Thank you, Matildas, for the wonderful memories
As the dust settles from the Matildas' devastating loss to England, coach Tony Gustavsson has some difficult decisions to make. There is still one…
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As the dust settles from the Matildas' devastating loss to England, coach Tony Gustavsson has some difficult decisions to make. There is still one…
Back in 2000, the Daily Telegraph published '100 years of Rugby League' throughout weekly newspaper articles, and then condensed it into an excellent book.…
When you combine the total wins in each of the four amateur/Open Era majors (Australian, French, Wimbledon, and US) with the three pro majors…
Alex Carey has just completed his first Test match. Many commentators made the observation that he had gone about his business so efficiently that…
I'm glad you asked, and here is the comparison. This Tuesday will mark the 80th anniversary of the shock, unheralded Japanese attack on Pearl…
For my fellow cricket lovers on The Roar, here are some composite international figures of selected great South African players from the 1970s and…
This article is in response to the recent article by Brett McKay highlighting calls by various coaches and personalities to bring back the NRC.…
Now we come to our next era, and fans will become increasingly familiar with the players. I have referred to this era as the…
Our next period is the Diehards. Although rugby union did not completely shut down during World War Two as it had during World War…
Following this era's first XV, here is the second-choice line-up. 1. Tom Davis Born 1894, 17 Tests 1920-25, Glebe-Balmain, Sydney Wests and NSW Davis…
In these tumultuous and uncertain times, I thought I would take the opportunity to look back at 121 years of the Wallabies playing Test…
In these tumultuous and uncertain times, I thought I would take the opportunity to look back at 121 years of the Wallabies playing Test…
In these tumultuous and uncertain times, I thought I would take the opportunity to look back at 121 years of the Wallabies playing Test…
There are two damning statistics about the Wallabies and Australian rugby. The first is that the Wallabies have not beaten the All Blacks in…
I'm one of those silly blokes who loves racing for the aesthetics – what I want most of all is watching champion horses with…
Last weekend I finally got around to clearing my study of unwanted books, magazines not revisited in many years and reams of scrap paper…
Former boss of Australian rugby John O'Neill's abrasive style is both grating and polarising, but there's no doubting his success rate. You can argue…
The Australian sporting landscape is becoming incredibly crowded, especially with national women's comps starting in most of the major sports. Let's look briefly at…
Ric Charlesworth is a man with plenty of experience inside and outside the sporting arena. Olympics gold medallist coach in women's hockey, Olympics silver…
Last Thursday past at The Roar Xmas drinks I was thrilled and honoured to be chatting with legendary septuagenarians David Lord, Spiro Zavos and…
I find this very intriguing.
Geoff Stooke & Dick Marks especially, are very good men. As is Russ Tulloch as I remember, who had some sensible things to say in the past about the poor direction of Australian rugby.
The RA board for anyone enquiring, is: Phil Waugh, Dan Herbert, Joe Roff, Pip Marlowe, Jane Wilson, Karen Penrose, Brett Godfrey & Matt Hanning. I only know of the ex-Wallabies to any appreciable degree, & they seem decent enough men.
What many of us can agree on is that Oz rugby cannot continue as it is. Some kind of different direction, a reset, is required. Oz rugby cannot continue the way it is.
Imagine an unconscious person being given continuous electric shocks via a defibrillator.
Oz rugby is the patient that is currently unconscious but so far, every shock tried has failed to bring him back to life. Something different is required before it is too late.
'Previous chairman can not be a scapegoat': First salvo fired in bid to spill the Rugby Australia board
Peter darrow,
I meant to add that Connor was a Queenslander, & part of the reason why he went to NZ in 1960 was because he had heard Catchpole, Sydney’s darling, would soon be preferred to him. In 1961, Connor was only 26 & Catchpole 22.
Representing both sides of the Tasman: Why Des Connor is the greatest Australian halfback
Peter Darrow,
Another great article. Not only was Connor named in the 1999 Queensland team of the century, he was named captain. Despite the presence of the likes of Eales, Loane, A.Shaw & Lynagh.
And his NSW counterpart was Ken Catchpole, the man who succeeded him. In an article a long time ago on The Roar, Spiro Zavos, the Kiwi turned Aussie, couldn’t split Catchpole & Connor, preferring to leave it to others to decide.
I got the impression, reading between Zavos’ silence not to choose, that deep down he preferred Connor, but thought it would be sacrilegious to say so. In any case, I now think it is a mute point, because I believe George Gregan to be our best scrum half ever.
Re-reading the history of the Wallabies leaves me sad on many fronts. Not least selection-wise. It has often been said that a key quality of a coach is that he must also be a good selector.
MacQueen excelled both as coach & selector. Dwyer was initially poor in selection but he quickly learnt in both selection & coaching at international level. Alan Jones wasn’t an outstanding coach but he was pre-eminent as a selector, picking the right players almost consistently.
But the selection caper runs deeper, with a horrible historical bias by NSW towards Qld that not only prevented many outstanding Qld players more opportunity at the highest level but also prevented the Wallabies from being a better team.
