Group of 10 Wallabies captains have written another letter to Rugby Australia
The group of ten Wallabies captains who expressed concern about how the game was being run before Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle resigned last month have sent another letter to acting chairman Paul McLean. The approach came after some of the former skippers met with former RA director Peter Wiggs, who resigned from the board last week.
The captains are believed to be concerned RA may not push through with commitments made to them by Wiggs. While Rob Clarke was appointed interim CEO last week, it’s believed McLean will continue to represent RA when communicating with the captains.
Meanwhile, Wiggs is set to be replaced on the board by Hamish McLennan, a former Network Ten boss and News Corp senior executive, who might also become the new chairman.
The Wallabies’ 1991 World Cup-winning captain Nick Farr-Jones, one of the ten disenchanted past captains, admitted he could be interested in taking a seat in the board. “I could be tempted to go on the board,” Farr-Jones told Network Ten.
He described the game as being “rudderless” for some time. “You do need some significant reviews about the brokenness of the game and then you have to have a reset,” he said.
Dealing with the ten captains is among several issues currently confronting RA. For instance, it’s believed that the Western Force must accept new participation conditions if they want to play in a revamped Australian Super Rugby competition provisionally set for July.
Rugby Australia have drawn up five and six-team models for a proposed season to replace the Super Rugby tournament, which was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in March. One model has the WA-based Force playing alongside the four current Australian Super Rugby sides and the other has Japan’s Sunwolves joining and being based in either NSW Or Queensland.
RA believes a model including the Force would make the tournament a more enticing product for broadcasters. They also need to get the green light from state governments and lock in venues.
The Force, who were cut from Super Rugby by RA after the 2017 season, have been involved in discussions with the national body since the COVID-19 shut down though as of Tuesday the Perth-based club had not received a formal invitation to join the new competition.
Cash-strapped RA would not be drawn on whether they will fund any part of the Force’s potential involvement. “The participation conditions for the Force would be newly constructed as they were not part of the original Super Rugby competition,” an RA spokesperson said.
“One of the immediate priorities is to ascertain the Sunwolves involvement in the competition with the current travel restrictions in place. Once this is known we will be able to confirm the final competition construct, draw and participation conditions.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
3 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
114 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
3 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
3 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
114 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
4 Go to comments