Ruck'n Maul
Protection of Tatafu Polota-Nau sets gold standard
Greg Growden
May 29, 2015
Ruck'n Maul: He-Man and the Three Amigos

Desperate times often lead to desperate measures, but the Waratahs thankfully have shown common sense in not rushing Tatafu Polota-Nau back after his recent concussion concerns.

The Waratahs made the wise decision to rest Polota-Nau for three of their past four round matches after he had suffered several serious head knocks. They could easily have opted to alter that decision after their replacement hooker, Tolu Latu, was suspended for four weeks by SANZAR after a dangerous tackle on Crusaders forward Sam Whitelock; the suspension has prompted a major hooker shortage in the franchise. They left for South Africa with inexperienced hooker Hugh Roach as their No.1 rake, with Manly's Dave Poreki his back-up; Roach will make his starting debut against the Lions in Johannesburg on the weekend.

The Waratahs have stressed they will not play Polota-Nau again until he is fully fit, and has overcome his concussion concerns. It remains highly unlikely that Polota-Nau, who for years has courageously put his body on the line for the Waratahs and Wallabies, will play again before the Super Rugby finals.

Rugby authorities for a long time have been slovenly in their reaction to concussed players, often letting them back onto the field even though the athlete was clearly in a troubled state. Now, at long last, it appears the welfare of the player is being taken seriously. For the athlete concerned, there is a long life after football. And as Polota-Nau is such a gem of a person, he is one who needs to properly protected.

Wallabies legends decry rolling maul as blight on game

Ruck'n Maul had the pleasure of being among the guests during the week for the latest Wallabies reunion organised by Jim Phipps. An illustrious group of players, including some of Australia's greatest players from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and their partners, meet at Ettalong on the NSW Central Coast several times a year. This week's group included 1947-1948 Wallabies tour room-mates Eric Tweedale and Sir Nicholas Shehadie; the man rated by many as Australia's greatest half-back, Ken Catchpole; one of the Wallabies' best second-rowers, Rob Heming; reliable forward Bob Outterside; Country stalwart Don Strachan, who had driven from Orange for the luncheon; and notable attacking players Rod Phelps, Terry Casey and Terry Curley. Numerous other star players such as Professor Saxon White were seated around the room. What was intriguing was that quite a number of them said the persistent use of the rolling maul was an irritating blight on the modern game. Many argued it was a blatant obstruction. Quite a number agreed that collapsing the maul should again be allowed. Teams should enjoy the rolling maul while they can, because there's no doubt it will be outlawed as it prevents fair competition for possession.

Where are the quality referees?

Former Wallabies full-back Matt Burke wrote about his exasperation about scrum resets in his Fairfax Media column this week. He also brought up refereeing inconsistencies. "Having two referees has again been touted to help improve the game to get, in effect, more eyes on the ball to help out with those grey areas," Burke wrote. "This topic is amusing to me as more than 10 years ago I mentioned this could be something to consider. At the time, Herald journalist Greg Growden called it a ridiculous proposition. My response was they could not do any worse than what's out there now."

My response now remains the same; it is still "a ridiculous proposition". Two referees will just lead to more penalties, more interruptions, and more reasons to turn off. And I reinforced in the Growden Report that there are not enough quality referees for anyone to feel confident about a solitary whistleblower - let alone two.

David Nucifora offers a reminder of one of Australia's key departures

An interesting sighting before the Australian Women's Sevens' win in the London Sevens at Twickenham, where the former head of the ARU high performance unit, David Nucifora, was invited to present the jerseys to the Australian players. This won't sit well with some misguided Australian Rugby Union officials who forced Nucifora out of Crows Nest and still like to blame him wrongly for anything and everything. Now he is excelling in Ireland, as is another former ARU staff member, Anthony Eddy, who is running their women's program.

Super Rugby Preview: Round 16
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Brad Thorn deserves every accolade

One of the great football careers is over. Brad Thorn stands among the best and most versatile footballers seen in Australian and New Zealand rugby and rugby league ranks. After 460 professional games, 21 seasons and 17 trophies in both codes, the 40-year-old Thorn retired this week. As importantly, he was an extraordinary off-field character. One of the great delights in recent years was interviewing Thorn as he flitted across the codes. He took his All Blacks media responsibilities seriously, and avoided being evasive when surrounded by rugby scribes. He was forever enlightening. He deserves every accolade.

Signs of pressure

A strong sign that a coach is under serious pressure comes when they start uttering they haven't been reading the papers, so they don't know if they are being criticised or not. Reds coach Richard Graham is the latest to push that tedious line, saying he had not read a newspaper in three months. Wonder if that also includes internet content? Let's just say that a very well known Test cricketer, at any time his position was under question, was renowned for saying he didn't read the papers. To which the Australian team manager remarked: "Then why before every day's play in a Test match do I have to spend several minutes picking up all the newspapers which are strewn around the spot where he sits in the dressing room?"

No shadows or rocks for James O'Connor

Clearly James O'Connor's clearing kick shocker last weekend won't be forgotten quickly. Peter Sterling mentioned it during the State of Origin rugby league telecast on Wednesday night, when NSW were victims of a similar poor kick.

Quote of the Week

"Skelton turned into a cross between Dennis the Menace, Steven Seagal and Andre the Giant."

  • New Zealand Herald scribe Chris Rattue on Will Skelton's frenetic performance against the Crusaders last weekend.

Whisper of the Week

  • Text messages involving an Australian franchise team official and a member of the media are causing drama.

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