Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Not really...
Australian Rugby / RA
- Thread starter Dave Beat
- Start date
Not really...
I don't know that it's really a conflict of interest. RA has a contractual obligation to a number of players signed for 2025 already and the only team they had influence over in terms of ongoing contracts was the Waratahs at that point.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
No it won’t. International clubs will still come and make them good offers. Not playing the year won’t hurt them, I mean it’s not like Quade Cooper had no offers and is earning more than he could in Aus
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
They'll make them good offers, but it would be much lower than if they were having to compete with RA to sign them.
Quade finished his rugby in Australia playing at a professional level with the Rebels.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
So a clear conflict. Would they prefer them to go to the Tahs and take them to finals or the Force?
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
There will be no shortage of competition in the market for capped test players. All the fringe players would want to be bending over backwards to get a game or seeking an early release to play pro footy elsewhere.
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
For some of the guys lower on the list it honestly might - how much time would Dobbins expect with Porecki, Vailanu, Heaven and Fourie fit? Arguably he's going to have a better chance showing what he's got playing for a Wests side he's familiar with than with a Shute Shield club he's never played for, occasionally getting held back as injury cover. Potentially some of those guys won't be resigned at the tahs, but he's going to be coming in on the bottom rung.
Admittedly Dobbins is probably a special case - BPA and Dolly joining the Force means hooking stocks are looking pretty deep across the country now, but as @Highlander35 mentioned a few more of those guys will struggle for any meaningful game time with the tahs squad fully fit. Better to be playing at the club they know best while being agile enough to take any opportunity (overseas, injury cover in super) on a club only contract. That changes a bit for some of them if the Brumbies/Force/Reds are an option, but if it's presented as tahs or club then there are very real potential career benefits for just playing club for quite a few of them.
Strewthcobber
Steve Williams (59)
They don't get the benefit of pro level training, fitness, weights programs, injury recovery, physios dieticians etc etc.
QC (Quade Cooper) could afford to pay for all of this when BT threw him out. Your average reserve Super Rugby player won't be able to
Adam84
Phil Kearns (64)
In the case of someone like Dobbins, yeh he may not play much but I'd say there's value to been in a proffesional environment; been around other players learning, and with coaches and S&C staff helping them develop. Even if paid full-time, it's pretty hard to train for a team sport if you've got no one else to train with.
Last edited:
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
To some degree, though taking a full contract with only club commitments does make this a bit easier than it might otherwise be, particularly if there's a group of them doing it in the one city (and ideally at the one club). Overall though the goal probably wouldn't be a whole season of club rugby, it'd be keeping yourself available to take a contract elsewhere in short order. Once they agree to the variation and head to the tahs (or any other aus super side) they can't take an early exit anymore.
The other side of that is you might be a skeptical as a front rower heading to the tahs right now, certainly I'd be asking a lot of questions about what went wrong this year and what they're doing to ensure it doesn't happen again. Not sure I'd chance my career on "it was bad luck" as the response.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
Sorry but you are just so wrong.
They may elect to take it easy. Yet it would be easy to find private coaches with qualifications that outstrip those at any Super Rugby club.
Pro sports don’t pay well, as a coach you can or anyone who works in athletic development or recovery you can make way more money running a private business.
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
I don't know how the tahs are responding to these questions behind closed doors, but I don't think "those guys are all gone so it's not a problem anymore" is a good enough answer. If the problem was the head coach overulling the S&C staff then I'd be looking for an explanation of why they didn't (or couldn't) do more to push back (particularly if they're staying) and systems put in place to prevent that from happening again.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
@Slim 293 its not a hard concept to understand. There is more money to be made running a private business than there is working for a super rugby club.
So your access to high level training and athletic development from choosing to play club footy is not diminished. If anything it is enhanced as you can get your own private coach who will be training you one on one over training a squad of 30.
So your access to high level training and athletic development from choosing to play club footy is not diminished. If anything it is enhanced as you can get your own private coach who will be training you one on one over training a squad of 30.
How affordable is that for a player on $200k a year or less?
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
Something screwy going on with the quoting there...
Strewthcobber
Steve Williams (59)
If these guys are concerned about the cost of living in Sydney I've got some bad news for them about the cost of hiring a "high class" private trainer for a season of one-on-one sessions
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
And who is paying for said private coach?
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
It's a complicated issue that I expect will evolve as we start making our way through to mid-late September and (a) Club seasons start wrapping up (b) European teams start finalising their rosters for the upcoming season, (c) we work our way through the Rugby Championship where Schmidt will show exactly who he is interested in and (d) McKellar/Raiwalui have opportunities to spruik their more concrete plans for the next couple of seasons to the core they want.
As it currently stands, particularly without explicit confirmation of which players have said I'll play Club Rugby rather than for the Tahs (the only explicitly stated report is that those 11 named have nominated sides other than the Tahs) I think it's important to keep things in check. The state of play is fundamentally different for the various tiers of player involved.
As it currently stands, particularly without explicit confirmation of which players have said I'll play Club Rugby rather than for the Tahs (the only explicitly stated report is that those 11 named have nominated sides other than the Tahs) I think it's important to keep things in check. The state of play is fundamentally different for the various tiers of player involved.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
Most professional athletes pay for a private coach in there offseason. Most blokes who are half serious at local level sports look to engage these sorts of people