What is the biggest mistake made with Australian Rugby?

[Braveheart81]

I'm glad to hear you'll also be barracking for QC (Quade Cooper) to be back in the side given the statistics with and without quade?

He played an awesome 7's game with 8 on his back. If you think hes actually a great 8 I'd be shocked.

Pocock has done everything a number 8 is meant to do better than any of the other number 8s we've had in recent years. When people say he isn't a number 8 they are comparing him against a hypothetical player we don't have.

Likewise McMahon isn't a number 8 but has performed better there this season than Timani who is a number 8.

If Quade returns to top form then I'm all for his return to the side.

 

[Derpus]

I'm glad to hear you'll also be barracking for QC (Quade Cooper) to be back in the side given the statistics with and without quade?

He played an awesome 7's game with 8 on his back. If you think hes actually a great 8 I'd be shocked.

How does every fucking thread end in this?

 

[KOB1987]

How does every fucking thread end in this?

It's a well known fact that on this board Godwin's Law applies except with Quade in Hitler's place.

The discussion on the inadequacies of whoever gets selected at #8 versus our mythical alternative is fast catching up though.

In that post you got both!

 

[jimmydubs]

It's a well known fact that on this board Godwin's Law applies except with Quade in Hitler's place.

The discussion on the inadequacies of whoever gets selected at #8 versus our mythical alternative is fast catching up though.

In that post you got both!

I do what I can to keep the ship pointed at the Rocks and ignoring the lighthouse.

Generally I don't but that time I did.

 

[TOCC]

Pocock has done everything a number 8 is meant to do better than any of the other number 8s we've had in recent years. When people say he isn't a number 8 they are comparing him against a hypothetical player we don't have.
.

Except provide a lineout option or extra height in lifting in at the lineout...

It amazes me how quickly everyone's memory fades, Wallabies lost games on the back of a misfiring lineout due to the lack of lineout options when they played pooper, it was an increasingly targeted weakness.

 

[Derpus]

Except provide a lineout option or extra height in lifting in at the lineout.

It amazes me how quickly everyone's memory fades, Wallabies lost games on the back of a misfiring lineout due to the lack of lineout options when they played pooper, it was an increasingly targeted weakness.

I suppose that's why Hanigan or someone like him is so damn important.

 

[Slim 293]

Except provide a lineout option or extra height in lifting in at the lineout.

It amazes me how quickly everyone's memory fades, Wallabies lost games on the back of a misfiring lineout due to the lack of lineout options when they played pooper, it was an increasingly targeted weakness.

But my memory isn't so short as to forget that the Wallaby lineout was terrible before the Pooper, and afterwards............ It didn't help, but it wasn't the cause.

 

[Harv]

You forgot about promoting world peace and combatting climate change effectively.


Seriously, do you really, honestly, believe that the litany of weaknesses in our game is the result of a mistake? And if you do, how would you correct it?


Spell it out for me. I must be a bit dim.

Seems so. I'll speak slowly. The "litany of weaknesses in the game" -- on-field performance, administrative ineptitude, a corporate culture that seems to have an entitlement fixation, and spectator disinterest/disconnect--all have their roots in the game's inability and blatant lack of desire to expand its development and interest base from its core support in private schools (where it's also shrinking). For the sake of brevity, let's stick to on-field issues. The players trundling out and performing ineptly today are drawn from development channels (Australian schoolboys/under 19-20 programs) that have been underperforming in relative terms for more than a decade. That is because the core talent pool these'teams draw on is too small. The elite private schools continue to be fantastic talent resources for the game, but elsewhere (bush, district, club, government schools) rugby has withered while multiple administrations have dithered. It's not rocket or even climate change science to understand a fundamental funding and structural shift to re-open/open these pathways is required. A great starting point would be to build on existing junior structures in clubs and non-traditional rugby schools by providing them with competition that in some cases might--shock horror-- include opportunities to interact with traditional rugby strongholds. Lessons also might be drawn from, say, every other country in the world, where rugby is growing on the back of sevens rugby and women's involvement. Australian rugby at the highest level is living off the spoils of the private school system, the exciting growth and influx of Pacific Islander population and the flexible New Zealand/Australian immigration policy. Meanwhile, there are millions of other kids who play sport who don't attend Joeys or Churchie. The AFL recognizes this, as does league and soccer. Rugby's problems don't lie with who is selected for the current mediocre Wallabies (though how Hanigan is in that side is beyond me -- I digress) . it's who isn't playing the game at a junior level.

