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Aussie Rugby...

Saint2014

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Northampton
So just today... They have lost one of their best ever centres and one of their top second rows. ( AAC and Horwill). Last year Mowen also opted to move to I think it was Montpellier. Still to come is Genia to Stade and Folau to Toulon/Northampton (still to be decided). You have the likes of Giteau and Mitchell already at Toulon and the Honeybadger in Japan... You see where im going with this yet? The thing is we ranted about the Welsh exodus however this is a whole different scale... The Aussies are losing their top players to the Northern Hemisphere and like the English, they maintain not selecting them unless they play in the country. Losing these players will put a mass of strain on the ARU and I can't see the Wallibies holding up with all these losses.
 
We're losing top players at the end of their careers and the occasional player in the peak (Digby Ioane, Isreal Folau) AAC, Horwill, Mowen, Giteau, Mitchell are all 103 years old, they can't keep playing forever. Horwill isn't even the best Lock at the Reds now, so he's not a huge loss, He's dones his bit for the country and for the Reds, AAC has done his bit for the Wallabies he deserves the money. He will be missed.
The talent coming through the ranks at the Reds alone is enough to look forward to the future of Aus Rugby, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Samu Kerevi.
Aus rugby will return to dominance in the next few years, but right now we're ****e. Don't worry about our players leaving. Worry that those countries need to buy them.
 
i'm not worried about the players leaving. i know it's early days but we will have a great team by 2019

players like stirzaker, debreczeni, kerevi, feauia-sautia, both kuridranis, kellaway, mc mahon etc are coming through
 
With the SH player exodus seemingly inevitable no matter what I am happy SA has adopted the stance of overseas based players being available but SA based players getting priority. Though our SR teams lack depth it means there are opening for young guys to come through and challenge regularly while the NH foots the bill for our stars who keep their own youngsters on the benches.

The only worry for me is that the Euro based players tend somewhat to lose touch with the pace the game is played at in the SH- it's just a climate thing. You see Juan Smith playing some brilliant rugby for Toulon, being totally off the pace in Argentina for the Bokke totally overshadowed by Coetzee too such an extent that he withdraws and then goes back to being in top form for Toulon. It's a question of tempo. I would be very happy for us to play local players in June and the Rugby Championship but get in a few NH based players who are more in tune with European conditions when playing November internationals. I expect Aus will follow suit.
 
yeah S.A. got it right. "We produce brilliant forwards, specifically 2nd rowers first, 3rd rowers second (as far as Top 14 exportation), come buy them but we get to play them when we want". Fair enough...well, sort of. Boudjellal had very just things to say about that salary-wise and absences-wise. He was basically paying for them to leave and either play or not even play for country; that is an aberration.

But for the Aussies, honestly I think it's a problem. Ioane was still very good when he left (and has been a huuuuge flop at Paris btw), Giteau would've helped the Wallabies tremendously all those years; then you have your Drew Mitchell, still top form when he left and today still - Ben Mowen, not exactly useless these days although he's somewhat replaceable.
JOC if he hadn't been a t*at all those years would've been a huge commodity for the Wallabies' offense, especially given his backline swiss army knife function, even to help out at flyhalf. AAC probably would still be picked for the Wallabies, he's not letting out is he, still. His experience and presence is huge for his nation. And if Folau does leave (doesn't seem possible for Toulon, btw, salary cap wise) Aussies will just have to come to this obvious, obvious conclusion the exodus is real, struggle iz reulll mayn; and it's been choking the Wallabies this whole time. Whether they, like living tissue reconstruct over wounds, produce fine replacements is one thing - but as in this analogy, there is a "wound" to heal each time.
 
Over here in Sydney, folau is being linked with numerous NRL clubs and would be a massive loss for aussie rugby he brings a lot of spectators through the gates. Aussies need some tough forwards instead of the fairies that pack down for them now, with that they could push for top spot no doubt.

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TRF_stormer2010;698332 The only worry for me is that the Euro based players tend somewhat to lose touch with the pace the game .[/QUOTE said:
I see this as the only downfall too. NZ players return damaged goods.
 
There must be a reason for it. Aussie rugby hasn't been that bad at the highest club level in recent years. The Brumbies dynasty, the uprising of the Reds, the turnaround of the Warratahs. Yet it hasn't converted anywhere near to Rugby Championship level. I was tempted to say Australia don't have a Curry Cup, or an ITM Cup. I mean, I think they have their own competition, but isn't that relatively recent? They had something called the ARC which went bust a few years back. I do think that while places like Suncorp can be a fortress, Australian rugby immensely struggles when they're in front of a hostile crowd away from home.

I do question the player culture they having going there too. Too many fairies like Quade Cooper and Matt Giteau in recent times thinking they run the show. Or in Robbie Deans book how he called a meeting about a test match and strategies, and the only thing the players seemed interested in was who was paying for the taxi fare.

But, and I've argued for a long time, a big archilles heel in terms of on the pitch is the forwards. Forget the backs. But unless you can pull of a set piece without getting monstered, and unless you have at least a couple of real brutes who are physical and strike some fear into the opposition, i don't see how you'll beat the big teams consistently. Forwards lay the platform, set the tone, but Australia are way too light in that department and have been for years.
 
There must be a reason for it. Aussie rugby hasn't been that bad at the highest club level in recent years. The Brumbies dynasty, the uprising of the Reds, the turnaround of the Warratahs. Yet it hasn't converted anywhere near to Rugby Championship level. I was tempted to say Australia don't have a Curry Cup, or an ITM Cup. I mean, I think they have their own competition, but isn't that relatively recent? They had something called the ARC which went bust a few years back. I do think that while places like Suncorp can be a fortress, Australian rugby immensely struggles when they're in front of a hostile crowd away from home.

I do question the player culture they having going there too. Too many fairies like Quade Cooper and Matt Giteau in recent times thinking they run the show. Or in Robbie Deans book how he called a meeting about a test match and strategies, and the only thing the players seemed interested in was who was paying for the taxi fare.

But, and I've argued for a long time, a big archilles heel in terms of on the pitch is the forwards. Forget the backs. But unless you can pull of a set piece without getting monstered, and unless you have at least a couple of real brutes who are physical and strike some fear into the opposition, i don't see how you'll beat the big teams consistently. Forwards lay the platform, set the tone, but Australia are way too light in that department and have been for years.

Yea NRC is the new national comp, made up of mostly amateur players. The game hasn't evolved at a junior level and the aussie players are mostly made up of Gen Y private school soft cocks.
 

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