Venues for Australian National Competition Teams

[Burgs]

Venues Confirmed for NSW National Competition Teams

Wednesday, 8 November 2006
NSWRU Media Unit

Parramatta Stadium has won the right to host matches for the Western Sydney* team in the National Competition starting from 2007.

All three sides now have confirmed quality venues for the inaugural season.

“It was a real battle between Parramatta Stadium and the Sydney Showground at Homebush which indicates how important these teams will be to their regions,” said NSWRU Chief Executive Officer Fraser Neill.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome and extremely happy that we have our venues in place.”

Central Coast Stadium and North Sydney Oval are the other two venues.

“In a matter of weeks we’ll have the coaches in place as well, so we’re well on the way,” added Mr Neill.

* Sydney Central, West Sydney and Central Coast are working names only for the three NSW teams.

[Burgs]

Queensland's New Teams

Two teams from Queensland will play in the eight team competition, with each team to be aligned with existing clubs and regions.

The Brisbane River forms a geographical divide, with the Sunshine Coast Stingrays, Norths-QUT, Brothers, Wests, GPS and University supporting one team and Easts, Souths, Sunnybank, the Gold Coast Breakers and the Country Heelers the other.

The "northern" team will play its home games at Ballymore and the "southern" team on the Gold Coast. A draw is expected to be announced before the end of 2006.

Team names have yet to be decided. Do you have a suggestion? Why not share it with us?

Each team is overseen by a steering committee consisting of representatives from their associated clubs or regions, plus a QRU representative.

“North Team” Steering Committee
Sunshine Coast - Russell Sheil (Chairman)
Norths -QUT - Gary Hutchinson
Brothers - Denis Croft
GPS - Robin Thomson
Wests - Tony Hawkins
University - Ben Blake

“South Team” Steering Committee
Easts - Peter Murdoch (Chairman)
Souths - Peter Rodgers
Sunnybank - Gaven Head
Gold Coast - Warren Carey
Queensland Country - Peter Curtis

The coaching staff will consist of a professional from the Reds staff, plus specialists from the club ranks.

The two teams will also utilise professional support from the QRU in the areas of marketing, sponsorship etc.

The Australian Rugby Union issued a letter of invitation and Expression of Interest form for players who wished to be considered for inclusion in one or more of the eight professional teams taking part in the inaugural National Rugby Competition in 2007.

Because of the high level of the new competition, most players in the two Queensland teams are likely to be drawn mainly from current Reds players not involved with the Wallabies, the Reds Academy and elite level teams such as those playing in Queensland Premier Rugby and the Australian Rugby Shield.

However any suitably qualified player is free to nominate for one or more of the eight teams.

Non-contracted players will be paid for their involvement, but will be required to make a substantial commitment in time and effort for the duration of the competition. The Expression of Interest form outlines the commitment involved and the application process. Stage One of the EOI process has now closed.

[O'Regan]

They really need to hurry up, this competition will not be succesful, becasue i want this to be bigger than the A- League which im betting it won't be.

[Burgs]

University of Melbourne to be training home for new Vic rugby team

November 24, 2006 - 12:31pm
Story by: ARU/Other

The University of Melbourne will be the home training base and headquarters for the new Victoria Rugby Union (VRU) team in the expanded Australian Provincial Championship (APC) in 2007.

The new training base at the University was announced today by the VRU General Manager, Mr Ron Steiner, at the Weary Dunlop Club lunch at the Crown Palladium Ballroom. The lunch was attended by over 700 guests including the University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis, Melbourne Lord Mayor John So, Minister for Sport & Recreation Justin Madden, and Rod Macqueen, coach of the 1999 Rugby World Cup Champion Wallabies.

The University and the VRU have entered into a sponsorship arrangement where the University will provide the new Victorian team the use of a range of world class sports facilities at the University of Melbourne in return for promoting the University in VRU venues, publications, promotion opportunities and events.

This is not the first time the University of Melbourne has been a training base for elite sports. With some of the best facilities in Melbourne, it is a popular training venue including for the 1956 Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Mr Steiner says the VRU is delighted that the University is providing access to its world-class sports facilities. “This will greatly enhance the team's prospects for success in the APC Competition.”

Through Melbourne University Sport (MUSport) and the Melbourne University Rugby Football Club (MURFC), the University will provide access to the recently developed A$5.3m MUSport gym, pool, running track, indoor training courts, rugby specific equipment including a scrum machine and pads.

Vice-Principal Marketing and Communications at the University, Mr Pat Freeland-Small, welcomes the APC team to the University. “This is an excellent opportunity for the University to work with a community organisation with splendid outcomes for both parties,” he said.

