Australian Rugby / RA

[KOB1987]

But with high chances of NSW locking down again in a couple weeks, why not goto QLD?

That could be be the outcome but NSW won’t be locking down with 10-20 new cases a day. So far they seem to have in check. It’s all definitely a day to day proposition though. Another option could be to move the Rebels up the coast a bit and the Tahs out west somewhere as long as it stays largely in Sydney.

 

[sendit]

Tv hours wouldn't be great but send everyone to WA, give some warm and fuzzies to Twiggy to keep him happy

 

[Adam84]

Have to disagree, I think a lot of European nations would get behind a Russian world cup. Georgia would give there vote for a home game or two. Romania would love it. You could easily sway the Home nations vote for TV times alone. Also SA and ARG might not be aligned with the SH teams by the time voting comes around and then Russia will does have a good chance. Remember they have hosted a winter Olympics, Champions League final etc recently enough.

Yeah... and Russia is still banned from participating at the Olympics because of rampant cheating which occurred, which was enabled through a state sponsored doping program...

 

[Mr Wobbly]

Surely Russia won't win. Another RWC in the Northern Hemisphere will take it to four in a row held outside of SANZAAR nations.

It would cause the blowup of all blowups, and possibly the dissolution of World Rugby.

Might give the Kiwis the opportunity to invite countries to send an EoI to join World Rugby NZ?

 

[qwerty51]

If Russia are the only competing bid, we have it in the bag.

 

[KOB1987]

Looks like a major shake up happening at RA, HM has got his own version of Chainsaw in to strip out $15m in cost savings. Also looking at an AFL Commission type set up.

 

[dru]

Looks like a major shake up happening at RA, HM has got his own version of Chainsaw in to strip out $15m in cost savings. Also looking at an AFL Commission type set up.

Interesting. The Arbib thing was well intentioned but too much "modern" thinking and not enough "Real politik". A shake up re-introducing people with skin in the game is highly desirable.

It is however swamped with pitfalls.

Putting NSW and Qld into a control ratio similar to player development (90%?) is dangerous with (as one single example) WA still smouldering with resentment. Inappropriate I think to include Twiggy et al in that think tank but surely there are other WA people who should be present.

NSWRU from my perspective is hardly a homogenous, happy house. Has that changed? There always seemed to me to be a schism between SRU and NSWRU/Waratahs with the grass roots picking up crumbs. Very dangerous to proceed unless SRU feels they have a voice and some traction.

Fantastic vision and intent. Let's see what happens.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Looks like a major shake up happening at RA, HM has got his own version of Chainsaw in to strip out $15m in cost savings. Also looking at an AFL Commission type set up.


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Remember Twiggys' condition for investment was sorting out the Governance issues - Hamish doing the groundwork to attract Twiggy investment perhaps...

 

[hoggy]

Remember Twiggys' condition for investment was sorting out the Governance issues - Hamish doing the groundwork to attract Twiggy investment perhaps.

I am wondering though is it possible that Twiggy could be tempted to help with financing a domestic product, he specifically wanted governance change, if that happens and with Co-Vid really making GRR looking more & more unlikely, and basically the Kiwis only want his money, could he be tempted to look inward domestically.

 

[rugboy]

I am wondering though is it possible that Twiggy could be tempted to help with financing a domestic product, he specifically wanted governance change, if that happens and with Co-Vid really making GRR looking more & more unlikely, and basically the Kiwis only want his money, could he be tempted to look inward domestically.

I would imagine given Twiggy has publicly said that he wants to play and beat the NZ teams that his preference is for TT. Not sure its just the Kiwis who only want Twiggy's money

 

[dru]

I would imagine given Twiggy has publicly said that he wants to play and beat the NZ teams that his preference is for TT. Not sure its just the Kiwis who only want Twiggy's money

I see it a bit differently.

Firstly he was drumming for Kiwi support to ensure Force were involved on the list of whatever might eventuate with NZR. He want his options open.

Then he would rather a comp that involves them - that is most of us. Under the right circumstances.

But he is also working on RA.

Happy to see where this runs, but I'd be surprised if he doesnt want to be wherever the east coast franchises end up.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I would imagine given Twiggy has publicly said that he wants to play and beat the NZ teams that his preference is for TT. Not sure its just the Kiwis who only want Twiggy's money

Twiggy astute fellow so if kiwis think just getting twiggy’s money they are in for a rude shock as twiggy would be making an investment and that comes with conditions and he has showed that RA has to play to his tune and sort their backyard out and equally doubt twiggy going to be held to ransom to fund an NZRU designed competition that is more about an All Black Development League as twiggy with his vision for Asia Pacific been clear.

 

[Quick Hands]

Interesting. The Arbib thing was well intentioned but too much "modern" thinking and not enough "Real politik". A shake up re-introducing people with skin in the game is highly desirable.