Thanks for this article.
Representing both sides of the Tasman: Why Des Connor is the greatest Australian halfback
Pneuma – says he who has achieved NOTHING…
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Brett Allan,
There’s a difference between earning a honest living that doesn’t require screwing other people & those who make a fortune by screwing as many other people as possible.
As Mahatma Gandhi said long ago, “the world has enough resources for everyone’s need, never enough for everyone’s greed”.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Tufanooo,
Pull yourself out of your ignorance & check my profile. I was contributing articles to The Roar when you were in nappies.
Your ignorance of my achievements is YOUR problem.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Tony – Vive la difference!
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Dionysus,
The warring clubs will only fall in line with PVL while he makes them bucketloads of money. None of them care about the ethics of how they get this money, as long as they get it.
Philistines all. Money & materialism are the only things they worship.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
AndyS,
Yeah, like I said, I don’t know anymore. I think I’m punch-drunk now…
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Tufanoo – & social media is occupied by dumb folk who have nothing to contribute beyond personal sniping.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Dionysus,
We’ve always enjoyed a cosy relationship with the US by keeping them at arm’s length. Of course, we have no-one else to turn to when the proverbial crap hits the fan.
But there are so many things we don’t want to imitate form the US. We already mimic a lot of their culture. A lot more of it we don’t need.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Brett Allen,
Several things. Las Vegas was mostly about attracting the American gambler to bet on Oz NRL.
Before PVL barged in, there were 7 major racing carnivals each with their own 3-4 week window depending on the size of the carnival – Perth Summer, Melbourne Autumn, Sydney Autumn, Adelaide Autumn, Brisbane Winter, Sydney Spring & Melbourne Spring.
Melbourne Autumn always preceded the Sydney Autumn with the Newmarket & Australian the week before the Golden Slipper & Tancred. Then Sydney Spring reciprocated by always preceding Melbourne Spring with the Epsom & Metropolitan the week before the Caulfield Cup.
It was an arrangement that worked perfectly well for everyone until PVL decided not only to be a bully, but a selfish bully.
There are too many things wrong with your reply, but I can’t be bothered putting out every spotfire.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
I don’t like Peter V’Landys. Not at all. His personal wealth, & that of NSW Racing & the NRL is built on the greed of wagering, & exploiting vulnerable people to spend money they don’t have.
Recent reports suggest Australians spend more per capita on gambling than any other country. No long-term good can come from this, except make a minority of folk like V’Landys, ATC, NRL & corporate bookies exceptionally wealthy.
Furthermore, V’Landys has bulldozed his signature new races like The Everest & The Eagle (such original names, not) to deliberately interfere with Victorian Spring Racing.
People who know more about racing than me say that Oz doesn’t have enough enough talent, either in racehorses or jockeys, to have them split between the Spring Carnivals of both Sydney & Melbourne at the same time.
That’s another thing about V’Landys, he’s a divider, not a unifier. He’s happy to divide & conquer when it suits him. But he’s the first one to squeal when someone else treads on his turf.
I don’t like the guy at all, massive hypocrite.
Exclusive: 'We want $1 billion'- V'landy's bullish vision of expansion, new Cup comp and staggering wealth
Jeznez,
Why do we keep doing this? So we promote to ARC/NRC, Randwick Galloping Greens, Manly Marlins, Eastwood Woodies, Brothers Filth, East Brisbane Tigers & Tuggeranong Vikings as just a few examples.
And ALL the other clubs in Shute Shield, Hospitals Cup & Dent Cup will accept this without a whimper????? Anyone who believes this still believes in fairy tales!
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Redbeard,
I don’t particularly agree with this. The ARC, forerunner to NRC, had (East) Sydney Fleet & West Sydney Rams, both of which cleverly tapped into Sydney’s colonial past. Top marks there!
Melbourne Rebels is still Melbourne Rebels, progressing to SR. And Perth Spirit captured the Indigenous culture of WA. Why they changed to Force I don’t know.
North Harbour Rays was also clever, combining the waterways of stingRAYs with hinterland of sunRAYs. Although ultimately I don’t really like the nickname.
Qld Country remained Heelers. That was the good bit. Now the bad bits. Why NSW Country changed from Cockatoos to Eagles I don’t know. Actually I think it was an internal dispute.
ARC Ballymore Tornadoes & East Coast Aces were limp, as were NRC Brisbane Utd, Sydney Stars (groan) & Canberra Vikings was simply Tuggeranong Vikings in barely disguised form that fooled no-one.
So there was good & bad, but ultimately uneven, giving the whole show a bad look. I’ve never been a fan of the ARC/NRC because I thought it duplicated too many resources. Either you have one (ARC/NRC) or the other (SR).
If RA want to create a better pathway to SR or a national comp of any description, then premier district club rugby needs to be overhauled. Shute Shield should should be trimmed from 12 to 8 first division clubs.
Newcastle can return to Newcastle & Sydney Uni can go to subbies. That leaves two to be demoted to 2nd division. But not Parramatta whose geography requires them to remain in 1st division.
