Australian Rugby / RA

[half]

What I for one find remarkable regarding R Castle's CEO-ship of RA to date is how little she seems to be concerned or declamatory about the very serious state of the code in Australia and that some combination of radical, deep, purposeful actions are clearly required to even begin a credible, medium-term repair process.

There some side actions and plans here and there, reassuring noises regarding 'the grass roots', gentle regret that we are being mowed down like kittens by Kiwi Super teams, and so forth. If dealing with I Folau's religiosity is 'my toughest career challenge to date' as she stated, God help us given what she is going to face in saving rugby in Australia. 'You ain't seen nothing yet lady!'.

On Kick and Chase she warmly referred to the SANZAAR JV and how plans were being concocted for the 4 parties thereto to 'shape' the Super competition from 2020 for many years hence. FFS, 'shape it'? It needs chemotherapy and then nuclear fusion applied to it - the frightening average crowd level declines alone in 2018 will be commercially decimating to RUs here.

RA's marginality of thought, superficial 'strategies' (that aren't strategies at all, they're just the latest-crisis-knee-jerks), and cultural timidity and introversion look unlikely to change. The RA board seems disassociated from reality.

So the slow death march just passes by as we stand helplessly waiting for for something, anything to halt its increasing momentum.

RH

Agree and concerning to me is the lack of both an acknowledgement of our position or even the throught that there is an alternative SANZZAR .

In the Where to Super Rugby thread I posted and detailed the difference in reaction by the RA board and FFA to a poor year where ratings and crowds fell. Effectively SANZZAR said to cut 3 teams and then the ARU stuffed that up and this season to date is demonstrating the reaction has had little effect if anything its worse.

I then posted an article of what FFA are doing now in relation to there season just passed which essentially is expand teams, market better, get some overseas high grade players in.

Both codes have similar media deals and per team RA gets more.

I know I bang on about this stuff, but we are being done like a dinner in the board rooms, and thats having a @#$@$!!! effect on the code.

 

[wamberal]

I would not expect a CEO to start sharing thought bubbles with the wider world.


What should she be doing? Start crying publicly about the situation we are in? If there is consideration of an alternative to SANZAAR, would she really start talking about until there is something concrete to put on the table of public opinion?


Bugger me. Maybe she is doing nothing, I do not have a clue. But if she started banging her gums like this in the public space I would slit my wrists.

 

[half]

I would not expect a CEO to start sharing thought bubbles with the wider world.


What should she be doing? Start crying publicly about the situation we are in? If there is consideration of an alternative to SANZAAR, would she really start talking about until there is something concrete to put on the table of public opinion?


Bugger me. Maybe she is doing nothing, I do not have a clue. But if she started banging her gums like this in the public space I would slit my wrists.

Wam

In our position we need leadership, and leadership with a version. The troops need to be rallied, the troops need to feel confident, the troops need to feel their is something to fight for.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Under the terms of the new CBA, in 2019 (increases on 2018):

$75k Super Rugby CPS (minimum 28, maximum 32 in squad)
$850 p/w WTS (minimum 8, maximum 10 in squad)

NRC is minimum payment $1,500 for the season (non-contracted players only, contracted players not entitled).

Garden-Bachop would have likely been on the EPS (now WTS) and received a payout of some sort to cut short his contract. That, plus his Mitre 10 contract, plus his Hurricanes contract, would be a lot more than he would have earned if he stayed in Melbourne.

I was of the understanding that he was on a full contract - he did, after all, make 13 Rebs appearances which seems rather high for a guy on an EPS contract - but if that's not the case then, OK. At the 'canes I'd think he's unlikely to be on more than the minimum, given he's their backup backup 5/8 behind Beaugan & West & has only appeared once. Again, if that's not the case then maybe I chose a poor example to illustrate my point.

EDIT: the minimum Super Rugby salary appears to be $75K in both countries which makes Au ~10% higher just on exchange rate.

 

[Rebels3]

I was of the understanding that he was on a full contract - he did, after all, make 13 Rebs appearances which seems rather high for a guy on an EPS contract - but if that's not the case then, OK. At the 'canes I'd think he's unlikely to be on more than the minimum, given he's their backup backup 5/8 behind Beaugan & West & has only appeared once. Again, if that's not the case then maybe I chose a poor example to illustrate my point.

