Sauron
Larry Dwyer (12)
This is an anecdote that I heard third-hand, so take it with a heavy helping of salt.
Apparently before the Lions tour a few years back, an advertising agency approached the ARU with the aim of winning a contract. The response was apparently "the tour will sell itself out, we don't need to advertise". No thought to trying to generate any kind of legacy for the game, no nothing.
If true, it's just a reflection of the poor management of the code by the supposed experts at the top. They have no plan- they honestly seem to think that management of the code as a whole is limited to "try to make the Wallabies successful". I get that this has become a matter of dogma for those involved in managing the game thanks to JON. Unfortunately, this shibboleth has meant that any plan that aims to address the more fundamental failings of the code will be seemingly rejected out of hand.
Apparently before the Lions tour a few years back, an advertising agency approached the ARU with the aim of winning a contract. The response was apparently "the tour will sell itself out, we don't need to advertise". No thought to trying to generate any kind of legacy for the game, no nothing.
If true, it's just a reflection of the poor management of the code by the supposed experts at the top. They have no plan- they honestly seem to think that management of the code as a whole is limited to "try to make the Wallabies successful". I get that this has become a matter of dogma for those involved in managing the game thanks to JON. Unfortunately, this shibboleth has meant that any plan that aims to address the more fundamental failings of the code will be seemingly rejected out of hand.