Brumbies 2010

[Lee Grant]

Yeah - welcome aboard eddo.

A couple of years ago Eddie's got a bye inserted early in the season which allowed them to play Joeys at Hunters Hill. They had a very, very good team, the last in a line of 7 or 8 Waratah Shield victors. The Canberra pundits reckoned Joeys would need a 25 point start to be in it; Joeys flogged them 45-0.

Was at that game 4 years ago and sat near a bunch of Eddies parents. I asked them about their team and they were smiling so much telling me of their record, of how long since they had been defeated and of how good their players were, that they had trouble getting the words out.

The Eddie's players were big boys and were belting the Joey's line for a while but Joeys held them out easily.

They got tired then and soon the Joey's blue heeler forwards ran them ragged; so they got more tired and then Kurtley Beale and his mates in the backline carved them up in 2nd gear.

The silence of the Eddie's parents during the game was deafening. I made a friendly comment at the end of the game that their boys just had a bad day, or something like that, but it didn't register: they were still in shock.

 

[formeropenside]

Bugger that Chapman may stay in Canberra, rather than come home to Qld. He's as versatile as Salvi, in a way: I'd be happy to play him at 4, 6 or 8, and he is a genuine lineout option. I can see why Salvi was let go instead of Chappie.

but Chapman would rather stay in Canberra behind Rocky and Salvi would rather forgo rep duties and play overseas rather than playing for the Reds.

The hits just keep on coming.

I'm sure Chapman thinks Rocky will play 8, or that Chapman can make space for himself in the second row. If only Qld had never hired Eddie Jones, we might have kept him.

Salvi I can understand - he's a proud Brumby apparently, despite being cut (while Hoiles is retained). I'm a bit surprised the Tahs are not chasing him to fill Fava's spot. He's worth about 1.2 - 1.3 Fava's, I think.

 

[eddo]

The Bumbles agreed to play some pre-season games in Wagga (and have done at least 2 since). Traditionally Wagga is was mungo territory and the preseason games are making big inroads into the juniors scene.

Fixed. The Leagues Club in Wagga went broke some years ago; the building has been sold for offices and the adjoining land, which was the main league playing oval, has been rezoned for housing development. Would you believe the three high schools in Wagga no longer play league as an official sport, they play union or AFL. Rugby League is in very serious trouble in country New South Wales...

eddo, what country team were you involved with?

I played for Rivcoll in SIRU 2003-05, also rep'd with the far too short lived NSW Universities set up through Australian University Sport. We played Qld Uni's and Aust Services. Then put an Aus Uni's team together that got flogged over in the UK. After that the ARU cut the non existant funding and the Libs cut the Uni student unions and suddenly there was no one to put together the rep team anymore.

As for wagga,.. i didn't realise the school had deserted league. I was there for the last game at the Eric Weissel - which ionically was the Brumbies v Chiefs pre season match. I got particular enjoyment out of that one. Good crowd - and the bumbles won.. Jeremy "Eedjit" Paul got naked on Bayliss St that night.

I remember Group 9 had Daryl Halligan come down to do a kicking session, and only 2 mungo kids turned up, meanwhile I organised the kickers from all 4 wagga union clubs plus the juniors. It was the writing on the wall.


The local govt tried to save Eric Weissel - and it was a nice ground - but in the end no-one had enough money to save it..

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20050223024

 

[eddo]

I'm going to create a new thread that has the results from the "Brumbies Provincial Tournament" last weekend.

As I have already pointed out - that comp doesn't look right without NSW Country etc..

 

[Biffo]

Another poster called Biffo is from Snowy Mountain territory...I often sugget to him that his allegiance to NSW is now inappropriate :thumb

Spooky

Porky You have never sugested same.

My allegiance to the Tahs pre-dates the ACT even having status as a rugby state. It is deeply rooted in the past and my youth. Hard to change now However, if we use rooted in another sense and consider which team might be so, it may not be so hard.

Regards

Biffo
President, Rocky Fan Club

 

[Spook]

Yeah - welcome aboard eddo.

