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Pete Samu not the only one Australian rugby has missed

By Ben Smith

Digby Ioane’s criticism aimed at Michael Cheika for ‘missing’ on Pete Samu is a little bit unfair to Cheika – one man can’t be responsible for everything – but it does raise a valid point in regards to the identification of talent and selections made by Australian franchises.

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Pete Samu spent time playing in both the Brisbane and Sydney club competitions and was unable to get a full-time opportunity at the next level. Some portion of this is not the fault of the teams. Australian rugby had only five professional teams at the time and no second-tier competition. Opportunities were scarce. Even now, the second-tier NRC competition can’t compensate every player or even pay every Super Rugby player an additional NRC retainer.

This scarcity of opportunity also adds extra responsibility on those making the contracting decisions – full-time contracts are limited so you better make the right calls. Handing a contract to an average player at the expense of a good one has consequences – namely, severely limiting your team’s chances of winning. With the results of the Australian teams the last three years, those in charge cannot dodge blame.

With only two genuine quality feeder pools in the country (Shute Shield in Sydney and Queensland Premier Rugby in Brisbane), it shouldn’t be that hard for teams to identify talent. Those in charge of the Brumbies, Rebels and previously at the Force, should have their eyes glued to those club competitions. The Reds and Waratahs have even more at stake to get things right.

Interestingly, players who show exceptional ability at club level in Brisbane have shown a similar capability in Super Rugby. Samu Kerevi was unstoppable for GPS in 2014 and has replicated his game-breaking ability for the Reds and Wallabies. Despite defensive concerns, his attacking ability cannot be questioned. Isi Naisarani was a successful back-rower for Souths in 2016, who became Australia’s Super Rugby Player of the Year the very next year at the Force. Brumbies fullback and new Wallaby Tom Banks had a number of years at UQ before being called up to the Reds due to depth issues. The list goes on and on.

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One of the best players seen in Brisbane club rugby this decade was Sam Greene. As a flyhalf, he played a pivotal position that Australian rugby is now struggling with depth. He played three straight seasons of Premier club rugby straight from school.  He was everything Australian teams, for some unknown reason, don’t value – a risk taker and a playmaker. He had speed, skill, vision and one of the best kicking games in the country. He proved by age 21, after over 50 club games he was ready for the next level with all the tools required to succeed as an attacking 10 that Super Rugby requires.

After Quade Cooper left, the Reds continued to stubbornly play the under-20 favourite Jake McIntyre at flyhalf, who led Super Rugby flyhalves in missed tackles and proved over two whole seasons he just wasn’t up to Super Rugby standard. Greene never played more than fifteen minutes in any game, let alone had a chance to start. He left an unproven commodity at Super Rugby level with no opportunities to stay in Australia and has since excelled in the Japanese Top League.

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There are players playing Super Rugby in Australia right now that didn’t have half the impact Greene had in club rugby. Not even close. Often you would see the highest rated age grade under-20 talent return to grade and fail to impose themselves. Even pros, on the odd occasion, could step down and get outplayed by their opposite. The younger ones could be excused, only proving they need more time to develop physically and mentally.

There is often a ‘red carpet’ pathway in Australian rugby that is rolled out for chosen ones to the detriment of their development. It offers a shortcut to professional rugby through under-20 programmes. These under-20 commitments often mean players bypass a full season or two in club rugby and only ever play a handful of games – effectively wrapped in cotton wool before being thrown in the deep end.

Case in point, the Reds current 20-year-old flyhalf Hamish Stewart has never played a full season of Premier club rugby against men – instead, playing colts grade and under-20 reps before being thrust into Super Rugby in 2017. He might pan out in the long run, but after 10 games this season there isn’t a lot to suggest he is a special talent worthy of picking at 20-years-old – zero try assists, two line breaks, and two line break assists. Wouldn’t he better off in the long-run earning his stripes at club level right now?

Late bloomers that grow an arm and a leg in their early twenties can end up playing more than those in the ‘system’, and some of them become better players. At times they have already been put on the scrap heap too early by decision-makers. Often there might be two or three equally talented players in a position at 17-years-old. If you can only give one an opportunity, that’s life, but don’t completely discount the other two guys.

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It’s great that rugby has pathways for young players, but there is no substitute for time in the saddle to hone skills and develop your game – which club rugby offers. Pete Samu is just the latest example in a long line of players proving that the talent is there in Australian rugby, just sitting below the surface. Often the coaches and selectors either can’t see it, have some form of bias, or personal interests placed in justifying other players.

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J
Jon 3 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 6 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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Adrian 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

28 Go to comments
T
Trevor 10 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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