Irrepressible Tangent

After two brutal contests in New Zealand, Australian rugby fans will finally get to see some competition when South Africa ventures to Perth on Saturday night. All rugby lovers have been impressed with the physicality of the All Blacks and Springboks, but are unsure of where Australia currently sits in comparison.

So far Australia has beaten an Irish side which, through no lack of effort, was not capable of winning away from home. In the two tests against the French, Australian and French fans were insulted by what France delivered. None of those two matches were of Test standard.

This brings us to John O’Neill. This is O’Neill’s second coming as head of the ARU. He has returned to the game at a delicate time. Revenues are booming in the Northern hemisphere yet the game is being described as more boring than ever. Obviously the attempts to introduce the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) after the last World Cup would be viewed suspiciously by those from the North. Their belief is why change something which is generating more and more revenue – if the Southern Unions can’t do the same, that is their problem. Let us not fool ourselves – this is a massive problem. O’Neill is not a good diplomat. His aggressive leadership style is effective, but in the face of this situation he is not the appropriate man to be handling theses negotiations at the International Rugby Board (IRB). In effect he is currently selling down the game of rugby. He is saying that the game as it is played in the north is an inferior product – unfortunately it is his job to market this product here, not talk it down.

What if the ELVs don’t get up, is O’Neill going to have one of his “fireside chats” with the media and tell them he now loves how the game is played in the North? The fact is the game as played under the ELVs is a more enjoyable spectacle to watch (entertainment dollar) and play (attracting players). But this means nothing if the game in the traditional northern markets is strong – the South does not have the political clout to make changes (even though the changes were initially being driven universally at IRB level). For O’Neill to suggest the game is heading for a split is grandstanding of the highest order. The New Zealand Rugby Union is struggling financially. Is O’Neill suggesting the financial situation would be turned around if the Southern Unions just played each other? The South needs the North just as much as the other way around – International competition is rugby’s point of difference from the non-”soccer” football codes in this country, this is something rugby can’t afford to give away.

There are many problems with the game in this country. The French were right to apologise for the fact they couldn’t send their best players here for the Test series (this on the heels of New Zealand pulling out its players from last years Super 14, and South Africa sending a reserve team for the non-home legs of the Tri-Nations.). What was delivered in the second test which culminated in the wild king hit from one of the French props (#3) on James Horwill was a disgrace. This was “thugby” at its best. Of course this was quickly followed up by Brad Thorn’s disgraceful dumping of John Smit and the follow-up eye gouging in the subsequent test in New Zealand. Of course one could talk about the ridiculous judicial situation where you are banned for 3 weeks, but there is only 1 game you miss. Or you only get suspended for 1 game for a spear tackle which you justify on the basis that someone pushed your head down. But this is John O’Neills rugby.

These issues damage the credibility of the game in Australia. O’Neill is better off using his influence to fix issues hurting the game in Australia. Rather than lecturing Queensland on how their coaches will coach the team (see his criticism – some justified – on the Reds refusal to allow Michael Foley to work with the Reds forwards – even though O’Neill appointed Phil Mooney [Reds coach] as coach of Australia A!) he needs to acknowledge what everyone around the rugby world can see – the Australians aren’t fit enough. He has direct influence over this and the changes need to be put in place now. Pre-season is just around the corner for the non-Wallabies, we must fix our fitness now – The challenge is yours John.

South Africa is perfectly placed to take this years title. The have been handed the toughest draw but now have the tournament at their mercy. They play an Australian side, although fresh, yet to play under the ELVs as practiced in the Tri-Nations. They play them at a venue where they have an excellent record (Perth) and then they get their final matches at home. About the only things in the Wallabies favour going in this Test is the fact the Springboks will be down a couple of hookers and will be somewhat tired from too bruising encounters against the All Blacks. This match will give us a much better indication of where the Wallabies are at and we will reserve our judgment until then.

As for the All Blacks, they are beatable. The New Zealanders have been decimated by the player drain to the North, and of course their World Cup debacle. The political games in their country are still fresh, the blood will boil if the All Blacks can’t defeat a Robbie Deans coached Wallabies. You do have to hand it to the Kiwis no matter what, they support their team – no matter how poorly they performed at the World Cup. Graeme Henry got everything he wanted in a World Cup year – even preventing players playing for their provinces for an extended period – and they still lost. I feel Kiwis are hurting deep inside about this one, to know that not one individual took responsibility for their terrible performance could come back to haunt them – all it will take will be a loss to the Wallabies. I say bring it on!

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Tags: All Blacks, Rugby Union, Tri-Nations, Wallabies

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.