Official Alan Jones thread

[.X.]

Petty about what?

I would call it Childish.

It is possible to not like someone, we are all aware of how you feel about this guy. WE all feel the same way.

Petty and childish name calling is not necessary or required. You are smarter than that.

[BLR]

Petty about what? The man is a toxic parasite it will be continued to be used until he is either locked up or leaves the stinking shit sorry ship at Moore Park.

That's cool, but it is a silly nickname. It takes all credibility out of a reasonable argument when you're using such jibes.

It's a rubbish nickname that will mean naught to Clyne and takes power out of your argument.

[Bakkies]

So what do we call him then? There are far more nastier words you could use to call him. Despite his position he doesn't behave like an individual who deserves to be called 'Sir.'

[Bakkies]

That's cool, but it is a silly nickname. It takes all credibility out of a reasonable argument when you're using such jibes.

It's a rubbish nickname that will mean naught to Clyne and takes power out of your argument.

He doesn't care about what the fans think anyway, regardless.

[sittingbison]

Maybe never refer to his name...just call him the Chairman of a the dysfunctional board. Anonymity is anathema to these huge egos

[GIGS20]

Despite his position he doesn't behave like an individual who deserves to be called 'Sir.'

I know from experience that there are a million ways use the word "sir" and at least 50% of them are insulting.

[sittingbison]

90%

[UAUdiver1959]

Maybe never refer to his name...just call him the Chairman of a the dysfunctional board. Anonymity is anathema to these huge egos

It worked for Harry Potter at Hogsworts (RA HQ). Lord Voldamort (Clyne). He who cannot be named.

[Bakkies]

Why trans-Tasman rugby is the answer
ALAN JONES
RADIO BROADCASTER

4 MINUTES AGO AUGUST 3, 2018
NO COMMENTS
Well, the Super Rugby benefit for New Zealand and South Africa continues this weekend, with a money-making final between teams from those two countries.

If Australia had any ticker at all, they’d face reality and say the Super Rugby model is unaffordable and is doing nothing for Australian rugby.

And as I’ve said many times, South African, New Zealand, Argentinian and Japanese rugby are not our concern.

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We have to answer one simple question: what format best suits Australian rugby so that it can regain its pre-eminence on the world stage?

The answer to that is trans-Tasman rugby. The costs alone of Super Rugby are unaffordable and there has been a woeful return on money spent.

We’d be better off cutting ties with South Africa to play in an ANZAC Super Rugby competition. The time zone difference and the cost of long-haul international flights make playing against South African provinces completely unaffordable.

You would have a 12-team competition. To dilute the dominance of the New Zealand teams, the Kiwis would be expected to field seven teams and we would field five.

It would see the Western Force reintroduced into Super Rugby. The Kiwis would introduce two additional teams.

Can someone on the board of Rugby Australia tell me what’s wrong with that?

And then Australian rugby has got to change the way it is playing the game. We can no longer win major contests with this pick and drive business, where every person who receives the ball runs as far as he can with it and goes to the ground.

It’s no use arguing that the Laws of the Game have changed in such a way that playing maul-ball over ruck-ball is difficult. When was it ever easy?

That’s the coaching challenge.

The role of forwards is simple. Don’t tell me it is to win ball — you shouldn’t be there if you can’t do that.

The role of forwards is to get opposition forwards out of the backline so that the likes of Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau and similarly gifted athletes can be running into space.

In truth, who would know? Few can watch. They can’t afford pay TV.

How can you grow a game if people can’t see it?

The first role of Rugby Australia should be to get our game on to free-to-air television.

I regard building the rugby edifice as no different from building a house. If in building the house you spend your money on the roof and nothing on the floor, then the house will collapse.

Our floor is grassroots rugby and schoolboy rugby. AFL spends $253 million a year on grassroots football, 70 times what rugby spends. Perhaps that explains why the AFL has 1.5 million participants, six times that of rugby.

The schoolboys rugby track record over the past 10 years highlights the need for change.

In this time, the Australian Schoolboys’ winning percentage versus New Zealand and England is 15 per cent.

The people in charge are not assets to schoolboy rugby, they are hindrances to success and the development of our next generation of Wallabies.

Rugby Australia needs to cut ties with the Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union and form the Australian Under 18s so that we can get some proper player development happening with competent coaches, minus the political selections and the Bob Wallace Old Boys’ Club.

Moving from that level, then, to the club level. I went to see Souths versus University in Queensland last weekend.

The community response is fantastic. Club rugby is doing it on the smell of an oily rag. Not a cent from Rugby Australia. There was a wonderful crowd and some very good football.

In NSW, Nick Fordham has done a magnificent job in getting club rugby on to free-to-air TV. Thanks also to Channel 7.

The response has been extraordinary. Massive crowds at club rugby. But not one skerrick of support from the administration of the game.

I spoke at a fundraiser in Brisbane last week for Easts Rugby. They are trying to improve facilities and build new infrastructure. Not a cent of support coming from the parent body.

A former senior rugby executive attended the annual Easts rugby lunch at Woollahra in Sydney last Friday. Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle was a guest.

My correspondent said: “In the Q&A, Raelene ducked and weaved with meaningless motherhood statements. The audience was underwhelmed. Who could blame them?”

Easts president John Murray, in his opening comments, observed that six years ago, 2012, each Shute Shield club received $120,000 from the ARU.

That funding evaporated shortly thereafter and now Easts pay $36,000 back to Rugby Australia, which represents the money the club has raised from junior registration fees.

That’s a $156,000 turnaround and a massive burden for clubland to bear.

And as for the argument that Rugby Australia does not retain any of the registration fees paid by players, which in itself is a confession of an impoverished body politic, a young bloke at the Easts Rugby Club in Brisbane came up to me and showed me his receipt for a payment of $290.46.

And among the destinations for his money, it said “Rugby Australia (Senior) — $65.00”.

So much for the denial by Rugby Australia chairman Cameron Clyne that “Rugby Australia does not retain any of this fee for the national body”.

Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

And for those among the Rugby Australia board who want to wax on about a “Rugby sevens-led revival”, well good luck.

In the recent Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, our men’s team came 10th and the women third. The men’s result is the all-time worst.

If the Rugby Australia board is to change, the only instruments capable of securing that change are Queensland Rugby and NSW Rugby. They have the votes.

Why aren’t they being pressured to get rid of this board and start again?

I wonder if New Zealand would allow any provincial side to be entirely run by Australians?

Yet in NSW, Daryl Gibson, the coach, and his best mate, Andrew Hore, the CEO, are both New Zealanders, in control of the country’s biggest province.

I see both are calling for a return to a two-round Super Rugby competition, which would see teams play a home-and-away, traditional round robin format.

It’s interesting that these same comments were also being made by the New Zealand captain, Kieran Read, a few weeks ago.

On the surface, this makes sense. But the big issue with our game is money. More overseas matches will increase costs and our game is broke.

Clyne’s response is to flap around like Malcolm Turnbull at a by-election, trying to get his lame duck CEO out among the masses at club rugby lunches.

Having spoken at a couple of them myself in Brisbane at the weekend, I can tell you the grassroots are already fed up with *Castle.

You might recall she recently claimed Folau’s early-season tweeting was the most difficult thing she’d ever had to deal with.

On top of that, she’s recently tried to weigh in to the debate over Folau and aerial contests, which involves the Laws of the Game and their interpretation by match officials.

Now, this is clearly outside her area of expertise.

I’m not sure the World Rugby referees boss, Alain Rolland, is going to listen to the moans of someone with absolutely no knowledge of the Laws of the Game and the process by which they are regularly reviewed.

Castle was completely out of her depth talking about the incident, when she said: “The analogy I use is of a cat … if you throw a cat in the air, it works really hard to find its feel and so do players.”

