ARU denies injury-hit Force Staniforth lifeline

[Epi]

ARU denies injury-hit Force Staniforth lifeline

February 18, 2010

THE Western Force, struck by a horrendous injury toll that includes two of their most dynamic forwards, David Pocock and Richard Brown, are angry the Australian Rugby Union won't allow them to bolster their dwindling ranks by re-signing former Wallaby Scott Staniforth on a short-term contract.

Before yesterday discovering that Pocock will be unavailable for more than two months with a ruptured finger tendon and Brown for at least six weeks with a dislocated shoulder, the Force had called for Staniforth to cover the loss of utility back Cameron Shepherd, who could be out for two months with a thigh strain.

After losing their star South African five-eighth import, Andre Pretorius, for the season with a torn hamstring, and then his replacement Mark Bartholomeusz for several weeks because of a neck injury, the Force hoped Staniforth would fill one back-line spot.

But the ARU has blocked the move because Staniforth is contracted to the Japanese club Yokogawa for another season.

When Force coach John Mitchell was yesterday asked about his team's crippling injury list, he quickly turned the subject to the Staniforth issue.

''They [injuries] are part and parcel of this level of rugby, but you just don't expect them all to come in a lump sum,'' Mitchell said.

''What I am more annoyed about is the number of blockages and hurdles which are placed in terms of trying to replace these players. There are so many roadblocks and I don't agree with the thinking. We're in a pretty desperate situation at the moment.''

An ARU spokesman said last night that if Staniforth ''was a free agent, the situation would be viewed in a different light''.

''But he is contracted overseas and we don't entertain players on a loan basis while they are committed elsewhere,'' the spokesman said.

Mitchell also threw barbs at those who believed that Force fullback James O'Connor should be moved to five-eighth to replace Sam Harris, who struggled when they were beaten by the Brumbies 24-15 in the opening round last Friday night.

''We're not blessed with versatility at fullback at the moment. All those Einsteins who think the No.15 should move to No.10 should look at our resources before they make a comment,'' Mitchell said.

Two Dubbo-born players - Ben McCalman and Richard Stanford - are in line to replace Pocock and Brown in the Force back row.

http://www.theage.com.au/rugby-unio...-force-staniforth-lifeline-20100217-odyq.html

Umm sorry why? There is no good reason the ARU should block a loan. Football (soccer) clubs do it all the time.

 

[matty_k]

I would have thought that it would be in the ARU's best interest to throw The Force a life line. Having them get pummeled due to injury is hardly a positive step.

 

[TOCC]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

 

[Epi]

If it were against SANZAR regulations or something fine - but the ARU?

Rugby is it's own worst enemy.

 

[JJJ]

Must be some pay-back involved behind the scenes somewhere.

 

[Scotty]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

What happened that season when we had 567043 flyhalves injured? I thought we had signed a replacement? But maybe it was just an academy or club player?

 

[waratahjesus]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

it is an actual ARU policy, it makes perfect sense. If you allow staniforth to play then why cant giteau have a season off the wallabies and play in frane etc for big money then come back the following year. George smith was given special permission to play for the brumbies and not australia this year so he could go, its the same thing in reverse.

the ARU certainly arnt going to allow it as well when the force are given permission to sign a replacement for Pretorious then come back with a shopping list of three or four players they want now.

 

[Newb]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen

and that was also a pretty bone-headed move

 

[fatprop]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

it is an actual ARU policy, it makes perfect sense. If you allow staniforth to play then why cant giteau have a season off the wallabies and play in frane etc for big money then come back the following year. George smith was given special permission to play for the brumbies and not australia this year so he could go, its the same thing in reverse.

the ARU certainly arnt going to allow it as well when the force are given permission to sign a replacement for Pretorious then come back with a shopping list of three or four players they want now.

It is simpler than that, Staniforth could play if he was a free agent, but he isn't he is contracted to a Japanese club for next season.

 

[Blue]

A case of being petty? Only yesterday the Sharks announced that they will borrow a reserve lock from the Bulls as two of their players are injured.

Now I see Andy Goode will join the Sharks becuase one of their 10's is injured and the second retired out of the blue.

I see nothing wrong with this.

http://www.keo.co.za/2010/02/18/desperate-sharks-loan-pom-pivot/#more-51783

The force should probably have signed tghe likes of Goode or similar by now but the ARU is being petty.

 

[TOCC]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

it is an actual ARU policy, it makes perfect sense. If you allow staniforth to play then why cant giteau have a season off the wallabies and play in frane etc for big money then come back the following year. George smith was given special permission to play for the brumbies and not australia this year so he could go, its the same thing in reverse.

the ARU certainly arnt going to allow it as well when the force are given permission to sign a replacement for Pretorious then come back with a shopping list of three or four players they want now.

normally i would agree, but the difference here is that Giteau would have to plan such a move and sign contracts months ahead, the Force have been put in this position by a serious sudden injury toll, surely they ARU could allow special dispensation to sign short term contracts of players in such scenarios.

I understand the ARU is protecting there best interest by ensuring that the Wallaby depth is protected, but isnt it also in there interest to have the S14 teams to perform at there there best potential as well.

 

[Blue]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

it is an actual ARU policy, it makes perfect sense. If you allow staniforth to play then why cant giteau have a season off the wallabies and play in frane etc for big money then come back the following year. George smith was given special permission to play for the brumbies and not australia this year so he could go, its the same thing in reverse.

the ARU certainly arnt going to allow it as well when the force are given permission to sign a replacement for Pretorious then come back with a shopping list of three or four players they want now.

normally i would agree, but the difference here is that Giteau would have to plan such a move and sign contracts months ahead, the Force have been put in this position by a serious sudden injury toll, surely they ARU could allow special dispensation to sign short term contracts of players in such scenarios.

I understand the ARU is protecting there best interest by ensuring that the Wallaby depth is protected, but isnt it also in there interest to have the S14 teams to perform at there there best potential as well.

I would like the ARU to explain how playing Sam Harris at 10 is protecting depth.

I think I'll fall off my chair, I'd laugh so much.

How about getting someone at 10 who can pass the ball to the young players so they can build experience.

 

[en_force_er]

How about getting someone at 10 who can pass the ball to the young players so they can build experience.

Isn't he a center who has some club 10 experience?

 

[Blue]

How about getting someone at 10 who can pass the ball to the young players so they can build experience.

Isn't he a center who has some club 10 experience?

Did it look like he can play 10 at this level?

 

[waratahjesus]

yeah this doesnt make sense, they say the precedence was set when they stopped QLD from signing McMenimen, but IMO the situation is totally different, the Force have a situation where all these players were injured in the season and have no alternatives, the Reds have a complete off-seaon to find a replacement.

it is an actual ARU policy, it makes perfect sense. If you allow staniforth to play then why cant giteau have a season off the wallabies and play in frane etc for big money then come back the following year. George smith was given special permission to play for the brumbies and not australia this year so he could go, its the same thing in reverse.

the ARU certainly arnt going to allow it as well when the force are given permission to sign a replacement for Pretorious then come back with a shopping list of three or four players they want now.

normally i would agree, but the difference here is that Giteau would have to plan such a move and sign contracts months ahead, the Force have been put in this position by a serious sudden injury toll, surely they ARU could allow special dispensation to sign short term contracts of players in such scenarios.

I understand the ARU is protecting there best interest by ensuring that the Wallaby depth is protected, but isnt it also in there interest to have the S14 teams to perform at there there best potential as well.

unfortunately in the world of running a business though, if you let one person do it, tehy will all do it. What if the brumbies release Giteau so he can play the off season in france and then resign him? it sets wheels in motion and allows contracts to become stupidly worded and worked around.

the reds were denied Kefu for the same reason a few seasons back from memory, its no different.

from my understanding, the Force asked the ARU permission to sign a 10 to replace Pretorious as he was out for the season, so they were allowed to fill there marquee spot. To then try to sign players for other positions without asking, then when the move is blocked having your coach go on tv and chuck a tanty is just poor form, if they wanted speacial consideration then they probably should have asked nicely.

as long as the rules are applied to every club, which they well seem to be, i dont think you could actually argue that the force have it tough at all. Even with all there players fit, there not exactly world beaters on paper

 

[aussie1st]

Don't see the point in now allowing him. Staniforth is Australian anyway and if the selectors wanted to pick him I can't see any reason why he would reject that offer.

 

[Lindommer]

It would be nice if a bit of common sense reigned here and the ARU encouraged the Tahs or the Brumbies to lend the Force a five-eighth, as the Bulls lent the Sharks a second-rower. The Force's current run of injuries are unprecedented and I'd be much happier if the ARU looked at it as a unique situation and helped one of the Oz teams through their troubles.

For all the huffing and puffing about rules, etc, there has been a precedent in Oz rugby: early in the Super 12 Queensland had a bad run with their second-rowers. Warwick Waugh, who had previously played with the Tahs and Brumbies, joined the Reds after the season had started. I don't particularly care if he was contracted at the time or not, Queensland needed a second-rower and Warwick was happy to help out. And if my memory serves me correctly there was another instance in Queensland when they were short of half-backs; Brett Sheehan moved up there in 2005 and I think he was contracted to the Tahs at the time.

It's not going to do Australian rugby any good for the Force to be flogged this year. Solution: check out of Beale, Halangahu, Lealiifano or To'omua who's thinking of joining the Rebels and pay them a bonus to move to Perth for a few months. And have the imagination to address every problem as a unique situation when they arise. The ARU isn't the public service.

 

[Ash]

It would be nice if a bit of common sense reigned here and the ARU encouraged the Tahs or the Brumbies to lend the Force a five-eighth, as the Bulls lent the Sharks a second-rower. The Force's current run of injuries are unprecedented and I'd be much happier if the ARU looked at it as a unique situation and helped one of the Oz team's through their troubles.

For all the huffing and puffing about rules, etc, there has been a precedent in Oz rugby: early in the Super 12 Queensland had a bad run with their second-rowers. Warwick Waugh, who had previously played with the Tahs and Brumbies, joined the Reds after the season had started. I don't particularly care if he was contracted at the time or not, Queensland needed a second-rower and Warwick was happy to help out. And if my memory serves me correctly there was another instance in Queensland when they were short of half-backs; Brett Sheehan moved up there in 2005 and I think he was contracted to the Tahs at the time.

He was in the Academy.

And that is the issue - no team wants to send a rising star and allow him to be potentially poached.

I could only see it happening if the guy had a contract for a few years, which I think is unusual for an Academy player.

 

[Scarfman]

Vis a vis Lindommer's post - this situation is also about the spirit of rugby. How many times have you played on the opposition team because they were short? We used to do it all the time in the Central West union.

 

[waratahjesus]

i dont actually think the tahs or brumbies have excess 5/8ths
even for the wallabies now when everyone is fit they go into a game with gits, barnes and cooper and rotate positions at some stage, having three in nsw and act is exactly the same thing, its just modern rugby. the loose man out is only t.smith. i dont see anyone really displaced at the tahs to his equivilent.

if staniforth was to get a release from his contract in japan it wouldnt be a problem, the fact he doesnt seem to have asked for one tells you were his head is at. he aint going to be here for the wallabies so he aint gonna be here.

The advantage of the force getting flogged week in week out is that Qld wont be the worst Aussie team, and they have a larger viewership up there so its much more important for overall revenue if there doing better.