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I posted it up on a separate thread that was started about Nick Marvin.
Here's Wayne Smith's other piece. I haven't seen anything from Alan Jones this week.
Clock’s ticking as rugby tries to work out what its future holds
The Australian12:00AM March 17, 2018
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11
WAYNE SMITH
Senior sport writerBrisbane
@WayneKeithSmith
Super Rugby is under way, life is bordering on the routine and it’s time for Australian rugby to sit back and draw breath after a turbulent period. Except that it’s not.
As of today, it is 1020 days until December 31, 2020, when the current SANZAAR broadcast deal expires. That seems like a long time but how fresh in your mind is June 1, 2015?
That’s 1020 days back. Life moves fast and rugby had better learn to move with it.
Recently, Andrew Forrest said he had been told by rugby officials how quickly things had moved to make this year’s arrangements for the Western Force. Forrest blinked. By his standards, the pace had been glacial.
It was the same with the collective bargaining agreement. Rugby officials and the Rugby Union Players Association knew the old deal would expire at the end of last year but when the new deal was *finally put in place, the signatories to the arrangement shook hands and wished each other a Happy New Year.
At present, everyone presumes southern hemisphere rugby post-2020 will make some dramatic shifts, though what those shifts might be no one is able to say.
Whatever is being done is being done behind closed doors yet, as the events of last year demonstrated, but that’s not the way for rugby officialdom to take supporters along with them for the ride.
The reason officials give, both for the delay and the secrecy, is that there are so many parties involved, especially in matters that have an impact on SANZAAR.
There are, one official told me yesterday, the joint venture partners, Australia, NZ, SA and Argentina, the 15 franchises and the broadcasters to take into account.
So it takes time to work through them all and arrive at a consensus. Yet the one group he didn’t mention, the only group that can make Super Rugby or its successor work was the fans.
And they have switched off in droves in recent years.
Waratahs chief executive Andrew Hore, working with Queensland counterpart Richard Barker, believes the time has arrived for rugby to have a meaningful debate about what the future will look like.
In a way, rugby has come very late to the table in this respect.
Cricket held this conversation two decades ago, when the Australian Test team and the Sheffield Shield were still pretty much the pillars of the game. Now cricket is organised along distinct lines — Test, one-dayers, T20 international, T20 domestic and the Shield. And in recent years, organisers have had to also factor in the dramatic growth of women’s cricket.
In short, Cricket Australia has reimagined the game.
In 1996, when Super Rugby and the Tri-Nations kicked off, the Big Bash probably referred to the local shindig down at the community hall on Saturday night.
No one imagined there would be such an astonishing appetite for what, back then, would have been considered a hit-and-giggle form of cricket.
Southern hemisphere rugby basically stumbled on to a fortune when SANZAR, as it then was, was established. The only three *nations then to have won the World Cup all playing together at Test and provincial level. Wow.
And for a time, that fortune was maintained. But now, according to Hore, SANZAAR, the extra A is for Argentina, has arrived at its third generation, the one which, according to the old adage, always blows the business. That’s what Hore’s trying to avoid by triggering a game-wide conversation.
Seemingly, Australia has been waiting on New Zealand to show its hand on what comes after Super Rugby and it’s still waiting.
NZ will do what’s in its own best interests. Fair enough. They probably think they owe Australian rugby nothing and they may be right. But Australian rugby also has to act in its best interests.
At Super Rugby level — and let’s not forget, this is rugby’s shopfront window display for six months of the year — South Africa no longer works.
When Australian teams disappear to the republic for a fortnight, they effectively drop off a cliff in terms of viewer interest. People have no interest in waiting until midnight or later to watch their team play.
So the customary Australian response is: Let South Africa head north to the Pro14 or whatever, and we’ll soldier on without them. But now another element is *emerging.
Check out the faces in the crowd at Kings Park or Newlands … rugby still is largely a white person’s sport in South Africa. Increasingly, however, the white community now regards itself as under threat as President Cyril Ramaphosa says his government will “escalate the pace” of land ownership in South Africa.
According to government figures, whites still own 72 per cent of farms in the republic but it’s the means and method of redistribution that is causing alarm.
It’s a hell of a way to improve the standard of Australian rugby as the likes of David Pocock, the Haylett-Petty brothers, the Smith twins, JP and Ruan, Reece Hewat, the Australian under-20 captain and Reds backrower, and countless others all came to this land from southern Africa. Yet the sad flip side is that Springbok rugby is on an inevitable decline.
NZ might refuse to see that. The All Black-Springbok ties run deep in the history of both countries and they might want to persevere with a partnership that Australia, with its infinitely more nuanced sporting landscape, recognises as unworkable.
If that happens, does Rugby Australia have the strength to walk away from Super Rugby? Can we sustain a competition on our own or even one in partnership with Forrest’s World Series Rugby? Is the short-term pain worth the long-term gain? And how much longer can Australian franchises remain committed to a body — SANZAAR — that acts as no more than a heavy-handed competition organiser?
