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Wallabies 2023

upthereds#!

Peter Johnson (47)
According to Christy, Holloway is set to turn down the Euros and re-sign for two more years with the Tahs…

Got a young child and another on the way I believe. Probably a good offer to stay (though obviously not a euro offer) especially the 2024 when a few will leave and his stocks will rise. Hit the market after that.
 

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
The implementation of meaningful structural change at Australian rugby's lower-levels, player pathways, player development - the abdication of responsibility towards the grassroot's game, etc... Stephen Moore probably summed it up better than I could:

I'm with Moore on this one, it is not just getting the best coach it is about looking at the whole lot, junior feeder systems, skills training at all levels, coaching and progress paths, administration, getting Super Rugby and Wallabies plans and player development aligned. Having a clear and agreed professional levels approach.
A decent start might be to call a meeting of all parties from Super Rugby heads and coaches, Refs, Wallabies and ARU to set down some basic ideas that they can all move forward on for an agreed period.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I'm with Moore on this one, it is not just getting the best coach it is about looking at the whole lot, junior feeder systems, skills training at all levels, coaching and progress paths, administration, getting Super Rugby and Wallabies plans and player development aligned. Having a clear and agreed professional levels approach.
A decent start might be to call a meeting of all parties from Super Rugby heads and coaches, Refs, Wallabies and ARU to set down some basic ideas that they can all move forward on for an agreed period.

Those things aren't mutually exclusive though.

The pathways have absolutely been improved in recent years and that is seemingly assisting with coaching development as well. It's not an instant thing though, particularly with the coaches.

Whether or not RA should have fired Rennie and hired Jones now is a different question. Maybe McKellar was a decent appointment after 2023 but we won't really know how that will turn out. Maybe he'll get a shot one day?

There's also a lot that RA literally can't control. It's one of the problems with RA being a union of unions and the game being run by different entities at each level of the game. It's probably also the only way that those things run though because a lot of the participants are volunteers. If RA takes over lower level things they would most likely need to staff them with professionals.

It's a complex situation. Moore doesn't exactly offer any constructive suggestions.
 

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
Those things aren't mutually exclusive though.

The pathways have absolutely been improved in recent years and that is seemingly assisting with coaching development as well. It's not an instant thing though, particularly with the coaches.

Whether or not Rugby Australia should have fired Rennie and hired Jones now is a different question. Maybe McKellar was a decent appointment after 2023 but we won't really know how that will turn out. Maybe he'll get a shot one day?

There's also a lot that Rugby Australia literally can't control. It's one of the problems with Rugby Australia being a union of unions and the game being run by different entities at each level of the game. It's probably also the only way that those things run though because a lot of the participants are volunteers. If Rugby Australia takes over lower level things they would most likely need to staff them with professionals.

It's a complex situation. Moore doesn't exactly offer any constructive suggestions.
BH, You're right he only points at the problems as he sees them and most of us here do the same thing. I am pleased to hear the pathways have improved and I look forward to seeing the results of that.
I still think that there is too much tinkering and not enough analysis and actions on issues, one of which is getting communications between all parties involved in the professional side working together. I suspect this is the biggest issue facing rugby Australia and not the appointment of a coach. That decision seemed to be an indicator of a lack of calm decision making and a shot from the hip. I hope it turns out OK.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
That decision seemed to be an indicator of a lack of calm decision making and a shot from the hip. I hope it turns out OK.

I agree with that. I was definitely against the appointment of Jones and the cost of sacking Rennie. He has made a lot of the right noises and I am hopeful it turns out well though.

A friend of mine who has significant dealings with RA suggested that the thing RA most needed was a really strong CEO who could stand up to the board on a consistent basis so the people that work for RA and are employed to look at all these issues on a daily basis can actually do the jobs they are paid to do.

It certainly felt like the board (or mostly McLennan) stepped in and forced things to happen without a lot of collaboration and forethought.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I don't think Moore needs to offer anything constructive.

Nothing wrong with creating more conversations around the issues he mentions, especially coming from someone who is mostly respected in the rugby community.

He doesn't. It's pretty easy to point out issues in Australian Rugby though. Literally anyone who follows the game can do it in relation to many different areas. Coming up with reasonable solutions to help address those issues is pretty difficult though.

Moore has earned the right to say what he wants but it also doesn't necessarily help the situation and his comments were something of a red herring. If you fixed the coaching development pathways tomorrow it isn't going to help you hire the next Wallabies head coach (or probably the 2 or 3 after that).
 

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
I agree with that. I was definitely against the appointment of Jones and the cost of sacking Rennie. He has made a lot of the right noises and I am hopeful it turns out well though.

A friend of mine who has significant dealings with Rugby Australia suggested that the thing Rugby Australia most needed was a really strong CEO who could stand up to the board on a consistent basis so the people that work for Rugby Australia and are employed to look at all these issues on a daily basis can actually do the jobs they are paid to do.

It certainly felt like the board (or mostly McLennan) stepped in and forced things to happen without a lot of collaboration and forethought.
I think many of us here already accept that McLennan was the one who insisted on Eddie and sacking Rennie. I wonder what that did to the toxic politics that seem to drive the ARU and the States.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I think many of us here already accept that McLennan was the one who insisted on Eddie and sacking Rennie. I wonder what that did to the toxic politics that seem to drive the ARU and the States.

I can't imagine it had any impact on the states.

I'd imagine that the senior staff at RA felt that they were being somewhat undermined by the Chairman.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
No Kerevi in Super Rugby

The Roar can reveal Kerevi met with Rugby Australia officials on Monday, but has turned down a one-year deal to return home and is likely to accept a new multi-million dollar deal in Japan.

The offer, which was upwards of $1 million, would have made Kerevi one of the highest paid players in Australia, but the short-term nature of the contract meant it was never a realistic option for the world-class centre.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
They should have offered him a multi year.

He's got to be one of our most important players and has the potential to be a captain.
He's returning from an ACL injury where his explosiveness is his best quality. I would never pay a player returning from a serious injury without seeing them perform again first.
 

Wilson

Phil Kearns (64)
Seems crazy not to offer at least two years maybe with an option of a third.

I guess the big question now is which OS player they focus on next. I'm pretty sure most of the other likely options have a couple of years to run on their contracts.
 

Adam84

Rod McCall (65)
Those things aren't mutually exclusive though.

Exactly. They aren’t and shouldn’t be treated as such, most if not all are complementary or derive economies of scales from one another. More importantly almost all cost money.

That been said, alignment between the unions and RA is an immediate fix, second to that alignment between RA and NZRU over a unified approach to dealing with the threat of NRL and AFL in the Oceania region is needed.

Ignorance isn’t bliss.
 
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