Blunder offsets Turinui signing
Blunder offsets Turinui signing
By Jim Tucker
July 13, 2007
QUEENSLAND Reds has captured former Australia player Morgan Turinui but has blundered by leaving no squad spots open for high achievers from the new national competition.
The galling prospect now looms that the best uncontracted performers for the East Coast Aces and Ballymore Tornadoes in the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship will be cherry-picked by rival Super 14 sides.
It's an astonishing situation when the Reds so regularly cry foul over the poaching of Queensland-bred talent.
Now, by their own hand, the Reds are giving no incentive to aspiring local players.
It contrasts sharply with the stance of New South Wales Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie, who revealed yesterday he has held back three contracts to zero in on ARC talent from any state.
"We've kept three positions open to give some purpose to the ARC, which has always been the intention of the competition," McKenzie said.
ACT Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher also indicated he had held back contracts so he could scrutinise the emerging stars in the eight-round competition which kicks off next month.
The Reds filled their 33-man playing roster for 2008 when centre Turinui agreed to a one-year deal yesterday.
One spin-off from the Reds' serially unstable coaching landscape is that players rated by one coach but not by his successor remain to clog up roster spots.
Queensland Rugby Union chief executive Ken Freer admitted yesterday that filling the Reds' player list before the ARC kick-off was not ideal.
"The Reds already have a really young player base so we've been wanting experience through the likes of Turinui and Van Humphries," Freer said.
"The ARC is still very important for exposing talent and rolling forward six months we'll definitely be in contracting mode for some of the standouts."
Turinui was named yesterday in the Sydney Fleet squad for the ARC but Mooney wants to overturn the link so the former Wallaby vice-captain can get an early start in Queensland.
"It makes sense to me that Morgan join one of the two ARC sides in Queensland so he becomes familiar with some of the backline players at the Reds before next season," Mooney said.
The Aces squad, to be coached by former All Black John Boe, was named yesterday.
Flyhalf Quade Cooper, centre Lloyd Johansson, full back Andrew Walker, halfback Nic Berry and winger Caleb Brown are the most prominent Reds in the squad, which draws from the Gold Coast, Sunnybank, Souths and Easts clubs.
Wallabies Rodney Blake, Greg Holmes and fullback Chris Latham, who are all on the comeback trail after long-term injuries, will also play for the Aces in the ARC to build match fitness.
The Aces will open at Carrara on August 12 with an appealing local derby against the Tornadoes.
Waratahs to use ARC as audition for Super 14 spots
Greg Growden
Friday, July 13, 2007
THE Waratahs have dangled a carrot in front of Australian Rugby Championship players by leaving open three spots in next year's Super 14 squad in the hope that new, vibrant talent emerges during the tournament.
On the same day, the NSW Rugby Union released the squads for the three Sydney teams - Central Coast Rays, Sydney Fleet and Western Sydney Rams - the Waratahs said that they were far from finalising who would appear in next year's Super 14.
The hope is that the talent which can push the Waratahs back up the Super 14 ladder emerges during the ARC, to be played between August 10 and October 14. NSWRU chief executive Fraser Neill said yesterday that the Waratahs were able to boast a 33-man squad in 2008, and so far 30 players had been locked in.
"Traditionally we have looked to have our squad tied up by now, and probably have one spot open for someone who may impress on the end of the season tour of Argentina or Eastern Europe," Neill said yesterday. "All of the teams involved in the ARC have agreed to keep one rookie spot open, which hopefully will help us as well.
"We can keep Super 14 squad spots open indefinitely. It's more a maximum of what you can have, rather than a minimum. And we have spots open for both forwards and backs."
Neill said the Waratahs were focused on recruiting from the rugby ranks, after securing Parramatta league utility Timana Tahu.
"We would never count anyone out, but there is no one in league we are currently directly talking to," Neill said. "The league interest has died off a bit, and league players are probably at the moment looking more for overseas opportunities. We are keeping our eyes open throughout club rugby, interstate and league. We want to get the best possible players."
Although many Wallabies were not named in yesterday's ARC line-ups, it will not stop teams from using Test players if the Australian selectors decide that they need game time before the World Cup in September-October.
