Australian Rugby / RA

[Adam84]

The Academy stuff seems to go in cycles.

We set them up, warehouse a lot of our gun young players and release them for club games on the weekend or the odd U/20s game. But then they become great at running around cones and tackling bags, rather than actually playing rugby.

So we disband the academies and send them back to the coalface of rugby clubs. But then they lose touch with professional high performance setups and we lose the 'cohesion' of having them all in the one system.

So we set academies back up again. The balance is obviously somewhere in between and having a third tier (or Super U20s, or 2nd XV) comp makes a difference.

I don't think academies and playing club rugby are mutually exclusive concepts, though.
Academy structures are about that value proposition beyond club rugby, including additional training sessions beyond what the club is offering, both during the seasons and post, as well as access to high performances resources like professional coaching, education, and facilities.

I think the debate comes in when you have u20s events that clash with club rugby, but that will happen regardless of an academy structure. Further the issue between national and state is about control, funding and player access. State unions think they know best and want RA to fund their academy programs; RA wants national alignment; this is the argument that goes in circles. Academy programs have never being disbanded as a whole, theyve just shifted between Super Rugby and RA for who is running/funding them.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Can only speak on what iv'e seen with the Tahs currently but I'd imagine the Reds are similar and the Brumbies definitely are but the Academy guys have been playing as much Club footy as possible. When available the likes of Bowen, Wilson were always out with Easts.

It's been said at nauseam but the issue is the standard gap between Club Rugby and Super Rugby. Sure we have guys playing Club footy but it's not a real prep for pro Rugby. It preps you for the MLR. Super Rugby A would be my approach. No need to create a new environment of team nobody gives a fuck about. There also isn't enough genuine talent to create a 8-10 team comp that would be at a standard to create better Wallabies. Some will not like that statement as they think their mate playing 1st grade for Warringah is actually better than the Super player but never got a run because of xyz.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I don't think academies and playing club rugby are mutually exclusive concepts, though.
Academy structures are about that value proposition beyond club rugby, including additional training sessions beyond what the club is offering, both during the seasons and post, as well as access to high performances resources like professional coaching, education, and facilities.

I think the debate comes in when you have u20s events that clash with club rugby, but that will happen regardless of an academy structure. Further the issue between national and state is about control, funding and player access. State unions think they know best and want RA to fund their academy programs; RA wants national alignment; this is the argument that goes in circles. Academy programs have never being disbanded as a whole, theyve just shifted between Super Rugby and RA for who is running/funding them.

I am not close enough to the ACT rugby organisation to know with certainty, but I believe that for some time during the 20teens, the state based academies did close down and all participants actually worked out of the national setup, I think at Narrabeen in Sydney. Was this not the case?

 

[Adam84]

I am not close enough to the ACT rugby organisation to know with certainty, but I believe that for some time during the 20teens, the state based academies did close down and all participants actually worked out of the national setup, I think at Narrabeen in Sydney. Was this not the case?

Yes, but the point I was making was that the state academies existed preceding the 'national academy' and following the decision to revert it back to the state level. There has always been academy structures since the late 90s, it's just shifted between RA and the Super Rugby teams for who is running and funding them, and what structure they exist in.

National Academy didn't stop states running their own during this period; they still maintained academy structures in the >U18. It was just at their own expense, and there were RUPA requirements around when a player could be called into an Super Rugby team in the event of injuries.

 

[Cole]

World Rugby U20 Championship Could Be Expanded To Include 16 Teams In 2026 While the U20 Trophy Could Be a Cross-Regional Competition - RugbyAsia247

World Rugby has said it is consulting with national unions and regional associations regarding the possibility of expanding the World Rugby U20 Championship from 12 to 16 teams in 2026.

www.rugbyasia247.com

"There will be no World Rugby U20 Championship in 2025 but World Rugby has said it is consulting with national unions and regional associations regarding the possibility of expanding the World Rugby U20 Championship from 12 to 16 teams in 2026."
Terrible if no U20 Championship in 2025 - article does not point to where this is actually stated by World Rugby.
Expanding to 16 teams is a good move, if it allows for a quarter final phase.

Anyone have any information on the likelihood of the U20s program going ahead this year? I haven't heard anything official and with the U20's TRC only 2 or 3 months away and WC 4 months (if similar dates to last year) not much time to organise. Feels like the longer it goes with no info the less likely either competition is going to happen. Would be a real shame if there was nothing this year

 

[Steve_Grey]

Anyone have any information on the likelihood of the U20s program going ahead this year? I haven't heard anything official and with the U20's TRC only 2 or 3 months away and WC 4 months (if similar dates to last year) not much time to organise. Feels like the longer it goes with no info the less likely either competition is going to happen. Would be a real shame if there was nothing this year

Nothing official - so far hearing Italy evaluating hosting the (current format) Championship in 2025 while 2026 goes to 16 teams.

The Trophy evolves to a new 'Cross Border' format in 2026.

I heard that APAC U20s Tier 2 Nations are organising European Tours for 2025 to keep their players engaged.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-...already-paid-for-himself-20250212-p5lbga.html

Have to do some mental gymnastic to say he's paid for himself but some good upticks.

10,000 mentions of the star back across all media since October – but the recruit has continued to be in high demand. Waratahs officials say interview requests for the 21-year-old are about five times those for everyone else combined, and from a wide variety of non-traditional outlets.

It has all helped generate a buzz about a Waratahs player – and a Super Rugby season – not seen since the early days of Israel Folau.

