Reds searching for silver lining in Ioane
Wayne Smith | May 26, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THERE may be a silver lining for Queensland in the dark cloud of Rocky Elsom's apparent decision to join the Brumbies, with third-party sponsors now likely to redirect their money to the Reds' campaign to retain Digby Ioane.
Barely had the "Rocky, Rocky" chants subsided following Elsom's storming man-of-the-match performance for Leinster in the Heineken Cup final victory over Leicester on the weekend, than the Wallabies blindside flanker messaged QRU chairman Peter Lewis, the man who had spearheaded Queensland's attempt to bring him to Ballymore.
Lewis declined yesterday to reveal the contents of Elsom's message but he didn't need to. His disconsolate tone said all that needed to be said.
Yet again the Reds, having lost Hugh McMeniman on Friday to an as yet undetermined Japanese or European club, had been penalised for finishing in the bottom three of Super rugby, a position they have occupied for the past six seasons.
The franchise is caught in a Catch 22 bind -- it desperately needs to recruit outside players because it is so weak, but because it is so weak no one is prepared to jeopardise his rugby career by signing on with them.
Without abandoning hope of yet persuading former Nudgee College graduate Elsom to return to Brisbane, Lewis has declared the retention of Ioane -- who has indicated he is likely to accept a lucrative Japanese offer -- the Reds' number one priority.
"Digby was the most dangerous player in the Super 14 this season and we want to keep him," Lewis said.
Much now hinges on Ioane's meeting tomorrow with Wallabies coach Robbie Deans and Reds coach Phil Mooney but the clincher could be whether any third-party deals materialise for the 23-year-old four-Test winger.
Indications are that no third-party deals had been finalised for Elsom and that the QRU merely intended to advise him on his arrival in Brisbane of those third parties who had indicated a willingness to sponsor him.
It may have been that such a cumbersome, hands-off arrangement was the final straw that broke the back of the Elsom deal but, whatever, the Reds now could place the same option before Ioane.
It is understood third-party Queensland sponsors were prepared to throw in $100,000 to clinch the Elsom deal. With Ioane indicating on the weekend he would be prepared to stay with the Reds if a further $125,000 could be found on top of the Australian Rugby Union's base offer of $175,000, hopes are rising that a package acceptable to the dynamic winger might yet be cobbled together.
The X-factor in Ioane's decision could well be whether the apparent annual $700,000 differential between the ARU/QRU offer and what he has been offered to go to Japan, money he says is important to help him take care of his family, will be enough to entice him to move so far away from his family network.
This is, after all, the same player who was granted a release from the Western Force in 2007 to enable him to return to the east coast to be closer to his family.
But while the Ioane and Elsom deals play themselves out, tension is building among the four Australian Super 14 franchises, not only over third-party sponsorships and how the players and their agents tap into them, but over the broader issue of contracting.
The ARU provides each of the franchises with $4.3 million annually to meet the salary costs of their 30-33 players, with additional top-up money allocated by the national union to those players identified as valuable to the Wallabies.
While a standard Super rugby contract is $110,000, the franchises are able to push that up to $157,000 by various inventive means. If all 33 players in a franchise squad were to receive top dollar, that would result in a wages bill of $5.18m -- forcing the states to find almost another $900,000 to supplement their ARU allocation.
With most unions operating barely in the black, that clearly is not possible under the present arrangement.
But if the ARU wants to head off a repeat of those creative deals that landed the Force in so much hot water, it may need to revisit this vexed issue.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
Digby Ioane weighs up job options
Bret Harris | May 30, 2009
The Australian
WALLABIES winger Digby Ioane may stay in Australia, but not necessarily with the Queensland Reds.
Ioane is undecided about whether to accept a lucrative offer from Japan or remain in Australia to be part of the 2011 World Cup campaign in New Zealand.
It is assumed Ioane would continue to play for the Reds if he re-signs with the ARU, but it is understood he may be interested in exploring other opportunities in Australia.
Ioane is also believed to be interested in playing for his home city of Melbourne if it secures the fifth Australian franchise in an expanded Super 15 series in 2011.
Western Force chief executive Vern Reid said the Perth-based team would be interested in talking to Ioane.
Ioane played for the Force in 2006 and 2007 before returning to Queensland, where he began his Super rugby career.
"Digby played good football for us and he has had a good season this year," Reid said.
"I'm sure we would talk to him."
And the Brumbies are bound to be interested if they fail to recruit Wallabies utility back James O'Connor from the Force.
The ACT side is looking for an import to play on the wing, but it would make more sense to recruit an Australian Test winger.
But if O'Connor goes to Canberra, the Brumbies would not be able to afford Ioane.
And Melbourne, in the event it secures the licence for the Super expansion team, is keen for Ioane, who was born in New Zealand but grew up in Melbourne, where he played for the Rebels in the defunct Australian Rugby Championship.
"Digby Ioane is a Melbourne boy and Melbourne is where his heart is," Victorian Rugby Union chairman Gary Gray said.
"If Digby wants to come to Melbourne, we would welcome him with open arms. He is a great person and a brilliant footballer.
"But it's premature for us to be talking about players."
Emphasising the point that a decision on the location of the fifth Australian team was yet to be made, Gray confirmed speculation that Leinster's Australian coach Michael Cheika would be considered as the foundation coach at a Melbourne team.
Cheika guided the Rocky Elsom-inspired Leinster to victory last weekend over English club Leicester in the final of the Heineken Cup.
"Michael Cheika has obviously done a great job at Leinster," Gray said.
"The first thing we learnt from the Rebels was culture. Cheika developed a culture at Leinster where the players played for each other and the jersey. Rocky Elsom is also a Melbourne boy and we'd be very happy if he came home."
Meanwhile, Australian under-20s hooker Damien Fitzpatrick will decide early next week whether to remain with the Waratahs or accept an offer from the Force.
Fitzpatrick, 19, is behind Wallabies hookers Tatafu Polota-Nau and Adam Freier at the Waratahs, whereas he would be able to secure a starting position at the Force.
It is understood Fitzpatrick, regarded as a future Wallabies hooker, would prefer to stay in Sydney to develop his game, but the Waratahs would need to match the Force's offer, believed to be $50,000 better.
"We are doing all we can to keep Damien, but we can't compete on dollars," Waratahs chief executive Jim L'Estrange said.
"Hopefully, he'll make a rugby decision."
The Force is talking also to new Wallabies skills coach Richard Graham, who is on his way back to Australia after several years coaching in Britain, including a stint as head coach of Saracens.
And discussions are continuing with former Waratahs attack coach Todd Louden, who is coaching Japanese club Ricoh.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html