Up in Brisbane, UQ also go to Subbies. Each of Bond Uni, Brothers & GPS need to rebrand. Bond Uni returning to Gold Coast Breakers; Brothers as Brisbane Brothers & maybe GPS as Toowong Jeeps, or some other nickname.
Reduce all premier district club rugby to 8 clubs in respective 1st divisions. Tighten the pathways, concentrate the talent.
Of course, we’re arguing over a dead carcass, Oz pro rugby is almost dead, soon to be confirmed deceased.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
AndyS,
TBH, I don’t know anymore, & I don’t think anyone else does. The “brains” that used to inhabit Oz rugby (1970s through to early 2000s) have either walked away or dissolved into thin air.
All the potential structures I read about are just peeing in the breeze. RA has no money for comps, no money for players, no money for grassroots, no money for development.
In short, RA has no money. You’ll still be able to watch premier district club rugby, subbies, country & schoolboys, but Oz pro rugby is mortally wounded.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Guess – true enough.
The first major iceberg was Eddie 1 in 2005 & the latest iceberg was Eddie 2 in 2023. And there were plenty of others in the intervening years, usually with the name of a chief executive or chairman.
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
AndyS/Jeznez,
If you’re so desperate for a NRC, & assuming you ditch SR, then 5 of those clubs must be: Sydney Waratahs, Brisbane Reds, Canberra Brumbies, Melbourne Rebels & Perth Force. That way you retain the history, tradition, heritage & tribalism.
If you don’t retain the HTHT then don’t bother…..
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Why would anyone still be surprised.
I feel so sorry for Schmidt & Horne. It’s like being anointed skipper & 1st mate of the Titanic as it’s sinking. The Lions tour won’t save the Wallabies either, or Oz pro rugby. They’re all on the Titanic, sinking…
RA reeling and facing a mass exodus of biggest stars - there are three key reasons why they're in peril
Frankie66,
All I know is you don’t shrink your way to success.
In the US, the land of greed & profit, there are 32 franchises in each of 4 major sports – NFL, MLB, NBA & NHL – & the commissioners of each are hell-bent on adopting socialism to keep all 32 franchises in business. Talk about idiosyncrasies!
Because as well as understanding greed & profit, they also understand history, tradition, heritage & tribalism. Albeit US-style.
Which is a back-handed compliment in saying, they’ll move a franchise elsewhere, but they won’t let it fail. The nickname, colours & records against other franchises lives on.
So, maybe the Rebels could relocate to Western Sydney, Sydney being the biggest market for players & fans. And then in 10 or 20 years when the Rebels are a roaring success, they can return to Melbourne.
Right or wrong, RA has 5 provinces, & it should do everything it can to retain 5 provinces. You don’t go back, you go forward. And if you can’t go forward, you go sideways until you can go forward again.
RA's manic Monday and how it will shape the future of the Australian game
PeterK,
When you start trying sport “exactly” like business, then you are in trouble…..
RA's manic Monday and how it will shape the future of the Australian game
Footy Franks,
Attack the cause, not th symptom. Sheffield Shield is the TV equivalent of scheduling a show at 11.30pm when most everyone has gone to bed.
No wonder SS struggles with international tests, ODIs & IT20s all invading its space. How do you suppose NRL would go if it’s best players were siphoned away playing a dozen tests & say another dozen or more 9s, touring here, there & everywhere?
I would hope when you give it some thought, you might appreciate the real reason SS struggles.
Two new teams and a big show of faith to two more - how Super Rugby must kick on from a thrilling start to 2024
If the Melbourne Rebels (why aren’t they Victorian Rebels?) are culled that will be it for me. I’ve already lost massive interest in rugby & their culling will be the final straw.
Sometimes what seems obvious isn’t the right answer. Scrapping the Rebels is a soft option, the thing you do to be seen to be doing something. But that won’t make it right or better.
As has been pointed out previously by other Roarers, the last time there were only 3 provinces, back in 2005, was also the beginning of the rot setting into the Wallabies. And not much has changed in the ensuing 19 years, & still counting!
So if the Wallabies imploded back in 2005 with only 3 provinces, & before England, France & Japan club rugby got so wealthy they started systematically siphoning off our best talent, going back to 4, then 3 provinces will only show how incredibly dumb we are.
And if Australian rugby minds have become so dumbed down, then we deserve to fade into obscurity & insignificance.
RA's manic Monday and how it will shape the future of the Australian game
Jammel,
Yes, Jurel is hot. Rahul then Pant, who goes off the boil & then along comes Jurel. It’s ridiculous!
Test Mortem: Epic comeback win but cracks remain in line-up, Shield form has to count for something, Pat should bat higher
Buscuit man,
Nowhere did I say this board should stay. I just don’t know enough about them all to give a qualified opinion. But I do we can’t continue like this, which I think I articulated well.
The reason we have representatives to pursue our interests is because if you asked 100K registered rugby players for their opinion, you might get 100K different opinions, such is humanity!
'Previous chairman can not be a scapegoat': First salvo fired in bid to spill the Rugby Australia board