 

[wamberal]

Okay, but the simple question remains. Where does the money come from to emulate the codes who are absolutely rolling in it?


Good intentions butter no parsnips, as my old aunt used to say. Or to put it another way, good intentions are one thing, the real world runs on money.

 

[Derpus]

Okay, but the simple question remains. Where does the money come from to emulate the codes who are absolutely rolling in it?


Good intentions butter no parsnips, as my old aunt used to say. Or to put it another way, good intentions are one thing, the real world runs on money.

Perhaps the players could start shelving a couple of coke filled condoms each on return flights from South America.

 

[wamberal]

Come to think of it, probably the worst single mistake, or series of mistakes, was the failure of the game as a whole to get right behind the ARC. Yes, it was badly timed, it should never have started in a World Cup year.


But the sheer bloody mindedness and obstruction that the clubs and, we are told, the VRU, put in the way of what might have been an entree into a decent, nationally televised, competition on FTA made sure that it would be a disaster.


And it was, of course. It is kind of curious that none of the usual ARU haters seems to remember this. Where were you chaps? Did you support it?

 

[Braveheart81]

Except provide a lineout option or extra height in lifting in at the lineout.

It amazes me how quickly everyone's memory fades, Wallabies lost games on the back of a misfiring lineout due to the lack of lineout options when they played pooper, it was an increasingly targeted weakness.

Again though, that's a comparison to a hypothetical player because we haven't had a genuine 8 who does all those things for a number of years.

Maybe Naisarani or Holloway will step up to fill that void next year.

 

[Derpus]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...l-blacks-ulster-bristol-rugby-union-interview

How's this for a mistake. Members of the SANZAAR working against each other rather than with each other to the detriment of the game in the entire southern hemisphere as all our players flee north.

 

[I like to watch]

The clubs weren't supportive of the ARC, but it went on,despite them.
My recollection, is the thing that brought the ARC down was player payments.
RUPA saw this as a financial bonanza for all participating players,whereas today they see it as an opportunity for developing players.

 

[No4918]

Oh great, another thread with the same circular arguments about how fucked Aus rugby is and what can/cannot be done about it.

 

[ACT Crusader]

Not in the worst category, but one that in my view had an adverse impact was when the ARU broke the bank to bring in Sailor, Medicare Matt, Lote etc. I thought that set a bad precedent. There were some signings that came thereafter that were flops in comparison to the big money they were on.

 

[andrewM]

No full commitment to a national game with equal opportunity for teams beyond Sydney or Brisbane.

Choosing Perth over Melbourne in 2004.

Expanding to 18 teams.

Choosing Melbourne over Perth in 2017

 

[Derpus]

Not in the worst category, but one that in my view had an adverse impact was when the ARU broke the bank to bring in Sailor, Medicare Matt, Lote etc. I thought that set a bad precedent. There were some signings that came thereafter that were flops in comparison to the big money they were on.

Those three all did pretty well, particularly Lote.

 

[TOCC]

But my memory isn't so short as to forget that the Wallaby lineout was terrible before the Pooper, and afterwards.... It didn't help, but it wasn't the cause.

Shit mate the same thing could be said about every single issue with the Wallabies... there is no single cause to all the issues the Wallabies have.. but playing two short backrowers and limiting the the lineout options to just 3 is a massive contributing factor.

 

[TOCC]

Again though, that's a comparison to a hypothetical player because we haven't had a genuine 8 who does all those things for a number of years.

Maybe Naisarani or Holloway will step up to fill that void next year.

No but you said he is doing everything a number 8 is expected to do.. and the reality is, the the balance of the backrow is compromised when you play two short backrowers, his strengths of playing 8 are offset by weakening the lineout..

It's absolutely subjective, or maybe objective as to whether a weakened lineout is worth the benefit of playing POOPER..

And this isn't a thing against Pocock, I think I would prefer Pocock at 7 ahead of Hooper, not because he is a better player, rather I think his skill set would balance the backrow and forward pack better.