changed. Our players need to be playing 25+ games a season to be at the same level as players playing in Europe. We need to go back to 3 teams. I expect that it will happen no matter what people think.
Biscuit man
Roar Rookie
Agree with Kearns. Doesn't take a genius. Teams should be Qld, NSW and I would go with the Force due to their private equity and they are 3rd biggest market now that Melbourne are gone. Not having a team in Melbourne is a tragedy and the Canberra market is too small to sustain. The RA board is an embarrassment to rugby at the moment. All of them should resign but they wont. Would rather kill professional rugby than admit they are not the right people to lead rugby commercially.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Yes and in the present situation it needs a lot of hope.
mjg
Roar Rookie
If the Rebels can't be saved, it's important to have a strategy that keeps rugby alive in Victoria. There's a proud tradition (eg Weary Dunlop), heritage in grammar schools, and now growth in the Pacific community. I'd suggest the Brumbies should play five games a year in Melbourne, giving up two of their Canberra games and playing three "away" games against other clubs who give up one of theirs, rotating over a period of years.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
I hope Australian rugby regains its former strength and grows. Happy to disagree about how that will happen.
Mike
Roar Rookie
We hear a lot about what phil thinks. He really wants the old days of just nsw and qld. Which led to many years of mediocrity in Australian rugby. And how often have the tahs been bailed out by RA? (multiple). Dont think any are solvent without the RA/TV $ yet that's the stunt they tried to pull on the brumbies. Hamish kept things going during covid but we thank he and phil for their service and wouldnt mind an administration focussed more on the future and less on the old boys network.
Around the Ankles
Roar Rookie
Fewer teams, less product to sell, less revenue. More talent migration overseas, Lowe quality product, lower ratings, even less revenue. More talent migration. You might not be able to shrink to greatness.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
10 team NRC. ..... 10 HCs, 30 Assistant coaches, 10 refs, 20 assistant refs, 330 players, 20 administrators, 10 ceo's, With bigger SR squads...... No more HC, no extra assistants, no extra refs needed, no more assistant refs. 6 more players per squad so 30 players. no more administrators, no more CEO's. 10 NRC teams benifits the WHOLE of rugby in Aus. larger SR squads does nothing.