'We can't spend £400,000 on a decent-level Super Rugby player. To me, that's crazy'
The departure of Jason O’Halloran will not be mourned in Glasgow as long and loud as those of Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg or Jonny Gray, nor will his legacy be debated and scrutinised in the years to come as Dave Rennie’s has been already, yet the attack coach has played a critical role in driving the Scottish game forwards.
Intelligent and affable, O’Halloran is a fascinating rugby man. The former All Black revolutionised Scotland’s attack under Vern Cotter and with Rennie, added extra gears to an already potent Glasgow squad. He helped polish a cohort of tremendous young players, pushed hard for a fairer approach to Scotland’s academy system and famously delivered a frank indictment of how the Scottish setup lagged decades behind New Zealand in sports psychology and mental preparation.
With Rennie’s exit for Australia, he too is leaving, taking up an assistant coach role with Suntory Sungoliath. And in reflecting on four-and-a-half years in Scotland, he sheds light on a predicament facing Glasgow amid their need for new blood, a predicament causing mounting disquiet among the club’s fans.
It is a simple fact that Glasgow cannot cling on to the Hoggs and Russells and Grays forever, but it is the dearth of prime cattle coming the other way that has supporters fretting.
“Everyone bemoans the fact that we lose a lot of quality players like Hoggy, Finn and Jonny,” O’Halloran tells RugbyPass. “A lot of people want us to throw all that money back at two other massive names – you’ve got to reinvest in your squad.
“Young guys that have become more successful can’t be kept for £50,000-60,000 anymore. You have to keep paying them more as they develop and that eats up a lot of cash.
“And are you going to shell out £300,000-400,000 for a slightly-better-than-mediocre Super Rugby player, or are you going to continue to develop young guys? That’s better for Scotland as well.”
If, for instance, Glasgow have a burgeoning Adam Hastings hungry and good enough to make the jersey his own with Russell gone, then that’s great. But it isn’t always the case. This season, Rennie had to make do and mend at full-back, shifting Tommy Seymour across from the wing, using Ruaridh Jackson or Glenn Bryce to fill a gaping Hogg-shaped void.
Glasgow cannot sign another Hogg. And realistically, the Jacksons and Seymours are bridging a gap until the next youngster – very likely Rufus McLean or Ollie Smith – is ready to be bled into the team.
But Warriors have powered themselves to such a height – semi-finals and finals, Champions Cup knock-out appearances, a relentlessly sold-out Scotstoun – that spells in transition lead to anxiety. If the kids aren’t ready, Glasgow need to recruit. But in the pre-coronavirus market, how could they justify forking out vast sums for players who aren’t masses better than what they already have? And if they can’t or won’t pay those wages, how do they get substantially better?
“You’ve got to identify two or three key positions you need to bolster and be prepared to spend some money there and then understand where that money is coming from, so you might to give a little bit in one area to get some in another,” O’Halloran says.
“There was talk that Alex Goode might be available at one stage and I thought a guy like that would be ideal. If you look at anyone back in Super Rugby that’s competent at full-back, they want £300,000-400,000.
“A couple of years ago, we looked at Matt Proctor, who is a good utility back, he got a Test for the All Blacks, and they wanted £350,000-380,000 for him. That’s mad. It’s a criminal amount of money. And he got it and then some at Northampton Saints.
“We can’t spend £400,000 on a decent-level Super Rugby player. To me, that’s crazy. Is he that much better than a Nick Grigg that you’re going to splash out that much money on them? That’s a big conundrum. At what stage do you go, yeah, we’re prepared to spend £400,000 on this guy because he’s that much better than what we have?”
Glasgow could do with a real juggernaut at blind-side or number eight, dependable cover at half-back, and a flourish of quality in the second-row.
Leone Nakarawa might yet deliver that stardust, as he comes to the end of his brief but spectacular second spell at the club. The Fijian colossus is one of the most coveted players in the game and while they can’t pay him top dollar, he feels cherished and happy in the city, especially after his acrimonious exit from Racing 92.
As he left for Australia, Rennie said that Danny Wilson, his successor, would soon be unveiling new signings. What Glasgow and their fans would give for Nakarawa to be among them.
