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Ex-Wallaby proposes scrapping Australian Super Rugby team
By AAP
Eternally wounded from his own World Cup horror show, former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles believes less Australian Super Rugby teams is one answer to the country’s spectacular fall from grace.
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The Wallabies are on the brink of a humiliating group-stage elimination after backing up their first loss to Fiji in 69 years with a record 40-6 drubbing at the hands of Wales.
Fans are calling for Eddie Jones’s head after the coach’s decision to pick the World Cup’s youngest squad backfired in the most extraordinary fashion.
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Hoiles, who played just one Test after being a member of Australia’s previously worst World Cup campaign in 2007, reckons cutting one of Australia’s five Super Rugby teams would be a major help in restoring depth and credibility to the national team.
Between the Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels and Western Force, Australian sides have won only a handful of games against New Zealand opposition in the past decade.
Battered psychologically even before taking to the field, generations of Wallabies players have failed for 20 years to win back the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks, let alone challenge for global supremacy.
“I feel for the players because some of these guys they’re not ready for Test rugby yet and that’s not to be mean or personal about it,” Hoiles told Stan Sport.
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“And too many of them haven’t played well enough at Super Rugby. We’ve got five Super Rugby sides that have been (mediocre).
“The Brumbies have been the most successful over the last sort of five to eight years. The Tahs have had glimpses of success eight, nine years ago, the Reds 11, 12 years ago. Besides that, we’re in a failing Super Rugby system.
“So as much as we can look at the coaches and go, ‘yeah, let’s change that’, it’s the players that are out there that haven’t got the time in the saddle to be consistent.
“I look at this side – and I don’t like to use this word lightly – as a bunch of kids playing against men and we took our men out of this campaign and said, let’s put more kids in and let’s let them learn from this and they’ll get better from it.
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“Sadly, they might not get better. I lost a quarter-final. That’s all I’m carrying. I’m scarred from losing a quarter-final. I was 26. I thought I’d get another crack. I didn’t. Some of these guys may not recover from this.”
Hoiles, now a successful coach who guided Randwick to a drought-breaking first Sydney club rugby premiership this year since 2004, says Rugby Australia has only itself to blame.
“I say it on TV, getting paid from TV – broadcast wants more games and more products and more teams – but more teams makes us unsuccessful and it hasn’t helped for a long time.
“I played at the Brumbies, I played at the Waratahs. If it meant getting rid of one of them to make Australian rugby better, I’d be all for it because we don’t have the depth and talent to play this many players at a professional level,” he said.
“All the Super teams are doing at the moment are signing foreign players, so every side’s got five to six foreigners. Club footy’s thriving, school footy’s thriving.
“When I was over there last week, world rugby’s pumping. It is a very healthy game at a global level. We’re just not successful at state and national level at the moment.”
Cutting 2 Aussie teams seems like a necessary short term step. RA has pumped a disproportionate amount of resources into elite men's rugby at the expense of creating the next generation of players. NZ is in a similar boat at the moment.
The goal should be to have Oz super rugby teams that are competitive - that could win SR. One way to improve the team quality is to cut the number - but this is short sighted as it limits possibilities for Aussie players and in any case cutting a team is hard - wherever it is cut will be lost to Australian rugby for a generation. So the existing teams need to be improved. How? Why not via foreign players? Target a small number of test or near test quality SA/NH players in key positions, pay them very well, and use them to boost the weakest 2-3 Oz teams. This has to be targeted and coordinated by the ARU - you don’t want 4 of 5 teams for example with a foreign player in the same position. The standard increases, competition for places increases, SR improves. Win for everyone. Since it is a benefit for SR and SH rugby as a whole, use some of the NZ broadcasting money that Hamish keeps whining about instead of just giving it to him? The old solutions won’t cut it - and SH rugby needs a strong Australia. So let’s try something different.
A larger pool of players means top players are diluted. I am really sad for the demise of Australian rugby, I have hgad some really good friends who played for the Wallabies like the recently deceased Mike Jenkins. But the sport in Australia is just not attracting enough players to justify five franchises. South Africa only have four and have something like 50 times more schoolboy rugby players coming through. We have a 24/7 dedicated schoolboy rugby TV station. The answer is not a bigger pool including many players who are really not uop to standard, but a really competitive lower grade competition which is properly financed gets youngsters TV exposure and creates a feeder poop where the very best progress to Super Rugby. Consider the South African Varsity Cup - just go and have a look. It has spawned at least half the current Bok squad in France. It is innovating - like a seven point try if the movement starts inside you own half - the 50/25 rule was tested there. Surely there must be some way Australia can do something like the Varsity Cup even at club level?
When you have more teams you have a larger pool to choose from.
Players train in teams and their performance is judged then they are selected into the national team.
There are 5 teams in super rugby right now meaning 75 players in the main roster to select from, If you have 3 teams you have to select from 45 players for the Aus team????
If you are really that smart, why don't you just use 1 team in Super Rugby and the same
as the Australian Team!
Where would you select from ???
Aussie rugby union has a grass roots problem, kids not playing this game they prefer League
Each team probably contracts 35 - 40 players, not just their starting XV. It would need to be part of a wider long terms plan to move funding from elite mens to grass roots and U20s.
Choaches will always be the Good, Bad and ugly to the public. I have seen lazy players in world rugby that are there for the money. So step up players and be accountable to your country and not take a step back.
Australia , NZ needs you as much as you need us. We all would have to be blind if we did not see this coming, look at our Super Comp, its boring nothing has changed in a decade. When the ABs lost to Ireland and Argentina boy did we feel the pain just like your
side is doing now. A solution may be to follow league and allow players to make themselves available to play for any Super franchise, same with coaches. Just a final word we are ANZACs
I don't support it, if you're a young athlete in Australia trying to make a career out of it are you going to pursue Union with 4 teams or League with 16? Reducing the number of professional Rugby players in Australia isn't going to improve the Wallabies, what they need is a competition below Super Rugby.
I think what Hoiles is trying to say is that Oz rugby has a limited talent pool at the moment & this is spread over too many teams. In order to make up the numbers, overseas players are brought in & that doesn't help the local game at all.
legend hoiles. putting himself on the line. cut 2 teams.
I love it Eddie is a bust you need some experience in any RWC team. Having Hooper and Copper out of line up with such a young team was dumb. Eddie lied about interviewing with Japan and anyway why would Japan want him after seeing what hes done with Wallabies. Im kiwi i say stick with Rugby League at least you can cheat and use the refs to win for you.
All Blacks have had some loses lately but we can come back. World rugby overseas is getting better Nz is always a traget because weve always been consistantly good.
Cheers