Online tracking by Waratahs officials has shown a 60 per cent increase in search traffic for the Tahs, and while Sua'ali'i-boosted crowds may take a few weeks to gauge, the club says there has been a 15 per cent increase in membership sales compared to the start of 2023.

The Waratahs-Highlanders game will be broadcast on free-to-air TV on Nine Gem.

“It’s still a little bit early to know [the impact on crowds] with the season starting this Friday, but we will certainly know in a few weeks the effect he has had,” Waratahs acting general manager Andrew Cleverley said.

Since the Tahs are owned by RA any increase for them is a good thing for all...

 

[Braveheart81]

You would expect a pretty good turnout of stadium members tomorrow night. Lots of them are Roosters fans so seeing Sua'ali'i play his first rugby game at the stadium should be of interest.

 

[Dctarget]

You would expect a pretty good turnout of stadium members tomorrow night. Lots of them are Roosters fans so seeing Sua'ali'i play his first rugby game at the stadium should be of interest.

On that, I know I'll be casually following the Roosters to see how Nawqanitawase goes. Seems like he's getting massive plaudits in the off season.

Sadly Carter Gordon has got some mystery back injury ruling him out of the first few games. Hope he's alright.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

On that, I know I'll be casually following the Roosters to see how Nawqanitawase goes. Seems like he's getting massive plaudits in the off season.

Sadly Carter Gordon has got some mystery back injury ruling him out of the first few games. Hope he's alright.

Talk of Marky getting a run in the Centres which can be a simpler entry than Wing in League. As well as Young and Tupou on the Wings for the Roosters who are larger more established specialists.

Carter is a tricky one. He has the ability to do things that are clearly attractive but has a lot of players in front of him. Titans might be a good place because nobody gives a fuck but for him specifically it's a log jam for halves.

 

[Dctarget]

Carter is a tricky one. He has the ability to do things that are clearly attractive but has a lot of players in front of him. Titans might be a good place because nobody gives a fuck but for him specifically it's a log jam for halves.

Watching young Sam Prendergast for Ireland at flyhalf really reminds me of Carter, lots of good, some real bad stuff but clear talent. I'm still holding out a vague hope of his return.

 

[Sword of Justice]

Watching young Sam Prendergast for Ireland at flyhalf really reminds me of Carter, lots of good, some real bad stuff but clear talent. I'm still holding out a vague hope of his return.

He really is a point of difference in terms of his size and toughness. It’s incumbent on the systems to coach him well enough to be picked given my understanding is he works hard.

 

[stoff]

On that, I know I'll be casually following the Roosters to see how Nawqanitawase goes. Seems like he's getting massive plaudits in the off season.

Sadly Carter Gordon has got some mystery back injury ruling him out of the first few games. Hope he's alright.

That's an interesting one. I'll be keen to have a bit of a look at both and see how they go, but it will be a one-off curiosity sort of thing. If they aren't playing the Storm it's unlikely they would cause me to go looking for them again. If someone who's not a regular rugby watcher tunes in for JAS, the Tahs will need to be playing some exciting footy to keep them coming back.

 

[Dctarget]

Just noticed that the DoR of Harlequins is an Aussie named Billy Millard. Any opinion on him? Should he be a bloke we should be bringing home?

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Just noticed that the DoR of Harlequins is an Aussie named Billy Millard. Any opinion on him? Should he be a bloke we should be bringing home?

I thought Millard could have been a good option for the Tahs to go after before they announced McKellar. He's been around all levels of the game for a long time now.

Not sure there is any roles floating around at the moment that fit but I'd like to see him back in Aus.

 

[Wilson]

Just noticed that the DoR of Harlequins is an Aussie named Billy Millard. Any opinion on him? Should he be a bloke we should be bringing home?

He gets linked to roles every so often, most recently the tahs GM role which went to Rawailui and the RA high performance role that went to Horne. It's a little unclear how serious his interest is though, or if it's just a good opportunity for him to demonstrate interest keeping his value up. He would still likely be a good pickup for a super side in that GM role, but I'm not sure how competitive we are on wages for those roles at the moment and he might be quite happy in the UK.

 

[Dctarget]

He gets linked to roles every so often, most recently the tahs GM role which went to Rawailui and the RA high performance role that went to Horne. It's a little unclear how serious his interest is though, or if it's just a good opportunity for him to demonstrate interest keeping his value up. He would still likely be a good pickup for a super side in that GM role, but I'm not sure how competitive we are on wages for those roles at the moment and he might be quite happy in the UK.

Yeah from his brief wiki it seems like he's been out of Aus for near 20 years now.

 

[Adam84]

When it comes to gambling sponsors and sport, one state tops the scorecard

Almost two-thirds of all major sporting teams in one Australian state are receiving money from gambling companies, an ABC analysis has found.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Sword of Justice]

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When it comes to gambling sponsors and sport, one state tops the scorecard

Almost two-thirds of all major sporting teams in one Australian state are receiving money from gambling companies, an ABC analysis has found.

www.abc.net.au

Rugby:

 

[Strewthcobber]

I thought the Reds had a "gaming partner"?

Edit, looks like it's over

Queensland Rugby Union signs three-year sponsorship with Crossbet

The Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) and Queensland Reds have today announced Brisbane-based bookmaker Crossbet as their official betting and wagering partner.

reds.rugby

Brumbies have been in bed at one point as well

Tabcorp Brumbies announce inaugural Super W cap initiative

Tabcorp Brumbies announce inaugural Super W cap initiative

brumbies.rugby