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Eddie Jones
August 15, 2009 12:00am
TRI-NATIONS Tests have become a version of rough, tough Rollerball because administrators, who must have spent too much time in the sun, are forcing a crazy law tweak upon us.
The new, harebrained law which allows the first defender, on his feet at the tackle/ruck area, to keep his hands on the ball is another example of advantaging the defending team.
The Springboks love to play without the ball so the new law is like seventh heaven to them as field position and playing off opposition mistakes rule.
This is the first law I would banish and I would instruct the referees to be as hard on attacking players as defenders who go off their feet at the tackle/ruck area.
Initially this will cause more penalties but, eventually, a game will develop where teams are able to win consistently quick ball to play rugby. Nothing else is wrong with the game.
Make the tackle/ruck area such a 50-50 contest and the game will revive. Otherwise, the rugby spectacle will be a hard sell at the 2011 World Cup.
RUGBY in Queensland has much to worry about with Melbourne almost certain to win the nod as Super rugby's 15th team.
NSW and Queensland produce about 85 per cent of the country's rugby players. Like the Western Force and ACT Brumbies, the new Melbourne team will be a recruitment-based franchise with perhaps 90 per cent of players brought in from elsewhere.
The start of Force recruiting in 2005 affected Queensland most of all with Nathan Sharpe, Richard Brown, Tai McIsaac, Junior Pelesasa and others departing.
The Melbourne team will have the same impact. They will have new rugby money, perhaps an extra $1 million to buy the right players compared with the other four Australian sides.
NSW Waratahs will be less exposed as their talent identification and recruitment have improved considerably and their ability to retain their best young players is impressive.
The opposite can be said of the Reds. They are starting again with a new regime.
They are all fresh and energetic under new Reds general manager Daniel Herbert. But, like in Shakespeare's Hamlet, the rotten head - a poor structure - is still there.
They must get their own backyard in order.
They must plan vigorously to be at their competitive best in 2011 with good talent ID and recruitment systems, a strong development program led by the best young coach they can find and a willingness to look outside the bubble for solutions.
Queensland cricket has one of the country's best talent ID systems. It was put in place by rugby-loving Toot Byron.
Has Queensland rugby spoken to him?
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...003411,00.html
Unusually well-considered article from him...
Wow i am in shock this seems like a good article!! Not one comment about how good he is/was or taking shots at the ARU.
Generally speaking you aren’t learning much if your lips are moving!!!
The Brumbies built a team out of players who were overlooked and local players without third party player payments... Additionally were runners up in their 2nd and 5th season and won the championship in their 6th with many local Wallaby players... Thats considerably different from the Western Force to date...
HISTORY is so easily forgotten and miss told and furthermore hack journalists don't tend to be great historians...
It would appear that Eddie has at least temporarily remove his head from his own arse. We'll see in his next contribution whether he has snuggly placed it back up there.
Didn't the Brumbies 'import' half the Randwick team?!
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Close too. It was obvious when the Brumbies up a took off to Europe. The Wicks lost half of their first grade side. Funny though. The Tahs were offered that very same tour but turned it down due to concerns over the reaction it would have caused. Yet the Brumbies gallop off and everyone has to smile and grit their teeth.
I wonder if anyone has asked the players how the standards compared?