Director of Rugby - MURFC, Simon Davis believes the new VRU squad is likely to include a number of past Wallabies and upcoming rugby stars who learnt their rugby in Victoria, such as Lloyd Johansson currently contracted with the Queensland Reds and John Ulugia currently contracted with the Brumbies.

“This is a very exciting development for the University rugby club. It will provide an excellent opportunity for young Victorian rugby players to be exposed to a professional standard of rugby. The University training headquarters will showcase the connection between sport, education, the community and business”.

[Burgs]

Victorian Rugby appoints Millard and Dyson to key coaching positions

December 15, 2006 - 2:30pm
Story by: Other

The Victorian Rugby Union (VRU) today announced the appointment of former Australian Sevens and Sydney University coach Bill Millard and Classic Wallaby Fletcher Dyson as VRU Head Coach and Coach Consultant respectively.

In addition to coaching the Victorian team in the new Australian Rugby Championship, Millard will also occupy the position of VRU Coaching Director, overseeing all rugby coaching across the state, while Dyson will take on the added role of VRU Business Development Manager.

Thirty-six-year old Millard brings a wealth of coaching experience to his new roles, including back-to-back Premierships with the Sydney University club in the Tooheys New Cup competition and three years as Head Coach of the Australian Sevens.

Dyson, a former Wallaby who played 10 Tests for Australia in their stand-out year in 2000, will return to his birthplace to combine his experience as a highly regarded businessman and his standing as an expert coach of front row play, particularly in the technical aspects of scrummaging.

Rugby World Cup winnning coach Rod Macqueen, who is working closely with the VRU, said both Millard and Dyson will bring a great deal of experience and enthusiasm to Victorian Rugby.

“Both Bill and Fletcher will bring a high level of expertise to Victorian Rugby,” Macqueen said.

“Bill Millard is one of the young, up and coming coaches in Australia and has an excellent track record and the potential to go all the way in rugby.

“Fletcher was a great contributor to the Wallabies' squad during my time as head coach, both on and off the field. His depth of understanding and commitment, both in coaching terms and commercially make him a great acquisition for Victoria.”

VRU CEO Ron Steiner said the appointment of Millard and Dyson was a significant step towards next year's Australian Rugby Championship competition.

“These are two significant appointments and Bill and Fletcher will undoubtedly enhance and energise the whole Victorian rugby community,” Steiner said.

“We now move onto finalising other critical elements of our Australian Rugby Championship program including the team name, colours, sponsors and key players, and expect to make announcements in the New Year.”

[Burgs]

McKee back to coach Central Coast

By Adrian Warren
December 20, 2006

FORMER Sydney premiership-winning coach John McKee has returned to Australia after six years in Europe to coach the New South Wales Central Coast franchise in the inaugural Australian Rugby Championship.

McKee, who saw a steady flow of Australian players move to Europe during his time there, believes the ARC has the potential to halt that drain.

The Australian Rugby Union recently revealed 30 overseas-based players had expressed an interest in participating in the ARC.

"There's a lot of young Australian players playing in Europe and the UK," McKee, who has coached in France, Ireland and England since steering Eastwood to its maiden Sydney first grade premiership in 1999, said.

"But I'm sure these sorts of competitions will help keep some of those players in Australia, which ultimately creates a bigger pool of players to select your Super 14 (squads) from.

"It makes it more competitive and ultimately it will make the Wallabies a lot stronger."

McKee said he had always intended returning to Australia to coach.

"I probably looked at it for a couple of years and there just wasn't much opportunity back here," McKee, who applied to coach any of the three NSW teams in the ARC, said.

"Certainly with the announcement of the Australian Rugby Championship I felt that whatever happened, there was going to be some opportunities to continue my career back here - and that actually made the decision quite simple.

"Part of my motivation for coaching overseas was to gain experience from professional environments."

The Central Coast side, which will be formally named within a month, will draw players primarily from Northern Sydney clubs and play its home games in Gosford.

"I see huge potential for this particular regional team in terms of the growing population on the Central Coast and the fantastic facility up there," McKee said.

"You'll have the supporters from Sydney coming out of the region, but also you can build a strong supporter base in an area which is probably crying out for a bit of high-level rugby.

"I know from my days at Eastwood there are good young players on the Central Coast, and there's quite a vibrant local rugby competition up there.

"In the medium term I see this as providing a pathway for those players as well as the Northern Beaches Sydney players.

"You're looking at Central coast and Newcastle rugby players seeing a pathway initially to the Australian Rugby Championship and then to Super 14 and beyond.

