Campese: 'Too many league people in our game has destroyed our game'
David Campese is still trying to get his head around the Wallabies failing to make the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. The legendary winger hails from an era where Australia conquered the world, starring in their 1991 title success and enthusiastically cheering them on to do it all again just eight years later.
For 14 years he lived and breathed being an international winger with a devastating strike rate, but those days are long since gone for the now 61-year-old. So long ago were his many achievements on the playing field that the team poster behind him celebrating one of their many feats was even in black and white.
It pains Campese what has happened to the once great Wallabies, that they now exist in a country where their brand no longer captures the imagination of the wider public and has fallen in significance compared to other sports such as rugby league and its thriving NRL competition.
He twigged what was going on no sooner did he return to live in Australia in 2018 after a decade in South Africa, an overseas excursion that included three years coaching at the Sharks in Durban. The authorities, though, simply don’t listen to his musings.
“I have actually spoken to them,” he told RugbyPass when asked what his relationship was like with Rugby Australia, who are tasked with reviving the game locally in time for its hosting of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Rock bottom for @wallabies I have been predicting this for years after seeing the lack of rugby IQ and skills in grassroots in Australia. Ive been warning “the powers that” be but nobody listens
— David Campese (@Davidcampese11) September 24, 2023
“I said I have coached since 2018 in Australia, I know what the problems are: nobody in Australia knows who the Wallabies are. They have no idea about our culture or history. If you haven’t got culture or history you haven’t got anything. We won the World Cup in ’91 and ’99, the first country in the world to win two World Cups, and no one knows.
“We have got to celebrate our history and culture. If you look at South Africa after winning this year’s World Cup, I mean, they are everywhere. Even their social media posting was unbelievable whereas we have got nothing because we haven’t got that excitement, that enthusiasm that we had when we were pretty good in the amateur era.
“Unless you get an opportunity to live in different countries – I lived in Italy for 10 years playing rugby – you understand the world a bit better, you understand what the problems are, and in Australia, we have got no problems. Most of the problems are first-world problems. Instead, we try and make excuses.
“But the South Africans, (Siya) Kolisi, what they have done for that country is unbelievable. Have a look at the excitement, guys walking around in budgie smugglers. Only in South Africa can you do that but that’s what culture and history do. That is when you have got a team that everyone wants to support.”
Why don’t the officials in Australia listen to the maverick Campese? “Mate, I went to a government school, I didn’t go to a private school and rugby is a private school sport around the world. Look, I have always had my views. I’m not saying I am always right but even during the recent World Cup, the only people who approached me were Europeans.
“No one in Australia spoke to me. The only time they spoke to me was when we lost. Really? Why don’t you speak to me when we win? Look, it’s really frustrating but that’s life and you have just got to get on and do your best.
“We are in a bit of a pickle. It’s the first time we didn’t get to the quarters and there have been a lot of problems over many years, it hasn’t just happened because Eddie Jones turned up. I lived in South Africa for 10 years, coached Natal Sharks for three, and coming back in 2018 I went around the country and a lot of kids don’t actually understand or know rugby because it is not on free-to-air TV whereas Aussie rules and rugby league is.
“We have always had a massive problem in Australia. You have got football, rugby league and Aussie rules so we have always had that and the only way for rugby to win is you have got to entertain people. If you entertain them playing an exciting style of rugby, people will come so it’s a very natural fix.”
Campese sure knew how to entertain in his pomp. He was like the Pied Piper in the austerity 80s, generating great delight with his attacking play wherever he went, and the YouTube highlights reels of him scoring and goosestepping remain a joy to this day. That type of play, though, is no longer in vogue.
“It’s quite interesting. I was told on October 12 that a New South Wales board member’s main concern about Australian rugby is we haven’t got a war cry. You can imagine what their priorities are when we didn’t actually make the quarters. If you think about the amateur era, rugby was actually run very well.
“In the professional, most of the things that happen is that rugby league is very prominent in the world, we have got rugby league laws in our game which we never used to. It is very sad that we have got to look at other sports to try and improve our game. Our game was fantastic, why did we want to change it?