Now, for the record, the World Rugby Law 9.17 states: “A player must not charge, pull or grasp an opponent whose feet are off the ground.”

It makes no reference to “cats”.

But why on earth was Castle commenting on something she knew nothing about?

In the first place, she’s publicly questioning the decision of the authorities and that’s not a great example.

Secondly, she’s got no rugby expertise and should leave all this to someone else.

Hopefully, she won’t be bothering Michael Cheika with her selection tips or her kick-chase tactics any time soon!!

A word of advice to Clyne: You’ve been there long enough, start planning your exit strategy. Your leadership has been spineless from day one.

Given the choice, we’d all take Andrew Forrest over you as chairman of Rugby Australia.

At least he cares about our game enough to put his money where his mouth is. Where is your $50 million or your leadership?

It’s time to fall on your sword so we can start rebuilding our game from the top down.

The really bad news?

The administration of the game is not as bad as I have portrayed. It is infinitely worse.

Alan Jones is a former coach of the Wallabies and hosts The Alan Jones Breakfast Show on 2GB.

[valzc]

Still pushing the Western Force back into Super Rugby- don’t think the Force fans are interested in rejoining that car crash.

[Alison]

Still pushing the Western Force back into Super Rugby- don’t think the Force fans are interested in rejoining that car crash.

Nope!

A trans-Tasman competition is never going to happen anyway as NZ have already very clearly stated that Australia isn’t a good enough opponent for them and would drag NZ rugby down to our dismal Super Rugby level.

And Alan is absolutely right that nothing is going to change at ARU board level unless the QRU and NSWRU have the balls to get rid of the current cohort. I was hoping that the blatant branch stacking going on in Victoria might spur Qld and NSW into action. The fact that it hasn’t suggests to me that they are each getting other trade offs to compensate and keep them quiet.

Bring on World Series Rugby so WA can finally put the ARU in the rear view mirror and accelerate away.

[Sheikh]

Easts president John Murray, in his opening comments, observed that six years ago, 2012, each Shute Shield club received $120,000 from the ARU.

How much did Rugby WA get to run entire state rugby competition in 2012? IIRC, they got ~$200,000 in 2015 and ~$180,000 in 2014. So Rugby WA ran the 3rd largest amateur competition on only ~50% more than a Shute Shield club was getting?

[Joey]

Nope!

A trans-Tasman competition is never going to happen anyway as NZ have already very clearly stated that Australia isn’t a good enough opponent for them and would drag NZ rugby down to our dismal Super Rugby level.

And Alan is absolutely right that nothing is going to change at ARU board level unless the QRU and NSWRU have the balls to get rid of the current cohort. I was hoping that the blatant branch stacking going on in Victoria might spur Qld and NSW into action. The fact that it hasn’t suggests to me that they are each getting other trade offs to compensate and keep them quiet.

Bring on World Series Rugby so WA can finally put the ARU in the rear view mirror and accelerate away.

Not sure if this is the right thread, but your post reminded me of something I have been wondering about: Since the state unions get a vote each and the SR franchises get a vote each and WF lost their vote due to the (infamous) Alliance Agreement, and now, the WF is back, not part of SR, but part of WSR, will they get their vote back now?

[Alison]

Not sure if this is the right thread, but your post reminded me of something I have been wondering about: Since the state unions get a vote each and the SR franchises get a vote each and WF lost their vote due to the (infamous) Alliance Agreement, and now, the WF is back, not part of SR, but part of WSR, will they get their vote back now?

No. Only the Super Rugby franchises get a vote. As WSR isn’t part of Super Rugby we will still only have the one vote. And I can’t see that changing any time soon.

[Alison]

How much did Rugby WA get to run entire state rugby competition in 2012? IIRC, they got ~$200,000 in 2015 and ~$180,000 in 2014. So Rugby WA ran the 3rd largest amateur competition on only ~50% more than a Shute Shield club was getting?

Exactly right!