Foreign Coach, foreign players...

[Darren]

There seems to be a majority view that we should welcome a foreign coach into ranks. It started with a Super 14 franchise coach - Mitchell, and looks likely to move onto Deans as the National coach.

The obvious next step in this opening up of our borders would be to allow foreign players...

Do you think this should be allowed? For that matter - on principal, do you think foreign coaches should be allowed?

[frontrow]

We have accepted foreign players into the Wallabies before, albeit now citizens, and this is how it should stay...Of course you are not going to play a foreign person in the national team, unless they are citizens...But super14 and coaching ranks are open slather, in my view...Super14 may attract more viewers if open to international players, but that said, it may de-value the super14 spectacle from the current three nations supporters...
This is a really good brain strainer coach, lots of pro's and con's...

Other than international teams being left alone, everything else should be open to debate...

[GIGS20]

Nope, I think the current rules for player eligibility to the Super 14 and Wallabies is what protects our elite rugby competition from becoming what the European league has become. I would suggest that there is a strong case for opening the borders of the super 14 to allow a place for foreign players, but it cannot be done at the expense of the ability to grow a strong national team.

How about expanding the S14 to include a 'Barbarians' club which operates from an Australian stadium, but isn't an Australian team, but a PI/Argentine/anybody else who would like a game and is good enough. It would possibly solve one of the issues with PI/Argentine player availability. and an Aussie home ground would help for transport. Maybe the other unions could fund it to be based in Melbourne, thus allowing them to have an exposure to decent Rugby without exposing the ARU to major financial risk

Left field I know, but......

[jazza93]

Coaches should be allowed to coach in any country but the players should have to stay in the country they represent.

The players will start moving to were the money is and it wont take long untill one country has all the players crowds and money.

[Flamethrower]

I don't have a problem with coaches, we already have a foreign coach.
The Wallabies players must stay as Australian citizens.
For Super 14 I'd like to see a quota of one or one and a half per team each season. If these players could only come from SH "minnows" then it would help bring up the level of these nations.

[James]

How about expanding the S14 to include a 'Barbarians' club which operates from an Australian stadium, but isn't an Australian team, but a PI/Argentine/anybody else who would like a game and is good enough. It would possibly solve one of the issues with PI/Argentine player availability. and an Aussie home ground would help for transport. Maybe the other unions could fund it to be based in Melbourne, thus allowing them to have an exposure to decent Rugby without exposing the ARU to major financial risk
Left field I know, but......

I really like that idea. Putting the Pacific Islanders, Argentina or Japan into the Super 14 any time soon would come with massive teething problems if there was a sort of a Barbarians club it could as you say be in Melbourne (potentially use some local Melbourne players) and be a stepping stone to a greater involvement from those Nations.

[Burgs]

I like the idea in principle however I think the players concerned would get better development by being spread out across at least the 9 Aus & NZ teams rather than pooled together.
Some area but a little removed, I don't think Victoria did themselves any favours this year in the ARC by not playing any local comp lads. I think there ended up being one in the Squad but I don't recall him playing.
Even though they have more Vic origin players in S14 the VRU still can't say "We had local players in the ARC" like RWA can.
I think it would have been smart Rugby politics to have at least picked one for the bench to hold up as a success story for further leverage for a Melbourne based Super Rugby team in the future.
Here's hoping it happens in ARC '08.
Back to the Barbarians, probably a stepping stone approach of now to the end of the Fox contract having a couple in each of the nine teams, then combine them for the following media contract.
You would assume the next period would be about five years, so either have a clause in there or at the end of that period introduce an actual Pacific Islands team, based on the 18 to 30 players having had experience over those years.
To make it work you would need to start by only having young development players so that they were still young enough to play in the PI team when it was formed.

[LarryNJ]

I don't mind foreign coaches or players but I'm drawing the line when it comes to foreign fans. We have to keep them out.

[KenyaQuin]

I don't mind foreign coaches or players but I'm drawing the line when it comes to foreign fans. We have to keep them out.

I agree LarryNJ..keep them folk out.