Giteau, Mitchell impress Wallabies coach

[Alison]

This is all getting ridiculous. Soon there will be so many exemptions that there will be no policy left at all. Why don't they just scrap the whole overseas ban and just let players play in whatever country they want and be done with it.

[jargan83]

This is all getting ridiculous. Soon there will be so many exemptions that there will be no policy left at all. Why don't they just scrap the whole overseas ban and just let players play in whatever country they want and be done with it.

As I've predicted in the past it will get to that stage and Super Rugby will just be a feeder completion similar to the A-League.

[hertryk]

Different rules for different players and what colour they play in..makes me want to vomit...

[jono]

Along with Douglas, don't forget mumm is eligible for a call up.

[The InnFORCEr]

Along with Douglas, don't forget mumm is eligible for a call up.

Of course, Dad said so

[The InnFORCEr]

Kane Douglas in tug-of-war ahead of Rugby World Cup

Date July 7, 2015 - 2:36PM
Georgina Robinson
Chief Rugby Reporter


The Australian Rugby Union is facing some tough decisions over the future of second-rower Kane Douglas, who is caught in a tug-of-war between the Wallabies and Irish club Leinster ahead of the World Cup.

Do they pay an estimated $370,000 to release him from his current deal so he can sign with the Queensland Reds or once again bend their own eligibility rules to make room for the Super Rugby title-winning forward?

Neither path will be easy to justify, with flow-on effects the ARU will be keen to avoid.

Douglas is playing in Dublin on a multi-year deal with the three-time European Cup winners after departing the Waratahs after their Super Rugby title win last year. As a favourite of former NSW and now-Wallabies coach Michael Cheika and a player in a position of limited depth in the Wallabies, the 26-year-old has long been the subject of speculation he could exit Leinster early and return home ahead of the World Cup.

The catch? With just 14-Test caps under his belt, Douglas cannot be brought home under 'Giteau's Law', the new ARU rule that allows a Wallabies coach to draft in overseas-based players with 60 or more Test caps and seven years of service in Australia.

Douglas would have to sign with an Australian province, as fellow second rower Dean Mumm has done with NSW, and leave Leinster halfway through his contract. While the Waratahs are also interested in repatriating their former second-rower, it is understood Douglas would almost certainly favour a move to Ballymore for family reasons.

Cheika was coy about the matter inside Wallabies camp on the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday, saying only that he was "hearing noise he [Douglas] wants to come home". But a statement overnight from Leinster shed more light on the situation, and the ARU's plan.

"Leinster Rugby have this afternoon confirmed that they have received a request from the Australian Rugby Union to release Kane Douglas under World Rugby Regulation 9," a statement on the club's website read.

"Leinster Rugby Team Manager Guy Easterby confirmed that a formal request had been received last Friday afternoon. 'We are delighted for Kane and wish him well as he seeks the form and fitness required for selection for the Rugby Championship and, of course, the Rugby World Cup after that'."

World Rugby's Regulation 9 allows countries to access overseas-based players in designated Test windows. But the ARU is still facing a dilemma over how they make a move home work under their own eligibility rules, which preclude them from bringing him home on a short-term basis.

Could yet another rule tweak be in the works?

It is either that or the ARU and the Reds are seriously considering paying out the release fee being demanded by Leinster.

Fairfax Media understands the figure is close to $370,000 (€250,000), which is more than the estimated $221,000 (€150,000) asking price to release Quade Cooper from his deal with Toulon.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/ru...07-gi6tt5.html

[Herbasimplex]

The rules are a dog's breakfast of course. European clubs should sign up every Wallaby they can on the premise that the ARU will pay a small fortune to release them from contracts if their mum told them to get home. Great way to fill their coffers

[The InnFORCEr]

So the Tahs get only fraction of Mummies and Izzy's salary included in their cap and the Reds just a fraction of KHunts and potentially Kanes, absolutely stinks to me.

1. Izzy has played for the Wallabies since day dot and should no longer be considered a convert, that was years ago now, needs to be 12 month limit on that new rule. A covert is somebody "learning" to play rugby not the first picked in gold. Eligibility to apply the rule should also expire once good enough to play in gold!

