Foreign recruitment

[teach]

(cough) Steve Devine (cough)

Sorry, didn't realise he was Pacific Islander. I thought he was born in Australia.

I match your Steve Devine with Quade Cooper. I will raise you Harris.

Not much is there?

It's a non issue and a media beat up.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Des Connor - played first for Australia and then the AB's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Connor

 

[mudskipper]

there is no good reason why any NZ player who hasn't been given an NZ Super Rugby contract to hang around and never get an opportunity to play at this level... Why should they if they can get a start elsewhere, same goes for the Yarpies... OZ rugby looses many young players to the northern hemisphere or Japan each year... its just professional sport...

Hanson is in the corner just looking for an excuse to explain why a team of Wallabies rookies pushed the best ever All Blacks team in decades... Hanson is really trying to tell us that why the NZ-ers beat themselves because of Mike Harris’s effort…

Nice to see Hanson on the back foot in front of the media usually he plays the antagonist... Humble pie for Hanson today

 

[wamberal]

Hansen sounds like a dickhead. Aussie Mike Harris is here because he wants to be here.


And who can blame him? Lots of other Keewees agree with him, as well.

 

[cyclopath]

Hansen likes the mike; he was always the chief protagonist under Henry, who favoured the dry, ambiguous line, where Shag was always on the front foot about the gall of the Wallabies talking themselves up in any way, disruspict, and telling us how they do their talking on the field. He has a deft grasp of irony, hence my earlier post. He knows it's a load of bollocks, but just wants to needle the ARU a wee but.

 

[en_force_er]

Sorry, didn't realise he was Pacific Islander. I thought he was born in Australia.

I match your Steve Devine with Quade Cooper. I will raise you Harris.

Not much is there?

It's a non issue and a media beat up.

That's a silly point, Quade came over with his parents when he was a teenager and ended up in our system, nobody searched him out per say. And Steve Devine was largely unwanted in Australia (or at least NSW) and went to where the opportunities were.

You're arguing a good point badly. Nothing annoys me more than when somebody argues a good point badly.

 

[BPC]

Sorry, didn't realise he was Pacific Islander. I thought he was born in Australia.

I match your Steve Devine with Quade Cooper. I will raise you Harris.

Not much is there?

It's a non issue and a media beat up.

You can find examples with any team. Hansen is being a bit precious.

 

[Bon]

I say Good luck to Mike Harris,a super contract wasn't on offer for him in NZ so he took his chances and is now playing test rugby. I favour keeping the status qo with regard to picking only NZ based players for the AB team and also our ITM championship restricted to NZ players.
Hansen is a tad shortsighted, with the amount of NZ bred players coming on in Australia there is bound to be some who will want to play for NZ. So it works both ways.

 

[Dan54]

Christ if Shag is a bit pissed after a test ( mainly at own players I imagine, and Higgers) ,I just wish he would just stick to what is pissing him off. I don't know anyone that has a problem with the likes of Harris etc playing over here or for Aus. He should take it as a compliment, it's like the John West ad says, it's the quality of players that make it in NZ is what makes All Blacks so good. I had no probs with Daniel Braid etc either, in fact I agree with Oz S15 teams doing it and have said in here I think it great. Would love to see more imports in all S15 teams, and SA kings have just picked up a couple of NZ players as well.

 

[teach]

You're arguing a good point badly. Nothing annoys me more than when somebody argues a good point badly.

Sorry 'bout that. Hows this. It is a non-issue. I would imagine it would be hard to find a national team that has not. at some time, used a player born in another country. No one over here cares that Harris or Cooper were born in NZ.

My personal bug bear is the old line that pops up,NZ pillages pacific island nations. Again crap.

The issue Shag was talking about was to do with Australian franchises playing NZ players. Again a non issue, but I suspect this is just one of many comments that he will make over the next year or two that will cause controversy.

 

[en_force_er]

Sorry 'bout that. Hows this. It is a non-issue. I would imagine it would be hard to find a national team that has not. at some time, used a player born in another country. No one over here cares that Harris or Cooper were born in NZ.

My personal bug bear is the old line that pops up,NZ pillages pacific island nations. Again crap.

The issue Shag was talking about was to do with Australian franchises playing NZ players. Again a non issue, but I suspect this is just one of many comments that he will make over the next year or two that will cause controversy.

