This crisis in Australian rugby is a once-in-a-generation opportunity
Interesting article by Paul Cully... Some good points made.
The proposed national coaching summit has some merit but a lot of time and effort can be saved if the participants can answer a simple question before they turn up.
"Do you want to be part of a centralised system under which the Wallabies jersey ultimately takes priority?"
Australia has danced around this question for too long and it's high time to be blunt about it.
If the answer is yes, then great: the discussion can proceed to what that central structure would look like and what sort of rugby do you want Australian teams playing in five years – really digging into the detail such as the physical and tactical requirements for each position on the paddock, talent identification, the hiring of coaches with the same philosophy and so forth.
There are three things here:
First, support for centralisation doesn't imply unconditional support for the ARU as it is. There may have to be changes there – in terms of personnel and approach. Indeed having all the answers is not something the ARU has even pretended to have.
Second, centralisation does not mean a loss of identity at state level and it's impossible to emphasise this enough.
Third, a form of centralisation is already quietly working.
It hasn't been shouted from the rooftops but one of the reasons Dave Wessels got the Force job is because the ARU had a voice in the appointment.
Before the Wessels appointment the Force's track record of appointing coaches was questionable, but the arrival of Wessels as a young coach who has initiated a process of genuine change in the west has been one of the few highlights of the season.
That's a significant tick for the centralisation of coaching appointments. And look at the broader potential here. You get a young coach with talent like Wessels into the system and replicate the success of that appointment across the four (or five) franchises, all working under the same system, with access to mentoring higher up the chain, and you can see the potential for real improvement in Super Rugby and the Wallabies.
Incidentally, that does not mean Nick Stiles and Daryl Gibson are to be jettisoned. In fact, the opposite. Both of those guys are terrifically honest young coaches with a lot of potential but the beauty of having coaching nationwide under one umbrella is that you can put support in around those guys. It's not a one-man gig these days.
Who does Gibson have to lean on? He looks like the world's loneliest man in that Waratahs coaching box yet there are grandees who want to assist and other sharp minds wasted in commentary duties.
Of course, being Australia, there will be resistance. And there's probably some historical justification for that. Why should the Reds take counsel from the Wallabies when their coach's lack of appreciation for Liam Gill encouraged him to go to France?
I can appreciate that but this situation cannot go on. Last week the Reds almost conceded 50 to a spluttering Chiefs side without their best No.10 and it would have been worse had Scott Higginbotham not displayed an immense amount of personal pride.
This is a crisis and it requires a seismic shift in the way Australia does things. In fact, this 0-17 scoreline against the New Zealand sides this year is the mandate to push through meaningful change in the way the game is run.
It is time to take sides at last in the centralisation debate. Are you on board, or not?
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...11-gw2ed0.html
