Aussie Player Exodus

[Major Tom]

Leota is the only one RA wouldn’t be too worried about I reckon. Wright and Tupou have RA by the balls a bit due to lack of other options in those position.

 

[wamberal99]

Tupou in his current form? He can go.

 

[PhilClinton]

Losing Wallaby level props isn’t great but yes Tupou is overpaid and shedding that money isn’t a bad thing.

 

[rugboy]

What’s the prevailing theory here?

- these guys would rather be part of a Lions tour than home RWC and are happy to leave

- they’re planning to come back to SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) in 2027 (or sign for 2028 and be eligible for selection in the RWC)

- they’re calling RAs bluff and will back themselves to be selected regardless because RA will be wanting their best possible team for a home RWC

I wonder if Wright's last RWC experience means he'd rather take the certainty of getting paid.

 

[Wilson]

Yeah, it seems pretty clear the chaos under Eddie is and has factored into a lot of players decision making. At the very least it's really brought home the fact that it's a short career and you're subject to the whims of coaches with an ever present risk of injury, so why not take the simple, guaranteed payday.

 

[Ignoto]

Tupou in his current form? He can go.

This is such silly rheotric. We saw this play out in 2023. Tupou was half cooked and then we lost Alan in the lead up.

This then stretched our TE stocks significantly and as much as people like to shit on Taniela, we don't have a factory just spitting out international ready props.

It's one thing to not pick Taniela in the 23, it's a completely different thing to not have him available immediately for selection if needed.

 

[wamberal99]

Tupou is two years older, and is playing like a 40 year old. It's not "silly", nor is it rhetoric. It is a sad fact.

 

[Major Tom]

Exactly. We actually need Tupou to get us to the next World Cup while the other props come through IMO. Just can’t afford him to pay him like we once did.

 

[PhilClinton]

Taniela as a prop to have in our squad is great.

Taniela as a prop being paid $1M+ isn’t great.

Unfortunately those two things can’t really coexist anymore because of the price tag RA put on him and we no longer can afford that. But clearly other organisations can.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Just pick him for the Wallabies from overseas?

 

[PhilClinton]

With the amount of players reported to be leaving, having him as one of our three overseas picks isn’t a given.

You’d think Ikitau and Wright would be auto selections based on current form which only leaves one more slot.

 

[HogansHeros]

I dont think Wright is an auto pick. We have plenty of talent in the back 3, sure a bit of step down from Wright, but our THP stocks are thin.

 

[Major Tom]

He’s a given if we don’t want our scrum to get smashed. Ikitau and Wright round out the others. We have the depth to cope with the other positions.

 

[PhilClinton]

I mean the reality is we won’t know which positions are most needed until all the players make their decisions and we assess injuries etc.

The only real definitive statement is this situation is going to cause some potential issues.

 

[Major Tom]

I can tell you what positions we don’t need depth in right now. Hooker, back row, 2nd row, halfback and wing.

 

[Wilson]

There could be some pretty significant changes coming to the Japanese player market:

The ‘Japanese blood’ plan that could drastically change rugby’s player market

For years, cashed-up clubs in Japan have raided Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands for stars. But the numbers of players being poached may soon dry up.

www.smh.com.au

Article talks about a requirement of 8 players of "Japanese blood" in match day squads on the field at anytime - that's not just qualified or capped, but ethnically Japanese, with a 30+ cap exception for naturalised foreigners.

Not sure how I feel about it, would be very good for Australia, particularly in holding on to younger talent and super rugby level players (the stars will still be sort after, maybe even more so), but it's seems really punitive to those players who've already made the jump. Not to mention the discomfort I have introducing race/ethnicity into the mix, rather than just nationality.

I'm not so sure this will be a huge help to Japanese rugby either, you'd assume it will mean more local players are produced eventually, but the shock of the changeover may see the national team fall right back in the rankings at a time they should be trying to assert themselves. It could also really hurt the prospect of a crossover comp with super if there is a significant decline in the quality of league one sides as a result.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

Not to mention the discomfort I have introducing race/ethnicity into the mix, rather than just nationality.

Current problem is it all looks a bit daft to the local viewers, esp in 99% racially homogenous Japan and their "national pride" in their own team.

As it stands, actual Japanese players are bit part players in their own national team.

 

[rugboy]

Sounds like the perfect ready-made excuse for a consistently underperforming National Head Coach

 

[Derpus]

I'd say their best ever side, under Jamie Joseph, actually had a pretty strong majority Japanese presence.

 

[Wilson]

I get that angle and the need to boost local talent to get buy in, but you can't just invent it out of thin air, you have to invest in the pathways and bring them up through the system.

I'm not sure this will particularly help things there either - because of the on field requirements I think when picking foreigners teams will invest deep in certain positions - e.g. all their locks and 10s will be foreigners so they don't have to worry about what happens when they make subs.

I guess they alternative perspective is the South African quotas for black players ended up being hugely successful and transformative for the Boks (after an initial period of downturn), but I don't think it's the same situation here - is the system really setup to discriminate against ethnic Japanese in Japan? And even if it is can the Japanese union afford to take the hit that South Africa took when they re-aligned or do they need to be a bit more considered about it?