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Joined September 2014
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The rugby gods reserve a cruel form of punishment for the Wallabies fan. Years of fresh starts, promising juniors, high-profile coaches, only to be…
The pending conclusion of the Super Rugby season will have coaches (armchair or otherwise) looking at gaps in their squads and how they can…
The 2021 rugby season is drawing to a close (in the southern hemisphere at least), and despite perpetual mediocrity from Australia, it has been…
As Super Rugby 2021 concludes, and with the Wallabies squad due to be announced today, I wondered what those not selected for higher duties…
Three games, three wins, three different styles. The Brumbies' season keeps building after wins over the Blues, Sunwolves and Bulls in the last three…
Two articles were published today calling for the abolishment of Super Rugby as we know it. Paul Cully in SMH advocates for Australia to…
After topping the Australian conference for the last two years – although you can hardly call a 6-9 season successful – and recruiting reasonably…
The lesson to learn from the Western Force's drawn-out culling is that rugby must transition into the next stage of professionalism and become a…
Finally a decision about Super Rugby has been made. One thing that really strikes me about the reaction to cutting the Force is that…
When Rio was awarded the 2016 games nine years back, Brazilians thought it would bring all kinds of good things to the country, especially…
The fledgling third tier of rugby will return in Australia soon with National Rugby Championship kicking off its second season in about six weeks.…
Full credit to Argentina for their win over the Wallabies. They played as a unit. They played with passion. They played with intent. I…
With the current state of rugby in Austalia – an arguably under-performing national team, funding difficulties and low levels of public interest – there…
Solid effort 😂
EXCLUSIVE: Schmidt to appoint David Warner as Wallabies leadership consultant
Wright seems to be maturing well this year. After his second try he copped a minor stray arm from the Reds tackler after which he appealed to the ref for a high shot. A few years ago he would have chucked the ball at the tackler then started some Argy bargy 😂 😂 😂 .
'It was brutal': Clutch Lolesio kicks Brumbies to 'Test match intensity' win over Reds as Wright shines again
Brumbies have been very sloppy to start the season, but 3 wins including in NZ is promising. In the past Larkham’s teams have tended to start the season really well but fade at the end, so I wonder if he’s tweaked his program a bit to taper to the finals better? But I am nervous about all the silly mistakes the team is making right now.
ANALYSIS: Good teams win when they're not at their best - but the Brumbies have a lot to fix to challenge in Super Rugby
Yeah they need afternoon games in May not March.
Yellow card hurts Force as Brumbies seal come from behind win to get season back on track
Yeah they have been pretty average so far this year, don’t seem to have much cohesion. Hope just building into the season haha.
Yellow card hurts Force as Brumbies seal come from behind win to get season back on track
Actually looks like Ikitau’s boot draws the blood. As he comes to ground after the knee contact Ikitau steps over the tackle and contacts Potter’s head. Toole’s contact looks very minor/incidental to the front of the face.
Yellow card hurts Force as Brumbies seal come from behind win to get season back on track
The one thing he has got right is that the talent is spread too thin. But the solution is working out how to get the abundance of SR quality Australian players in clubs overseas back to our 5 clubs. Money is the obvious answer, which won’t come easily. So we need to look at getting creative with overseas loans/secondments for Aus players. And make the rugby programs here as strong as possible. Cutting a team is a sugar hit solution that may not even help in the short term if the cut squads mostly just go overseas.
'Our talent is spread too thin': Ex-Wallabies captain urges Rugby Australia to cut Super teams
Solid first game from the Brumbies, helped out by some woeful play by the Rebels. All 4 tries were well taken, some with great counter attacking play. Defensive line out was excellent. Scrum not great and in particular the no 3 had a poor night. Kick off receipts were bad. Tom Wight had more than his quota of dumb errors!
