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LISTEN: Change has to happen in Australian rugby

That losing feeling

After the Wallabies’ devastating loss in the first Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney, you’d be forgiven for presuming the code is dying in Australia.

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But the truth, according to Aussie rugby pundit Jaybor Staunton, is that isn’t the case. But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t serious problems at the top.

Speaking exclusively on The Short Ball with Scotty Stevenson and Mils Muliaina, Staunton says:

“Rugby in Australia is not in the place it needs to be. (ARU boss) Bill Pulver has said club rugby isn’t at the same level as the Wallabies, well that’s not the point. It’s the only level that’s working.”

“The top of Australian rugby is twisted and broken, but the foundations are still strong. It’s not dying, it’s just sick and injured.”

Stevenson chimes in, saying:

“The guys at the top have no idea what’s happening in club rugby, about the groundswell of support…as is evidenced by what you saw in Perth.”

Listen to what they have to say about the whole situation on the latest episode of The Short Ball:

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SK 1 hour ago
The times are changing, and some Six Nations teams may be left behind

If you are building the same amount of rucks but kicking more is that a bad thing? Kicks are more constestable than ever, fans want to see a contest, is that a bad thing? kicks create broken field situations where counter attacks from be launched from or from which turnover ball can be exploited, attacks are more direct and swift rather than multiphase in nature, is that a bad thing? What is clear now is that a hybrid approach is needed to win matches. You can still build phases but you need to play in the right areas so you have to kick well. You also have to be prepared to play from turnover ball and transition quickly from the kick contest to attack or set your defence quickly if the aerial contest is lost. Rugby seems healthy to me. The rules at ruck time means the team in possession is favoured and its more possible than ever to play a multiphase game. At the same time kicking, set piece, kick chase and receipt seems to be more important than ever. Teams can win in so many ways with so many strategies. If anything rugby resembles footballs 4-4-2 era. Now football is all about 1 striker formations with gegenpress and transition play vs possession heavy teams, fewer shots, less direct play and crossing. Its boring and it plods along with moves starting from deep, passing goalkeepers and centre backs and less wing play. If we keep tinkering with the laws rugby will become a game with more defined styles and less variety, less ways to win effectively and less varied body types and skill sets.

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