LearningCurve
Bill Watson (15)
Yes I think that's it, pretty interesting the things going on behind the scenes at the time.
Australian Rugby / RA
- Thread starter Dave Beat
- Start date
Yes I think that's it, pretty interesting the things going on behind the scenes at the time.
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Interesting to note that the FFA is "looking for a football person" to be their new CEO.
Deep knowledge of the code is obviously a prerequisite for the top job. Pity we did not have any suitable candidates for our top job, apparently (conspiracy theorists go right ahead and tell us who missed out because of.....well just because).
Deep knowledge of the code is obviously a prerequisite for the top job. Pity we did not have any suitable candidates for our top job, apparently (conspiracy theorists go right ahead and tell us who missed out because of.....well just because).
Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
I think we specifically wanted to avoid the old boys club, because rugby is inbred enough as it is.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
I believe so. I am told Rob Taylor to coach thd Eagles.
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
wasn't Kearns promoted to the Wallabies from Randwick 2nd grade? He hadn't played 1st grade?
Or was it he never played 1st XV for Newington? or both, some story there
he'd played for Randwick 1sts and in fact had played a few games for the Tahs. But only when Eddie Jones was out.
He only made the 2nd XV at his school though. Same as Nick Farr-Jones
half
Dick Tooth (41)
Where to start and what thread.
I decided on RA, rather than either the participation or super rugby thread, as I see this as essentially an RA broader issue.
What’s in part driven my interest is watching soccer’s separation of its governing body from its professional competition. Leaving the governing body to look at running the grassroots and national teams.
My references for this come from this link from the Clearing House For Sport, https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/smi/ausplay/results/sport
The link provides an insight into Australia sport, it contains a lot of detail and there is a link on the main page that beaks up all sports.
On the link, rugby has 135, 000 participations, and if I look at the from page of both AFL & soccer [only ones included] the conversion from participation to player is around 65%.
If this pattern follows then 65% of 135, 000 is around 88, 000. Meaning by this calculation we have 88K to say 91K players.
Anecdotally , when I look at the quality of the playing base, my suggestion is the athletic ability of our junior players is less today than say 25 years ago. I would go further to say that many players who in the past would have played union especially at school today are draw to both AFL & soccer.
Why are both the number of players and player ability so important. Two reasons and the first is obvious that better players produce a higher quality game and is important moving forward to increase the Wallabies success. Second and way less obvious is a conversion from player to TV watcher. AFL & Union have I read somewhere a while back the highest conversion rate and it was in the high 80’s. Soccer on the other hand had the lowest conversion rate somewhere in the teens. In part one of the reasons for soccer’s low conversion rate is many junior players are of poor athletic ability, which as said increasing in rugby appears to be the case especially in junior players [personal observation only no evidence]
IMO RA should be as a matter of urgency appoint someone or transferring someone to grow both the number and quality of our players.
I decided on RA, rather than either the participation or super rugby thread, as I see this as essentially an RA broader issue.
What’s in part driven my interest is watching soccer’s separation of its governing body from its professional competition. Leaving the governing body to look at running the grassroots and national teams.
My references for this come from this link from the Clearing House For Sport, https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/smi/ausplay/results/sport
The link provides an insight into Australia sport, it contains a lot of detail and there is a link on the main page that beaks up all sports.
On the link, rugby has 135, 000 participations, and if I look at the from page of both AFL & soccer [only ones included] the conversion from participation to player is around 65%.
If this pattern follows then 65% of 135, 000 is around 88, 000. Meaning by this calculation we have 88K to say 91K players.
Anecdotally , when I look at the quality of the playing base, my suggestion is the athletic ability of our junior players is less today than say 25 years ago. I would go further to say that many players who in the past would have played union especially at school today are draw to both AFL & soccer.
Why are both the number of players and player ability so important. Two reasons and the first is obvious that better players produce a higher quality game and is important moving forward to increase the Wallabies success. Second and way less obvious is a conversion from player to TV watcher. AFL & Union have I read somewhere a while back the highest conversion rate and it was in the high 80’s. Soccer on the other hand had the lowest conversion rate somewhere in the teens. In part one of the reasons for soccer’s low conversion rate is many junior players are of poor athletic ability, which as said increasing in rugby appears to be the case especially in junior players [personal observation only no evidence]
IMO RA should be as a matter of urgency appoint someone or transferring someone to grow both the number and quality of our players.
Has the Israel Folau debacle been the catalyst for RUPA allowing individual clauses to be inserted into JOC (James O'Connor)'s contract?
I thought the current agreement didn't allow the addition negative "clauses" so I guess they could add clauses rewarding positive behaviour
TSR
Andrew Slack (58)
Yesterday/last night the Classic Wallabies visited Rockhampton.
The day started with coaching clinics at 9 in the morning (actually the Classics did coaching sessions throughout the week) and finished in a game of the Classics vs a Local selection of past & a sprinkle of current rep players.
The day was absolutely fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough of the effort and enthusiasm of every member of the Classic Wallabies set up. If anyone gets the opportunity to have them appear in your region I thoroughly recommend it. Highlight was Barry Lea stripping down to a g string mid-game and crash tackling Jacob Rauluni (who now lives in yeppoon and was playing for CQ).
On a final note - because of my involvement in coaching girls rugby I got to watch the clinic they ran for my u15 girls. The tackling clinic run by Wallaroo Selena Worsley, Matt Cockbain & Sam Cordingly is the best one I’ve ever watched. Selena Worsley is an absolute weapon.
The day started with coaching clinics at 9 in the morning (actually the Classics did coaching sessions throughout the week) and finished in a game of the Classics vs a Local selection of past & a sprinkle of current rep players.
The day was absolutely fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough of the effort and enthusiasm of every member of the Classic Wallabies set up. If anyone gets the opportunity to have them appear in your region I thoroughly recommend it. Highlight was Barry Lea stripping down to a g string mid-game and crash tackling Jacob Rauluni (who now lives in yeppoon and was playing for CQ).
On a final note - because of my involvement in coaching girls rugby I got to watch the clinic they ran for my u15 girls. The tackling clinic run by Wallaroo Selena Worsley, Matt Cockbain & Sam Cordingly is the best one I’ve ever watched. Selena Worsley is an absolute weapon.
Ignoto
Peter Sullivan (51)
How good TSR.
If you've got a spare hour, Justin Harrison is looking after the Classic Wallabies and was on the Rugby Ruckas last week. He spends a bit of time discussing what they're trying to achieve both with community engagement and for ex-players looking for something more once their career ends.
If you've got a spare hour, Justin Harrison is looking after the Classic Wallabies and was on the Rugby Ruckas last week. He spends a bit of time discussing what they're trying to achieve both with community engagement and for ex-players looking for something more once their career ends.
half
Dick Tooth (41)
Could have put this in a number of threads and am largely staying away from this site, but this is being largely unreported and its the kinda thing I go on about when we are either unaware or dismissive or just don't care. As I said could have been put in the Super Rugby thread, the Broadcast threat possibility ..
AnyWho now the clubs are a three year civil war have got control of the National Domestic Competition they have released a first 100 day thing. I do wonder aloud if this could ever be us if RA had the ability to get a National Domestic Competition off the ground.
This sits behind a paywall so I copied it
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/a-league-club-owners-launch-100-days-blueprint-to-kickstart-competitions-renewal-ng-fcc159fd8c3a0e41b42b4ddf7efd8962
A-League club owners have begun a “first 100 days” blitz to revolutionise the way the competition is marketed and run, with widespread investment promised to combat sliding ratings and attendances. After years spent wresting control of their own competition from Football Federation Australia, owners revealed plans to hitting the ground running with transfers between clubs, prize money for successful teams, a 16-team expansion plan and — most immediately — a digital-led campaign to drive awareness among sports fans. The plans were presented to CEOs, coaches and staff of the clubs at a two-day summit in Double Bay. Officials described the owners’ presentation as “evangelical” in underlining the urgent need to combat the sense of inertia that has gripped the competition for the past two seasons.
The 100 days appears to spring from the August 1 date that the clubs effectively began running the league through to the early rounds of the new season, with promises from the owners of immediate spending on higher quality digital engagement, and mimicking ticketing strategies used in other codes successfully via social media campaigns. Club officials said the presentation, led by Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow and Melbourne City vice chairman Simon Pearce, plotted a pathway into the future to include a 16-team competition via a regionally targeted expansion plan and an international “roadshow” seeking fresh investment. The competition has had 10 teams since 2012 but welcomes an 11th club, Western United, this coming season, with Macarthur United joining the season after.
All footballing elements of the A-League are up for discussion in the new model, the owners said, with the salary cap under review and consideration of prize money being awarded based on performance. The minor premiers would get a share of that, while a season opener inspired by England’s Community Shield would pit the minor premiers against the champions. A “sinking fund” would be established to support clubs struggling financially. Much of the presentation compared the A-League with leagues overseas in benchmarks from attendances to squad value, with the owners making clear they expect their plans to quickly reverse Australia’s decline compared with other countries.
The new strategy was presented as a reboot of the competition, with coaches and football staff told that the league will try to innovate with both its broadcast access and its rules, aiming to be a competition that allows FIFA to trial initiatives — as it did with VAR. Under the agreement reached in June between the clubs and the member federations that run the game at grassroots level, the clubs will pay a percentage of their broadcast revenue to FFA each year to be allowed to run their own competition, though not for the first four seasons. Much of the blueprint echoes the establishment of the English Premier League, including the competition’s referees being spun off into a separate body independent of the clubs and FFA.
The Great Goog, Justin Harrison is the new RUPA CEO.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Easily the best rugby brain on Aus tv. Should bring a breath of fresh air to the rather stuffy RA environment.
Strewthcobber
Simon Poidevin (60)
If I told you he rates Rob Simmons would it change your mind BR?
(Rugby Ruckus podcast from a couple of weeks ago)
