Here is the problem with Australian Rugby....
YOU!
You the Australian Rugby Fan. You are the problem.Not the ARU, Not Pulver, Not the States, Not the players. You.
Why? Because you consistently put up with the completely rotten culture of Australian Rugby, from top to bottom. You keep supporting it. You keep buying tickets, turning up, accepting it.
As an Australian I deplore it. I have zero pride when the Wallabies run out and play a test. Why? Because I know they are the face of a completely and utterly rotten culture and system. Don't like what I'm saying? Let's play a game.
Monday Aug 22nd, 2016 9am I'm the new CEO of the ARU and here's what I do.
1. I donate 100% of my ARU income to struggling grass roots Rugby clubs around Australian states (all of them)
2. I sack, on the spot, 70% of any underperforming ARU office and coaching staff. They walk. There is one person to run the ARU office plus the key manual workers required. There is one coach (MC for the moment) and a few training/support staff (runners). The rest go including M. Byrne.The FAT is removed in 1 hour. I cop on the chin any future fines/penalties.
3. I cancel any commercial sponsorship contracts with Qantas, BMW and others with the Wallabies brand and remove all naming/advertising rights from Monday onwards. I cop any fines/penalties on the chin.
4. I cancel all current Wallaby ARU contracts from Monday 10am onwards.
5. I announce any Australian Rugby player who is lucky enough to be selected to represent Australia, via the Wallabies, gets paid $30K a win and $1 a loss. There are no contracts with them. They play, they win, they get paid $30K. They lose they get $1
6. I instruct Cheika to sack 3/4's of the team that played last Saturday against NZ and to replace them with Australian Rugby players, under 24 years of age, who have never played for Australia at Wallaby level. I instruct him to select from all states and must have a minimum of 3 bolters from the bush. I instruct him not to select anyone from the past. I instruct him to make 100% sure of one thing for the coming test in NZ...make sure every single player selected to represent Australia..leaves it all on the park next Saturday and not to die wondering. If they do that, and it's obvious then MC gets another week as do the players.
7. I see out the RC series with this team of players and I stick with them.
8. Post RC I announce an Australian Rugby Future meeting and invite Mark Ella, Bob Dwyer, Rod McQueen, Wayne Bennett and Mal Meninga and Wally Lewis (yes you read that correctly). At the meeting we decide on the future of Australian Rugby and it's this:
- We cancel all Australian wide private school Rugby competitions (GPS, CAS, IAS etc...) and have 1 Australian wide schools competition, open to all schools, with state based play offs that lead into a national schools carnival week for the top 8 sides to play off till a winner is found. We arrange this schools carnival week to be televised on FTA each year, including the state finals proceeding them. We cancel all state school teams including the Australian Schoolboys.
- We cancel all state based Rugby organisations like NSW/QLD/ACT etc...and have one...the ARU which is fully authoritative across all states.
- From 2017 onwards we drop out of the Super Rugby competition. We cancel the Shute shield and whatever the club competition is in Qld, ACT, VIC and WA.
- We meet with the heads of the NRL/ARL ask work out a long term plan to partner with key domestic Rugby clubs with their clubs to share skills, systems, resources, facilities, coaches and most importantly up and coming players. Similar to the model that exists with some clubs in the UK. The main purpose of this is to learn from them and secure access to many young players who end up playing league. The agreement must be a win-win and I would do anything, and I mean anything, to make it happen. Tradition, history etc...out the window. New dawn, new way, new partnerships, new life.
- We copy whatever has been put in place with the Qld Origin side and apply it to the Wallabies.
- Inside 3 years we will have 10 very good players vying for each Wallaby position and the benefit of a partnership with the NRL and all the skills, resources, systems and coaching they could bring.
Now, at this point I know most of you reading this are having your 2nd or 3rd heart attack. Here's the thing....nothing changes unless YOU change it. Have the guts to make the change and see what happens. Can it be any worse than what you currently have?
PS: I'm a Queensland League man but a proud Australian and it hurts me to see the drivel served up by the Wallabies and the ARU organisation. It's un-Australian and no longer acceptable. On top of that I'm sick of reading your moaning and crap ever week about the state of Rugby in Australia.
I've given you the plan and as luck has it...I'm looking for a new job.
I'm available to start tomorrow at 9am.
Time for big moves, dangerous moves, exciting moves, scary moves.
The problem is YOU Mr/Mrs Australian Rugby fan. You accept this tripe served up and then complain about it and do nothing. Now is your chance to take ownership and do something about it. Get off your couch and do something about it.
At 9am tomorrow morning stick your head out the nearest window and say really really loudly
"I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore"
First you got to get MAD!!!!
Reddog (Crazy and ready to unleash it)
