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By Rebecca Wilson
October 13, 2007 12:00am
OF all the sporting teams in Australia, there is none more pampered than the Wallabies.
Their shameful performance against England last week in the Rugby World Cup will have huge long-term ramifications for the sport - and should herald the end of the outrageous salaries, molly-coddling and hype that surrounds this rugby union team.
Rugby fans are still shaking their heads in disbelief that the Wallabies failed to make the semi-finals of the tournament.
No one in their right minds really expected the team to go beyond a semi to the final, but we had every right to expect to be in the top four rugby nations of the world.
The Wallabies now sit at No. 5 in the world rankings. The rot has set in and Australian rugby will be feeling the aftershock for many seasons to come.
For those who have been living in a black hole these past few years, the Wallabies have been transformed by television rights money and sponsorship agreements into a football team that is treated like royalty.
This is not a team that just has a coach and a couple of assistants. It has a staff of about 30 just looking after about 21 players - right down to having its very own personal assistant.
They have "high-performance co-ordinators", three assistant coaches, advisers, physiotherapists, doctors, psychologists. You name it - this mob of under-achievers has been handed it all on a silver platter.
They have done their training for the most part out of the semi-tropical luxury of a five-star Coffs Harbour resort. They have been allowed to have their families there, too, which sounds fine in principle, but leaves the words "struggle" and "hardship" out of their vocabulary.
The Australian Rugby Union team smacks of arrogance. The core group of senior players in the side - George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Stirling Mortlock - play for the ACT Brumbies in the Super 14.
This mob were the ones who drove their head coach, David Nucifora, out of town because they didn't have enough say in the decision-making process. That was straight after Nucifora coached them to a Super 12 title.
The coach's credentials were proved when he turned up at the Auckland Blues and coached the house down for several seasons.
You see, these blokes don't like being told what to do. They have spent most of their professional footy lives telling their coaches what to do. They have managers who demand - and get - ridiculous salaries for playing about four Tests a year and half a season of footy in the Super 14 competition.
They are being paid about 150 per cent above what they were getting three years ago (when they could still win a big game), yet they have been asked for nothing in return for the cash.
Even when their form hit a slump several seasons ago, nobody took the lot of them by the scruff of the neck and told them to lift their games. Instead, the status quo remained - more money for the likes of Lote Tuqiri and Matt Giteau.
When a fourth Super 14 team was introduced to Australia, young blokes who would not normally be offered a game in the local first-grade competition were suddenly vying for contracts.
Let's give the Wallabies forwards a special mention here. If the backs looked like they had just been introduced during the England game, what about the shocking performance of the tight five?
England do not exactly have the most mobile bunch of forwards. And they aren't young or pretty either. But these ageing, cauliflower-eared Poms carved our allegedly "greatly improved" forward pack to shreds.
They were dreadful. They looked fat and unfit. There are better forwards playing in the Australian Schoolboys side that beat New Zealand this week.
The time for change is obviously here. The coach will mercifully go. Nucifora should be given the gig and tell the current Wallabies that not a single one of them will be an automatic selection ever again.
He should also be told that he has the absolute and unconditional support of the ARU, so there can be no more back-biting, internal bickering and carry-on from assistant coaches who have bigger egos than half the players.
Ditch Coffs Harbour. Cut player salaries. Stop poaching league players because that obviously doesn't work. Put incentive clauses into contracts, so that players have to actually win a game to earn a bonus.
Until the Wallabies start performing again, sponsors should demand that not a single extra cent goes into their coffers.
And while we're at it, put the team back in the traditional gold Wallabies strip. It is simple but it makes a statement. The jersey should reflect what this team will be about - back to basics, tough, durable and proud.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...006067,00.html
And why shouldn't the Wallabies lose to England? My understanding is that, while the Wallabies probably should've beaten England....considering how close they were to the Wallabies in the IRB rankings means that England were statistically in with a significant chance of beating the Wallabies, no matter how they had played in the pool matches. In light of this, I do not particularly agree with the first three lines, however much of what she says following that has some validity.....wooo breathe Skiza breathe![]()
Sorry Skiza I can't bring myself to support that article in any manner of speaking...
