Ruck'n Maul
ARU now must handle power, influence of clubs
Greg Growden
April 24, 2015
Ruck'n Maul: Injuries are blighting the Brumbies

Australia has loosened the restrictions on selecting overseas-based players but there is still some way to go before anyone can fervently believe the Wallabies will be able constantly to pick exactly who they want from foreign clubs. Eligibility, which now ensures those who have played 60 Tests for the Wallabies and who have been involved in Australian rugby for at least seven seasons can be selected to come back home, is one thing; the power of the overseas club is another.

Numerous administrators have discovered over the years that World Rugby's Regulation 9, which grants national unions the right to call upon their overseas-based players for Test duties, is "toothless". As a notable international official told Ruck'n Maul on Thursday: "The English and French clubs are very good at 'persuading' foreign players to suddenly make themselves unavailable or retire from international rugby." This is not surprising considering the clubs throw enormous money at experienced 'star' Wallabies, knowing they have them for the entire season; those same clubs now will be edgy that their players can now be beckoned away. ARU officials are also saying they will use Regulation 9 to ensure those players on flexible contracts in Japan can continue playing for the Wallabies.

Australia will miss Toulon-bound Quade Cooper
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There is no doubt the change in ARU policy will affect the overseas value of Australian players nearing the end of their careers. Clubs are bound to be less enthusiastic about signing such players, who are now not entirely committed to them.

Rebels coach Tony McGahan, who was with Munster, made some interesting comments on the eligibility issue during a recent interview with Ruggamatrix. Asked if the Wallabies should be able to pluck players of the ilk of Kane Douglas and Salesi Ma'afu for the World Cup, McGahan said: "[The overseas clubs] have paid a lot of money for those guys to play for 12 months of the year. They haven't paid that money for them to go back and have international aspirations and be out of their program for period of times with the risk of injury. They would have gone after someone else. I know at Munster we wouldn't be [releasing players], and if it was the case, we would have gone after a different player." Douglas and Ma'afu are still not eligible under the new ARU agreement, but such beliefs at club level will logically extend to those who are.

The ARU will also have to manage this one well, because it could lead to an "Us versus the Old Foreign Legion" division within the Wallabies playing ranks.

NRC will "soon rival similar competitions in New Zealand and South Africa"

The ARU's annual report, released this week, is a masterpiece in promoting positives in a sea of negatives, which includes a Aus$6.3 million loss for 2014. There are some really big statements, with ARU chairman Michael Hawker saying in praising the National Rugby Championship that he was "confident it will soon rival similar competitions in New Zealand and South Africa". But a few pages on, we discover the 2014 NRC wasn't a honey pot for spectators, with the punters staying away and some games attracting just a few hundred diehards. The report states that 76,160 spectators overall attended the NRC - at an average of just under 2000 for each match. Hardly standing room only. The NRC is a good idea, but it must be promoted properly and the ARU cannot continue to rely on the franchises' many volunteers to do all the hard work.

Super Rugby Preview: Round 11
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Western Sydney Rebels chatter continues

The pressure on Melbourne Rebels to be viable financially intensifies, after the ARU announced this week that they had provided Aus$3.3 million to prop them up last year. The Rebels' plight has dramatically affected ARU coffers for some time, and no wonder New South Wales business interests continue to discuss the idea of relocating the Rebels to Western Sydney or hosting several of their games at ANZ Stadium.

Will SANZAR listen to Michael Foley?

Ruck'n Maul wasn't alone in thinking the Super Rugby scheduling this year was all over the place. We complained about the scheduling earlier in the season, with numerous marketing opportunities wasted. Now Western Force coach Michael Foley has gone public, stating the way in which SANZAR devises the draw :is a mystery".

"It makes no sense, it's farcical," Foley said of a draw that has given the Force an onerous travel schedule and short turnarounds. Hopefully the SANZAR masterminds who do the draw can get it right next year, because there is the threat, with expansion and three extra teams, of upsetting even more people.

David Pocock making his presence felt

David Pocock is certainly making his presence felt since his return from injury. Did we really hear referee Angus Gardner ask him during the for the Brumbies' match against the Rebels, "Please don't yell at me."?

New-age sportswriter

Sportswriters are not known for their sartorial elegance or new-age pursuits, but one of NSW's best known rugby scribes is cutting a smart figure on the road and in his Peninsula pad after winning the big raffle prize at a Sydney grade match. We hear the scribe received a gift pack that included scented candles, moisturiser, hair products and toiletries, with whispers that there was even a wind chime among all the goodies.

Whispers of the Week

  • Player power lives on at the Reds. Quade Cooper, who appears to be on his way to Toulon, is having a big say in how the Reds backline works, even though he is currently sidelined through injury.
  • Two ARU officials have had a "showdown" over one's keen interest in the other's position.
  • Former Wallabies business manager Di Patston has issued subpoenas to the ARU as part of her compensation case, after resigning following the Kurtley Beale text message brouhaha. We hear the ARU, who are panicking for good reason, have offered a substantial settlement, but it has been ignored. We continue to be told this will be "explosive" goes to court in June.
  • Waratahs coach Michael Cheika's relationship with some SANZAR officials remains shaky.

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