The Central Coast team is one of three NSW based sides in the tournament to be conducted between August and October next year.

The other two will be a central Sydney side based at North Sydney Oval and a western Sydney team operating out of Parramatta Stadium.

The inaugural ARC tournament will contain five other teams - two from Queensland, and one each representing ACT, Western Australia and Victoria.

McKee is the second ARC coach to be appointed after the Victorian Rugby Union announced the signing of former Australian sevens coach Bill Millard.

AAP

[Sagerian]

Hmm, who to go for. If they'd based a team at homebush instead of parra I would back them but I'll maybe go for North Sydney instead.

[felixnelson]

when are they going to start contracting players?
u reckon digby will go to melbourne?

[Burgs]

Purely a hunch felix but I reckon they will try and get a few announcements out of the way the second and third weeks of January so as not to conflict with the S14 Season starting.
I would have no problem with any Victorian born/raised player, including Diggers, returning to play for Melbourne as it can only strengthen the overall competition and give our own players extra experience under different Coaches etc.
To that end I hope he does as it will mean more APC positions for Force/WA players however, I'm not sure if he will as he is currently in the Wallabies Squad.
I think many people will be forced to admit suprise at the strength and depth of this competition, if not in '07 then definately in '08.
We have many fantastic juniors bursting at the seams to have a shot at a coveted S14 contract, especially with a mind to a few key retirements post France.
I can barely wait to see how it pans out.

[Burgs]

Cockatoo unruffled by balancing act

Rupert Guinness, c/o Rugby Heaven
Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The worldwide search for a coach to guide Sydney in the inaugural Australian Rugby Championship has ended with a "cockatoo" being plucked from the bush.

After receiving 29 applications, including several from overseas, Col Jeffs, 49, from Cowra and coach of the NSW Country Cockatoos since 2005, was yesterday named to mentor the team made up of five clubs from Sydney's eastern and southern suburbs.

Also named as assistant coaches were former Wallaby Scott Bowen and Italian Test second-rower Mark Giacheri, the respective head coaches of Easts and Randwick - two of the clubs, with Illawarra, Southern Districts and Sydney University, that the side will represent in the 10-week, eight-team ARC.

The perception of country and city rugby may be of two worlds apart. But not so for Jeffs, who showed yesterday that, unlike many others, his feathers clearly hadn't been ruffled by the politically divided environment that Australian rugby has become in recent months.

Jeffs was untroubled by debate over club rugby's direction and the chances of the ARC's success in August and September (and him with it), and broader arguments weighing down the sport such as the recent split between the states and Australian Rugby Union over restricted training activities for the Wallabies.

Asked about his credentials, Jeffs admitted they were, "basically, country". But he didn't baulk at stating that that should not be deemed a negative.

"Coming in as a bit of a neutral person is going to be a benefit in lots of respects. I'm starting fresh and hope I'll get the support from the stakeholders," he said.

"It's something I've had to work with a lot in country rugby, working with 12 or 13 provinces and trying to get them together to support you. It's always been a battle. In this case it probably isn't any different. Working with five stakeholders is going to be a lot easier than working with 13."

Jeffs has followed closely the debate over the controversial RTA policy in the World Cup year. That developed yesterday, with ARU high performance chief Pat Wilson holding a teleconference with chief executives of the Australian Super 14 sides.

An ARU statement indicated a peace settlement was reached, saying all parties agreed to "continue to liaise in order to ensure the optimum preparation for both the Super 14 and World Cup".

But NSW Rugby is still clearly intent on not resting players from Super 14 games.

"We have a good track record with player management. We don't envisage that will involve standing players down," said NSW chief executive Fraser Neill.

That issue does not involve Jeffs directly, but he realises player management could impact on the ARC in a season that includes the Super 14, Tooheys New Cup, domestic and Tri Nations Tests, Pacific Nations Cup, ARC and World Cup.

Most players will play more games. And unless selections are monitored, some players may risk exceeding their 30-game-per-year quota before or during the ARC, rendering them ineligible to play.

"For this competition to be successful, those players need to be playing the game," Jeffs said. "If they are not in the Wallabies I can't see why there should be an issue with them playing."

Should it become an issue, the ARU can't expect the Rugby Union Players Association to back down on the quota rule.

"We will strictly enforce the 30-game clause," said RUPA chief executive Tony Dempsey.


Jeffs, Bowen & Giacheri, Sydney’s dream team

Monday, 15 January 2007
NSWRU Media Unit

Sydney’s Australian Rugby Championship side has unveiled a highly respected three-man coaching team led by NSW Country head coach Col Jeffs.