2. KHunt is disgrace no matter which way you look at it.

[Alison]

Bit of a tangent but contract-related - I see that Genia is trying to extricate himself from his agreement to move to Stade next season and has called on the ARU to help him.

What is it with that guy and reneging on done deals? Force, Bath and now Stade. Needs to grow the hell up!

[yungfen]

Bit of a tangent but contract-related - I see that Genia is trying to extricate himself from his agreement to move to Stade next season and has called on the ARU to help him.

What is it with that guy and reneging on done deals? Force, Bath and now Stade. Needs to grow the hell up!

Unbelievable..... what an idiot.... tells you a lot about the person

[hertryk]

Unbelievable..... what an idiot.... tells you a lot about the person

He obviously thinks he's worth more than he actually is, and clubs should be really grateful to get him..what a little S**t!

[The InnFORCEr]

Bit of a tangent but contract-related - I see that Genia is trying to extricate himself from his agreement to move to Stade next season and has called on the ARU to help him.

What is it with that guy and reneging on done deals? Force, Bath and now Stade. Needs to grow the hell up!

Will Genia and ARU in talks over rethink on Stade Francais deal

Date July 7, 2015 - 11:56PM
Georgina Robinson
Chief Rugby Reporter


The Australian Rugby Union would have to pay $370,000 to buy second-rower Kane Douglas out of his contract with Leinster, and it has emerged that Will Genia is having second thoughts about his move to France.

Fairfax Media understands that as recently as two weeks ago Genia spoke to the ARU about reneging on a three-year deal with Stade Francais in order to stay in Australia beyond this year's World Cup. It comes after the Top 14 club paid a release fee to English club Bath to buy the Queensland halfback's services.

Talks are understood to have stalled after it became clear the move would be difficult, given Genia's commitment to the Top 14 club and the cost of releasing him from a lucrative contract. It is understood Genia is now committed to making his move to Paris later this year.

The 58-Test halfback has been open about having second thoughts about his decision, telling Fairfax Media last month that pep talks with Test teammate Matt Giteau eased many of his fears.

"I just spoke to him last week and said 'I'm starting to get really sad, it's coming to an end, I'm sometimes questioning the decision I've made because I love Queensland and the Wallabies so much," Genia said in June.

"He was great, he just said 'that's normal to feel that way, you've been lucky enough to do a lot in your career and now you can come over here and test yourself again, try to win something new and do something different'.

"That really helped, it was great to hear that from him."

Meanwhile, a fairytale World Cup homecoming for former Wallaby and NSW second-rower Douglas has been revealed to carry an estimated price tag of $370,000.

Douglas is in the middle of a multi-year deal with the three-time European Cup winners and does not meet the 60-Test threshold to be brought home temporarily to bolster Australia's World Cup stocks.

That leaves the ARU with two options; either bend their own eligibility rules to make room for the Super Rugby title-winning forward, or pay Leinster their asking price of $370,000 to release him from his contract and allow him to sign with an Australian side.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika was coy about the matter on Tuesday but the ARU is clearly considering one or both options, after Leinster confirmed they had received a written request last week to release Douglas under World Rugby Regulation 9, which allows countries to access overseas-based players in designated Test windows.

The Queensland Reds are understood to be the 26-year-old's preferred destination for family reasons, but after the ARU made it clear it was not prepared to pay the estimated $221,000 asking price to release Quade Cooper from his deal with Toulon, it is not clear how they would justify the fee for Douglas, let alone Genia.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...kin=dumb-phone

[Herbasimplex]

Will Genia and ARU in talks over rethink on Stade Francais deal

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...kin=dumb-phone

That Reds song must be particularly alluring - like the Sirens song. Once heard it's hard to escape its embrace.

[GIGS20]

Reds obviously pulled out of the Cooper deal to chase one they needed much more. The ARU would have trouble justifying a half million dollars just to buy Queensland the right to negotiate with the boys, but 300k for one seems to be ok

[jono]

Along with Douglas, don't forget mumm is eligible for a call up.

Mumm included into the squad to go to Argentina