“I spoke to my son this afternoon who plays and he said what would you change? For me, the biggest problem is the ruck area. Bring back rucking. Because of rucking, you used to get forward momentum. I said to my son if you have a look at the Fiji-Portugal game, towards the end of the second half Fiji had a penalty five metres out from the try line.
“Two phases later they were at the 22-metre line, so where is the attack? It’s about defence. Unfortunately, when we went professional we went to rugby league to get all the rugby league defence coaches. The game is about defence, it’s not about attack. In Australia, rugby league now is played the way rugby union used to be played. Rugby union is the way the league used to be played. They have changed and we have got too many league people in our game and it has destroyed our game.
“My forte was skills. They never saw what I did off the paddock but they saw the performance. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t but the thing was we tried. Now if you look at the modern game, and even the last three games of the World Cup, a lot of the teams kicked the ball away because they had no options, they didn’t understand how to do a switch or a dummy switch or bring someone out of line.
“It’s all rugby league. What I was told (as a player) is you work your guts out from your 22 to the other 22 and don’t give the ball away. But now it is so easy, they just kick it away. The Wallabies against Fiji, I knew the dad of a player who was playing and he said that the son told him that the call came from the sideline, ‘Kick the ball to them, wait for them to make a mistake, don’t attack’.
“That’s negative rugby, that is really negative. If you haven’t got the ball you cannot win a game and that is what I was surprised about the All Blacks as well in the final. The All Blacks panicked. I played the All Blacks 29 times, I won eight. I know the All Blacks.
“In that final (against South Africa), the last 30, they were going for lineout. Get the points, get out, which they normally do, and then come back. But no one has talked about the two missed goals they did, they just talk about the red card and how unfair. I have seen things against the All Blacks all my life where they have got away with murder, it’s about time they understand what the rest of the countries in the world feel like when you lose a player early in the game.”
View this post on Instagram
Five Australian teams in the Super Rugby Pacific is another issue for Campese. “We have got too many teams. There has been a lot of analysis if you watch Ben Darwin and all these guys on social media. If you look at the ’91 World Cup, we had just two teams, New South Wales and Queensland, 13 players from each and we all knew each other, we played together.
“Randwick had five players in the ’91 World Cup team so familiarity makes it easier to play, so the less teams you have got the better you are going to be because you know each other, you play for each other and it just makes the understanding under pressure a lot easier.”
Speaking in association with BettingSites.co.uk, Campese refused to join in the Jones pile-on, the coach resigning 10 months after Rugby Australia unceremoniously sacked Dave Rennie last January to recruit him on a deal through to the end of the 2027 World Cup.
“Look, it’s a bit unfortunate. It’s a bit like football. In football, you get sacked, you’re in the circle, you get another job. Rugby is very similar. Eddie came back to Australia in early January, I don’t think he realised how bad Australian rugby was, he didn’t understand it, and he didn’t get people to talk to him about things.
“I just think what happened is that he tried hard but unfortunately we didn’t have the cattle, we didn’t have the skills and we didn’t have the experience. You cannot go to a Rugby World Cup with no number-one goalkicker in that role. Goal kicks win World Cups.”
Rugby is far from all doom and gloom, though, for Campese, who sure enjoyed himself in France. Take a look at his X account profile picture, the former Wallabies winger snapped on the River Seine amongst a who’s who of global rugby legends with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.
“That is one thing that we don’t really promote enough in our sport. Most of my friends are in Europe because I lived out there, played over there and you get to know each other. Even Will Carling. A lot of people don’t like him but we are very good mates, believe it or not, because when we get together we have a great time.
“That is what rugby is about and if you look at the Rugby World Cup that has just passed, you look after the game to how the players react to each other, there is no fight. It is just amazing how win, lose or draw; obviously, you are disappointed but at the end of the day it is a sport that you can only try your best and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Nice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
8 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
8 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
8 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
8 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to comments