A couple of years ago Eddie's got a bye inserted early in the season which allowed them to play Joeys at Hunters Hill. They had a very, very good team, the last in a line of 7 or 8 Waratah Shield victors. The Canberra pundits reckoned Joeys would need a 25 point start to be in it; Joeys flogged them 45-0.

Was at that game 4 years ago and sat near a bunch of Eddies parents. I asked them about their team and they were smiling so much telling me of their record, of how long since they had been defeated and of how good their players were, that they had trouble getting the words out.

The Eddie's players were big boys and were belting the Joey's line for a while but Joeys held them out easily.

They got tired then and soon the Joey's blue heeler forwards ran them ragged; so they got more tired and then Kurtley Beale and his mates in the backline carved them up in 2nd gear.

The silence of the Eddie's parents during the game was deafening. I made a friendly comment at the end of the game that their boys just had a bad day, or something like that, but it didn't register: they were still in shock.

Just shows you how poor the Waratah Shield had become and that being a big fish in a small pond does you no favours. I'm pretty sure Eddies beat Joeys in the 90s but I could be wrong. When I played, the Waratah Shield was a good competition with plenty of sides challenging each year. The other thing to note is that when I played for Eddies there were no Pacific Islanders at our school - Last time I saw the Eddies first XV it had quite a number of them and there are more and more coming through Aussie rugby :thumb

 

[eddo]

yup.. plenty of islanders now..

interesting too then that traditionally aussies were happy to have islanders in the team as long as 'mick', 'jimbo', or 'davo' were in decision making positions.. eg #10.

Now the bumbles have Lealiifanifoofoo at 10. and there are a hundred other islander kids lining up behind him for the glory.

Down the track 20yrs.. will it be spot the aussie in the wallabies?

 

[Lindommer]

Another poster called Biffo is from Snowy Mountain territory...I often sugget to him that his allegiance to NSW is now inappropriate

Spooky

Porky You have never suggested same. My allegiance to the Tahs pre-dates the ACT even having status as a rugby state. It is deeply rooted in the past and my youth. Hard to change now However, if we use rooted in another sense and consider which team might be so, it may not be so hard.

Regards Biffo President, Rocky Fan Club

Same for me, Biffo, my allegiance to the Tahs (New South Wales and Wagga) pre-dates the ACT's existence as a provincial union. They used to be one of the constituent unions in New South Wales Country and were selected for Country against Sydney. As they were the biggest ACT got a few games against touring sides; I seem to recall they beat France or Wales in the 60s or 70s.

Putting aside the fact I don't support their team, I strongly support the development of another strong union to bolster Australian rugby. In fact I'd go as far to say the inclusion of the Brumbies in the Super 12 in 1996 was the most important development in world rugby after the advent of professionalism. It was a major contributor to our success during the years 1998-2001.

 

[Biffo]

Same for me, Biffo, my allegiance to the Tahs (New South Wales and Wagga) pre-dates the ACT's existence as a provincial union. They used to be one of the constituent unions in New South Wales Country and were selected for Country against Sydney. As they were were the biggest ACT got a few games against touring sides; I seem to recall they beat France or Wales in the 60s or 70s.

Putting aside the fact I don't support their team, I strongly support the development of another strong union to bolster Australian rugby. In fact I'd go as far to say the inclusion of the Brumbies in the Super 12 in 1996 was the most important development in world rugby after the advent of professionalism. It was a major contributor to our success during the years 1998-2001.

Yes to all of that.

I think ACT beat Wales in the late 1970s. A curious feature of the set-up then was that Goulburn and Queenbeyan were in the ACT competition and their players were eligible for ACT reepresentation.

The Brumbies organization developing into a strong regional union for central, southern, south western and south coast NSW would be great for Australian rugby. That union might even be in a position to make inroads into norhern and north west Victoria. Then it would have a large area with real potential for developing its own players.

This fledgeling should be strongly encouraged by the ARU. From the start, a "no-poaching" rule should be imposed to prevent the rape of the Brumbies' area by desperate Queenslanders - who have form in this regard .