It is however swamped with pitfalls.

Putting NSW and Qld into a control ratio similar to player development (90%?) is dangerous with (as one single example) WA still smouldering with resentment. Inappropriate I think to include Twiggy et al in that think tank but surely there are other WA people who should be present.

NSWRU from my perspective is hardly a homogenous, happy house. Has that changed? There always seemed to me to be a schism between SRU and NSWRU/Waratahs with the grass roots picking up crumbs. Very dangerous to proceed unless SRU feels they have a voice and some traction.

Fantastic vision and intent. Let's see what happens.

We should be trying to depower the role of NSWRU and QRU in Australian rugby, not empower them.

 

[cyclopath]

We should be trying to depower the role of NSWRU and QRU in Australian rugby, not empower them.

Certainly move away from the administrative cancer that has been NSWRU and QRU, but they need to be careful to not disenfranchise NSW and Qld rugby, given the vast majority of players come from those 2 states. Tricky road to navigate. Not sure they need too many players at the table though - SRU for one has been notoriously self-interested, and I'm not sure they'd bring a bunch of new ideas, from what we hear from their usual mouthpieces.
A shakeup is needed, wouldn't want to have to try to oversee it.

 

[RugbyFuture]

Do we think that the qru guys and nswru guys don't have their trigger fingers around the RA officials? It'll just be a cycle of mosman v uni v ballymore v randwick guys again.

 

[cyclopath]

Do we think that the qru guys and nswru guys don't have their trigger fingers around the RA officials? It'll just be a cycle of mosman v uni v ballymore v randwick guys again.

I'm sure they'd like too think so. Therein lies the challenge. Breaking the network of mediocrity and self-interest.
We've been the front-runner for the 2027 RWC for some time, and of course the Lions 2025 is looming too. Two big financial windfalls. We've seen these pissed away before. I hope any new structure earns the kudos, rather than basks in the cash that is more than likely coming our way anyway, albeit a little way off.
Personally I have my doubts about the in-house NewsCorp set-up, but I am prepared to give them a chance. Not as far removed from Mosman et al as I would like to see.

 

[Quick Hands]

Certainly move away from the administrative cancer that has been NSWRU and QRU, but they need to be careful to not disenfranchise NSW and Qld rugby, given the vast majority of players come from those 2 states. Tricky road to navigate. Not sure they need too many players at the table though - SRU for one has been notoriously self-interested, and I'm not sure they'd bring a bunch of new ideas, from what we hear from their usual mouthpieces.
A shakeup is needed, wouldn't want to have to try to oversee it.

It's not as hard as it sounds.

The concept would be that all clubs and regions directly affiliate to RA. There's just no need for an intermediate bureaucracy in between with all the duplication and childish power plays which it brings.

It's a concept which is used elsewhere in the rugby universe. The RFU in England is the largest and best known example and it's surely not beyond our ability to modify that structure to our situation.

I've long said that the idea of running a 21st century professional sporting enterprise based on 19th century colonial boundaries is not only bizarre but as we see when we look around us, it's also singularly unsuccessful at delivering even modest outcomes.

 

[dru]

Certainly move away from the administrative cancer that has been NSWRU and QRU, but they need to be careful to not disenfranchise NSW and Qld rugby, given the vast majority of players come from those 2 states. Tricky road to navigate. Not sure they need too many players at the table though - SRU for one has been notoriously self-interested, and I'm not sure they'd bring a bunch of new ideas, from what we hear from their usual mouthpieces.
A shakeup is needed, wouldn't want to have to try to oversee it.

Can only agree. The issue with SRU is if they don't feel they have involvement and traction it is likely to be NRC all over again and nothing will be successful if critical elements of the SRU are actively destroying what comes out of the shake up.

 

[Bobby Sands]

We can say all we want about equality and all that, but currently QLD and NSW produce about 90% of the players and hold all of the tradition of Australian rugby. I think very soon with Twiggy's backing that WA will become the third power center of Australian rugby, and that the ACT will keep doing what it does and moulding a great side despite not producing much home grown talent (largely because they are so small, not that they are not good rugby players etc).

Melbourne..... well, I guess it's a big city?

 

[Quick Hands]

Can only agree. The issue with SRU is if they don't feel they have involvement and traction it is likely to be NRC all over again and nothing will be successful if critical elements of the SRU are actively destroying what comes out of the shake up.

They don't have to take any active steps to destroy things like the NRC. They only have to sit back and do nothing and let nature take it's course. It's called resistance by intertia.

If the people running rugby in Australia have learnt anything from the ARC and NRC it's that Frankenstein cobbled together franchises and/or start-up franchises with no connection to the people won't work in Sydney. People might not like that thought, but I think it's time that some in authority start seeing things as they are instead of things how they wish them to be.