“I’m pretty assured that they are definitely trying to keep him,” O’Halloran says. “In a nutshell, right, when Leone arrived in January, I think we were 11th for off-loads in the Pro14. Five games later, we were first – and first by a mile.
“I know Leone throws the odd loose one, but all of a sudden, guys are thinking about moving the ball in the tackle straight away. The biggest thing about him is he brings confidence to people around him. His first touch for us away to Sale was a try. Our off-load numbers went up, but our off-load accuracy was always above 80%, and that’s a key threshold for us.
“Leone is an unbelievable athlete and you can play him at 6, 8 or lock. He’s a great line-out forward as well. He’s an important cog to try and retain for sure, and he loves being in Glasgow. You’d like to think a quality Fijian international like that might attract other Fijians. If he can stay fit, he can still have a massive impact.”
While he could not deliver a trophy, Rennie’s legacy will endure in the young men he nurtured and developed into exhilarating players, individuals who still have a lot of growing to do but are already among the top operators in the Pro14. Hastings is the most striking example of sustained and excellent improvement, but George Horne, Matt and Zander Fagerson, and Scott Cummings have all made massive strides. O’Halloran is seriously excited about Bruce Flockhart, the hulking number eight, and Tom Gordon, the effervescent open-side who was involved in Scotland’s Six Nations training squad.
Rennie also advocated robustly for change to the national academies that could benefit Glasgow in the years ahead. He felt that Edinburgh’s proliferation of storied, rugby-playing private schools gave the professional team unfair access to a heap of emerging talent.
Glasgow signed Jamie Dobie straight from Edinburgh’s Merchiston Castle School in the summer, and already, the teenage scrum-half looks to be a mighty prospect.
“Dave was instrumental in trying to change Scottish Rugby’s mindset towards the academies,” O’Halloran says. “Pretty much all of the quality players go down to Merchiston or whichever big Edinburgh school and come under Edinburgh’s umbrella.
“We were trying to promote the fact that it should be a contestable process, so we can approach anybody in the country and offer them an opportunity at Glasgow and in doing that, create competition, so Edinburgh have to show up on their soil and do their job better, and that makes both entities better.
“I don’t think you should be able to sit back and rake in all this talent because it just happens to be going to school near you, especially when some of those kids are from the Glasgow area but have moved to Edinburgh. A lot of things need to go on in that regard.
“The best way to circumvent the lack of cash is to have quality academies. That’s where Leinster are better than anybody else – their academy is friggin’ outstanding, they keep pumping out quality guys time and time and time again. I hope Scotland continues to pursue an academy system that’s contestable.”
O’Halloran worries too that Scottish Rugby is failing to harness a slew of fine young players in the Borders, the legendary old heartland of the game where there has not been a professional team since 2007.
The Borders have bestowed upon Scotland so many titans, from Jim Telfer to Gary Armstrong, and more recently, Darcy Graham, Greig Laidlaw, Ross Ford, Rory Sutherland and Hogg. The region can be hampered by town rivalries and parochialism, but perhaps there is something intangible in the Borders psyche that makes for especially ferocious combatants.
“I feel like the Borders is still an area that is under-utilised,” O’Halloran says. “There are some quality kids down there.
“I know it can be an insular area where they don’t like their kids to leave the Borders, but you look at Hoggy, Greig, Rory Sutherland, there are some real quality competitors that come out of the Borders and I can’t help but think there are a few gold nuggets down there that are just left unvarnished.
“Maybe Scottish Rugby should be doing a better job at identifying and showing those guys a pathway and making them realise that’s it not going to be like moving to Mars to move to Edinburgh or Glasgow from the Borders. Some of the best talent I’ve been involved with in my time in Scotland comes out of the Borders.”
In a few weeks, O’Halloran will fly home to New Zealand where his family are waiting, and ultimately, at some point, whenever coronavirus restrictions allow, on to Japan. There will be no great fanfare for him, but his guile, insight and honesty will be sorely missed.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks 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?
4 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.
4 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 🤐
13 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….
13 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….
84 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!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 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
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments