Aus Rugby 22-93

[The Fat]

Aussie Super Rugby woes continue.
So far this weekend we are down 93-22 over 3 games to NZ and SA opposition with only the Brumbies to have a chance to stop the rot against the Argies this afternoon. Cannot honestly see an Aussie team beating a NZ team again this year. What's that saying about continuing to do the same thing and hoping for a different outcome?
The state of the professional game here is turning this punter into a glass half empty kind of guy and Raelene Castle doesn't know if she's Arthur or Martha at the moment.
We have definitely regressed since the 2015 RWC. RA continues to spend all of its money on the top of the pyramid and the only thing keeping grassroots rugby breathing are the wonderful volunteers throughout community rugby. One day there will be a purge of all the oxygen thieves and fat cats but until that happens the Wallabies will continue to slide in the rankings and our current crop of "elite" players will continue to believe they are superstars because they get paid as such. Let 'em all go to France I say and let's start all over again.

 

[crossref]

Would you like to have Eddie Jones back ?

 

[Dickie E]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...m/news-story/c60604bc270976de359baebe0c215732

 

[The Fat]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...m/news-story/c60604bc270976de359baebe0c215732

Link takes you to subscription page and not the article Dickie

 

[Dickie E]

Link takes you to subscription page and not the article Dickie

they're wily pricks at the Oz. You get nothing for nothing, I'm afraid.

To paraphrase: Alan Jones agrees with you.

 

[The Fat]

118 to 42 and not a win and that is with both the Waratahs and Brumbies playing at home.

 

[TigerCraig]

I've given up on Super Rugby - just watch Shute Shield now. Up the Rats !!!

 

[The Fat]

I've given up on Super Rugby - just watch Shute Shield now. Up the Rats !!!

I don't think you would be alone. My son is back playing local rugby so that is the only stuff I have been watching. A guy who comes in to my work place regularly, told me the Brumbies V Reds game recently only attracted less than 8,000 spectators.

 

[VM75]

Maybe you need to develop your Pacific Islander talent ID programs even more, to find more Tongan schoolboys and direct them into your system before that other prolific set of Islands get there first, or the European harvesters do?

Now there's a THORght

 

[TigerCraig]

Maybe you need to develop your Pacific Islander talent ID programs even more, to find more Tongan schoolboys and direct them into your system before that other prolific set of Islands get there first, or the European harvesters do?

Now there's a THORght

They all play league :frown:

 

[Dickie E]

look of the bright side. Storm have just put 38 points on Warriors in 40 minutes

 

[The Fat]

Maybe you need to develop your Pacific Islander talent ID programs even more, to find more Tongan schoolboys and direct them into your system before that other prolific set of Islands get there first, or the European harvesters do?

Now there's a THORght

That might have to be our Plan B to get the Wallabies back on track BUT the problems within Australian rugby will take years to remedy. There has to be a whole new rethink on the game starting at the top. It must include more resources for the grassroots. The current model of spending all of your money on the top 1 or 2% of participants is not a sustainable model. I am yet to hear anything from RA boss Raelene Castle that fills me with hope. My fear is that the fat cats who put her into the top job feel they can control her and therefore protect their positions into the future. If those crowd figures from the Reds V Brumbies game are correct, how much longer can they live in denial that the patient is on life support and requires immediate intervention?
I would be happy to see Aus rugby pull out of the Super Rugby competition until they have their house in order and the proper development systems implemented. The problem is that a major part of their income is from Super Rugby and when your close to bankrupt, you're not going to turn your back on a guaranteed income stream especially when you don't have to produce results to collect it.
Australian rugby is in the worst shape it has been since the game went professional.

 

[didds]

Speaking as a Pom, that's dreadful news.

didds

 

[Ian_Cook]

Aussie Super Rugby woes continue.
So far this weekend we are down 93-22 over 3 games to NZ and SA opposition with only the Brumbies to have a chance to stop the rot against the Argies this afternoon. Cannot honestly see an Aussie team beating a NZ team again this year. What's that saying about continuing to do the same thing and hoping for a different outcome?
The state of the professional game here is turning this punter into a glass half empty kind of guy and Raelene Castle doesn't know if she's Arthur or Martha at the moment.
We have definitely regressed since the 2015 RWC. RA continues to spend all of its money on the top of the pyramid and the only thing keeping grassroots rugby breathing are the wonderful volunteers throughout community rugby. One day there will be a purge of all the oxygen thieves and fat cats but until that happens the Wallabies will continue to slide in the rankings and our current crop of "elite" players will continue to believe they are superstars because they get paid as such. Let 'em all go to France I say and let's start all over again.

The Blues have been dire this year and are yet to play your Waratahs (in Sydney), the Rebels and the Reds (both in Auckland). I can't see them not dropping at least one of those games.

 

[The Fat]

The Blues have been dire this year and are yet to play your Waratahs (in Sydney), the Rebels and the Reds (both in Auckland). I can't see them not dropping at least one of those games.

The Blues have been dire against some good opposition.
The Aussie teams have been ordinary against mainly ordinary opposition.

Mitre 10 Cup is better quality rugby than an Aussie Super Rugby derby.
Shute Shield is more enjoyable to watch than an Aussie Super Rugby Derby.
Local bush footy is a more enjoyable experience than watching the Waratahs or Wallabies at the moment.
I have been a staunch supporter of Australian Rugby for many years. I have volunteered countless hours to junior and grassroots rugby. I have volunteered many hours over a number of years to the education of referees and ARs for my local association.
The politics, bullsh!t and mismanagement by, mainly RA (formally ARU) and NSWRU, as well as, to a lesser extent, some local directors has finally worn me down. I genuinely fear for the future of top level rugby in Australia. I trust that the wonderful grassroots volunteers will try their hardest to keep getting kids into rugby at community level.
I know you spoke highly of Raelene Castle when she was appointed to the top job here Ian, but frankly, I have seen nothing from her so far that gives me hope. She left the Bulldogs in a mess with court cases continuing to this day and the only time I've heard anything from her was how she tip-toed around the Israel Folau issue recently and misrepresented his comments from their meeting to make it sound like she had sorted him out. As if he wasn't going to call her out on that. It doesn't matter how good an administrator's reputation is, if they left their previous job looking like a pile of dog sh!t, why would you take a chance on that person being able to pull an already dysfunctional organisation into line? The answer must be that she must have been the best of an ordinary bunch.

 

[VM75]

Sounds like you need to pin your hopes on a rapid acceleration of the drift towards union re-merging with rugby league, where AUZ players have pretty much reigned supreme since before I was born, you could be top dogs again then.
:wink:

 

[crossref]

Do you think that is the trend ? I don't , I think there will be two forms of professional rugby right up until one of them collapses, and the other one wins. I don't think there will be a merger

 

[Dickie E]

https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/04/27/time-rugby-australia-properly-selfish/

interesting

 

[The Fat]

RA and Waratahs talking today about re-signing Hooper for 5 years at $1m a season. Also want to lock Folau in for a long term contract which would have to be around the same value as Hooper's contract. Then NSWRU boss announces NSWRU made a profit in 2017 of $14k. Such contracts, where Wallabies or potential Wallabies are concerned, are subsidised by RA.
To put this into some perspective, RA will spend about the same amount of money on their top 6 players (@ a contract top up of around $500k per player) as they will spend on grassroots rugby in 2018

 

[ChrisR]

Does Hooper & Folau put fans in the seats?