EDIT: the minimum Super Rugby salary appears to be $75K in both countries which makes Au ~10% higher just on exchange rate.

Australia is in general a more expensive place to live than NZ, so probably cancels each other out

 

[Tomikin]

Hahaha this is good from ASIC

https://www.facebook.com/Wallabies/videos/10156111209030731/?t=19

 

[Mr Wobbly]

Hahaha this is good from ASIC

https://www.facebook.com/Wallabies/videos/10156111209030731/?t=19

Too many Waratahs

 

[KOB1987]

Boards needs to take control of the conversation. From the ABC of the most boring sports to watch.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-11/chart-of-the-day-boring-sports/9749146

So there's 3 sports that there are more survey participants finding the sport exciting than boring. I'd say that's a fair indication of the interest level of the participants in any sport, not just ours. And given this was done by the ABC and that we are bookended by horse racing and boxing (both sports that are hardly boring by people who watch them), I'd say the looney lefties had a bit of say in this survey. Join the dots.

Moving on..

 

[Slim 293]

Well, the survey wasn't carried out by the ABC......... so those dots might not join up.

 

[KOB1987]

This is purely anecdotal but I'm just putting this out there for others to comment on. A constant in a lot of threads is the neglect of the grassroots by the administrators in the past. And I agree with that.

However..one of Pulver's initiatives a couple of years ago was to get a greater presence of rugby into the public schools system, and I do recall them going pretty hard at that.

I had a boy in year 6 in the public system two years ago and they couldn't get a team together for the regional public schools competition, and to my knowledge never had. Last year they did manage to scratch one together but they went awful. I have a boy in year 6 this year and there are so many kids interested they are having selection trials.

So just MAYBE there has been some progress. Just maybe.

 

[KOB1987]

Well, the survey wasn't carried out by the ABC... so those dots might not join up.

Well maybe I misinterpreted that part but I just did a quick Google and there doesn't really seem to be any other news service interested in the survey so maybe they do.

 

[Aurelius]

Well maybe I misinterpreted that part but I just did a quick Google and there doesn't really seem to be any other news service interested in the survey so maybe they do.

It was done by Essential, according to the report.

Mind you I couldn't see the sample size given so there's no telling how representative it is.

Speaking of the loonie lefties though, I remember a few years ago reading how the NSW Greens wanted to discourage competitive sports like footy or cricket in favour of non-competitive sports like, er, trampolining. I can't help but wonder how that would rate as an audience spectacle!

 

[USARugger]

Non-competitive Sport has to be an oxymoron

 

[wamberal]

Non-competitive Sport has to be an oxymoron

They are talking about non-contact, I think, essentially.

 

[Aurelius]

Non-competitive Sport has to be an oxymoron

Nothing "oxy" about it.

 

[wamberal]

Nothing "oxy" about it.

Going for a jog is not competitive. Is that moronic? Any sort of physical activity is better than none.

 

[Aurelius]

Going for a jog is not competitive. Is that moronic? Any sort of physical activity is better than none.

Jogging isn't a sport, though, unless you're racing against other joggers.

Physical activity is important, but so is competition. No exposure to competition, and you grow up unable or unwilling to bear the risk of defeat, and with that attitude - well, you wind up with the Australian cricket team. No thanks.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Jogging isn't a sport, though, unless you're racing against other joggers.

Physical activity is important, but so is competition. No exposure to competition, and you grow up unable or unwilling to bear the risk of defeat, and with that attitude - well, you wind up with the Australian cricket team. No thanks.

Whereas we have turned a fear of the risk of defeat into a certainty and removed the fear.

 

[Brumby Runner]

With our game plans at the Brumbies, Rebels and perhaps the Reds and Wallabies, I think we plan to lose. We certainly play that way. Only the Tahs at present look to want to take risks to actually win a game.

 

[Gnostic]

Whereas we have turned a fear of the risk of defeat into a certainty and removed the fear.

Need to employ a consultant to allow us to own and understand the defeat ..........