Australian Rugby / RA

[Quick Hands]

yeah.. so tell me why we shouldn't be sceptical or critical of the 'messenger' if they are mixing fact, fiction and embellishment then? They aren't innocent bystanders, they are paid to be journalists who shape stories and reporting through their own opinions and vested interest, and therefor put themselves into a position to be questioned as well.

We should be sceptical, but sceptical about everyone including journos who write stories that we agree with rather than just being sceptical about the ones we don't like. That's what shooting the messenger is.

 

[RugbyReg]

I have stopped clicking on Jessica Halloran articles. She only started writing rugby articles after the mass sackings, with her been one of the head of sports at NewsCorp she obviously has taken on rugby in her portfolio. Her only interest appears to be is driving clicks. She is now the no.1 attack dog on the game.

I’d much rather Wayne Smith, GeeRob, Beth Newman or well anyone else.

Jessica Halloran is a neighbour of Justin Harrison apparently. I suspect she's being fed stories.

 

[Froggy]

I don't know who the fuck Sam Ryan is, but he/she clearly has absolutely no idea how a board of directors operates, what a director's responsibilities are and what corporate governance means.

The idea that someone, for whom corporate raiding and takeovers is their stock in trade, should come onto a board, and in less than a month demand to be chairman and that his good mate be CEO, stands any sort of test for proper conduct be a group of people representing the interests of thousands, is nonsensical, regardless of how competent or otherwise these people may be.

 

[Rebels3]

Jessica Halloran is a neighbour of Justin Harrison apparently. I suspect she's being fed stories.

Very interesting, either that or Justin should start locking his doors.

 

[dru]

Ok. Will do.

No need to shout.

Does anyone read Ian Banks sci fi? He has these really cool self intelligent, highly advanced AI, extremely armed, space ships. They all take amuzing names. One being :

I said "I've got a very big stick"

Apparently you're meant to whisper when you say it.

 

[Quick Hands]

I don't know who the fuck Sam Ryan is, but he/she clearly has absolutely no idea how a board of directors operates, what a director's responsibilities are and what corporate governance means.

The idea that someone, for whom corporate raiding and takeovers is their stock in trade, should come onto a board, and in less than a month demand to be chairman and that his good mate be CEO, stands any sort of test for proper conduct be a group of people representing the interests of thousands, is nonsensical, regardless of how competent or otherwise these people may be.

Wiggs was also endorsed by Roger Davis. I couldn't help but Davis felt the need to make another intervention today in support of Clarke. Another black mark against Clarke IMO.

 

[Quick Hands]

Explains why Clarke talking up relationship with Foxtel and ten which means rugby going no where. What a frigging mess! Typical rugby imploding on itself as reckon if left castle in tact and avoided all bs politics Optus Would still be around. Well done newscorp your campaign worked. Now just to have Hamish as our newscorp RA chairman the takeover is complete.

Hang on a minute. I thought TEN were part of the 'good guys.' In partnership with Optus, weren't TEN supposed to save the game from the clutches of Foxtel.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Wiggs was also endorsed by Roger Davis. I couldn't help but Davis felt the need to make another intervention today in support of Clarke. Another black mark against Clarke IMO.

An endorsement from Roger Davis is enough reason to reject it out of hand.

 

[gel]

Not fit to govern.

Any of them.

 

[shanky]

It's easy to see how, in a time of crisis, a strong personality like Wiggs would seem like the 'sort of leader we need', to get the game out of the shit.

But he's not. He's a private equity head-kicker and (IMHO), they only know one way, and that way ain't pretty.

I'd seriously wonder what would happen if you let that personality into the game. You think 'grass roots' is neglected now? Under the PE model, all non profit-generating assets would be culled.
The Wallabies might make it, but it's not a given.
We'd all probably be sold to league...

Personally, I'm glad McLean stood up to it. Quite hard to do under the current circumstances.

