Team Rehab!

[The Red Baron]

As we all know, the Wallabies currently have a very strong side sitting on the sidelines. As Bruce Ross' great mate Iain Payten has just reported:

ARU high-performance manager David Nucifora pleads case for national player welfare program

• By Iain Payten
• The Daily Telegraph
• September 20, 2012 9:27AM

The Wallabies face a potentially disastrous slide down the world rankings due to injury unless all Australian rugby stakeholders buy into a new national player welfare program, ARU high-performance boss David Nucifora said.

​

Wallabies' Team Rehab
15. James O'Connor (hamstring)
14. Lachie Turner (hamstring)
13. Rob Horne (hamstring)
12. Christian Lealiifano (ankle)
11. Drew Mitchell (ankle/foot)
10. Quade Cooper (knee)
9. Will Genia (knee)
8. Wycliff Palu (shoulder)
7. David Pocock (knee)
6. Ben McCalman (arm)
5. James Horwill (hamstring)
4. Sitaleki Timani (hamstring)
3. Dan Palmer (ankle)
2. Stephen Moore (hamstring)
1. Sekope Kepu (calf)
Reserves:

• Salesi Ma'afu
• Matt Hodgson
• Jake Schatz
• Nic White
• Matt To'omua
• Cooper Vuna
• Ben Lucas
• Joe Tomane
• Bernard Foley
• Rod Davies

Nucifora's warning comes as Australian rugby experiences an unprecedented injury crisis, with more than a 22-man team of Wallabies stars sitting on the sidelines, and even more busted players at Super Rugby level.

Quade Cooper this week joined a star-studded group of Wallaby squad members known as "Team Rehab", which contains three national captains in James Horwill, David Pocock and Will Genia, and if fit and healthy, would arguably be stronger than the current Test side.

While many of the injured Wallabies suffered unavoidable collision injuries, others fell to wear-and-tear injuries likely influenced by the intense demands of the extended Super Rugby season and a longer Test program.

Many Super Rugby squads also experienced heavy injury tolls this season.
The volume of injuries - not only this year but in 2011 as well - has rung alarm bells at the ARU, which has ramped up the introduction of a high-tech, 12-month player welfare management system at national and state levels.
Nucifora said new software monitors and processes daily information on a player's welfare, including things like training load and intensity through GPS units, well-being and ongoing physical state.
A sports medicine expert has been employed by the ARU to monitor the data, help the states use and interpret the system, and identify when players are at risk of injury, he said.

"This is about keeping our best players available for the longest period of time possible, performing at their peak," Nucifora said.

"With this extended season, out of the SANZAR countries, or at least South Africa and New Zealand, everyone is talking about our lack of depth compared to those competitors. If we don't manage our assets better than anyone else, we are at greater risk. This is what has driven this and it's a project that's only going to grow.

"If we don't do something about this, and we become reactive rather than proactive like we are doing now, we do suffer the risk of not being able to compete and slide down the world rankings.

​

"Which then has a commercial effect as well. We have to make sure we do this better than anyone else, and that's what our aim is, to be world's best in this area."

Nucifora said the centralised system was in response to gaps arising in player welfare management due to "multiple handovers" of players from state to Wallabies level, with the June Test window now falling in the Super Rugby season.

Medical staff from every Australian team recently met to discuss the need to streamline welfare information.

Nucifora said the ARU would "discuss" with the states the welfare of 50 to 60 players of national interest, but the existing hurdle appears to remain: who has final say?

States have their own imperatives to win and a coach, who is not answerable to the ARU, can easily disagree with the red flags and play an at-risk player.

Nucifora said the long-term best interests of the players should win out.

Now Iain, let me be clear. I am not critiquing your article. I know that you don't like that sort of stuff.

What I am critiquing is Nucifora's comments. See the bolded comment. Now David, I do believe that you are actually being reactive here. How many cumulative injuries does it take for you to actually sit up and take notice something is amiss? I am quite sure that Gaggerlanders have been concerned about this for some time now.

As genuine as Nucifora's comments might be, I have the feeling that he is (again) passing the buck to the Super franchises.

Being a social scientist, I am unable to really comment on the complexities of sports medicine. However, I do see that Nucifora is planning to use GPS units, and all sorts of other data. Admirable. Seeing as we are dealing with people though, would it not be pertinent to ask them about their perceived workload? A simple, well formed survey into player welfare, with information taken directly from the players would be a start. Not an answer, but a start.

Unfortunately, we might be landed in the situation similar to what the Tahs experienced this year, a slack preseason leading to disastrous results during the season. In this case though, the players dictated the terms. A well conducted social survey will guide the expected outcome, rather than dictating it.

I am not totally against the idea of managing our players to facilitate injury prevention. I do question the methods and rhetoric that Nucifora has used here. Especially the "proactive rather than reactive" hyperbole.

 

[Jiggles]

I am sorry but as high performance manager, shouldn't the development and welfare of players be under Nucifora's brief already? Isn't that what a high performance manager does?

 

[Inside Shoulder]

As we all know, the Wallabies currently have a very strong side sitting on the sidelines. As Bruce Ross' great mate Iain Payten has just reported:



Now Iain, let me be clear. I am not critiquing your article. I know that you don't like that sort of stuff.

What I am critiquing is Nucifora's comments. See the bolded comment. Now David, I do believe that you are actually being reactive here. How many cumulative injuries does it take for you to actually sit up and take notice something is amiss? I am quite sure that Gaggerlanders have been concerned about this for some time now.

As genuine as Nucifora's comments might be, I have the feeling that he is (again) passing the buck to the Super franchises.

Being a social scientist, I am unable to really comment on the complexities of sports medicine. However, I do see that Nucifora is planning to use GPS units, and all sorts of other data. Admirable. Seeing as we are dealing with people though, would it not be pertinent to ask them about their perceived workload? A simple, well formed survey into player welfare, with information taken directly from the players would be a start. Not an answer, but a start.

Unfortunately, we might be landed in the situation similar to what the Tahs experienced this year, a slack preseason leading to disastrous results during the season. In this case though, the players dictated the terms. A well conducted social survey will guide the expected outcome, rather than dictating it.

I am not totally against the idea of managing our players to facilitate injury prevention. I do question the methods and rhetoric that Nucifora has used here. Especially the "proactive rather than reactive" hyperbole.

Some good points TRB.
I am a little surprised at his "boasting" about the GPS units for a couple of reasons: he makes it sound like they are a new thing, whereas there have been selected players wearing them for several seasons but, for some reason, not all and not any player all the time from what I can see: they are placed between the shoulder blades in a pocket or an undergarment so you can see when guys are wearing them if you look for that sort of thing.
From my observations of the AB's they all wear them all the time - I might be wrong about that but that's my impression over say the last 2 years.
If I am right in my surmising then we have let the Kiwis beat us in technology, as well as everywhere else, and there is even less excuse for that. (assuming that these things actually provide information of use in predicting injuries - a proposition I have some doubts about.)

And Jiggles - it seems like a self serving press release: particularly if I'm right and the GPS units are nothing new....
Edit - so I googled "gps unit back of jersey wallabies" and came up with this:

 

[Inside Shoulder]

should be pretty easy to work out how long they've been around - when were these 3 last in Wallabies squad together???

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Gaggerland Head of Selectors Qwerty first announced Team Rehab on 9 September.

Yep decent team
1. Longbottom
2. Moore
3. Kepu
4. Timani
5. Horwill
6. McCalman
7. Pocock
8. Palu
9. Genia
10. O'Connor
11. Tomane
12. McCabe
13. Horne
14. Mitchell
15. Turner

Assistant Selector Bullrush announced some positional changes:

I'd move to O'Conner to 11, Tomane to 15 and put Leliafano at 10. Turner would be lucky to be on the bench in the WRT (Wallaby Rehab Team).

Last Friday, a soon to be ex Chief Rugby Correspondent had a lash at selecting the team which was not too dissimilar to the Gaggerland Team Rehab.

From fullback: Lachie Turner, Drew Mitchell, Rob Horne, Christian Lealiifano, Tomane, James O'Connor, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Ben McCalman, James Horwill, Sitaleki Timani, Palmer or Salesi Ma'afu, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/get-well-soon-fellas-wallabies-have-an-entire-test-team-in-the-infirmary-20120913-25v41.html#ixzz26zLkASJq

Once again Gaggerland scoops the snouts with ideas and concepts for them to pinch as if they were their own ideas.


Yes, Nuci seems to be closing the gate after Team Rehab horses have bolted from the canyon. Proactive ---- If this is proactive, then my Aunt Fanny is Uncle Henry.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

It gets worse - the public have had access to this for some time:
http://www.rugby.com.au/wallabies/FanZone/WallabiesApps.aspx

Since 18.8.2012 according to itunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wallabies/id379883692?ls=1&mt=8

And so have our opponents - IN REAL TIME!

 

[The Red Baron]

I did notice that HJ, even the moniker 'team rehab'. I chose not to comment on it as apparently Payten is not a fan of criticism, just ask Bruce!

 

[Sully]

I'm just wondering about the actual level of concern? Surely a Union concerned about player welfare would increase squad size for the expanded Super Rugby Season not reduce them? Surely less players and more games is a recipe for disaster.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

I'm just wondering about the actual level of concern? Surely a Union concerned about player welfare would increase squad size for the expanded Super Rugby Season not reduce them? Surely less players and more games is a recipe for disaster.

That wpuld require money and thought and care for the game from above...so thats not going to happen.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 2

 

[Jiggles]

IS I have never met Nucifora so I cant comment on him as a person. But he seems to be the ultimate self serving political creaton. everything he touches in our game turns to utter shit.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I know there are spies from all areas lurking amoung the assembled gaggerland citizenry.

Pity they are so selective in what they chose to take back into the real world. They miss a lot of good stuff.

I am happy to receive some incoming grief from Writers on behalf of the rest of the citizenry for pointing out any published articles containing rather transparently lazy research and plagiarism from G&GR.

Why should Bruce be the only one of us wearing that particular Badge of Honour?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

IS I have never met Nucifora so I cant comment on him as a person. But he seems to be the ultimate self serving political creaton. everything he touches in our game turns to utter shit.

There is the mythological Midas Touch. Are you suggesting that Nuci has been cursed with the modern day equivalent of that - the Faecal Touch?

 

[Jiggles]

There is the mythological Midas Touch. Are you suggesting that Nuci has been cursed with the modern day equivalent of that - the Faecal Touch?

From the outside, I would say, he is probably very good at giving sexual favours. I suppose a 'Faecal Touch' may come into that...

 

[TOCC]

From the outside, I would say, he is probably very good at giving sexual favours. I suppose a 'Faecal Touch' may come into that.

let's keep it sensible lads

 

[Jiggles]

Noted TOCC. Sorry my disdain for Nucifora gets me a little heated.

 

[Linebacker_41]

These comments put much greater context to Link's recent newsletter/blog on managing player workloads.

It seems Nuci wants to govern who plays and when, whilst Link wants to manage who trains and when.

Now given we have limited number of playing stocks I agree that workload needs to be managed. But for the ARU High Performance Manager come out and make these statements after what they have enforced on the players in the past 18months under Nuci's stewardship this is an absolute disgrace.

It seems the rugby program vs financial imperatives are all mixed up. Yes I understand that the ARU need money but surely if you are serious about player welfare then you are not going to have a mid-week Scotland test 4 days before commencing a 3 game test tour. You are also not going to send your players to the UK for a Barbarians money game and a test against the Welsh after the RWC which backed on to a 3Ns tournament which backed on to a Super Rugby season.

Nuci - your credibility is shot when you try and come up with these take over/control ideas when your organisation keeps adding more tests for the sake of income at the cost of the "Players Welfare".

There is too much short-term agenda thinking at the ARU at the moment, this is just another example of the cleanout required at the ARU to ensure that we can have repeated success in the future.

 

[Linebacker_41]

IS I have never met Nucifora so I cant comment on him as a person. But he seems to be the ultimate self serving political creaton. everything he touches in our game turns to utter shit.

I have met him and found him to be quite a nice bloke, so my beef with him isn't presonal.

Good coaches dont necessarily make good administrators. In fact they are often blinded by the coaching paradigm whereas the elite aspects of sport these days actually require very good business skills.

If I look at what the ARU are trying to achieve then I believe that the High Performance Manager role actually requires very good strategic HR skills more than anything. At the end of the day they need to have people in the right role with the right skill set to maximise the likelihood of success. Sounds very HR to me.

IMO this role should be thinking about career pathways for all the different people that you need to be successful not just players but coaching pathways, and pathways for all the other positions that a required for a national team S&C, Doc, Physio, analysts, Management and the one that I think is missing the most Ref pathways.

Until we have a person in that role that understands that this is the core component of the job we will always have a program that fails to deliver ongoing success.

 

[Jiggles]

Thats probably true LB, and to be honest I am sure Deans is a rather good bloke to have a beer with also. Doesn't mean I think he is doing a good job.

I think your description of the HPM is probably right, So it makes it even more frustrating for me that Nucifora is so incompetent at his job yet he does self serving things like yesterday's PR release (No Payten is not a Jurno, he is a mouthpiece). You get people like him all the time, rather shit at their jobs, but good at staying in them.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

...snip.... You get people like him all the time, rather shit at their jobs, but good at staying in them.

Management Theory talks about the Peter Principle, whereby people get promoted to a level in an organisation that is just above their level of competance.

Have we just identified a parallel principle - the Faecal Principle, as defined by Jiggles above?

 

[Jiggles]

HJ, INSEAD could do a 10 year study on ARU management between 2004 - 2012 and still come up scratching their heads.