Why All Blacks fans should hope the Wallabies become a powerful force again
A penny for Dave Rennie’s thoughts right now.
The man’s appointment as Wallabies coach last November seems a lifetime ago.
His public relations tour two months later looked a smash hit and Rugby Australia (RA) were rightly praised for securing the services of a man much better equipped for international head coaching than the bloke New Zealand Rugby (NZR) had foisted on All Blacks fans.
Now, holed up in Scotland, Rennie must look at reports from Australia and wonder if his contract’s worth the paper it’s written on.
Turmoil seems a fair enough word to describe rugby in Australia, as the game goes broke and the disenchanted and disaffected seek to apportion blame.
Raelene Castle, the beleaguered RA chief executive, appears as if she won’t be the only casualty of a media company’s desire to exert its authority.
News Limited, via its newspaper and online arms, is at war with Castle and RA and determined to insert one of its own – Phil Kearns – in her place. Fair enough, but as things stand it wouldn’t really matter who was at the helm.
The problems with the game in Australia run far, far deeper than the chief executive of RA and won’t be fixed in a hurry.
No, Castle probably hasn’t done a great job of reviving Australia’s Super Rugby fortunes, or handling men such as Israel Folau and Michael Cheika, but there’s only so much an administrator can do in the short to medium term when the game is fundamentally weak.
The AFL will emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic in decent shape, while rugby league has suddenly become the cohesive and cocky force we once knew. For all we know, it might well become the first competition of substance to resume relatively intact.
It doesn’t hurt that there’s a media company driving talk of this rugby league revival. The same company, ironically, which appears so hellbent on aiding rugby’s demise.
That’s what you get when you walk away from the broadcast-rights negotiating table, as RA did to Fox a couple of months back.
All of which must worry Rennie, along with fans on this side of the Tasman too.
Castle has dismissed a lot of this stuff as “noise’’ but things have been pretty noisey in Australia for a while now and, if nothing else, will hardly aid the Wallabies’ cause when Bledisloe Cup rugby eventually resumes.
We all get that rugby will be regional, rather than international, when we finally get it back. Whether it be in franchise, provincial, club, North-South or Probables v Possibles guises, New Zealand’s best will begin competing in time.
But when they do, it won’t be long before eyes turn to Australia.
South Africa and Japan and Europe now look quite a long way away, in this new world order. If the All Blacks – or Silver Ferns and Black Caps and Kiwis for that matter – do start playing fixtures again, it feels fair to assume they’ll be against Australia.
When that happens, those Aussie netball, cricket and rugby league sides are likely to be as formidable as ever, but not the Wallabies.
Frankly, we need them to be outstanding again. To be as tough and arrogant and, occasionally, unlikable as the sides Alan Jones, Bob Dwyer, Rod McQueen and Eddie Jones once coached. To bring intrigue and unpredictability to an annual Bledisloe Cup series that has gradually become a contest in name only.
Sure, Cheika and co cleaned the All Blacks up in Perth last year. But that was once and certainly not sufficient to wrest the trophy back.
Rennie’s appointment, allied to that of Ian Foster here, brought with it great optimism. Australia might not have as good a players as us, but their coach was better (and more popular) and there was a sense the outcome of these games could become uncertain again.
But as RA continues to stumble at every hurdle, and more and more prominent folk seek to discredit them, the more we all lose out. Not just Rennie and the players and the various people who sponsor the game in Australia, but the All Blacks and we fans too.
We’re about to need a strong Australia more than ever and yet, with every passing day, infighting leaves the sport looking prone to collapse.
Sponsors and fans can spot losers a mile off and for now no code in Australia is looking less capable of recovering from coronavirus than rugby.
The Season with Brisbane Boys College 1st XV – Episode 3:
Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments