Ex-All Blacks call for reduction of Australia's Super Rugby Pacific teams
All Blacks legends Jeff Wilson and Sir John Kirwan have called for a reduction in the number of Australian teams in Super Rugby Pacific.
After only three rounds of the new-look competition, Wilson and Kirwan took aim at Australian rugby as they called into question the quality of personnel on offer at the country’s five Super Rugby Pacific franchises.
Their pair’s comments come after a horror showing by Australian teams in last year’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, where they chalked up only two wins from 25 matches against Kiwi opposition.
That followed a series of mediocre performances by Australian teams against New Zealand sides in recent years, which was at its worst when the Kiwi franchises went undefeated across 40 matches against their Australian counterparts between 2016 and 2018.
Although the New Zealand and Australian teams are yet to cross paths in Super Rugby Pacific this season, Wilson suggested the Australian sides have been weakened by Rugby Australia’s [RA’s] inability to prevent household names from heading offshore.
Over the course of the most recent off-season, RA lost star wing Marika Koroibete to Japan, where he joins fellow Wallabies stars Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Sean McMahon in the League One competition.
Towering lock Rory Arnold is set to follow suit after reportedly signing a deal with a Japanese club that will make him one of rugby’s top earners with a contract thought to be worth A$4.5m.
Australia’s player drain also extends to Europe, where last year’s Wallabies Will Skelton, Tolu Latu, Ollie Hoskins and Kurtley Beale – who will return to the Waratahs from Racing 92 next year – are all based.
Reds and Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto will also leave for Europe later this year, leading Wilson to criticise the lack of frontline Australian players in Super Rugby Pacific.
“The number of quality players that they don’t have in Australia at the moment is definitely weakening their Super Rugby sides,” Wilson told The Breakdown.
“Michael Hooper’s not playing at the moment, Andrew Kellaway’s not playing, who was outstanding last year,” he added, although both Hooper and Kellaway are signed with RA and are either injured or being rested.
“Because they’ve got five teams and then you remove this level of talent from across those sides, I think it’s damaging their Super Rugby chances, but also some of their confidence as players because they’re just not here to make these connections with these guys.
“We need superstars in the game. We’ve got Ardie Savea on the top of his game; Will Jordan playing fantastic.
“At the moment I’m looking across the Tasman and I’m going where are they? Where are the game-changers, where are the guys that we want to come and watch so it’s going to be a more even competition?”
A change in RA’s Overseas Player Selection Policy, formerly known as the Giteau Law, is hoped to limit the loss of homegrown Australian players abroad.
Those changes include restricting the number of foreign-based Australian players eligible for Wallabies selection to three per series or tournament.
Furthermore, foreign-based players can only come into consideration for Wallabies selection if they already have 30 test caps to their name and have five years of Super Rugby experience.
Kirwan, however, offered an alternative solution for RA in its battle to retain its top-class players: cut one of their Super Rugby Pacific teams.
This, of course, is an avenue RA have already explored, having controversially culled the Western Force from Super Rugby in 2017 before begging for their return for Super Rugby AU in 2020 in a bid to keep the game afloat at the height of Covid-19.
The Force have since gone from strength-to-strength upon their Super Rugby return, but that didn’t stop Kirwan from asserting that by cutting the cost of running five franchises to four, RA will be able to afford to keep their best players in Australia.
“We’ve had this conversation before about Australia dropping a franchise and they don’t want to do it, and it’s going to kill their own rugby,” the 1987 World Cup winner told The Breakdown.
“You go over there and you have massive arguments, they tried to get rid of the Force … and we did, and they blew up, and they started playing in a different competition backed by [Andrew Forrest].
“They cannot afford to keep their pros… they have made a decision, and I think it’s the wrong decision because they’re letting their players play overseas, but it’s damaging their rugby.
“They’re not going to have the courage to actually drop a franchise, and what’s going to happen? They’re going to get pumped again in this Super Rugby [season].”
Wilson agreed with Kirwan’s assessment as he challenged RA to “change their depth” after having also lost national U20 representatives, such as Isaac Lucas and Harry Hockings, to Japanese club rugby in recent times.
“Well drop a franchise. They’ve got enough money [to keep players] if you drop a franchise, but what I’m saying is there is a number of U20 players, that have chosen when they’re 21, 22, to go to Japan,” Wilson said.
“They’ve gone, ‘My future is over here, I’m getting beaten up every week’.
“I just think it’s really important that they find a way to change their depth or they’ve got to drop a team in a couple of years’ time, because they’ve got a couple of teams that put their hand up already on the weekend and they can play.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments