Australian Rugby / RA
- Thread starter Dave Beat
- Start date
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
There are a fair few pretty decent independent news people these days, via the wonders of the web.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
That's my take on the situation too. Had the ARU allowed the Rebels owners to go broke, and had they insisted then on taking the license back, both the Rebels and the Force would have been on equal standing so far as the decision to cut was concerned. Had the ARU done that, there would have been quite a lot less angst now over the whole process and decision.
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
Are they still using the same specialists who did that worldwide search to pluck out Billy P?
Shore school reunion, class of '77 ?
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
I normally like Webster, but I can't say I agree with him here.
I think Castle has navigated a very, very sensitive situation quite well.
Webster underestimates, IMO, the potential consequences of any sanction of Folau. He'd likely walk, but he may take a number of teammates with him. Not to mention the blowback from a significant portion of the fanbase who either share Folau's views, or believe he should have the right to express them freely.
While Webster posits that this could lead to a raft of controversial statements from players airing their 'religious views', I really can't see it happening.
.
I think Castle has navigated a very, very sensitive situation quite well.
Webster underestimates, IMO, the potential consequences of any sanction of Folau. He'd likely walk, but he may take a number of teammates with him. Not to mention the blowback from a significant portion of the fanbase who either share Folau's views, or believe he should have the right to express them freely.
While Webster posits that this could lead to a raft of controversial statements from players airing their 'religious views', I really can't see it happening.
.
ForceFan
Chilla Wilson (44)
Alan Jones' piece from The Australian today, 20 April 2018.
Here is my article from today's Australian newspaper about rugby, Israel Folau and the disgraceful treatment of the Western Force:
Re Israel Folau
As much as I’m sure Rugby Australia would like the Israel Folau matter to go away, it hasn’t.
Why on earth would you issue a press release earlier this week in relation to Folau to tell the world you weren’t going to do anything?
And the interesting point is that the press release was issued by the general manager of corporate affairs. The mind boggles. Rugby is broke, but there is bureaucracy everywhere.
Meanwhile, Folau is the author of an outstanding piece of writing on free speech.
Not even the Prime Minster, as he struggles to know where he stands on these freedoms, is able to explain himself. Israel Folau on Players Voice is compellingly articulate.
It has nothing to do with whether you agree with him. But he made it quite clear, contrary to what Raelene Castle argued in her press conference, that “if she felt the situation had become untenable and that I (Israel Folau) was hurting Rugby Australia, its sponsors and the Australian rugby community to such a degree that things couldn’t be worked through, I’d walk away from my contract immediately’’.
No wonder Rugby Australia backed off at a hundred miles an hour.
But as I’ve said, instead of rugby leadership solving problems, they just mount up.
By taking on one of the leading players in an area in which sport should have no role, Rugby Australia has alienated many. As a senior former politician has written to me: “If Israel walks due to expressing his views, I, and many others, will be giving back our season tickets. I’ll be sending back six and I’ll never again support Australian rugby.
“I’ll support the All Blacks instead. That will kill me. But you don’t hear New Zealand Rugby carrying on like this. I have a gay son and I don’t agree with Israel’s views, but if he is restricted from stating his views, then I’m out of here.”
As I said last week, if it’s taken a courageous and talented young footballer to show the world the value of the freedoms that our men and women died for, and which we honour next Wednesday on Anzac Day, then Israel Folau will have served his country splendidly.
But it confirms the conclusions that others are drawing.
Another has written to me: “Just because Qantas is a major sponsor does not mean they own the minds and souls of the organisation or of everyone involved in rugby. Your reference to their partnership with Emirates is an excellent point. And I bet you won’t get a reply on that one.”
Truth is, you don’t get a reply on anything.
Re RA Board nominations
We’ve just had individuals nominated for the board of Rugby Australia. No one knows where those nominations have come from or how, indeed, good people can nominate. There is apparently a nominations committee, but it’s no more than a subcommittee of the board.
A former, very senior, rugby official is among hundreds who have written to me and says: “As for the state of rugby, it’s just abysmal ... as for the nominations committee, they seem notorious for fishing from the same gene pool — that’s a real obstacle for bringing in people with the required and appropriate skillset to govern and manage this magnificent game.
“A closed shop, I’m sad to say.”
Well, on that score, given that one of the candidates being replaced on the board was the outstanding WA Rugby servant Geoff Stooke, WA put a candidate forward for consideration. A woman generally regarded as one of the top company directors in Australia, sitting on boards such as Wesfarmers, previously a partner with McKinsey and Co, adjunct professor in corporate governance at the University of Western Australia, a board member of Henry Davis York, with a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Sydney, extensive roles in corporate governance and providing strategic advice to corporations in both Australia and overseas: Diane Smith-Gander.
She’s had significant experience in sports administration and was involved in WA Rugby through their Future Force program. Two new directors were chosen by Rugby Australia, who at no time acknowledged the nomination of Smith-Gander, either with Rugby WA or with the lady herself.
She was never spoken to during the so-called “process” undertaken by Rugby Australia’s nominations committee.
But, if you’re on the board of Basketball Australia, chair of the National Basketball League Commission and Competitions Commission and integral to the restructure of the National Basketball League and Basketball Australia, then I suppose you wouldn’t be worth an interview.
The truth is you don’t get a reply on anything from Rugby Australia.
Re Jones' Barbarians involvement
I was invited last year to coach the Barbarians against the Wallabies. At no stage did I hear anything from any Australian rugby official, even though Australia was hosting one of the most prestigious sides in the world. The Barbarians are an internationally acclaimed rugby entity. There was no offer of any kind of hospitality and no communication of any kind with me, with the players or with their officials.
It’s as if they want to build a wall around themselves and imagine all the problems will go away.
But no problem is solved by doing nothing and Rugby Australia, as an administration, is in a state of rigor mortis.
Re axing of the Western Force & Melbourne Rebels
The Western Force were closed down last year, even though financial offers were made to keep them viable. The argument was break up the franchise, let other Super Rugby entities embrace the Western Force players and the standard of Australian rugby will miraculously improve.
Yet we still continue to get hammered by the New Zealand provinces. Nothing has changed. The crowd at the Melbourne Rebels game last week was reported to be 5500. It’s called going broke very quickly. But the Western Force saga remains.
An article written by Nick Taylor and published in Perth last Sunday raises serious concerns about the integrity of the Rugby Australia board. To keep things in language that the rugby punter understands, as part of the sale negotiation of the Melbourne franchise, the ARU board was advised by its management that a sale condition was that any subsequent change of ownership required ARU approval, which would mean approval by the board.
The merit of that was that you could not condone the franchise being on-sold to inappropriate organisations or individuals. The next we knew, the team was sold to the Victorian Rugby Union for a dollar. The argument volunteered was the board of the then-ARU had found “a loophole”, so it could be done. The majority of ARU board members were silent on such a shonky deal. WA Rugby questioned the integrity of the process to remove its team.
You see, one of the conditions of the sale to the VRU was that the Rebels had to be clear of any debt and a minimum six months’ notice had to be given for the transfer of ownership. Well, Taylor wrote that he’d received copies of emails which indicate that in relation to the six-month period of notice, the ARU had reduced the period to enable the transaction to go forward quickly; then, to enable the Rebels to be “debt free”, a condition of the sale, the then-Australian Rugby Union agreed to pay the former Rebels owner, New Zealand businessman Andrew Cox, $300,000 and the then-director, Peter Sidwell, $200,000 and that money was then paid to the Rebels.
Two other directors reportedly gifted the Rebels $250,000 each. These amounts cleared the Rebels of their debt, which allowed the sale of the Rebels to the Victorian Rugby Union for $1 under the conditions attached to the sale of the licence. Put simply, the ARU was complicit in facilitating a situation in which the Rebels were sold to the VRU. It had nothing to do with a “loophole”. The conditions attached to the sale of the licence had been met.