 

[eddo]

Salvi has played Aussie A so can't play for any other country.

Does Australia A count as an international cap? It shouldn't.

I mean when it comes down to it, the player hasn't cracked the top 22 in his country has he ??

 

[Biffo]

Does Australia A count as an international cap?

no

 

[RugbyReg]

Does Australia A count as an international cap?

no

not but that, and 7s, binds them to a country.

 

[eddo]

if you say so..

maybe he should talk with Khoder Nasser.. haha

 

[Lindommer]

Does Australia A count as an international cap? It shouldn't.

You're right, eddo, it doesn't. But playing for a country's second best side, usually called the A team, against another country or its second best side ties a player to that country for life. As does playing for a country's Sevens side.

This codification arose in 1999 when Jason Jones-Hughes expressed a desire to play for Wales, for which he qualified through a grandparent (and his aptly Welsh name). But prior to this Jason had played for Australia A in a midweek fixture against a touring Scottish side thus rendering him ineligible for everyone bar Australia. Now the Celts colluded to get JJH over the line: after Australia appealed against his Welsh selection the Welsh Rugby Union called their Celtic cousins to swear in evidence before the iRB the Scottish second-stringers (from a touring party of the best 30 Scottish rugby players) were NOT the second best Scottish side. Christ knows where they were: playing the Eskimoes, perhaps. Subsequent to this farcical charade the regulations were tightened up and instances such as this wouldn't be tolerated.

 

[formeropenside]

It is silly though, in a broad sense, and A team or 7's selection should not bind a player to a country. Too, a player from a "Tier One" nation who has represented the national team should be able to renounce eligibility, serve a 3 month [or something similarly short] period, and then be able to play for a Tier Two nation, subject to eligibilty. Note that (say) Heenan who has been playing in Japan for 2 years could renounce Wallaby selection, a have a year to serve on Japanese qualification.

This would primarily benefit the PI - and perhaps the Georgians, with all their "Frenchmen", but thats not a bad thing. Even if (say) the US and Japan started poaching a few players, you could take the view it would be for Rugby's long term betterment.

 

[eddo]

Does Australia A count as an international cap? It shouldn't.

You're right, eddo, it doesn't. But playing for a country's second best side, usually called the A team, against another country or its second best side ties a player to that country for life. As does playing for a country's Sevens side.

This codification arose in 1999 ...

Then how come Waqaseduadua went straight from the Fiji 7's team to the Junior All Blacks inside 3 months..
and Siti Sivuvatu did the same. Played Fiji Sevens. Played PI tour and then surprise surprise he's now wearing black.

I know there have been some shocker stories on this topic over the years,.. particularly Isa Nacewa.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Nacewa qualified to play for Fiji through his ancestral ], however the IRB has since ruled that Nacewa is a Fijian citizen and has played for Fiji during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, making him only eligible to play for Fiji[2].

I like the idea on being able to trade down - especially once it is clear that player won't be representing his tier 1 country any more.

 

[Biffo]

I like the idea on being able to trade down - especially once it is clear that player won't be representing his tier 1 country any more.

I don't like it one bit. Make the players responsible for their own choices. If they are aware of the consequences, they should think very carefully about choosing a country. A young Fijian resident in NZ, for example, should be able to see that getting to be a member of a Fiji national team (at RWC or nor) would showcase his talents to European purchasers more effectively than hanging around waiting for the UnZid call. If the players saw it that way, then the PIs would benefit enormously.

 

[eddo]

Yeh,.. I agree in essence. The problem is we have too many kids these days. JOC (James O'Connor),. etc. And when it comes to the island kids they really do have torn identities between the home country (through the parents) and where they grew up. If you are 19 in Auckland and Fiji comes calling. .. It could be that the AB's just don't think you're ready for the next step. But,.. it's a big chance waiting to get a call from Graham Henry...

I'm just saying I can see how it happens.

 

[RugbyReg]

The CA Brumbies have finalised their back row stocks with flankers Mitchell Chapman and Henry Vanderglas each committing to the ACT-based province. Chapman has re-signed on a two-year deal while local product Vanderglas has signed a one-year rookie contract.

Chapman and Vanderglas join Wallabies George Smith, Rocky Elsom and CA Brumbies captain Stephen Hoiles as specialist back rowers for the two-time Super Rugby Champions ahead of the 2010 Investec Super 14 season.

Chapman, who joined the CA Brumbies from the Reds for the 2008 season, has played 47 Investec Super 14 matches since making his debut for the Queenslanders against the Crusaders in 2005. The former Australian Schoolboys captain missed the first half of the 2009 season returning from shoulder surgery before starting in seven of the side’s final eight matches.

The 26-year-old, who has also represented Australia A in 2006 and 2008, says he’s pleased to remain with the CA Brumbies.

“My priority was always to stay in Canberra,” he said. “I’ve loved being part of the Brumbies and I felt like this season I started getting to a point where I was playing some of my best football.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that the back row will be one of our strengths next year and being a part of that is something I’m looking forward to. I still hold a strong desire to represent the Wallabies and I think I’m best placed to do that at the Brumbies.

“There’s no doubt we’re building to something pretty special here in the next year or so, and I’m looking forward to being part of it.”

Vanderglas joined Brumbies Rugby on an Academy contract at the beginning of the 2009 season having represented Canberra club, Easts, in their 2008 John I Dent Cup grand final season. The former St Edmund’s College student made his Investec Super 14 debut against the Hurricanes and represented the Australian Sevens side in their Wellington, Dubai, Hong Kong Adelaide, Edinburgh and London tournaments.

Vanderglas, who scored a competition high 13 tries in last year’s John I Dent Cup, says he’s keen to add to his three Investec Super 14 caps.

“I’ve loved being part of the Brumbies this year,” he said. “I’ve grown up in Canberra and always wanted to play for the Brumbies, and to have that opportunity this year was unbelievable.

“I was grateful for the chances I was given this season and I certainly want to build on that next year.

“I’ve learnt a lot about the technical parts of the game from [CA Brumbies Forwards Coach] Owen Finegan as well as learning a lot from the older guys in the team, like Hoilesy [Stephen Hoiles] and George Smith. I’m really excited about next season and I can’t wait for the pre-season to begin.”

Head Coach Andy Friend says the retention of Chapman and Vanderglas consolidates a star-studded CA Brumbies back row for 2010.

“A quality back row is integral to the success of football side and we’re very fortunate to have such incredible depth at 6, 7 and 8 for next season,” he said. “However, there can be no guarantees for any player and there’ll be first class competition for positions.

“Mitch was outstanding for us through the back half of the year after returning from an off-season shoulder surgery. His work rate was excellent, he provides a first-class lineout option and he has the ability to regularly dent or break the defensive line. There’s no question he was among the top ‘6’s in the competition and I’m sure he’ll be giving the Wallaby selectors a lot to think about next year as well.

“Henry is one of the younger members of the squad who made the most of his opportunities at both Super 14 and Sevens in 2009. He’s a very athletic flanker who reads the game very well. His attitude towards his football is first rate and he’s shown that he’s someone that can be counted on to do the hard work. It’s also fantastic to see another local product come through the ranks and join other Canberra juniors like Guy Shepherdson, Huia Edmonds, Peter Kimlin and now Matt Giteau in the Brumbies squad.”

Brumbies Rugby CEO Andrew Fagan says the retention of Chapman and Vanderglas further completes a strong CA Brumbies squad in 2010.

“We’re very pleased to have both Henry and Mitch returning for the Brumbies in 2010,” he said. “With both of them joining the likes of Steve Hoiles, George Smith, Rocky Elsom Smith, and someone like Peter Kimlin if needs be, we’re confident that we’ll be running out one of the strongest back rows in the Super 14.”

QLD Reds :banghead

 

[formeropenside]

Bugger, no Elsom, no Chapman.