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How the best club rugby team in the world and one of Australia's most respected universities are pairing up to nurture rugby's upcoming talent
It would take a brave man to refute the argument that the Crusaders are the best club rugby team in the world.
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The Canterbury-based franchise have won 10 Super Rugby titles since the competition’s inception in 1996 and have featured in all but four post-seasons.
They’ve also produced some of New Zealand’s greatest players, including the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read and Justin Marshall.
Leinster, Leicester and Toulouse may have achieved a greater number of feats throughout their history but when comparing just the last 25 years of accomplishments, it’s clear that the Crusaders are leading the way.
And that’s exactly why, when Australia’s University of Wollongong were searching for a rugby club to partner up with for their new rugby development program, the Crusaders were the obvious choice.
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“In the Crusaders, I think we got the best rugby franchise in the world, without a doubt,” says the University of Wollongong’ Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Alex Frino.
“In my opinion, you can’t go past the All Blacks brand and philosophy. It’s unbeatable.
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“And the thing that’s remarkable about the Crusaders is the number of All Blacks and All Blacks legends they produce.”
Frino joined the university in 2016 and has since overseen the creation of a successful football development program with England’s Tottenham club.
The program involves coaches from Tottenham, who were runners up the 2018-2019 European Champions League, spending a year in Wollongong working with upcoming football talent.
Now, it’s rugby’s turn.
Students enrolled in the new Crusaders Global Rugby Program will maintain a full academic course-load whilst also receiving 16 to 20 hours of training and mentoring a week.
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The combination of academic and sporting development will ensure that players aren’t left scrambling when their rugby careers inevitably come to an end – it’s an incredibly proactive alternative to the ‘future skills’ workshops that many professional rugby clubs around the world have now instigated.
“In Australia, especially, you’ve got mountains of former rugby representatives who are struggling now and we want to help remedy that,” Frino says.
“We want our students to be developing their non-rugby qualifications as well as their rugby skills and talents. That’s the view we’ve had all along; we prepare them for life after rugby.”
It’s not simply a branding exercise for the University or the Crusaders franchise, either.
“There are a lot of ‘academies’ around Australia that carry names of big clubs – but all they are is brand-plays,” says Frino. “They have no real connection to the club, they just carry the name.
“We want to do something more genuine.”
In practice, this means the Super Rugby franchise will be providing the university with up-and-coming coaching talent from within the Crusaders region to really expose the program’s participants to what it’s like to be a part of one of the world’s most successful rugby teams.
Given the club’s proximity to the university – at least when compared with Tottenham – Frino expects the initiative will function slightly differently to the football program.
“Because New Zealand is really close, it allows a lot more flexibility. We’ll probably rotate coaches more frequently depending on what we’re focussing on in any month.
“One month, we could focus on attack and have a couple of attack coaches over, then we could focus on defence the next month and bring some defence coaches over.
“Whenever the Crusaders are in the country, it’d be great to have the kids get some of that exposure and meet them – that’s something we just can’t do with our other programs. I think that’s a massive, massive plus to this whole endeavour.
“My hope is that we’ll get a few legends along – that always fires up the youngsters.”
For the Crusaders, it’s a development program not just for the players but for the coaches too.
Current Super Rugby head coaches Scott Robertson (Crusaders), Leon MacDonald (Blues), Aaron Mauger (Highlanders), Rob Penney (Waratahs) and Brad Thorn (Reds) have all spent time playing for or coaching within the Crusaders environment.
While someone like current head coach Robertson might not be giving up a month to work with the University of Wollongong Global Rugby Program, the next tier of coaches from within the Canterbury and Tasman region will be given an opportunity to work with some of the best up-and-coming rugby talent from around the world.
“Our targets initially are Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong… There are massive numbers of teenaged registered rugby players. Kenya, too, and then the Pacific Islands and the United States. And, of course, Australia.
“My sense is that this program will have more internationals in it than domestic students.”
He's learnt how to lead by watching Michael Hooper, now one of Australia's most promising youngsters is gunning for his @wallabies spot.https://t.co/RSxk5GDZaJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 24, 2020
What, then, is the end goal for the program?
“We aim to take rugby talent and make it a lot better and then use the network to find them the best playing opportunity that they can possibly get,” Frino says.
“With football, we’ve got some of the guys already part of Sydney FC, the most elite level they can play in Australia, all the way down to regional and state-level teams.
“It’s not just the Premiership and Super Rugby, there’s a lot of competitions that can sustain a person’s career as a rugby player. There are clubs in France, Japan, Italy, Spain – you name it – who are looking for talented players.
“They’ve got the financial resources to pay a reasonable wage for a rugby player. There are opportunities everywhere.”
Whilst Australia have never been a global superpower in footballing terms, the nation has historically excelled in the oval-ball code. Some may therefore question why an Australian university is pairing up with a New Zealand team instead of one closer to home.
“Some haven’t been happy about this,” Frino reveals, “but I think the way most people are looking at this is it’s going to add a new dimension to Australian rugby that didn’t previously exist.
“If you look at the English Premier League, the reason why that league is so great is because it has so many foreign players. I think that does wonders for the local players to get exposure to the best talent from all around.”
The simple truth of the matter is that the Crusaders are just so much better than anything Australia currently has to offer.
The Crusaders have won three Super Rugby championships on the trot. The Australian clubs, on the other hand, have only collectively mustered three match-wins in 2020’s season to date.
Frino sums it up nicely: “To the astute, rugby knowledgeable individual, there’s no doubt that this was the most appropriate and most powerful combination.”
WATCH: Featuring a host of international stars including Dan Carter, Duane Vermuelen, Samu Kerevi, Andy Ellis, Matt Giteau, Brodie Retallick, RG Snyman, Sam Whitelock, and more! Catch up on all the highlights from Round 5 of the Japanese Top League.
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
12 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
12 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
5 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
5 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments