Very good overview Geoff ……. the weather forecast for this week and next weekend is rain and showers every day …… All Blacks to win and I don’t care if it is by one point or 10 points. I was in SA in 1995 and don’t want to see a repeat of that result in extra time.

All Blacks to win by 20+ points.

The only way to improve is to play the best …. and if you lose a game then you know exactly what you have to improve on to win the next game.
Rugby Australia should be reviewing all of the game statistics from the current Trans-Tasman series to determine where the focus needs to be to improve and pass the information on to all coaches at every level including schoolboy rugby.
This needs an Australia wide team effort to start making improvements – the only problem is Rugby Australia. Are they competent to implement a strategy and see it through with sufficient funding?

Great article Geoff ….. and accurate. When you read the article in the Sports section of The Australian today it airbrushes over the poor performances of the Aussie franchises.

Good article Geoff however I agree with James and especially his comment ….. “You cannot dictate and make demands when you are flat on the canvas. You have to sort it out yourself and rely on goodwill from others until you have a product that they want. Instead of “turning up the heat” on NZ maybe RA should turn up the heat on their own people to sort themselves out”.
Looking at the big picture, the first step is for Hamish McLennan and RA to formalise an agreement with NSW, QLD, WA, ACT and VIC to put aside their own territorial ego’s and work co-operatively to grow rugby union in Australia from schoolboy level to senior level along with adequate funding then the NZRU might change their attitude.
Otherwise you can bet the house on it, that the NZRU will be looking beyond Australia for other opportunities.
The NZRU want good competition to grow the game ….. not be a nursery and daycare centre for RA.

When the worst of the coronavirus issue has passed, the new economic reality will hit home because of high unemployment and recession and there will be forced changes to every sporting code on the planet because of a lack of funds from broadcasting, sponsors and supporters.
New financial circumstances will change the way every sporting code on the planet runs it’s business model with head office administration, coaching staff, players salaries and competitions.
This coronavirus enforced shutdown could be a game changer and we might see a big improvement across the board especially for rugby union in Australia.

Geoff, your comment …… “There were 24,000 fans in that night – where 17,500 of them have gone in the years since is another story in itself” …… pretty much sums up the state of Super Rugby in Australia.
The Australian SR franchises have not performed consistently well over the last 10+ years against the South African and NZ SR franchises and supporters are staying away in droves.
As an international sport, the game of rugby union is on the rise so what Rugby Australia need to focus on is how to fix the problem of getting the Australian SR franchises (and the Wallabies) to perform at a high standard every game and the results will come and so will the supporters.
There is enough rugby union sporting talent in Australia – it just hasn’t been focused in the right direction.
If there isn’t an improvement then the SR competition will fold because the supporters and investors funding will move elsewhere.

If the Springboks long term plan is to depart the Rugby Championship and the Super Rugby competition and head north then it is probably better for NZ to look at ditching it’s involvement in the Rugby Championship also and along with South Africa try to establish a new competition involving international teams in both northern and southern hemispheres. The new competition based on IRB rankings at the end of each season could have a first and second division with the first division having (6) teams and the second division having (6) teams with promotion/relegation based on performance in any one season and with other international teams able to enter the second division of the competition based on IRB ranking. On the current IRB rankings the first division would be South Africa, NZ, England, Wales, Ireland and France and the second division would be Australia, Japan, Scotland, Argentina, Fiji and Italy. The test matches could be played in both the northern and southern hemispheres on an equal basis and if such a competition could be formed then a deal for international broadcast rights would be very attractive. Rugby World would also reap benefits for growing the game and making the RWC more balanced competitively. As for the Super Rugby competition that would be ditched along with SANZAAR.

All Blacks to win by 15+ points.

My view Geoff is that any experienced CEO taking over a business that has problems needs to address the issues immediately for the long term good of the business.
Michael Cheika should have been pushed out in early 2018 as soon as Raelene Castle took over – the long string of previous poor test results against Tier 1 nations were there for all to see and to extend Michael’s contract in the vain hope Micheal would change has not worked out. If Raelene wanted to push Michael out and replace him with another head coach but was prevented from doing so by the board of directors then this needs to be confirmed otherwise she must go. Rugby Australia is a business and must be run by hard heads who understand what it takes to be succesful.

Good article Geoff.
To grow the game in Australia there needs to be a clean-out of the current administration from Chairman, CEO and board of directors. These people have been entrusted to grow the game and provide pathways for talented players, men and women, to rise to the top. They have failed spectacularly over the last 10 years and the test results against Tier 1 Nations show the pattern.
The focus must be for the Wallabies to be consistently ranked in the top three teams in the World Rugby International Rankings and for the Super Rugby franchises to be winning the SR competition at least once every four years. This all costs money and the funding issues need to be addressed properly.
A renewed, well run experienced RA administration will provide a support structure for whomever is selected as head coach and other supporting coaching staff.
If the RA administration environment is setup properly then the best head coach available should be approached. If the SR franchises start winning and the Wallabies start winning then the supporter base will grow.
Andrew Forrest has a few good ideas and should be approached to sit on the board of directors and for funding support. Andrew has the business contacts to enable this to happen. Free to air games should also be a focus – not everyone has pay TV.
All of the background noise about foreign coaches needs to be disregarded – an open selection process to select the best coaching staff with proven international records and the ability to grow the team needs to be selected. The main objective is winning and growing the game so kids want to play and the revenue stream improves.

Michael Cheika has to carry a large share of the blame for the poor Wallabies’ performances as head coach however after the poor test match performances in 2016 where the Wallabies only won 6 of 15 test matches against Tier 1 nations it was pretty obvious to all that there was a coaching and selection problem and the RA CEO should have stepped in and terminated his contract. This would have given a new coach enough time to settle in before the RWC however that opportunity was missed so changes need to happen now.
However nothing will change by just bringing in a new head coach – he won’t last long in this toxic environment.
There needs to be a detailed review of the state of the game in Australia and all problems including funding to be identified.
These problems should be proactively attended to so that the new head coach and his assistants have the best support structure in place to identify and promote the best player talent around the country. This means all State & Territory rugby unions being involved in the same overall plan to achieve the best possible outcome for the SR franchises and the Wallabies.
Pretty obvious that the current RA board of directors are not capable and should be replaced in an orderly fashion over the next 3-4 months. Cameron Clyne and Raelene Castle should be removed immediately.

The Pumas will take this test match easily. Pumas by 18+ points.

Will be a great test match. All Blacks by 8+ points.

Good article Anthony and thanks for the legal point of view – laws and interpretations.
It seems that Israel Folau will now have his case heard in court after conciliation talks broke down this afternoon. Australians will be watching to see the outcome from the Court.
This saga has a long way to go and there are many Australians willing to fund the legal challenge for Israel Folau.
That alone sends a powerful message to RA and corporate Australia that they have a fight on their hands.
Be interesting to see if some of these corporates are willing to step and fund the legal costs for RA – for example, Qantas, ANZ, HCF, Mazda, etc.

The Waratahs are having a whinge in the Daily Telegraph about the impact of the Israel Folau saga on their season however if you look back over the SR competition since it’s inception in 1996 the Waratahs have won the SR competition once in 2014 and made the finals twice.
A poor record over 24 years by any account and they are just running true to form in 2019.
The Waratahs make too many excuses and blame everyone else but themselves for losing.
No more excuses – the Waratahs need a cleanout including Hooper and start again.

It’s all about the law – not about emotions. Israel Folau will win.

Are you from GetUp? Very political with your “faux outrage” comments.

Incorrect again – you seem to be an advocate of Qantas and pushing a “faux outrage” barrow similar to Qantas.
Go and check the Qantas international flight schedules – all the countries listed in my comments above are correct whether by Qantas or code share with Emirates.
Qantas has a business partnership with Emirates and earns revenue from the arrangement.
By the way, if you have shares in Qantas then strongly suggest you sell them before this financial year ends because the IMO 2020 rule kicks in on the 01 Jan 2020 and jet fuel will become a lot more expensive except if the planes are re-fuelled in the Middle East.

You are missing the point – Qantas has a sponsorship agreement with Rugby Australia. Qantas also advertises and accepts bookings for flights to/from Australia to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Dubai, Turkey, etc.
On the one hand Qantas is all “faux outrage” over Israel Folau’s comments on adultery and homosexuality and in the same breath has business dealings with some countries that do not tolerate adultery or homosexuality with the death penalty applicable.
To avoid being a “holier than thou” corporate hypocrite, Qantas has a choice – keep involved in it’s business dealings with countries that apply the death penalty for adultery and homosexuality AND shut up when issues arise such as Israel Folau’s comments on adultery and homosexuality OR change the way Qantas do business and start managing their business on an ethical basis that falls into the expectations of all fair minded Australians.
I will close on that note.

Not correct – Qantas advertises and accepts bookings for flights to/from Australia to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Dubai, Turkey, etc.
Rugby Australia are taking sponsorship funding from a “holier than thou” corporate hypocrite. Bad image for all involved when pushing the “faux outrage” barrow.
If Israel Folau breached his employment contract by making the comments then it is fair enough that his employment contract is terminated. No sympathy here and if he worked for my company and was in breach of his contract for similar remarks then he would be on the first plane home.

If Israel Folau breached his employment contract by making the comments then it is fair enough that his employment contract is terminated.
Qantas on the other hand is a “holier than thou” corporate hypocrite. Qantas pretends that it is offended by Israel Folau’s remarks on homosexuality all the while openly partnering with Emirates and doing business in predominantly Muslim countries where women who commit adultery are stoned to death and homosexuals are executed.
Australians don’t like double standards for anyone and Rugby Australia should cancel it’s association with Qantas forthwith because it doesn’t reflect their values.
That will make Alan Joyce choke.

Well said Morsie

Rubbish – stop trying to rewrite history. The Saracens were no angels!!!

There are (13) sporting teams in the USA with the name Crusaders and none of them changed their team’s names after the twin towers terrorist attack in 2001.
A terrorist wins when good people change their lives and bow to appeasement.
If the NZ Muslim community had any good community sense they would step up and let Kiwi’s know that there is no need to change the team name of the Crusaders or the city name of Christchurch.
Next thing we will see is for the Newcastle Knights to change their name.