If I hear one more commentator mention that the latest signed marquee, development or Super Rugby player from New Zild is ‘Wallaby-eligible’ I think I’ll go spare.
Does it actually mean something? A supposed grandparent or three years’ residency will turn you into a Wallaby? To me, it’s the cultural cringe all over again, except in a footy sense. The rugby cringe. A tug of the forelock to New Zealand rugby.
Now, I know they have more depth than us and are generally a bit more successful but for some reason or other we’ve been conned by our journos. It seems to them that everybody who comes here to play from New Zealand is of Wallaby standard — at least until they show off their wares on the park!
‘Wallaby-eligible’ seems to be the catch-cry. Breathless stuff, with expectations raised accordingly.
And have any of the players that have made this trek to the mythical ‘Wallabyland’ made the grade? Nah, not one goddam soul has managed to pull on the Green and Gold. You mean that we’ve been conned, again?
The only player that’s come anywhere near it was ineligible anyway, and that was Daniel Braid for the Reds.
The first one who got the journos’ hopes up when initially signed was Ben Castle, from the Chiefs via Toulon. He was recruited by the Force for 2009 as their marquee player. As it turned out, he didn’t deliver anything near the form you’d expect from a marquee signing during the course of his one season here and slunk off back to Europe.
I think the next cab off the rank was probably Tim ‘The Fox’ Fairbrother. He’s actually been the most likely suspect to date. A tight-head prop with scrummaging credentials and most importantly, an Australian grandparent, he was touted for big things over here.
The journos must not have noticed that he was just a journeyman prop for the Hurricanes, unfortunately cruelled to some extent by injury for a number of seasons.
The good news for him was that in Australia he stayed relatively injury-free and flourished. I’d imagine he would have come under some consideration for a Wallaby guernsey but maybe didn’t quite have the presence around the field that you need at that level.
He was given the word this year by Robbie Deans that he wouldn’t feature in their plans so he gone to greener pastures in England. I’ve said it before but in my view he was a better candidate than some who have been selected for the Wallabies in the past few years.
This year there were three Kiwi players recruited for a number of clubs that could be described as development players — Willie Ripia for the Force (there’s a pattern happening here), Mike Harris for the Reds (grandparent eligibility) and Afa Pakalani for the Waratahs.
There was also swag of Kiwis down at the Rebels this year as part of their foreign player exemption including former All Blacks Greg Somerville (a great success) and Kevin O’Neill. Ged Robinson, Hoani MacDonald and Tom Chamberlain rounded it out.
Willie Ripia has been hampered by injury throughout the season and hasn’t really been able to show off his full range of skills. His recruitment was regarded as a coup by Australian rugby journos, although he could never actually hold down a regular Super Rugby spot with the Hurricanes, despite some NZ U20 and NZ Maori lineage.
The jury is still out on him and we’ll see how he progresses next year. It’ll be especially important now that James O’Connor has done a bunk. If you were wondering, David Smith was ineligible for the Wallabies — he’d previously played Sevens for NZ.
Mike Harris is a quality utility player for the Reds recruited from the North Harbour NPC team. He showed off some promise in his early games before injury ended his Super Rugby season. He looks as though he potentially might be the goods and appears to have settled in happily in Brisbane. His skill set would be welcome anywhere.
As for Afa Pakalani — he’s young, a bit raw and a little flighty but if he wants to stay and knuckle down maybe an opportunity will come his way in a few years. It’s probably too early to call on that one.
Ged Robinson certainly has been a success but he’s not a development player as such. He’s previously played for the Junior All Blacks so is ineligible for Wallaby selection.
It’s Toby Lynn from the Chiefs next. He’s signed a two-year contract with the Force and an Aussie grandparent gives them the latitude to recruit him. A journeyman lock, he was not re-signed by the Chiefs after this season. He’s got plenty of experience in both NPC (65) and Super Rugby (32) and should be a solid addition. Expectations of international fame and fortune will be low, although to be fair I haven’t seen him being touted as the next big thing.
No, I haven’t forgotten Sos at the Tahs — but most would have. He obviously wasn’t eligible but there’s a lesson to be had here. Signing a ‘former All Black’ doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting what you think you’re getting. False advertising perhaps?
I think if anyone now thinks signing up Kiwi players is a panacea to their ills, they’ll probably think again. I reckon its been a bit of a failure, although our lack of depth has necessitated some form of sourcing arrangement recently.
I’m not sure we’ve been getting value for money though and it’s probably time for a rethink? The grass isn’t always greener over the ditch. It’s probably time to maybe start investing more on our own resources than wasting it on identified ‘potential’ that isn’t being delivered.
In the end, the two most successful development recruits to Australian rugby have been South Africans, Clyde Rathbone and Dan Vickerman. However, where there’s the occasional success there’s always a Dud Roodt….
