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WORLD Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer is urging ARU chief Bill Pulver and his board to resign as Australian rugby fans endure the gloomiest start to a season in the professional era.
Dwyer says he can’t imagine what Wallabies coach Michael Cheika must be thinking after 11 losses from as many games for Australia’s Super Rugby teams against New Zealand opposition in 2017.
But that’s merely his concerns at the elite level, with Dwyer disillusioned by declining player numbers across the country and a “total lack of leadership in the game.”
“The board and Bill need to resign,” Dwyer told AAP on Thursday.
“The game is not only the Wallabies, the game is not only Super Rugby. The game is all those who play and support the game.
“After all, the people who play and support the game are the ones who fund the game.
“They’re the people we have to satisfy.”
Dwyer believed much of the Australian rugby community agreed with him.
“If you go to all those people, you go to all those junior clubs, all the country clubs, all the district clubs in Sydney and Brisbane and Melbourne and ask them what they think about the leadership of the game, I guarantee you, if we get a Morgan Gallop poll on this, you’ll get five per cent support for the leadership,” he said.
“It’s got to the stage where people are just sick of talking about it.”
Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer discussing rugby’s future.
Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer discussing rugby’s future.Source:News Limited
Continuing his attack on the game’s governing body, Dwyer questioned the ARU’s “ludicrous” response to a recent Roy Morgan poll that claimed only 55,000 men, women, and children were now playing rugby while participation levels in other football codes rose.
“There’s 55,000 registered players in Australia now, which is probably about the same as there are in Auckland,” he said.
“A (ARU) spokesman says ‘no, no, that figure is inaccurate, we have 171 thousand-odd people who participated in five rugby experiences or more during the year.’ What sort of comment is that?” he said.
“It’s not only an answer that’s not an answer, it’s an answer that makes people think 55,000 registered players is probably right.”
Dwyer was concerned by the performances and preparation of the Australian Super Rugby teams and said Cheika would probably need a month-long camp to get his Wallabies squad up to speed for the international season.
However, he believed Australia could sustain five teams in Super Rugby.
To do so, the 1991 World Cup-winning mentor said the ARU needed to invest more on coaching education, as it did in the late 1970s when a host of former internationals learnt their trade under the direction of the legendary Dick Marks.
“It worked like a charm,” Dwyer said.
“That group brought through an era for Australian rugby that had us at or near the top for a long time.
“Not only at the top in terms of results, but in terms of performance and innovation.
“Now, most of the coaches that come through and indeed most of the coaches that come through at the highest level, have been guys that have left Australia and coached overseas and come back.
“If we take Michael Cheika, Daryl Gibson, Ewen McKenzie, Jim McKay, who was with Ewen, Tony McGahan, Morgan Turinui, Dave Wessels over in Perth, Shaun Berne over in Perth, all these guys have not been part of the coaching development program in Australia.
“I mean, our new Wallabies skills coach (Mick Byrne) was the All Blacks skills coach for I don’t know how many years — and he’s an Aussie.
“Now I look at New Zealand teams and think they play how we used to play.
“And we play the way they used to play.”
http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/w...6a82a01ffc2fd5
I have two comments for Mr Dwyer (with the greatest of respect, because he really was a great coach)
First, this comment wouldn't quite look like he thinks the world ends at the blue mountains if he mentioned WA or the ACT. but really he's just letting his Papworth show by saying it.
The people who point back to the unbeatable teams of Australia's past seem to forget that they were JAM PACKED with individually brilliant players who were lazy bastards when it came to training. That won't cut it these days, firstly we don't have anybody who is as naturally gifted as an Ella, secondly, today, the Ella's would be getting their asses handed to them by boys who aren't as gifted, but ar fitter, stronger and have been taught how to play the game (structured or not)
Anybody who is looking back to the glory days of Wallabies domination under two strong teams in Qld and NSW is completely ignoring the very real fact that the REST OF THE WORLD! has developed in response to the lessons they learned off the Aussies, Interestingly, the only country that hasn't learned lessons from us is us!
And we're trying to make sure that our rugby structure goes back to the 80s...it just doesn't make sense to me.
C'mon the![]()
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Isn't it interesting how the rhetoric has changed from "Bone the Force" to "Oz can support 5 teams". Dwyer, Kearns, Horan.......the list goes on. Fair dinkum! What did these Bozos base their original opinions on? Maybe they had a few brainstorming sessions in the Members bar at Randwick. Only after the Spirit/Force have rubbed the bleeding obvious into their collective faces has the light bulb switched on. Let's pray the board have been gobsmacked as well before it's all too late. FFS!![]()
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
this has a lovely ring about it for a chant on Sunday
Nice work Exile. Going quite viral. Heard today that the SA Union met but Super Rugby was not on the agenda. Like you I don't expect the ARU will be able to enforce any decision soon. We are giving them so much to think about and the State Goverment is just getting started. In the meantime we get stronger through social media , hopefully Own the Force delivers and a good win on the weekend well attended would really help.
Would you like one saying bad call sanzaar or don't kill our force?
Im also feeling like #rugbywasteland is appropriate.
C'mon the![]()
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Apparently the ARU will announce tomorrow:
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/04...y-announcementthe ARU is believed to announce a forthcoming process to determine which team deserves to be cut.
What happens if Reds finish bottom.
To be honest Gigs and everyone. I plan to go to every game i can, support our boys, be loud and then after the season be shitty and miserable and spit it everyrime i hear about the wallabies coz i was gonna go to Japan 2019. Sorry but no Force = no world cup.
The pride i had pointing out Force players in gold...
i believe bill pulver's email is mailto: Bill.Pulver@rugby.com.au
one final push directly to him everyone?
According to Mr Pulver's Eastern States Rugby Union, it wil be the Western Force's fault because we diluted the rugby gene pool.
Irrespective of all the sh!t which SANZAAR has poured on the Australian rugby community today and the sh!t which the Eastern States R.U. will pour on the Western Force membership over the next few weeks, I still feel on a high after this afternoon's game. Being able to be at that kind of game is why I pay $500 per year per seat.