How Can The Wallabies Get Back On Track?

How Can The Wallabies Get Back On Track?
10:42, 24 Aug 2017

The Wallabies, beaten, battered and embarrassed, are preparing to face the All Blacks again this weekend.

On Saturday they were thrashed 54-34 in Sydney. It continued a long trend of Trans-Tasman losses to the Kiwis. They now head to Dunedin trying to pull off a massive form reversal. Their chance of success are small.

One reason for this is the fact that Australia is playing with one hand behind its back. The country may have five Super Rugby teams, well four with the recent axing of Western Force, but many of Australia’s best players are now playing overseas. So many are plying their trade in France and the UK, along with Japan. The money available in the northern hemisphere is massive, and the experience of playing in a different country and culture, becomes too irresistible a lure for many individuals.

 | Latest Rugby News | RUGBY.com.au
| Latest Rugby News | RUGBY.com.au

Take a look at England’s Premiership Rugby. The competition is growing, salaries are getting bigger, and Australian players are an attractive commodity. Already a stack of ex-Wallabies and Super Rugby players are members of the likes of clubs Bath, Sale and Leicester. Think of Ben Tapuai, Greg Holmes, Nic White, James Horwill, Matt Toomua, Jake Schatz, Rob Horne, James O’Connor, Kieran Longbottom and Will Skelton. Could some of these players make a difference to the current Australian side? Yes they could.

Then there’s France’s Top 14. It’s the richest rugby competition in the world. Tonnes of Aussies are involved there, like Leroy Houston, Alfie Mafi, Peter Bentham, Sitaleki Timani, Liam Gill, Mike Harris, Jesse Mogg and Ben Mowen. If available for selection, would some of these make the Wallaby squad for this Saturday? Yes they would.

The list goes on – in the Pro14 there’s Scott Fardy and in Japan’s Top League there is Matt Giteau, George Smith, Berrick Barnes, David Pocock and Digby Ioane. Outside of Super Rugby there is more than 40 Aussies playing for clubs and in competitions around the world. Some are past Wallaby greats, like Smith and Giteau, who are perhaps past their best. But others, like White, Gill and Ioane, sacrificed their international careers to head abroad.

It is Australian rugby’s rule is that if you play overseas, and have less than 60 Test caps, you can’t play for the Wallabies. It’s a law designed to ensure the best Australians stay at home and play for the Waratahs, Brumbies, Reds and Rebels. But the sad truth is that it’s no longer working. All of the best players are not in Super Rugby, not anymore. Super Rugby as a concept is struggling. The Premiership Rugby and Top 14 competitions are taking off and Super Rugby can’t compete in terms of pay packets anymore.

The carrot of Test football, of the international arena, of playing in World Cups, Rugby Championships and the Bledisloe Cup is no longer what it was to many.

So what can be done to improve the Wallabies? The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) needs to admit defeat and change its selection policies. It needs to pick the best 23 Australian players on the planet, regardless of where they play their club footy in Sydney or Sale, it doesn’t matter.

Can you image the Socceroos, Australia’s national football team, not picking Aaron Mooy, Mat Ryan or Tom Rogic for their next World Cup qualifier just because they weren’t based at home? No, because that would be complete lunacy. It would be cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Michael Cheika and his coaching staff need to be able to consider every Australian eligible for the Wallabies, not just those playing domestically. It would give them a chance of once again competing against the best in the world and regain some competition for places in the team. At the moment several players are almost guaranteed places in the Wallabies squad, regardless of their performances, because of a lack of genuine competition.

If the ARU continues to stick with its closed-minded selection policy then it can’t complain when more embarrassing results are racked up. The Wallabies are restricting themselves before they even take the field.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.