Jeffs said his first goal is to unify the clubs and region behind the new Sydney representative team.

The clubs aligned with the Sydney representative team are Eastern Suburbs, Illawarra, Randwick, Southern Districts and Sydney University.

“There's a lot of history and success between the clubs that make up the Sydney team and we want to build on that tradition to create another level of accomplishment,” said Jeffs.

“My first priority is to get all parties working together and we're off to a good start with Scott and Mark on board as coaches.”

Bowen said Jeffs brings a unique set of skills that will benefit the Sydney team, which will play home matches at North Sydney Oval.

“Col is an expert in pulling teams together with limited preparation as he's done extremely well with Country,” said Bowen.

“He'll also bring a fresh perspective to the Sydney environment and I think he'll bring everyone together quickly.”

Fellow assistant coach Mark Giacheri also endorsed Jeffs's leadership.

“I'm really excited to be involved with Scott who I played with and against and I'm very much looking forward to working with Col who has impressed me with his experience and knowledge and I hope to learn a lot from him,” Giacheri said.

HSBC Waratahs head coach and member of the coach selection panel Ewen McKenzie said the coaching trio is an impressive mix.

“The organisational skills and coaching abilities of Col Jeffs are exceptional and when combined with the experience and local knowledge of Scott and Mark, I think the Sydney team is in good hands,” McKenzie said.

“They are very committed to getting the off-field part of the team right which is extremely important in a start-up team.”

The head coach of the Western Sydney based team is expected to be announced within a week. The Central Coast based representative side has already named its head coach in John McKee.

Career Summaries:

Col Jeffs

Representative Level

1999, 2000 Lachlan Provincial Representative Side - Prime TV Cup Winners.

2001, 2002, 2003 Central West

2001 Country Championships - Richardson Shield Winners.

2002 and 2003 Southern Provincial Championship-Runner Up.

2002 and 2003 Country Championships- Caldwell Cup Winners.

2002 and 2003 Assistant Coach ACT Southern Provincial Representative Side.

2004 and 2005 Assistant Coach NSW Country Cockatoos.

2004 Australian Rugby Shield winners.

International Matches: 2004 Scotland, 2005 Samoa, 2004 and 2005 IBM Japan

2006 and 2007 Coach NSW Country Cockatoos.

International Matches: 2006 IBM Japan, 2006 Fiji Tour

Club Level

1988 Cowra 2nd Grade.

1989 Cowra 1st Grade.

1989 Cowra Invitational Touring Side to USA.

1997-1998 Cowra Under 19’s.

1999-2000 Cowra 1st Grade.

Scott Bowen

Coaching

Eastern Suburbs Assistant Coach 2002 - 2005

(Winners Shute Shield 2003 / 4th place 2005)

Eastern Suburbs Head Coach 2006 - Present (3rd Place 2006)

Playing

Australia - 9 Tests (1993 – 1996)

NSW Waratahs - 49 Games (1993 – 1999)

Other representative teams – Australian Sevens & U21s

Clubs - Southern Districts (1991 – 1996) Eastern Suburbs (1997 - 1999)

Mark Giacheri

Coaching

Assistant Coach Randwick 2nd grade 2005

Assistant Coach (forwards) Randwick 1st grade 2006

Head Coach Randwick 1st grade 2007

Playing

Italy – 49 Tests (1992 – 2003)

NSW Waratahs – 3 Games (1994 – 1997)

North Harbour - NZ

Premiership Rugby – Australia, NZ, England, France, Italy (1991-2003)

Other representative teams – British Barbarians, Australian Barbarians, NSW Country, AIS, Australian U21s, NSW U21s.

[Shaun]

I have not been paying attention to the threads about this national competition so could someone please sum it up? There is no team from WA right? Why not? Explain please.

[Darren]

yes there is

[brokendown gunfighter]

I have not been paying attention to the threads about this national competition so could someone please sum it up? There is no team from WA right? Why not? Explain please.

PAULINE,there IS a team from WA

[Burgs]

3x New South Wales (North Sydney Oval, Parramatta Stadiumand Central Coast Stadium*)
2x Queensland (Ballymore and the Gold Coast*)
1x Australian Capital Territory
1x Victoria
1x Western Australia
*NSW and Qld teams are based on catchment areas of Clubs.

If you want more read the bloody thread

[Shaun]

Ok so there is a team from WA. Is this competition suppose to be the Australian equivalent of the Currie Cup or the NPC? Will Force boys be representing the WA team? Where will the WA team play?