Yeah for sure, NZ's relationship with the Islands is very symbiotic. One only needed to look at the Tongan WC team to see that, and to a lesser extend Samoa and Fiji.

As for Harris, I like him as a player but I don't like the fact he's playing for the Wallabies. We should have made him get his 4 years even will the Grandparent rule. Nothing wrong with him being counted as a local for the Reds, power to them for finding a loophole in the system but he shouldn't be playing for the Wobs just yet.

 

[dave]

Like a few here have already said this is all just media hype. Deflecting attention away from the wallabies being able to halt the run of AB wins. If Hansen knows anything he'll know player recruitment depends on talent. If a talented player wants to put his hand up and say "I'm selectable" and is eligible there isn't a a team that would turn him away. Success is the ultimate development tool. If a team is successful player stocks naturally deepen. It's one of the reasons there are marquee players allowed in Super Rugby.

But he's right in one aspect though, Australia need to concentrate on developing players. We can do this through increasing interest in rugby. Making it more accessible. The more kids we have running around (no matter where they are born) with a rugby ball the deeper our player stocks will be in the future.
And a third tier, we need a third tier.

 

[dave]

As for Harris, I like him as a player but I don't like the fact he's playing for the Wallabies.

How did you feel about Rathbone? Didn't he have a similar recruiting pathway into the WBs?

I think if you're eligible, you're eligible. The ABs wouldn't turn down a talented foreign born player if he came their way. But they have put themselves in the position of not needing to because they have developed such enviable depth.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

We're a nation of immigrants, so why should rugby be any different? Hansen is just doing his usual and gobbing off. It's not like there is an avalanche of foreign players in the Aussie franchises, especially in comparison to the numbers of new arrivals in other professions in this country. Total non-issue.

 

[en_force_er]

How did you feel about Rathbone? Didn't he have a similar recruiting pathway into the WBs?

I think if you're eligible, you're eligible. The ABs wouldn't turn down a talented foreign born player if he came their way. But they have put themselves in the position of not needing to because they have developed such enviable depth.

By the time I had any interest in rugby Rathbone was just starting his first comeback and already a Wallaby legend so I don't know.

I agree from a rules perspective if you're eligible you're eligible and I see why a fringe Tier 1 or Tier 2 like Italy or a PI would do that but we're Australia.

The reality is Mike Harris moved to Australia less than two years ago and he never previously lived here and it's not like Islanders or Italians where he can point to cultural influences from his Grandparents and their unique values.

 

[BDA]

Sorry, didn't realise he was Pacific Islander. I thought he was born in Australia.

I match your Steve Devine with Quade Cooper. I will raise you Harris.

Not much is there?

It's a non issue and a media beat up.

Ben Franks

 

[Dan54]

I was waiting for someone to realise that Ben Franks was born in Oz, I think only present All Black not born in NZ. You can tell by his propping skills he was born in Oz.

 

[teach]

Still makes my point. there is so few, and not many know all of them. It is a non issue.

 

[jimmydubs]

I was waiting for someone to realise that Ben Franks was born in Oz, I think only present All Black not born in NZ. You can tell by his propping skills he was born in Oz.

will take that as a compliment, now if it was Woodcock i may take offence.

As everyone rightly points out there are two issues here. Cooper, Genia, Pocock etc that were all trained at good foreign rugby schools like BBC, Nudgee, Churchie etc etc are a non-issue. Where your mum happened to be when the grommit got free is irrelevant to who you are. the world has gotten a bit small for that argument.

What I do have an issue with is Super teams looking for foreign players to save them, the quota should be 1 per team and that includes the rebels. And the supposed lack of depth in Oz rugby. The lack of depth is actually just a surplus of guys that come through the system and go to league and by using up cash and roster spots getting whoever from overseas just leaves less for local talent. I'm not saying a marquee can't add value, I would never begrudge the Rebels Delve. But instead of pinching overseas talent, pinch a leagie with a union background (and without a penchant for glassing his girlfriend, group sex with teammates, public urination or craig goweresque drinking antics). yes some may come then go back but some will stay. and even if they don't? hell our own players are ever looking to Japan, France etc for stints.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

pinch a leagie with a union background (and without a penchant for glassing his girlfriend, group sex with teammates, public urination or craig goweresque drinking antics)

Easier said than done