Wednesday’s Rugby News has nothin’ doin’ at the ARU, Quade hatin’ on haters, Karmichael chatting NRL schoolboys and Owen Finegan speaks!
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Wasn’t Very Emergency
So remember that EGM the ARU was supposed to have? Well yeah, it went down like a wet fart. Which, come to think about it, is probably the loudest noise the ARU comms team has made in the last 48-72 hours 3 months.
The gist of it is this – Bill Pulver wasn’t challenged as CEO; the majority of votes were to go to a four team conference (reminder: the ARU controls the Force’s vote); and there may be Super Rugby commission.
Anyway, here’s chairman Cameron Clyne:
“There was not even a hint of suggestion that [axing Pulver] would be appropriate or even discussed,” Clyne said according to the Daily Telegraph. “There is no question that being CEO of Australian Rugby is a difficult job. Being CEO of any sport is a difficult job.
“He was just making the obvious point these are difficult changes to drive through and to drive them through you ideally need the support of all the stakeholders. ‘
“That was not raised and in fact there was a view there was a collective responsibility right across the game, at every level. This is not about pointing fingers.”
When asked the 48-72 hours fiasco, Clyne replied:
“We had always said we would like to have a resolution as quick as possible but we don’t control that timeline,” he said.
“That’s why put out a time frame of 48-72 hours. We were very prepared to make that decision within that time frame.
“Obviously when it became real, the teams were under threat did engage legal action, as they’re entitled to do. That has obviously put the delay in. I accept there is criticism it is taking time. If I had come out and said we are going to exit a team, and it’s going to take four months, there’d be equal criticism.”
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Cooper Looking For More Bouts
Quade Cooper has told rugby.com.au he doesn’t like keyboard warriors, and to be honest he’s a man of his word having fought a hater in a boxing match already.
“It’s easy for people to sit behind a keyboard and throw barbs, sit behind a keyboard and tell you you’re not doing your job,” Cooper said, racking up a silhouette of Matt Rowley at shooting range.
“When you come out here and see the hard work that goes in – nobody goes out there to lose.”
Cooper, the pansy, was saying this as he was shadowed by Jeff Horn. Horn’s scheduled to belt the living daylights out of Manny Pacquaio in two weeks’ time, and was tying in the international relevance of that event with the international relevance of rugby union, which was why he was at Wallabies training.
“If you imagine a boxing fight and the challenge like what Jeff has ahead of him – if he was to go down and lose, people throw barbs at him and that’s very unfair,” Cooper said.
“When he wins that fight, he’ll be able to stand tall, stand proud and understand that has gone in, he’s done that for himself.
“Still, there will be people that sit back and say Manny was old and things like that. There’s always people that are going to do that and I have no respect for that.
“I have respect for people that stick with you throughout the ride, through the ups and downs, no matter the result.”
Cooper, who has a very rough life because he gets paid to live as a footballer, and sleeps with many gorgeous women along the way, also responded to pleb Jack Quigley’s Facebook rant.
“To see the passion from fans like that is great – it’s great to see that the fans are hurting as well because they go through the tough times as well,” he said.
“But it’s a different story when you sit behind a keyboard and start throwing barbs at people. I’ve got no respect for it when people are going out and giving it everything they can in their job, their profession, it’s disappointing to see that.”
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NRL Lure
Karmichael Hunt has echoed sentiments found in this week’s Rugby Report Card, telling the Brisbane Times that the NRL is hard to resist for young footballers.
The list of great young footballers lost to league is long, and is headed by the rugby league’s greatest player, the bloke who’s statue is out the front of Suncorp, Wally Lewis.
Current league wonderkids Kalyn Ponga, Angus Crichton and Brodie Croft are all ex-schoolboy stars.
“When you’re very young and have league clubs throwing a lot of money at you, at a very young age, it can be very hard to resist. I know coming through, I was always a league boy but I went to Churchie,” Hunt said.
“The Broncos had me on their books and they weren’t giving me anything special, maybe a pair of boots, but those things tend to add up. They get you involved – I was wearing the Broncos training shorts around after school – they reel you in from a young age.
“It’s hard as a kid. You get tempted, the parents get tempted as well. It’s a very tough battle for rugby.
“It’s complex but at the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to money. League has a lot of money to throw around in that space. Rugby league has done a lot in that sector in terms of the money they put into grassroots and young players. It’s a difficult one,” Hunt said.
While at Churchie, Hunt did play some rugby, and naturally as he got older and wiser he’s seen the light.
“Those years did show me how good rugby can be and how much fun it is as a sport. I’ve ended up full circle and coming back,” he said.
“But it’s a shame a lot of these great young kids playing rugby at school probably see their futures elsewhere straight after school. It’s hard to resist.”
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An Owen Finegan Story
Owen Finegan, who hasn’t featured in the Rugby News for at least 72 years, has piped up to say that the Wallabies were done by a champion team on the weekend.
“Scotland has always been a bit of a nemesis for us and in the last four or five years there hasn’t been much between the teams. They just seem to stick in games against us,” Finegan said, according to the Canberra Times.
“You look at the two and sometimes you think it’s a team of champions against a champion team.
“They haven’t got any of what you’d say are world 15 players or anyone you’d rave about as being the difference, but even missing their halfback, fullback and winger on Lions tour and the guys that came in just did their job, everyone did their job.”
Finegan also opened up on that Facebook rant.
“I played in games where we got beaten by 50 or 60 points and it was never that we weren’t trying or didn’t have enough passion,” Finegan said.
“They might have been lulled into a false sense of security thinking that Scotland weren’t going to be as good as they were and they might have lacked a bit of intensity, but not passion.”
And for all those upset about Scott Fardy not getting in the squad, Finegan is here to disappoint them:
“If I was the coach and a player was going away at the end of the year I wouldn’t be picking him, I’d be picking people committed to the Wallabies,” Finegan said.
“They had something like 13 debutants last year and picked eight debutants in this squad, so I think Michael Cheika is looking to the future.
“You have to get the consistency right and right linkage between winning games now and building for the next world cup.
“I highly rate Scott Fardy, I think he’s a great player but then you question whether he’s going to be at the next world cup.
“I’m disappointed for Scott because he’s still in great form for the Brumbies, but sometimes you’ve to get that balance right and look ahead.”
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