Former Wallaby shares glowing endorsement for new Rugby Australia boss
With Hamish McLennan stepping away from the top job at Rugby Australia, former Wallaby Greg Martin has shared a glowing endorsement for new chairman Daniel Herbert.
Australian rugby is in crisis – there’s no denying that. The Wallabies failed to make the quarterfinals at this year’s Rugby World Cup, and their coach Eddie Jones resigned a few weeks later.
Mark Nawaqanitawase has also caught the attention of NRL club the Sydney Roosters, with the Wallabies wing reportedly meeting with the Tricolours last week in Sydney. That’s not all, either.
Led by Queensland, six unions penned a public to McLennan and Rugby Australia asking for the chairman to resign. McLennan initially refused.
“This will be the defining moment for the battle of rugby. It’s all about money and control and we have been failing for years. We live in interesting times,” McLennan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“This is about principles. They are actually not putting the game first and it’s about self-interest and parochialism.”
But that all came to an end earlier this week as McLennan was replaced by Rugby World Cup-winning Wallaby Daniel Herbert in the Rugby Australia hotseat.
While only time will tell as to whether or not this was a step in the right direction for RA to take, former Wallaby Greg Martin couldn’t have spoken any better about the “very positive” change.
“We need to talk about Australian rugby,” Martin said on Brisbane’s Triple M Breakfast. “God, it’s finally happened.
“The boss Hamish McLennan is a completely egotistical, arrogant fool who said I’m not stepping down, what sort of an example would that set to my children?
“All the unions around Australia, apart from New South Wales – stinking cockroaches, they think they run the whole bloody thing.
“What I want to talk about is the good news: the new chairman is a gentleman called Daniel Herbert who played about 80 Tests for Australia, won a World Cup in 1999 with Australia, boy from Ashgrove (in Brisbane), born in Ashgrove. I love him.
“Thank God he’s now running Australian rugby. It’s a very positive thing.”
Just a couple of days into the role, Herbert has addressed one pressing issue within Australian rugby with what would surely be welcomed as a momentously important decision.
With no level between clubland commitments and Super Rugby in Australia – nothing like the NPC in New Zealand – Herbert suggested that a new tier of club-focused rugby may be formed.
“Clubs like GPS and many around Brisbane, many in Sydney and in other states…that’s where there is some real tribalism,” Herbert told reporters at Brisbane’s GPS Rugby Club on Monday.
“We have to build on that tribalism. Various models have been considered over the years so what that (competition) looks like will take some important engagement from unions and clubs.
“I think we can get it up for next year. Some discussions have taken place but we need to model it and see what it looks like.
“A lot of Wallabies coaches over the past decade have said that not playing enough games is one of our biggest issues for rising players.
“I remember one coach within the Wallabies saying that Richie Mo’unga had already played 100 first class matches by the time he reached the All Blacks. Noah Lolesio played perhaps 20 before becoming a Wallaby.
“Our players need to play more footy, more of the right footy.
“Phil and I both believe the tribalism at club level is very strong and the right competition can further grow the clubs.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts 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
2 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.
2 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.
3 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!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
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