Yet the $500,000 spent on the Rebels is not evident in the ARU’s 2017 financial results and indicates that the Western Force were never in the race.
Add the $500,000 to the $10.2 million the Rebels received in 2017 and compare that with the $5.5m to the other Super Rugby franchises together — NSW, Queensland and the ACT — and it beggars belief. What further beggars belief is that the ARU, now Rugby Australia, seem to think they can get away with this duplicitous behaviour.
At the time, my understanding is that Bill Pulver, then the chief executive, feigned surprise at the transaction, when the reality is the ARU were up to their necks in removing the Western Force and dishing out money to enable the Rebels to be sold and stay alive.
On all of these fronts, aren’t we entitled to ask what kind of outfit is running the game? The whole board should go and a fresh start has to be made before the game is permanently damaged.
That is, if it hasn’t already arrived at that destination.
Here is my article from today's Australian newspaper about rugby, Israel Folau and the disgraceful treatment of the Western Force:
Re Israel Folau
As much as I’m sure Rugby Australia would like the Israel Folau matter to go away, it hasn’t.
Why on earth would you issue a press release earlier this week in relation to Folau to tell the world you weren’t going to do anything?
And the interesting point is that the press release was issued by the general manager of corporate affairs. The mind boggles. Rugby is broke, but there is bureaucracy everywhere.
Meanwhile, Folau is the author of an outstanding piece of writing on free speech.
Not even the Prime Minster, as he struggles to know where he stands on these freedoms, is able to explain himself. Israel Folau on Players Voice is compellingly articulate.
It has nothing to do with whether you agree with him. But he made it quite clear, contrary to what Raelene Castle argued in her press conference, that “if she felt the situation had become untenable and that I (Israel Folau) was hurting Rugby Australia, its sponsors and the Australian rugby community to such a degree that things couldn’t be worked through, I’d walk away from my contract immediately’’.
No wonder Rugby Australia backed off at a hundred miles an hour.
But as I’ve said, instead of rugby leadership solving problems, they just mount up.
By taking on one of the leading players in an area in which sport should have no role, Rugby Australia has alienated many. As a senior former politician has written to me: “If Israel walks due to expressing his views, I, and many others, will be giving back our season tickets. I’ll be sending back six and I’ll never again support Australian rugby.
“I’ll support the All Blacks instead. That will kill me. But you don’t hear New Zealand Rugby carrying on like this. I have a gay son and I don’t agree with Israel’s views, but if he is restricted from stating his views, then I’m out of here.”
As I said last week, if it’s taken a courageous and talented young footballer to show the world the value of the freedoms that our men and women died for, and which we honour next Wednesday on Anzac Day, then Israel Folau will have served his country splendidly.
But it confirms the conclusions that others are drawing.
Another has written to me: “Just because Qantas is a major sponsor does not mean they own the minds and souls of the organisation or of everyone involved in rugby. Your reference to their partnership with Emirates is an excellent point. And I bet you won’t get a reply on that one.”
Truth is, you don’t get a reply on anything.
Re RA Board nominations
We’ve just had individuals nominated for the board of Rugby Australia. No one knows where those nominations have come from or how, indeed, good people can nominate. There is apparently a nominations committee, but it’s no more than a subcommittee of the board.
A former, very senior, rugby official is among hundreds who have written to me and says: “As for the state of rugby, it’s just abysmal ... as for the nominations committee, they seem notorious for fishing from the same gene pool — that’s a real obstacle for bringing in people with the required and appropriate skillset to govern and manage this magnificent game.
“A closed shop, I’m sad to say.”
Well, on that score, given that one of the candidates being replaced on the board was the outstanding WA Rugby servant Geoff Stooke, WA put a candidate forward for consideration. A woman generally regarded as one of the top company directors in Australia, sitting on boards such as Wesfarmers, previously a partner with McKinsey and Co, adjunct professor in corporate governance at the University of Western Australia, a board member of Henry Davis York, with a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Sydney, extensive roles in corporate governance and providing strategic advice to corporations in both Australia and overseas: Diane Smith-Gander.
