Hello Jim…..long time no speak…..glad you are still reading The Roar. That is great news about the plaque, I was not aware of it. I know that Bill was not everyone’s cup of tea in rugby in Australia, and that his stance on retaliation on the 1966/67 tour and the sending home of Cullen polarised opinions about him in Australian rugby, as did his blowup with Brock during the 1975 England tour of Australia during the Battle of Ballymore. But he was a towering figure in the game and an inspiration to me.

Off topic, it appears that Englishman Mike Burton (who was sent off during that 1975 Ballymore match) still holds a grudge against Australia in general. At the end of 2013 I organised an Australian Barbarians Masters team to travel to the UK to play Classic England for the 10 year anniversary of the 2003 World Cup final. It was a charity event well supproted by English corporates including Heathrow Express.

Burton contacted us to say that if we travelled under the Australian Barbarians name he would take legal action as the name belonged to the Barbarians club. He suggested we call ourselves the “Boomerangs”. In the end we were promoted as Australian Legends, but played in Australian Barbarians strip with the Baabaas logo of two leaping sheep. Needless to say he did not join us for a drink!

Please keep me posted on the plaque progress and let me know if I can help.

Best regards,

Loges.

Sheek….an awesome recollection of some of the true greats who missed out. Rob Heming told me that he also carried an ankle injury into that tour and could barely walk in the Perth match where Lenehan was ruled out. He managed to hide the injury sufficiently, but suffered again in the Newlands Test, where there were no replacements and he had to continue.

An old photo of Mike Cleary in those days shows a veritable Adonis, it is hard to believe that a man could look like that just on the back of running and genetics, and without any modern supplements and methods. His physique was staggering and if he could run as well as he looked like he could run, he would have been hard to leave out.

Kevin “Kandos” Ryan would have been a great asset against the tough Afrikaner provincial sides.

Ben a story came out on the weekend from Stephen Bachop via one of his old Japan teammates. Bachop recalled the Bernie strategy from the All Blacks in a Test week. Apparently they tried a number of different strategies to shut him down, 12 jamming in, 7 rushing, 12 and 7 pincer, 10 holding his channel……and nothing ever really worked. Took a lot of time out of training too apparently!

Gary…..agree totally with your comment….”It will not be easy to translate his ability and talent to others to emulate”.

An interesting comment from an Eddie-Jones-era Wallaby on the weekend who said at the beginning of a Test week it was not unusual for Eddie to ask the backs what they would be working on that week. Bernie would give a quiet run-down of the details of their strategy and how they intended to get that right during training. Apparently Eddie nearly always said “No worries” and moved on to the forwards, because he knew that Bernie had it covered.

The Wallaby in question said that Bernie had the smartest rugby mind he had seen in football, and that included coaches. So I’d be hopeful that he can translate, and they can emulate!

Nick I think that the great players all have the blessing of talent, and the blessing of being born into the right team at the right time.

Lynagh was one of the greats no doubt, but was fortunate to play behind an often dominant pack and in a team which suited his style, which in my view was excellent kicking for territory, a quality pass and an adequate running game when he had to.

Mark Ella again had the benefit of good kickers around him (Lynagh when he played at 12, Gould, Campese) and a mix of hard runners and evasive finishers (Moon, Grigg, Campese, Williams) which suited his playmaking and supportive style.

Personally I think Larkham is the most complete of the three. In saying that Mark Ella was more beautiful to watch, and Lynagh was perhaps more perfect.

Quade is an interesting case. The main difference I see (note I say the MAIN, as there are plenty) between him and Bernie is that Larkham was always looking at, and pressuring the defence….whereas Quade is always looking at his options. Quade exerts sudden, occasional pressure on the defence, whereas Bernie wore them down, they were always under some sort of pressure from him.

It has to do with vision in my book. Bernie was always looking at the defence and looking for gaps, pressuring them. Quade is looking at space behind the defence and looking at options to pass. It’s hard to explain well, but watch Quade when he plays, his body is always angled to pass and his peripheral vision is on the pass too – even though he may appear to be looking at the defence.

Doesn’t that prove my point – that the amateur game would be better off running itself?

Sheek….I can’t comment on the structures within those administrative bodies because I simply don’t know what they are. On the surface though, it appears to be as you say. However, I’m not certain why the fact that AFL/CA/FFA do it a certain way immediately means that rugby should follow suit.

We have no free to air exposure; we have a smaller playing and membership base; we have the least money of the 4 sports. There are several reasons to investigate a new model.

Despite the assumption of many readers – I am NOT saying that the ARU or the franchises are doing a bad job developing rugby. I think they are doing extremely well for an organisation whose core business is running a professional game, and for whom the amateur game is a clear distraction from the business at hand.

The amateur and professional games have different drivers, different values, different success measures and different demographics. I don’t see how one organisation is supposed to reconcile these extremes into a single coherent strategy.

Yeah I’d go along with a model like that, although I’m not certain of the “ownership” implied by a licence fee. I see it more as a “rebate”, where the support from the amateurs counts towards a rebate for development. Perhaps a percentage of ticket sales, to give people an incentive to get out and take kids to games?

I actually feel some sympathy for the professional bodies. They are subject to continual political sniping because of the blurry line between the pros and amateurs. Allowing them to get on with a fully professional business could only be an advantage I would have thought. The NSW model is a good start – my argument is that it should be an integrated national approach.

Hi Jamie,

If I have given the impression that I am arguing money shouldn’t be spent on league players, then I haven’t expressed myself well. I am talking about the perception in clubland, not the reality of the CBA. As I am aware the CBA still corrals funds for grassroots development so whatever money is there remains there.

What I am saying is that it must get tiring for the professional franchises and the ARU to continue to have to try to explain that fact to the masses – and wouldn’t it be easier if the amateur game had its own standalone body responsible for running development. It would be a much clearer and more functional structure. Being on the inside at NSW Rugby, I’m sure you must see the misconception all the time.

You’re right, the argument is a total furphy, but it doesn’t stop 90% of the masses believing it, because they think it is all part of the same pot. And who can blame them when profile people a’la Fitzy and Burkey simplify it in the mainstream press.

Cheers…

Ah jeez – am I on the block for my stats today or what! My mistake….I had 4 notes on a massive page of scribble, and I looked at the wrong end of the list which was the Reds in 2011, who didn’t clock their second loss until rd 11. The Tahs did indeed record their second loss in 2014 in Rd 7.

I was looking at how long it took all 4 champs to record their second loss in the season:

2014 – Waratahs in Rd 7
2013 – Chiefs in Rd 9
2012 – Chiefs in Rd 12
2011 – Reds in Rd 11

*sigh*

Their season’s not over, after all they lost their first two in a row last year and still made the final, losing narrowly to the Waratahs.

But, they did win 7 out of their next 8, which got them back into their season. And this is my argument – it’s easy in hindsight to say that it can be done, because it clearly can. But it’s when you’re sitting at the beginning of that run, not having done it yet, and having to do it to keep the season alive…..that’s when it is a challenge.

Probably less so for the Crusaders who are one of the more composed and methodical teams in the comp, but still a big ask that comes with a lot of pressure.

Hugo…..here’s a quick snapshot. The Waratahs and the Sharks were the only two teams to not lose two in a row at all. After every loss they followed up with a win.

The Crusaders lost two in a row to start the year, but then only lost 3 out of their next 14 to make the finals.

The Brumbies lost two in a row once. The Chiefs lost two in a row and then three in a row between rounds 10 and 17 which pretty much put them to bed. Before that they were 3rd – after they were 9th.

Bonus points tend to vary among conference winners – between about 7 and 10 for the season is the measure. In 3 out of the 4 years, the team with the most bonus points (out of the top 3 teams) has finished on top and won the tournament.

The exception which illustrates my point is the Stormers, who finished on top in 2012 with only 2 bonus points and were the only team in the comp to get no try bonus points at all! They had just two losses though which is how they stayed on top – again, losses damage teams more than a string of wins lifts them up.

They blew their home final to the Sharks though – not that surprising given they had trouble with the Sharks during the year narrowly beating them 15-12 and 25-20.

MD you are dead right! I always said I was a word guy not a maths guy. I have made the necessary adjustment and I dont think it disproves the theory – just gives slightly more leeway for teams to slip up.

Yes – but it took them until round 11 to record their second loss in 2014 so there was much less pressure on them by then. Every loss mounts the pressure for a subsequent string of wins.

Very possible – just difficult when you cram those two losses into the first two weeks.

Brett,

Re your comment…”I think there was only one person outside me.”…as coincidence would have it, I just ran into that very person this morning in a cafe in Sydney, former Wallaby prop Richard Harry, now sporting a hipster beard and looking for all the world like Boris The Blade from Lock Stock fame….but I digress!

A couple of years ago I spent some time with the Brumbies on a corporate gig through Deloitte. There were about 20 of us and on the morning of the game, we were put through a light Brumbies-esque training session by Steve Larkham and Justin Harrison, to get a feel for the sort of prep the players did. Funny stuff…..middle aged matrons jumping in the lineout, 60yo corporate titans packing down at loosehead.

Towards the end of the session, someone mentioned that drop goal and Harrison mischeviously suggested a re-enactment. So away we went, set the lineout, and got a hitup going in midfield from Giam Swiegers (Deloitte CEO). Larkham was back in the pocket, 40 metres out from goal in trackies and runners, on a lumpy Griffith training oval in midwinter……but still hit it as sweet as you like and it was climbing as it went over the posts.

As you can imagine, much mirth and merriment, and left no doubt about Larkham’s ability with the boot.

Sheek….I’m not sure if GRA was born enough to have a “rebirth”, but personally I think it is overdue.

Perhaps it is. I think it is time that Australian rugby supporters reclaimed their place in the game, instead of starving outside the castle gates.

Chris,

I don’t see any inconsistency between the two. In one article I am talking about how a similar series of events before the 1991 World Cup led to a golden era, and there is potential for that to be repeated. Key word = potential.

In the other, I’m simply observing the current status of the Wallabies performance, which I don’t think many would disagree with.

I’m at peace with both columns. I think we are definitely capable of another golden era, but not while the fans remain so totally disenfranchised. If that remains the case, then whatever the Wallabies do on the field won’t matter, because no-one will be watching.

Regards…

I thought that would be just churlish to mention the torchlight pose when he is playing so well, and actually conducted himself so well in the post-match interview!

If they weren’t playing at home, Brock would have been the first at the airport to see them back. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he was on the first flight up to Brissie this morning!

Apropos of nothing, but it is an interesting thought to consider….

Can anyone imagine Will Genia putting on the same sulk that Giteau did when he was overlooked for the Wallabies VC job last year?

I don’t know if it’s totally stupid, but I was certianly comfortable with the previous law, where players changing countries had to serve a 3 year residency requirement before representing their second country.

For mine, if a player can play Test rugby for one country, and then is good/focused enough to move to a new country and progress through to Test rugby again after a 3 year break, then they deserve everything they get.

After all, it’s only going to be a handful of players who are affected, and it would certainly give the Pacific Islands the benefit of a lot of ex-All Blacks and ex-Wallabies who could go home and play for those countries late in their careers. Michael Jones is a great example of a player who played for both the All Blacks and Samoa – imagine being a young Samoan lining up alongside Jones in the latter years of his career.

“Butchered” is such a harsh word! But yeah you’re right…he did take a couple of bad options at times.

However, options taking can be learnt, as long as oyu have the raw materials, and he has the pace, footwork and offload to create a try.

And like all the Reds, he backed up and tried again after his mistakes.