Rest period a farce, says Jones
I’m not judging who’s right or wrong here but Eddie and the ARU are two locomotives going separate directions on the same railway track.
I wonder if they have already passed or if the crash is yet to come, something has to give.
Rest period a farce, says Jones
By Jim Morton
January 09, 2007
EDDIE Jones has ramped up his attack on the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) by labelling Australia's reduced training agreement a "farce".
Jones today denied an official reduced training agreement - known as an RTA - was in place and indicated he would defy ARU orders designed to prevent leading Australia players from engaging in Super 14 trials.
The Queensland coach said he would have played Chris Latham - one of four Reds selected in a 22-man Wallabies list for a monitored training regime - in trials before he was seriously injured at the weekend.
The Reds are set to be cleared of any wrong-doing in Latham's injury, which the ARU admits was a "freak accident" when he tripped over during a training session.
He ruptured his anterior cruciate and medial ligaments and will be today told he needs a reconstruction when he meets with surgeon Dr Peter Myers.
Latham, as one of Australia's likely World Cup starters, was meant to be limited to two 30-minute non-contact training session each week during the three-week RTA period leading up to the Super 14.
The RTA, a more states-friendly agreement than New Zealand's blanket seven-week Super 14 rest for 22 All Blacks, is designed to help players get faster and stronger.
But under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which the four provinces say they are operating under in conjunction with individual training programs, players can opt in for more sessions, as well as trials.
The ARU have only given the green light to NSW hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau to play pre-season matches while Western Force are awaiting word on a requested to play wing Drew Mitchell.
The Force, Brumbies and Waratahs aren't expected to make any more requests but NSW coach Ewen McKenzie and Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher say it's the individual player's perogative if he wishes to play.
Queensland has made no similar request but Jones, who intends playing prop Greg Holmes and lock-flanker Hugh McMeniman, believes the Reds can pick any keen player if they wish.
Holmes, out with a neck injury since August, last week asked the Wallabies if he could play trials but was denied.
"That's why the whole thing is a farce," said Jones.
"That sums it up beautifully mate, that's why it's a farce. We don't know what's happening.
"There's absolutely no agreement.
"We've spoken to the ARU strength and conditioning coach (Jason Weber) and we've got all out players on programs which we feel is appropriate (A) for them to perform in the Super 14 and (B) for them to prepare well for the World Cup."
On a day of confusion, the ARU reported the Queensland Rugby Union and all provinces had agreed to an RTA starting from January 6 which "ruled out trials".
"Requests will be decided on a case-by-case basis but certainly there's been no request about Queensland players playing in trials," said ARU spokesman Brian West.
"(Jones) has thrown the challenge out there and if he does that it will be a shame for rugby but we will deal with it at the time.
"I'm perplexed when he says there's no agreement because there is."
Jones said denying Holmes game-time would hurt the loose-head as he could find himself out of a starting spot due to the immense pressure from new recruit Ben Coutts.
"One he needs to play because of selection and two he needs to play because he hasn't played since the second last Tri-Nations game (last August)," the former Australia coach said.
"How can you stop a guy from playing games, to me that's incredible.
"Hugh McMeniman, he played less than 10 games last year, why would he be missing trial games?
"What he needs is trial games.
"They can always get bigger and they can always get fitter but in the end they need to play rugby. And you only get better at playing rugby by playing rugby."
AAP
States, ARU fight over Wallabies
Rupert Guinness
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Australia's Super 14 coaches are at odds with the Australian Rugby Union over the best way in which to manage players in the lead-up to the World Cup.
As New Zealand plan to rest their All Blacks for the first seven rounds of the Super 14 season starting on February 2, it has emerged that months of negotiating by the Australian Super 14 sides for an agreement with the ARU on how Wallabies players are used without burning them out has been futile.
The list of limping Wallabies increased yesterday with Waratahs No.8 David Lyons ruled out for seven weeks due to a stress fracture sustained following an arthroscopy on his knee after the Wallabies tour of Europe last year.
Lyons, who will miss NSW's first three games to break his unbeaten run of 83 matches in the Super 14, joins fellow Waratah and second-rower Dan Vickerman (shoulder) and Queensland Reds fullback Chris Latham (knee) as Wallabies injured since the tour.
Their situations highlight the issue of player management at Super 14 and Wallabies levels.
After the Herald spoke to the coaches of Australia's Super 14 sides, it was clear most rated the process as unclear and time costly.
Ewen McKenzie (Waratahs), Eddie Jones (Reds), John Mitchell (Western Force) and Laurie Fisher (Brumbies) last year spent four months trying to negotiate a policy on the issue of "restricted training activities (RTA)" with the ARU and Rugby Union Players' Association.
"We spent four months endeavouring to negotiate an agreement," said McKenzie, adding that the four Super 14 sides were united. "At one point we had an agreement between the provinces and the ARU and not RUPA. It was always going around in circles."
On December 9 the four coaches met Wallabies counterpart John Connolly to reach a new agreement for ARU and RUPA consideration.
Believing one was in place, the proposal was emailed two days later to RUPA president Tony Dempsey. But the Super 14 coaches felt otherwise after getting a reply from ARU high performance director Pat Wilson on December 21 which outlined an RTA agreement that, he said, had been reached at a meeting of state chief executives.
"The ARU came back with something else completely different to what we said," Jones said. "It was contradictory to what we had agreed with Connolly. We haven't heard anything back since and that was before Christmas."
Mitchell concurred: "The ARU came back with amendments. The whole process was very loosely arranged."
And, as a result, Jones said there was technically "no agreement" now in place.
However, the ARU yesterday said the agreement stood.
"Eddie is eligible to say what he feels, but we feel an agreement is there in principle," Wilson said. "Obviously there are still principal parties who are resting on their own priorities.
"The agreement we have is designed for both sides' interests. And we will continue to talk on a one-on-one basis with the Super 14 sides."
The Super 14 sides, as agreed, are liaising with Wallabies strength and conditioning coach Jason Weber to style programs and track their wellbeing.
But contention exists over which players should be on the RTA list, which of them should or should not play in trial games and which players are spelled for one Super 14 game this season.
The Super 14 sides are following the RTA policy that was in the RUPA collective bargaining agreement before the saga began.
"I can't work it out. We have been working really hard to get this sorted," Jones said. "All we are doing is to have an agreement in place to clear the players to perform in Super 14 and also have them prepared for the World Cup."
McKenzie said conflicting goals between the Super 14 teams and Wallabies made any hope of a resolution impossible. "That was why we negotiated for four months and never got a result, competing interests," he said.
"John Connolly knows. He has been a provincial coach. And Eddie has been a national coach. If they swapped hats we would probably be having the same debate." McKenzie said he could question how his players were treated in the Wallabies program. "We lost Vickerman to an injury in July that didn't get operated on until November. Now Lyons is out from an injury on Wallaby tour," he said. "I just have to grin and bear it."
So what would quell the unrest - common sense? "That would be nice," Fisher said. "I think everyone is a bit on edge."
RTA for Wallabies agreed....maybe
RTA for Wallabies agreed
January 12, 2007 - 3:38pm
Story by: ARU
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) today announced that it has agreed to allow the 21 Wallabies on Restricted Training Activity (RTA) to play the last 40 minutes of their respective final trial games.
This decision has been reached in conjunction with the Wallabies Coaching staff and the four Super 14 Provincial coaches.
Pat Wilson, General Manager of the ARU's Rugby Unit today expressed the ARU's disappointment that after many months of negotiations, some of the Super 14 coaches were not prepared to work together in the collective interests of rugby in a World Cup year.
“We maintain that the original RTA was in everyone's best interests and had been reached after exhaustive consultation with the Provinces. We held the discussions in good faith and always sought to accommodate everyone's wishes,” said Pat Wilson.
“The success of the Provincial and National teams are not mutually exclusive.
“We appreciate there will always be tension between the National and Provincial teams around the issue of player resting, that is why we are sensitive to the interests of the Provinces and we continue to consult with them.
“Therefore at this time we will allow the Wallaby players, in consultation with the National and Provincial coaches, the respective Provincial and National High Performance Directors and medical staff, the option to play the last 40 minutes of each Province's final trial match.”
ARU allows Wallabies to trial
January 12, 2007
NEW South Wales and Queensland will ignore an Australian Rugby Union directive over Australia players rest periods after the Waratahs' compromise solution to a bitter row was partly overruled today.
The ARU and players' union ensured wider World Cup preparations rather than Super 14 success would be the code's priority this year by tweaking NSW's plans.
The alterations continued the drawn out and heated battle over restricted pre-season activities for 22 front-line Wallabies.
The Waratahs and Queensland were both livid that their desire for all players to be available for every Super 14 game has not been agreed upon.
The ARU and Rugby Union Players Association (RUPA) acceded to the request that Wallabies be allowed to play the last half of their province's final trial match but would not guarantee to an open book for Super 14 fixtures.
RUPA supported the desire of Wallabies management to rest some of the listed 22 players from one match during the season to assist in regeneration and restoration leading towards the World Cup.
NSWRU chief executive Fraser Neill was disgusted at the lack of communication by the ARU after believing NSW's compromise had universal appeal.
"We'll probably stand by what we proposed because that's what everybody agreed upon," he said.
"We believe we took a step backwards in the best interests of the game so we'll maintain the position we put forward."
Queensland coach Eddie Jones concurred with NSW "100 per cent" and said the latest edict left a massive grey area about judging whether players were best served by one-game rests.
"I think this is terribly disappointing for rugby," he said.
The issue will come to a crunch when Wallabies management order a player to rest and the decision is opposed by NSW or the Reds.
The Brumbies, in contrast, have supported the directive where the Test players will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis over the duration of the Super 14.
ARU high-performance unit manager Pat Wilson accused "some" Super 14 coaches of failing to work together in the collective interests of rugby in a World Cup year.
"The success of the Provincial and National teams are not mutually exclusive," he said.
RUPA boss Tony Dempsey went further.
"In a World Cup year it would be hoped that all parties were willing to work together in the interests of the World Cup however clearly the ARU and state unions are not singing from the same hymn sheet.
"The national interest should be given the upmost priority during a World Cup year.
"The Wallabies are the flagship of Australian Rugby in case anybody has forgotten."
AAP