She’s had significant experience in sports administration and was involved in WA Rugby through their Future Force program. Two new directors were chosen by Rugby Australia, who at no time acknowledged the nomination of Smith-Gander, either with Rugby WA or with the lady herself.
She was never spoken to during the so-called “process” undertaken by Rugby Australia’s nominations committee.
But, if you’re on the board of Basketball Australia, chair of the National Basketball League Commission and Competitions Commission and integral to the restructure of the National Basketball League and Basketball Australia, then I suppose you wouldn’t be worth an interview.
The truth is you don’t get a reply on anything from Rugby Australia.
Re Jones' Barbarians involvement
I was invited last year to coach the Barbarians against the Wallabies. At no stage did I hear anything from any Australian rugby official, even though Australia was hosting one of the most prestigious sides in the world. The Barbarians are an internationally acclaimed rugby entity. There was no offer of any kind of hospitality and no communication of any kind with me, with the players or with their officials.
It’s as if they want to build a wall around themselves and imagine all the problems will go away.
But no problem is solved by doing nothing and Rugby Australia, as an administration, is in a state of rigor mortis.
Re axing of the Western Force & Melbourne Rebels
The Western Force were closed down last year, even though financial offers were made to keep them viable. The argument was break up the franchise, let other Super Rugby entities embrace the Western Force players and the standard of Australian rugby will miraculously improve.
Yet we still continue to get hammered by the New Zealand provinces. Nothing has changed. The crowd at the Melbourne Rebels game last week was reported to be 5500. It’s called going broke very quickly. But the Western Force saga remains.
An article written by Nick Taylor and published in Perth last Sunday raises serious concerns about the integrity of the Rugby Australia board. To keep things in language that the rugby punter understands, as part of the sale negotiation of the Melbourne franchise, the ARU board was advised by its management that a sale condition was that any subsequent change of ownership required ARU approval, which would mean approval by the board.
The merit of that was that you could not condone the franchise being on-sold to inappropriate organisations or individuals. The next we knew, the team was sold to the Victorian Rugby Union for a dollar. The argument volunteered was the board of the then-ARU had found “a loophole”, so it could be done. The majority of ARU board members were silent on such a shonky deal. WA Rugby questioned the integrity of the process to remove its team.
You see, one of the conditions of the sale to the VRU was that the Rebels had to be clear of any debt and a minimum six months’ notice had to be given for the transfer of ownership. Well, Taylor wrote that he’d received copies of emails which indicate that in relation to the six-month period of notice, the ARU had reduced the period to enable the transaction to go forward quickly; then, to enable the Rebels to be “debt free”, a condition of the sale, the then-Australian Rugby Union agreed to pay the former Rebels owner, New Zealand businessman Andrew Cox, $300,000 and the then-director, Peter Sidwell, $200,000 and that money was then paid to the Rebels.
Two other directors reportedly gifted the Rebels $250,000 each. These amounts cleared the Rebels of their debt, which allowed the sale of the Rebels to the Victorian Rugby Union for $1 under the conditions attached to the sale of the licence. Put simply, the ARU was complicit in facilitating a situation in which the Rebels were sold to the VRU. It had nothing to do with a “loophole”. The conditions attached to the sale of the licence had been met.
Yet the $500,000 spent on the Rebels is not evident in the ARU’s 2017 financial results and indicates that the Western Force were never in the race.
Add the $500,000 to the $10.2 million the Rebels received in 2017 and compare that with the $5.5m to the other Super Rugby franchises together — NSW, Queensland and the ACT — and it beggars belief. What further beggars belief is that the ARU, now Rugby Australia, seem to think they can get away with this duplicitous behaviour.
At the time, my understanding is that Bill Pulver, then the chief executive, feigned surprise at the transaction, when the reality is the ARU were up to their necks in removing the Western Force and dishing out money to enable the Rebels to be sold and stay alive.