Doesn't absolve the current board and boys-club of their history of neglect, but I'll give kudos where it's due.

(again, all IMO, if your lawyers are reading this, bros)

 

[KOB1987]

Jessica Halloran is a neighbour of Justin Harrison apparently. I suspect she's being fed stories.

That is massively concerning if true.

 

[shanky]

That is massively concerning if true.

I'm sort-of neighbours with Nathan Grey

doesn't make me responsible for the Wallaby defensive system of the last few years, does it?

 

[Kenny Powers]

Ok given Rugby Australia are after a new CEO below is a video resume of my experience - Kenny Powers MFCEO.

My first appointment will be the Director of Comminications - Dismall Pillock not sure what role Shiggins will have maybe referees advisor.

 

[KOB1987]

I'm sort-of neighbours with Nathan Grey

doesn't make me responsible for the Wallaby defensive system of the last few years, does it?

Haha. No. That would be a different kind of leak.

It was reg’s second sentence that raised the alarm, not the first.

 

[Equalizer]

I cant see how the RA directors could submit financials to KPMG for audit, knowing the shambolic....sorry I meant to say SHIT state of affairs they were in financially. No way KPMG can sign off on this in time for the revised ASIC submission date. How can RA expect to attract any sponsors with the spotlight shining so brightly on their corporate ineptitude. As for the Clarke appointment, could you be any more divisive taking the game forward.

 

[Rebels3]

The Wayne Smith article on RA board finally showing a backbone is well worth the read. Basically saying there is a clear split starting to be created between NSW powerbrokers and the rest of the country.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Article in today's Hurld re: the possibility of NZR partnering with a private equity firm contains this snippet which should be of great concern both to the Australian rugby community & Rugby Australia:

"Can the professional game in the short term survive over there?" asked an NZR source. "Will they actually have enough money to pay for the Reds, Waratahs, Brumbies and Rebels? How are they going to pay the Wallabies?

"Are they going to have to return to Manly versus Randwick club rugby and have their best players playing overseas?

"It's really difficult to look at Australia with multi-million losses and figure out how they're going to get out of that hole.

"I think we have to ignore Australia because it's too much of a variable."

Last sentence is in the context of a Trans Tasman comp.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12330421

 

[KOB1987]

The Wayne Smith article on RA board finally showing a backbone is well worth the read. Basically saying there is a clear split starting to be created between NSW powerbrokers and the rest of the country.

It is a good read. I actually picked that up when I read the NFJ article. Personally I just think the 3 outgoing directors and chairman need to be replaced with competent people, and a good CEO with a successful sports admin resume (read Carroll) and we will be on the right track. From a governance point of view that is, financial is another issue.

As QH points out there needs to be open nominations for board positions, not just hand picked people.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

So i hope the gang of ten are happy with themselves - we now have left us the laughing stock, probably ensured only Foxtel interested in a broadcast deal to keep rugby with limited exposure and access and ensured private equity or nz have little interest in dealing with us with our political in-fighting and governance issues made clear to all.

To me the simple solution would have been to make wigg chairman, leave castle in - show some unity - get a broadcast deal done and work with other parties such as nz, twiggy and private equity to find some solutions but the gang of 10 and newscorp alliance were never going to let that happen were they. So now we are back to Hamish as our newscorp RA chairman to be with Rob Clarke who is sprouting his great relationship with Foxtel to lead us to salvation (read - entrench us in a long term deal with Foxtel to keep rugby on life support but ensure no hope of recovery from the terminal condition).

And the irony is the gang of ten were out to help oz rugby - so they say - but the reality is yet again these amateurs only have really sought to hammer the final newscorp provided nails on the lid of the coffin of oz pro rugby to ensure its ready for burial and last rites to be administered.

The only one who benefits out of this whole mess is newscorp and can’t help but feel they played a lead role in all this and very successfully. I personally feel somehow to ever find a viable long term solution is to jettison ourselves from newscorp but irony is now with what has gone on while there was a chance of that happening - it seems there is no chance now.

 

[Quick Hands]

So i hope the gang of ten are happy with themselves - we now have left us the laughing stock, probably ensured only Foxtel interested in a broadcast deal to keep rugby with limited exposure and access and ensured private equity or nz have little interest in dealing with us with our political in-fighting and governance issues made clear to all.

To me the simple solution would have been to make wigg chairman, leave castle in - show some unity - get a broadcast deal done and work with other parties such as nz, twiggy and private equity to find some solutions but the gang of 10 and newscorp alliance were never going to let that happen were they. So now we are back to Hamish as our newscorp RA chairman to be with Rob Clarke who is sprouting his great relationship with Foxtel to lead us to salvation (read - entrench us in a long term deal with Foxtel to keep rugby on life support but ensure no hope of recovery from the terminal condition).

And the irony is the gang of ten were out to help oz rugby - so they say - but the reality is yet again these amateurs only have really sought to hammer the final newscorp provided nails on the lid of the coffin of oz pro rugby to ensure its ready for burial and last rites to be administered.

The only one who benefits out of this whole mess is newscorp and can’t help but feel they played a lead role in all this and very successfully. I personally feel somehow to ever find a viable long term solution is to jettison ourselves from newscorp but irony is now with what has gone on while there was a chance of that happening - it seems there is no chance now.

I think you're being naive if you think whole sorry mess was caused by 10 ex-Wallaby captains writing an open letter.

What we're seeing now has been 15 years in the making. Poor decision-making, lack of strategic planning, inflated wages for players and head office staff, profligate spending on ageing league stars, top-down policy which neglected anything below the professional level, lack of accountability at board level, cosy corporate culture where only those in the know are involved, toxic culture of jobs for mates and a complete breakdown in relations between different levels of the game. On turning professional rugby kept the worst parts of the amateur game (jobs for the boys) and took on the worst parts of professionalism (corporate hacks and inflated middle management).

As for Foxtel and Newscorp, there are many on here who have short memories for most of the time that Fox has broadcast rugby, it's presenters and commentators have basically ignored all of the above issues and presented syrupy, sycophantic stories to try to present the game and its leadership in a positive light. To the point where we had then ARU board member John Eales as a paid panelist on the weekly programme assuring us how well things were going. During the Patston/Link/Beale affair the News Ltd papers were held up on these threads as providing sensible coverage while Fairfax and Georgina Robinson in particular were accused of trying to destroy the came for their own commercial purposes.

Let's be clear - all large commercial media companies enter into any agreement to make the most possible money for the company and the shareholders. They have no duty to prop up the game or to protect it from the ineptitude of its own administration, they will do so only when it suits their commercial purpose. It's fanciful to think that Optus would have any less commercial imperatives than Fox. It's also fanciful to think that FTA networks are any better. We only have to look at the NRL where Channel 9 and the Fairfax papers ran a campaign against their CEO Todd Greenberg which was just as relentless as what Castle faced. 9 have barely hidden their desire to drive down the value of NRL broadcast rights so that they can pay less for the next deal.

Pro-rugby has failed in Australia because the administration have never deviated from the pan-continental super rugby model. Even when faced with growing evidence that it wasn't working in Australia, they put their heads down and ploughed on regardless. No change of direction when crowds dropped by 60% or the standard of our teams dropped. Refusal to adapt means death in the commercial world.

Rugby has nobody to blame for our current predicament other than ourselves. And it's not until the game and those running it acknowledge that and rule a line under the whole sorry mess and starting again that there is even a hope of turning it around. We're the laughing stock of the rugby world and trying to deflect the blame onto others just doesn't cut it.

What's even worse is that this whole sorry shambles has been both foreseen and foreseeable. There's been quite a few people predicting this for a decade or more. Coronavirus has just created the perfect storm for it all to come crashing down.