He has refreshed the style of play and the shape of the Wallabies backline, he has helped our guys to a couple of great Test victories and given us all hope that Australia can again contend for the Webb Ellis Trophy.
One other thing he has done that might not quite get the same public recognition as a win over the Springboks or AB's is his decision to allow members of his Wallaby squad to play club rugby on weekends off.
For rugby fans and the game's youngest followers, the next generations of Wallabies, it is a treat and a half to be able to pay the nominal entry fee that is charged at Sydney or Brisbane club gates and stand on the fence within a Stephen Moore throw in of your favourite player.
The players love it too. You can see them relax and enjoy the opportunity to run around with old mates, while giving back to the grass roots level of the game they love. Those team mates lucky enough to play with these guys benefit too, learning more in one game than they might in a month of Saturdays.
I don't have any figures by I am sure the gate would be up at least 30% every time this happens and a team gets the injection of a Wallaby or two into their first grade team.
So next time the Wallabies have a break, whether it's later this year or next, get on down to your local ground and cheer on your team, or any team. It'll cost you about a quarter of the ticket to a Test and you can almost touch the action. All courtesy of R Deans.
Club Rugby is a great product. there are established teams with a rich history. there are some major issues though.
ReplyDeletefirstly, it is not supported by the ARU. in 2006 the ARU set about creating a second tier competition with a National rugby competition. This competition fell flat on a number of levels. It had no supporter base and was set to lose over 3 million dollars. surely this money would have been better spent in the established clubs. a few hundred thousand to each club would have enabled clubs to increase the professional standards of their teams. this in turn would have trickled down the grades and given younger player greater opportunity to bridge the gap between amatuer and proffesional rugby. instead the competition failed and over 3 million dollars was lost with nothing to show for it.
secondly, the sport has a very small but committed fan base. this could be improved by promoting the competition and lowering the ticket price to around ten dollars. or the aru could give the clubs autonomy over their ticket prices. 5 dollar day at manly oval would pull about five thousand people to manly oval. they would make money back on beer and food sales anyway.
Thirdly they need to give more players opportunities in the proffesional ranks. for years the NSW pack was smashed about the park by bigger stronger club rugby hardened new zealand players. The recruitment of Australian forawrds (and backs) is predominantly out of the GPS school rugby competitions. surely a battle hardened club rugby front rower could be developed out of the stock that club rugby has to offer. they seem to be continually ignored.
and finally a champions league could be played at the end of the season from the best teams in queensland, nsw and the act. we would see the best of the best and give young club rugby players a chance on a greater stage.
until the ARU taps the potential of club rugby the game will never reach its potential. the product is there, it needs development.
Deans has done wonders but it is the tip of the iceberg. NSW rugby and the ARU have alot to answer for.
Chris Boylan
Well said Christopher
ReplyDelete