Hore says he and the Waratahs have their own views on these questions but for the moment he wants to keep them to himself, lest they influence the debate.
The clock is ticking, Australia.
'I may be a Senator but I am not stupid'
https://omny.fm/shows/the-alan-jones-breakfast-show/cameron-clyne
Link to Senate Report http://www.aph.gov.au/senate_ca
https://www.change.org/p/rugby-australia-petition-for-cameron-clyne-to-resign-as-chairman-of-the-rugby-australia-board
Western Force signing Clay Uyen gets SOS from Nullarbor
Nick Taylor | PerthNow
March 18, 2018 12:00AM
YOUNG Western Force outside back Clay Uyen was halfway across the country on his way to re-launch his career in Sydney when he took a call from Matt Hodgson.
There was a spot for him in the re-born Force, the head of elite performance and former club captain said.
The Future Force academy product, literally at the halfway point of his drive in Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula, had a big decision to make.
Did he keep heading east or turn around and head home?
He did both.
He drove to Sydney where he was due to play Shute Shield with Warringah, spoke with the club, put his car on a truck and booked his flight home.
Uyen was tipped for a Super Rugby debut this season before Rugby Australia axed the Force.
“I’d made a decision to pack my life into the car and drive over to Sydney and pursue my career,” he said. “I got halfway and I got a call from Hodgo. I was in a tough spot working out whether to turn around or continue.
“I finished the trip to Sydney but then came home and I’ve got no regrets. What is going on at the Force has exceeded my expectations.
“I was worried about what sort of side we’d have and whether we’d have some competitive games this year but all of those boxes are certainly ticked.
“There are a couple of old bulls around that I’m familiar with and there are a lot of young guys.
“We’ve got a wicked pack of blokes and it’s all going up from here.”
Uyen, 20, had a stellar rise after switching from AFL when he was 13, making the Australian under-20 squad and training with the Force last year.
“As soon as I switched I had one way vision. I wanted to see how far I could take it,” he said.
“To get that close to where I wanted to be, where I had wanted to be for a long time and have all ripped away was pretty awful.
“It was a stressful time. I pulled out of uni to organise my move to Sydney. I had to keep rugby in my life somehow or I’d go insane.
“To be able to play professional rugby in my home town with my family around is super exciting.”
https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/we...-ng-b88777117z
“Recently, Andrew Forrest said he had been told by rugby officials how quickly things had moved to make this year’s arrangements for the Western Force. Forrest blinked. By his standards, the pace had been glacial.”
Love this part of the article! Twiggy must shake his head. RA needs to trim the dead wood off to get anywhere and Cameron Clyne is the centre of this wood rot.
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
The Unit Trusts got a hammering from the Tahs.
'I may be a Senator but I am not stupid'
https://omny.fm/shows/the-alan-jones-breakfast-show/cameron-clyne
Link to Senate Report http://www.aph.gov.au/senate_ca
https://www.change.org/p/rugby-australia-petition-for-cameron-clyne-to-resign-as-chairman-of-the-rugby-australia-board
Van Humphries announced as Western Force Assistant Coach
Rugby union stalwart Van Humphries has joined the Western Force as Assistant Coach.
The highly-regarded player-turned-coach will be a central figure of the Force’s coaching team
alongside Head Coach Tim Sampson and Head of Elite Performance Matt Hodgson.
As a player Humphries was regarded as a dominant lineout jumper and powerful lock. The Wallaby
squad member’s distinguished career on the field included eight years with the QLD Reds and two
years with the NSW Waratahs as well as terms with teams in Italy and Japan.
As a coach, he was most recently the Senior A Grade Coach for the Palm Beach Currumbin
Alleygators and has previously guided Brisbane’s Souths Rugby Club Premier Grade team and the
Brisbane Boys' College GPS Schoolboys team to on-field victories.
Humphries said he was lured West by the opportunity to become involved at the beginning of an
exciting new phase for Australian rugby union.
“We all watched what happened to the Force last year,” Humphries said. “It was totally
unprecedented, but it has resulted in this exciting and challenging new World Series Rugby
tournament and I was really motivated to be a part of that.
“I believe this presents a new opportunity for Australian rugby and offers a real alternative for
people looking for a game that will entertain and inspire them.
“The key to its success this year is an impressive team, which we have. I know about half a dozen of
the guys from playing and coaching and can’t wait to get to know the rest. That this roster was
assembled in such a short timeframe is amazing. There is a really good mix of experience and some
exciting up-and-comers.”
Western Force CEO Nick Marvin welcomed Humphries to the Force.
“Van has a dynamic coaching style which I think will be well-received by the players and contribute
to the overall culture of the Western Force,” Marvin said.
“We are building a talented coaching team and are in good shape to make a strong start on the field
on May 4.”
Van Humphries - a fantastic addition to the coaching team.
Always loved his passion for the game!
Last edited by andrewg; 24-03-18 at 16:26.
Yes- perhaps he can also do the pre-game, post-game and half-time speeches...
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
LOL, Can’t deny his enthusiasm revving up the team! www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLfoBUvYNDY[/youtube]