16 October 2024 #015
Good morning G&GRs, and welcome to Tuesday’s Rugby News. As BL reported on Monday, there was some great quality women’s international Rugby played over the weekend, and yes the Wallaroos managed a very good win over the Scottish Women. There has also been the next generation of interstate rivalries being played out over recent weekends with the Super Rugby age group squads battling it out in the U16s and U19s.
International Women’s Rugby
Wallaroos get it done against Scotland
As covered by BrisneyLand on Monday, the Wallaroos got the job done against Scotland and have taken home the trophy in WXV2. It’s a well deserved win for the Wallaroos, who have bought into Jo Yapp’s messaging and shown real improvement throughout the year. Not too surprising, though, when you look at the number of players that have played less than 10 games, and even the most capped Wallaroo ever only has 34 caps. Congrats again to all of the Wallaroos that were part of the broader squad this year.
If you haven’t seen the Wallaroos games they were excellent, and well worth the time. On an even more positive note, there seems to be more ball in play time, and less skipping forward to the next set piece than a lot of the men’s games.
In other WXV2 games over the weekend, Wales edged Japan 19-10, and Italy got up over hosts South Africa 23-19. The final table for WXV2 is below, and Australia are the standout performers in that tournament.
WXV1
WXV1 was played in Canada, and England were the dominant team with 3 wins from 3 games against the USA, New Zealand, and Canada. Comments from Keith in Tasmania were that Canada really pushed the Red Roses and the win wasn’t secured until late in the game when England scored two converted tries in the final 15 minutes to take the victory.
After dropping their first 2 games against Ireland and England, the Black Ferns put away the French by 39-14, in what must feel like a disappointing tournament for the defending world champions.
Canada finished third due to a bonus point, but were somewhat of a surprise package having won 2 of their 3 games including victories over France and Ireland (who finished second).
WXV3
Rounding out the WXV series, Spain pipped Samoa in WXV3. Spain swept their three games while Samoa picked up 2 wins and a draw. Spain and Samoa didn’t play each other, so there isn’t the same feeling of the grand final like the WXV1 and WXV2, but Spain did score the most points, concede only 8 points in total for the tournament and scored 17 tries, 3 more than Samoa, so they definitely deserve the trophy.
There was plenty of talk in the comments section on Monday about it, and I agree with the prevailing sentiment that the WXV format tournaments have been a success. So congratulations to World Rugby for organising this and getting more competitive games for the Wallaroos and the other teams ahead of the World Cup next year.
Australian Super Rugby U16s and U19s
Under 16s
The Waratahs are setting the pace in the U16 Super Rugby competition that is being played around the country at the moment. Two big wins, an absolute pasting of the Rebels, and a very solid victory over the Reds has them clear favourites to take out the title at this stage, but they do still have two games to play before the final on 3 November at Ballymore.
Under 19s
The Waratahs are setting the pace in the U19s with wins over the Rebels and the Reds. The Brumbies also have 2 wins, but haven’t faced the Waratahs yet and based on the result between the Reds and the Brumbies, you’d have to back the Reds to go through into the final on 3 November as well. But the Reds and the Waratahs both have two games to play to get to that final, so let’s not count our chickens just yet and all of that. Stan has coverage of these games for your rugby fix this week.
The Rugby/Rugby League Circus
I’ll admit that I find it all a bit naff, or pants, all of this talk about whether or not players should switch between codes, and whether one of the codes has a victory because they poached the next big thing, or an established player, and so on.
I’m going to put it out there, that I don’t really see what all of the fuss is about and I don’t think rugby in Australia is dying because we lose some players to league, or overseas each year. It’s inevitable that a lot of young players who have started to be successful in union end up playing league; it’s a numbers game in Australia, there are currently 3 professional rugby union teams in Australia (4 if you count the Waratahs), and there are 17 teams in the NRL, more than 4 times as many teams. So it’s not at all surprising that some young rugby players end up playing league.
The loss of players isn’t why rugby is dying, or struggling (though hopefully it isn’t actually dying, and I’ve just caught some hyperbole). The reason that rugby is struggling is that the game has refused to grow, and has eaten itself from the top down. Nutta and others on this site have bemoaned the lack of teams west of the Anzac Bridge, despite the population size and growth in western Sydney.
And how much has it hurt RA to be paying two Wallaby coaches at a time because they sacked the Kiwi one with a plan, only to replace him with an Aussie one who was sacked by the English, and actually wants to coach Japan. We were simultaneously paying Dave Rennie to not coach the Wallabies, and Eddie Jones to do whatever he was doing. How did that go, and have we ever been told what that cost?
Could the board and other people at RA instead have invested in a coaching program to train and mentor the next generation of coaches at Super Rugby (including the age groups) and then make that program, or a simplified version of it available to anyone in Australia that is taking on the mantle of coach, whether it’s the Albany Creek Brumbies, or the Jindabyne Bushpigs, whether it is the U6s, or senior men’s, or women’s teams. Could we have invested the money they wasted on Jones and his soundbites in a coaching program that could make a meaningful difference across the country. Unless I’m missing something, the answer is yes, RA could have done all of that, and if they did the game would be better for it. That’s the reason the game is struggling, not because players may change codes.
A career perspective
I’ve been fortunate enough so far (I’m 51) to have been working professionally for nearly 30 years as a civil engineer (cue the oxymoron jokes), and in that time I’ve got to work all over Queensland, some parts of Australia, and had a 2.5 year stint in London. I’ve worked for the Queensland Government, two of the big four consulting firms, a construction company, London Underground, and smaller consulting businesses. All of those jobs have been in and around infrastructure projects, and they have all been different. I wouldn’t be the person I am if I hadn’t done all of those things.
If I put that perspective into the discussion of the young footballers who play both league and union at school and then at the semi-professional and professional level, it doesn’t surprise me at all when players either change codes, or change clubs, and move interstate or overseas. I think that they work hard and they are incredibly fortunate to be earn these opportunities. So for mine, congratulations on getting to that point, and I hope it goes well for them. There seems to be an undercurrent, or sense of betrayal often, and I think it is unfair to the players as they try and navigate their way through what is a relatively short professional career.
I hope that Carter Gordon is super successful in league, and that others who are plying their trade overseas have success. I look on it that these young athletes are making a living and are having fun while they’re at it. Getting paid to play sport in a different country, with different cultures and all of that, how cool would that be.
That’s a wrap for this week
That’s it for me this week, thanks for reading, I hope my ramblings made sense to you, look forward to the comments section. Over to you G&GRs.
