Union officials act speedily on revelations of exodus
Josh Rakic
February 6, 2011
THE Australian Rugby Union has taken quick steps to stem a mass player exodus, holding emergency talks with at least six Wallabies stars and as many as three more who are a signature away from defecting to European rugby.
The Sun-Herald revealed two weeks ago that some of the code's biggest names - including Matt Giteau, Dean Mumm, Luke Burgess, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Drew Mitchell and Stephen Moore - were on the verge of finalising deals with clubs in France.
With these clubs looking to finalise their rosters unusually early in mid-February, ARU officials were caught on the hop during their annual holidays.
Advertisement: Story continues below
But The Sun-Herald can reveal ARU chief executive John O'Neill and Wallabies coach Robbie Deans have been holding meetings thick and fast as pressure mounts on officials to secure the bulk of the youthful playing roster - with most off-contract after this year's World Cup - before it affects the Wallabies' World Cup preparation.
As reported, Stephen Moore had all but agreed to join Paris's Racing Metro a fortnight ago, but a late play by the Brumbies and ARU have helped the Wallabies secure their first re-signing victory.
''Guys like Stephen Moore had some pretty good offers in Paris and France but there's obviously a few weeks of uncertainly before the deal is finalised and in that time, the last couple of weeks, franchises and the ARU have come into play and sorted things right out,'' a well-placed source told The Sun-Herald.
''The ARU has been lucky in that the French clubs sort of milled around a bit for a week or so there.''
The Sun-Herald understands at least one Wallaby has since committed to a European club in 2011, while several more are now mulling counter-offers from the governing body and are expected to make decisions on their playing futures as soon as tomorrow.
''The ARU have certainly got things going in the past two weeks,'' another well-placed source said.
''Things have progressed with several players, at least six and maybe a few more, while Stephen Moore just re-signed.''
The ARU has made it clear it is desperate to re-sign the majority of its off-contract stars.
"Clearly we want to retain our best talent and are aware of the need to start discussions in a World Cup year earlier than usual,'' an ARU spokesman said. ''We are being vigilant on the retention side.''
The ARU can thank Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan for the retention of Moore and, almost certainly, Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Several well-regarded pundits envisage Fagan as the ideal replacement for the off-contract O'Neill at season's end should the ARU boss choose to step aside.