'Own worst enemy': Rebels' month from hell continues as Brumbies smash Aussie rivals, Lolesio's timely reminder
The disallowed try was the correct call – the rebels flanker held the brumby back at the scrum and then again continued to hold his jersey. Though perhaps not the ‘right’ call. Would the Brumbies flanker have stopped the try? No, but the rebels flanker created the doubt with very cynical actions. That’s what is so frustrating – it was just a completely unnecessary action that killed the chance for his team.
'Own worst enemy': Rebels' month from hell continues as Brumbies smash Aussie rivals, Lolesio's timely reminder
That could certainly work, a proper franchise type competition. But there would be a big step up to test rugby, so you you’re right it would end up like the a-league where your test players are based overseas.
I still think SR can work, but it would need to itself become franchise style rather than the provincial.
'Destroyed the soul of rugby': Ex-NZR boss delivers damning verdict of Super direction - and his plan to fix it
I really liked the NRC but unfortunately it didn’t get much buy in while SR was the main “second tier” rugby in Australia. I think that may be the case in your model too.
To have a successful NRC it may mean leaving SR and running an 8-10 team Australian. Potentially this could lead into a champions league style knockout competition with NPC teams too. But you would likely have to accept selecting overseas based players for the Wallabies in that scenario.
'Destroyed the soul of rugby': Ex-NZR boss delivers damning verdict of Super direction - and his plan to fix it
There are so many Australians playing for overseas clubs right now that could fill the 5 sides and lift them to a competitive level.
Most of these guys won’t make the Wallabies though or will only score a handful of caps. Or worse the guys who could play 30-50 tests but chose to go overseas for money and/or opportunity. Guys like Isaac Lucas, Mack Hansen and Harry Hockings for a example. The pathways problem you mention is likely a flow on effect, but you’re right in saying the flow of new players will slow down.
'Destroyed the soul of rugby': Ex-NZR boss delivers damning verdict of Super direction - and his plan to fix it
The main reason super rugby was successful in the 90s/early 2000s was because the rugby was great and the best available Aus/NZ/SA players. At that stage there was no shortage of community interest. The biggest problem for SR has been the player drain to big money overseas competitions. That gutted the depth, particularly of Australian teams, creating an uneven competition where only a couple of teams have a realistic chance of winning. The timing of expansion unfortunately correlated with the player drain plus a difficult competition structure which has slowly chipped away at spectator interest.
The argument for reducing the number of Aus teams to 3 because that’s what worked in the past is a false argument. There is plenty of Australian talent to service 5 competitive teams. The problem is SR can’t offer competitive salaries to service that number of teams. I think it’s starting to happen in NZ but to a lesser extent. It would be difficult to counter this player drain by shortening a short competition and playing more club games.
You can argue about number of teams, competition structure, uneven draws, rule tweaks until the cows come home. But as long as salaries can’t compete with those offered overseas SR will never return to the so called glory days.
People backed the competition and matches drew crowds because the rugby was enjoyable to watch and the outcomes unpredictable.
So what is the answer? NZ and Aus need to make some serious decisions about how they want to structure the game going forward. I don’t think we realistically compete with overseas money. The current SR model can work – but it would require changes to even out the competition and mimic NRL, AFL, NFL etc. This means changes like any player can play for any team and still be eligible for their respective international team, player drafts, transfer windows/fees, independent commission. Ultimately you would accept that not all of your best players will play in SR so at least you make the competition more even.
Or you blow the whole thing up, work around the northern hemisphere competitions, revert to local domestic competitions (eg NRC, NPC) and pick Test players from wherever they play.
'Destroyed the soul of rugby': Ex-NZR boss delivers damning verdict of Super direction - and his plan to fix it
I suspect his main contract is with RA and then anything with the rebels is secondary. So that would mean if the rebels fold then he elects another team in Aus to play for while under the RA contract. He would have to break his RA contract to leave Australia (or be granted a release).
'There's a responsibility': Waugh's message to Tupou as RA CEO rejects flight risk fears
I always thought you had to be run onside and had to make an attempt to retreat. I only noticed in the last few seasons the run 5m rule…it has been 15 years since my last competitive game though!
'Who wants to see more kicking?': Wallaby 'stoked' with law change that will help him run riot
The stadium/temperature never used to be an issue in the heyday of late 90s/early 2000s. Yeah it’s cold, but dress for the conditions and it’s fine. Raiders do ok most of the year. NFL in the snow is another good example! It’s frustrating that relative success hasn’t brought fans back. So I think the issue, as with all Aus sides, is they just aren’t a realistic proposition of winning the comp. And I suppose that’s the issue with SRP as a whole.
Brumbies shut down talk of following Rebels into voluntary administration
I too am a busted fullback with a little bit of captaincy experience. I don’t disagree at all, but I was anticipating replies in advance about the position haha. In any case I think given the instability recently Kellaway would be a great option as captain.
'How do I get out of Australian rugby?' Wallaby's anguish after year from hell - and why there are 'no excuses' for Rebels
Sounds like a very smart and sensible player. He has an opportunity to nail down the Wallabies 15 jersey this year. And could be a good option for captain (accepting that fullback is not necessarily the best position for your captain).
'How do I get out of Australian rugby?' Wallaby's anguish after year from hell - and why there are 'no excuses' for Rebels
Springboks picked Jean Kleyn in their world cup squad who was previously capped with Ireland.
If someone is qualified for more than one country through heritage (eg born there, parents/grandparents from there etc) I see no issue with people playing for more than one country. There residence rule I have more of an issue with – moving OS just to play club rugby for a few years becomes a very tenuous link for national qualification. Perhaps needs to be move before age 16. At least the time frame is 5 years now.
Why ex-All Blacks prop is open to Wallabies switch - and the 'mental toughness' he's found in Australia
A better option would be to look and forming a partnership with an international franchise/union. Ie link with Japan, Argentina or even an emerging nation such as Chile, Uruguay or Portugal to provide players/supplementary funding. It would still keep the Victorian element and footprint in Melbourne market while providing professional competition exposure to players and potentially open up sponsorship opportunities.
Fears for Rebels' future as debt threatens their Super Rugby existence - but CEO says 'we will be fine'
No loss for the Wallabies directly, but losing a player like this is why SR teams are struggling. A challenge for the new management to figure out because we need to build depth and competition within SR squads. Otherwise it’s too easy for players to coast through and not really push themselves to improve.
Exclusive: Rising Wallabies hardman set to leave Australian rugby in warning sign for RA
What a sorry saga this turned out to be if true. Eddie truly trashing his reputation. Let’s hope there is a non compete clause in his contract, so at the very least RA will get a few million in compensation from JRU.
REPORT: Eddie Jones to quit Wallabies and join Japan as head coach
Aus rugby needs to stop the absolute focus on world cup (cycle) at the expense of everything else. It leads to handing out caps where they are not necessarily earned, mass changes week to week and limited continuity. The best way to build for a world cup is to play your best available team every game. Sure you may sacrifice depth, but it pushes players to be better and builds combinations. If Rennie’s had kept this philosophy on the spring tour last year he may well have kept his job. Instead we have this rabble.
COMMENT: Eddie must be axed if he can't beat Wales - or the game will be in deep trouble in Australia
It’s possible…we would likely end up on the same no of points assuming both teams get 5 points out of the last game (Portugal for Aus, Georgia for Wales). So using head to head Aus would be ranked higher than Wales.
This is no time for X-factor: The Wallabies' challenge is to find a structure to out-structure super-structured Wales
Thinking back to Toomua running the shot clock down, the referees should have threatened a penalty/turn over for time wasting. A bit like Foley in the Bledisloe. Obviously there is a shot clock to be used, but it shouldn’t mean teams can blatantly waste the time. Teams might get ‘creative’ in running down the clock, but at least you avoid sitting on the ball for 60 seconds.
The Wrap: Crusaders' shot clock fiasco and shhh, don’t put the moz on Darby