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Former Leinster teammate full of praise for new Wallabies coach

By Josh Raisey
New Wallabies attack coach Shaun Berne during his playing days with Leinster. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

After Australia announced that Shaun Berne has been appointed as their new attack coach, a former Leinster teammate of his, Luke Fitzgerald, has been full of praise.

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Berne, who completed his Super Rugby commitments as assistant coach of the Melbourne Rebels last week, will immediately link up with Michael Cheika again, who brought him in as a player when he was coach of Leinster.

Berne spent two years with the Irish giants, and was there during Cheika’s final season in Dublin. Their preexisting relationship may prove vital, particularly as it is only three months until the World Cup, and the two will need to drag a fairly abject Wallabies team up off their feet.

The former Australia A international replaces Stephen Larkham, who left his post with the Wallabies in February after a poor 2018.

Fitzgerald, who was a member of the Leinster squad alongside Berne that won the Heineken Cup in 2011, has said on Twitter that this is a “very astute decision” by Cheika. He would have played alongside Berne and under Cheika during his time with Leinster, and would have an understanding what each can bring to the Wallabies.

The former British and Irish Lion also complimented Berne’s “great rugby brain”, which will be needed if he is to replace Larkham, who was lauded during his playing days as a tactician.

This is what Fitzgerald said:

Berne’s season with the Rebels would have disappointed him, however, he has helped them become a growing force in Super Rugby. They started the season very strongly, and had a flowing attack led by some Wallabies.

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Berne’s relationship with the likes of Will Genia, Reece Hodge, Marika Koroibete and Dane Haylett-Petty will help him ease into the job as quickly as possible. This also means Rebels fly-half Quade Cooper’s chance of a recall to the national side have only improved.

He only has a short time to turn the Wallabies’ fortunes around with the Rugby Championship starting in July, and the World Cup starting in September, but he has got the backing from a former teammate.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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FEATURE Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby? Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?
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