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Brett McKay

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Joined September 2008

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Brett McKay is one of The Roar's good news stories and has been a rugby and cricket expert for the site since July 2009. Brett is an international and Super Rugby commentator for ABC Grandstand radio, is the voice of ACT club rugby, has commentated on Under-20s Championships, Women's Uni Sevens and National Rugby Championship coverage, and has written for magazines and websites in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. He tweets from @BMcSport.

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I’m with you Jez – if Angus Bell has got to where he is being guided by is dad and some solid coaching, having his dad as part of the coaching set-up at the Tahs would seem like the ideal situation for his development..

Is the Bell ringing for change in the Wallabies front row?

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yes, right you are AG, Comcast completed their takeover in 2018…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Cheer Nic, a nice little microscope you’ve applied here, and Bell definitely looks like one for the future.

Like many of them, it’s been great to see so many of these U20s guys do well at their first step up at NRC level, and then take another step into Super Rugby.

I spoke to Rob Taylor at NSW Country last year and he couldn’t stop himself rapping Bell in an interview about promising no.8 Will Harris (who forced Harry Wilson to 6 in the U20s). Said Bell could be anything, and the way he’s kicked off in Super Rugby certainly supports that..

Is the Bell ringing for change in the Wallabies front row?

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It basically did happen in a trial game – one of those games where they played with a squad of 31-32, and used jerseys 1-26 before going round the clock again with the second set.

Long story short, both Rory and Richie ended up wearing #4, but were never on the field at the same time. Only way to tell them apart was the colour of the stripes on their boots – and it was only established who was who when I heard one of the other players yell out to Rory as he was putting his boots on. Commentators nightmare.

Chipped Dan McKellar about it post-game and he could hardly contain himself, he thought it was a hilarious thing to do…

Is the Bell ringing for change in the Wallabies front row?

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Note: another swathe of losses at Fox Sports last night, all relating to the website and this time claiming both Rugby writers, Sam Worthington and Christy Doran.

So that’s three decent attempts to cut costs via job losses in nine months, and upwards of 50 people out the door..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Thanks Gatesy, a top post here.
But one small thing, the ARC didn’t get a second season! The first season wasn’t even two months in the past when it got cancelled…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Thanks Rodney, very nice of you to say..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Sharks have nothing Australian rugby eating itself, Mzil…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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KC, I referenced the Rennie development in the column:

“The latest development is the Nine newspapers (formerly Fairfax) citing sources close to incoming Wallabies coach Dave Rennie, and the possibility he might reassess his future if Castle is toppled.”

But it had literally just come out as I was finishing up last night..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Yeah, that’s a reasonable suggestion, Robbo. I’m sure RA would have preferred to have their broadcast furture sorted well before now – but there’s also no denying the current climate does represent the best opportunity for format change, essentially out of necessity..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Jimmy, what you’re referring to is Super Rugby, the competition.

SANZAAR is the governing body partnership of South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, that run Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Peter, for one, the IRB have been known as World Rugby for several years now.

Secondly, World Rugby haven’t proposed the World Club Championship, the idea seems to be coming from European Professional Club Rugby, the body that runs the Champions and Challenge Cups: https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/04/07/plans-are-underway-to-launch-a-rugby-club-world-cup/

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Reckon you’re going to have to elaborate SMI…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Rhino, Sky in the UK is Murdoch’s British arm, it’s a stablemate of Fox Sports…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Actually Rabz, I meant the other sports they went hard for – they went after the AFL big time, and get all the big blockbuster games bar the GF. They went just as hard at cricket and got the lot: Boxing Day, World Cups, Ashes tours, everything.

Rugby in the grand scheme of things is tiny % of the portfolio. But sport as a whole is huge for Foxtel. Without it, they would fall over quick smart…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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I think so TWAS, and holding out on the A-League, too..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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It would certainly be nice to know what conversations are going on regarding the broadcast negotiations, even though they’ve been put on hold, LBJ, I agree with that..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Thanks Geek, lot’s of good points here..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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I actually disagree with that one point, Rabz – so much of Foxtel’s customer base is Fox Sports. It’s why they’ve gone so hard to make sure they’re involved in the biggest sports and events…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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“how many complex and large businesses has he truly run, particularly in times of difficulty, turmoil or recovery. More importantly what relationship does he truly have with the rugby community other than the randwick clique.”

For what it’s worth Digs, all of these questions are easily answered with even just a token search. The guy you see on TV is not everything he does…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Bobby, I mentioned this to Geoff yesterday, I know I’ve got to the point where the conflict is just so obvious that I regularly forget about mentioning, almost as if it’s just obviously assumed knowledge..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Yep, as comments above have said Nigel, you’ve fallen for exactly what the News Corp machine wants you to believe – that things that weren’t even Castle’s doing are her fault..

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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And what exactly does a NFJ endorsement mean, Jez, given the way his NSWRU Chairmanship ended?

I’m not sure he’s in any position to be speaking about this matter, personally…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Peter, I would think it should be a constitutional requirement that he did. The conflicts of interest would just be too great…

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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Yeah, I’d love to know what conversations are happening at SANZAAR level, Terry.

What kind of scenarios are they looking at for this year and for next year?

Can Super Rugby happen next year with travel restrictions still in place in any country?

What are the implications for the partnership if a member withdraws for whatever reason?

Can SANZAAR as a joint venture even survive if a member withdraws?

What really is News Corp's rugby end game?

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