Is she blaming the three most experienced players and you could probably argue best players in Australian rugby for our crap performance against England? Seriously....wtf....Originally Posted by article
Not to mention her background is in Olympic sports and in League not Union. She only threw Union into the mix when News Limited made her the Project Manager for the 2003 World Cup...but she has no particular interest in Union as a game...in fact its not even on her list of favourite sports...
So...frankly...i think her comments are more conducive to a general rant about how athletes are overpaid. I reckon let her go have a chat with some of the boys and ask them if they'd prefer to win a world cup or take home a bigger pay packet...
I will give her the two comments on our fat unfit forwards and poaching league players...fair calls
Last edited by Jehna; 17-10-07 at 11:42.
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau."
She seems a bit full of crap to me. Apart from sounding like a moron by using the word 'mob' and 'blokes' as much as a Kiwi says 'Bro' and 'Choice' she is clueless. They lost a game- one game. Yeah we shouldn't have lost and yeah it sucks that we did but big deal that doesn't mean Matt Giteau and Lote Tuqiri are overpaid. Upsets happen (hell take the Force-Crusaders game last year 16 to 1 odds) and its a fact of life. I really think England would have be rubbish without Johnny Wilkinson and without Stephen Larkham we were rubbish I think he'd have given us the composure and direction we weren't getting from Barnesy and go those extra few points to put us over the line. You take a team's key players like Victor Matfield, Dan Carter or Richie McCaw out of a side and they won't play half as well and neither did we.
We bounced back from our loss in 1995 and I'm sure we will do it again especially if the ELVs are brought in and we have a good chance to revamp our playing style. As for David Nucifora he was given his notice *before* he coached the team to the championship. And did he really coach the house down at the Blues? Yes he did well this season but last season he brought them in at 8th with a host of All Blacks stars playing for him. And did he not again have issues with Senior players in the squad like Ali Williams (who admittedly is a knobhead)?
The rest was crapOriginally Posted by travelling_gerry
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
It was a fairly emotive piece (a very angry Bec it seems), perhaps a more pragmatic look at the situation would be helpful.
It did have a couple of points that were valid i.e. the forwards work at scrum time and at the breakdown (sorry tackle contest) not up to scratch, wearing a decent jersey.
THe tone of the article too much of a rant, which is not helpful.
I just tried to be objective, but i do agree with lmaag that its too much of a rant rather than productive journalism.Originally Posted by Jehna
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some of her points are valid. our front row was rubbish 3 years ago and nothing has changed. they are too fat, lazy and not strong enough. They didnt beat anyone of any note and finished in the appropriate position just above the hasbeen and the wannbees.
Lote is overpaid and over-rated
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
I agree Exile, that was the ONLY point I agree with in the whole article.
"England do not exactly have the most mobile bunch of forwards. And they aren't young or pretty either. But these ageing, cauliflower-eared Poms carved our allegedly "greatly improved" forward pack to shreds.
They were dreadful"
She obviously has no clue. England have always focused on having a larger pack i order to dominate fixed play such as scrums and thus can't be as mobile. I am not an expert; but saying that the English pack are not young or pretty in relation to the Wallabies pack has zero relevance. The Wallabies pack is improved; but the English pack has been their rock this world cup (along with Wilko) and you can not take all their progress away from them from one game.
Every forwards dream is to become a back...
I disagree with our pack having improved Shaun!!!
Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game Uno.
Since the horror Spring Tour of 05' I would say they have.
Every forwards dream is to become a back...
How exactly would you measure that improvement Shaun?
I'm not so much directly disputing your assertion. I think any improvement in the last three years has been so slight as to be inadmissible, particularly in the tight 5.
I don't think the front row was worth much at all really (not saying there was much to choose from tho) Moore might have had a shot but he was about the only selection I would've considered. The Second row were good players who were told to do the wrong job, so in short, the management stuffed it all up.
As for the article......yep, mainly crap!
C'mon the![]()
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well then give us some examples since then where the wallaby pack has dominated .. and don't include 2nd rate teams sent over in the games prior to the world cup!Originally Posted by Shaun
Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game Uno.
Bledisloe Cup match at the MCG 2007......and that my friends is about itOriginally Posted by Happy
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!