On all of these fronts, aren’t we entitled to ask what kind of outfit is running the game? The whole board should go and a fresh start has to be made before the game is permanently damaged.
That is, if it hasn’t already arrived at that destination.
sunnyboys
Bob Loudon (25)
I find AJ's new column quite challenging for me. I don't agree with his take on Folau (and his reference to NZ is probably a bit inaccurate as there has been a fairly loud response from NZ disagreeing with Folau). But let's leave that issue aside as there's no winner in that argument.
I do find myself furiously agreeing with his take on the running of the game, small gene pool etc.... but i'm not certain I would agree with many of his solutions.
But it is really good to have a least one voice in the media having red hot go at the RA board, and the state of the game.
Change is badly needed.
I do find myself furiously agreeing with his take on the running of the game, small gene pool etc.... but i'm not certain I would agree with many of his solutions.
But it is really good to have a least one voice in the media having red hot go at the RA board, and the state of the game.
Change is badly needed.
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
I find AJ quite challenging to my continued existence.
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
Many. You could look at candidates who were, you know, successful in their last gig administering in sports. I like the look of this Nick Marvin fellow who got the ball rolling again in the NBL. Would the ARU's specialists, let alone posters on this two bobber of a forum, have heard of this dude last year? Perhaps not.
But I don't have to tell you that the Rugby Australia candidate has to tick quite a few boxes. Has to be the right sort of chap, or chapette, with experience at the levers of power without being, well, too interfering. Helpful if already domiciled in Sydney and knows a few people around town. Can't be one of the old boys - the opposite of that is what's needed to show there's been meaningful, genuine change.
Please welcome "Nobody's poppet, Nobody's girl", … Kristina Keneally!
(she's been looking for a new role of late and, frankly, would just look good in the job).
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
You may need to adjust your sar-chasm radar.
Having said that, the upper house was clearly a second choice and she'd been seeking new opportunities to get down and dirty in more of a hands on role.
But there are many capable people out there who can run a sports business well.
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
The torpedo
Peter Fenwicke (45)
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't this a criminal offence? (unless they just threw it under the banner of 'grants' to the Rebels/VRU)
Killer
Cyril Towers (30)
IMO
A good starting point would be a person with integrity.
Someone like that would be miles ahead of the current mob.
But then, usually people hire like people so that is unlikely to happen at management or board level.
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
I wouldn't say Castle doesn't have integrity - I don't know that.
But I do think she was hired on a relatively weak CV and didn't leave the Bulldogs in a good position as a club, which was known to anyone who wanted to look, IMO
wamberal
Phil Kearns (64)
The unpalatable truth is that the problems facing our game in Australia are manifold.
It now looks as though JON was kind of right when he said that he would only stay on if he was appointed Executive Chairman, i.e., with total power over the game.
The right person (who, exactly?) given total power might have some sort of chance of taking us forward. But, even then, a lot of the factors that affect the success of the code here are out of our control.
The right person would have to have a wonderful track record in the game, preferably as a player, and/or a coach, and/or a manager.
I struggle to think of such a person. In the past there were some. Peter Johnson for one. Kevin Ryan. Do we have any such giants in the modern era?
It now looks as though JON was kind of right when he said that he would only stay on if he was appointed Executive Chairman, i.e., with total power over the game.
The right person (who, exactly?) given total power might have some sort of chance of taking us forward. But, even then, a lot of the factors that affect the success of the code here are out of our control.
The right person would have to have a wonderful track record in the game, preferably as a player, and/or a coach, and/or a manager.
I struggle to think of such a person. In the past there were some. Peter Johnson for one. Kevin Ryan. Do we have any such giants in the modern era?
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
You don't need tin foil, or need to know the opinion of any Bulldogs insider to know that either:
Her results were poo
The results were actually the doing of an overbearing Chairman, in which case she performed the role of his PA not a GM.
Neither of which would qualify her to be on the short list for a much tougher and complex role.