Waratahs 2025

[Overtime]

Heard we have something like 100 Australians playing pro rugby ( at various levels of $) around the world. Our problem has never been talent, its been the lack of $ to keep them in Australia. Pretty much luck football around the world for almost every country apart from the big 3-4.

Agree, one player I would be targeting is Isaac Lucas though he probably isn't off contract any time soon.

 

[Linerunner2023]

Heard we have something like 100 Australians playing pro rugby ( at various levels of $) around the world. Our problem has never been talent, it’s been the lack of $ to keep them in Australia. Pretty much luck football around the world for almost every country apart from the big 3-4.

Probably more then 100
It’s got to the point just do an SA and let the world pay for the athletes bills and allow them to still play test footy
Works the for boks
Even NZ starting to think about it
There is so much money in Europe and Japan just go with it and allow them to come back

 

[RebelYell]

How many of those 100 would command a SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) starting spot or bench spot though? The number has been as high as 200 in the past but if it's only 20-30 who would get a gig - especially with 4 teams - the overall number is kind of irrelevant.

 

[Crashy]

i guess my point is that as a net exporter of talent, we need to force net importers of talent to pay via transfer fee or something. We need to protect our assets somehow and RA doesnt have the money.

 

[Desmond]

Probably more then 100
It’s got to the point just do an SA and let the world pay for the athletes bills and allow them to still play test footy
Works the for boks
Even NZ starting to think about it
There is so much money in Europe and Japan just go with it and allow them to come back

Its not a bad thing as the players go overseas and play twice as much Rugby and get battle hardened. In Australia the become soft and injury prone.

 

[hammertimethere]

How does it save money? Who’s paying for 120 players to go live and play in NZ for 3 months?

Well currently the NPC sides pay the players 30-50k for the season (and the SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) side doesn’t pay their wages or drastically reduced during this time, so money gets saved) and the boys who go from Aus usually rent with their teammates.

For the Aus SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) players who are relatively young, maybe don’t have a family to bring along it currently works pretty well. All I’m
suggesting is embrace it for as many of our players as we practically can for the moment.

I don’t care whether NZR like it or not, clearly some of their NPC sides do and it’s a good option for them and us.

 

[Adam84]

Well currently the NPC sides pay the players 30-50k for the season (and the SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) side doesn’t pay their wages or drastically reduced during this time, so money gets saved) and the boys who go from Aus usually rent with their teammates.

For the Aus SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) (Super Rugby Pacific) players who are relatively young, maybe don’t have a family to bring along it currently works pretty well. All I’m
suggesting is embrace it for as many of our players as we practically can for the moment.

I don’t care whether NZR like it or not, clearly some of their NPC sides do and it’s a good option for them and us.

Right, so the original comment was Marce said all Australian Super Rugby players should head over to NZ to play NPC, to which you replied this is ‘great wisdom’.

Do you really think it’s realistic to make 120 Aus players head over to NZ for 3 months, take a pay cut, sleep in the spare room of NZ teammates and expect NPC teams to cover the wages?

 

[TSR]

Out of interest - do they take a pay cut? I assumed they would be earning the money from NPC on top of their normal income.

 

[rugbyAU]

 

[Rugby Head]

View attachment 20508

Henry O'Donnell is a great signing

 

[Yoda]

Henry O'Donnell is a great signing

Agreed. Why did the Force let him go?

 

[Strewthcobber]

Agreed. Why did the Force let him go?

I would assume it's just a Sydney player returning home to an open position in NSW that he has been waiting for. Probably not much the Force can do there

 

[Dctarget]

Really happy you've picked up Talataina, Smith and Leota. You've added some serious ball running threats to replace some good ones in Swinton, Hanigan, Holloway.

 

[Marce]

View attachment 20508

Are all of them eligible?

 

[John S]

Are all of them eligible?

For what?

 

[Marce]

Right, so the original comment was Marce said all Australian Super Rugby players should head over to NZ to play NPC, to which you replied this is ‘great wisdom’.

Do you really think it’s realistic to make 120 Aus players head over to NZ for 3 months, take a pay cut, sleep in the spare room of NZ teammates and expect NPC teams to cover the wages?

Well, you can take everything so literally. In a perfect world all the 120 players should play NPC but that's not gonna cause due to budget and cause NZRU showed that they are not supportive enough of Australian rugby.

All, almost all, most, half, many of them or a handful, would be good for Australian rugby. 120 players are almost 7/8 teams and I can't see the Kiwis allowing that but if 30 Aussie Super Rugby players play NPC, they could raise the standard level of Aussie Super Rugby players

 

[John S]

Well, you can take everything so literally. In a perfect world all the 120 players should play NP

So in a "perfect world" all these Aussie Super Rugby players are in NPC. How is this helping?

All it's doing is aiding their supposed development. Wouldn't you rather they play in the Australian domestic competition?
But, this is the wrong thread - there's the whole "where to for Super Rugby" or "Australian Rugby threads for this

 

[Marce]

So in a "perfect world" all these Aussie Super Rugby players are in NPC. How is this helping?

Just analyze how the NZRL developed a national team that can compete against the Kangaroos with just one professional team. Most of their players are playing for Aussie teams.

 

[John S]

Just analyze how the NZRL developed a national team that can compete against the Kangaroos with just one professional team. Most of their players are playing for Aussie teams.

Two totally different animals, try again?

 

[Agent]

The Tahs 2025 squad is finally starting to take shape. Not sure who else has been missed - I feel like someone in the outside backs?!

Dan The Man McKellar – Head Coach
Mike Catt – Assistant Coach (attack)
Lachie McCaffrey – Assistant Coach (defence)
Dan Palmer – Assistant Coach (set piece)

Hooker:
Dave Porecki
Julian Heaven
Ethan Dobbins
Mahe Vailanu - ????

Prop:
Angus Bell
Hayden Thomson-Stringer
Isaac Kailea
Taniela Tupou
Siosifa Amone
Dan Botha - ????
Tom Lambert

Lock:
Miles Amatosero
Fergus Lee-Warner
Hugh Sinclair
Ben Grant
Angelo Smith

Backrow:
Langi Gleeson
Charlie Gamble
Rob Leota
Leafi Talataina
Ned Slack-Smith - ????

Scrumhalf:
Jake Gordon
Teddy Wilson
Jack Grant

Flyhalf:
Tane Edmed
Jack Bowen
Lawson Creighton

Centre:
Lalakai Foketi
Joseph Sua'ali'i
Joey Walton - ????
Henry O'Donnell

Wing:
Dylan Pietsch
Darby Lancaster
Triston Reilly

Fullback:
Max Jorgensen
Andrew Kellaway