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For a change I pretty much agree with you Link!
However, I might point out, apart from short term injuries to Sharpe and possibly Staniforth, all of these injuries are at the "established" teams.
Is this a coincidence or is it something deeper?
Perhaps the argument should be to have 44 man squads and have a regular curtain raiser at all Aus v Aus S14 Fixtures to compliment the ARC's development of the next tier to get those players playing in February as well?
Walker SOS shows troops are stretched
Ewen McKenzie
Saturday, March 3, 2007
COMMENT
Holmes, Moore, Dunning, Kanaar, Vickerman, Campbell, McMeniman, Waugh, Heenan, Cordingley, Larkham, Mortlock and Latham. No, I'm not picking my World Cup team but I am highlighting the state of play in Australian rugby.
Now, let me make this clear. I am a supporter of the fourth Super 14 team. And this is not a bash-the-Force article. When we went for the idea of the fourth team, it was to promote the game, expose more players and attract some of the hundred-odd overseas players back to the fold. Some of this has been achieved. Throw in the new supporter base in Perth and there has been a re-engineering of the Australian rugby landscape.
The current injury situation, however, highlights that while we have spread our talent across the land and given more players the chance to play regularly, we have as yet failed to underpin this expansion. Some people suggest a fifth team should be our focus but I can't see where the players would come from. Not yet anyway.
Eddie Jones's efforts at securing the previously banished 33-year-old Andrew Walker and talk of recruiting the superannuation crew playing in Europe suggests this is the case. Regular interest in our rugby league cousins, although not universally popular, also shows we have stretched our battle front. The level below needs special attention to ensure we have fighting reserves.
Success in the professional environment requires ability, athleticism, attitude and physical preparation. The fourth element is not something that can be fast-tracked but it can begin earlier. Rugby now has a consistent presence at the school level through the ARU's National Talent Squad. These squads operate throughout the states, targeting the talented schoolboy players and providing additional training and physical development. It is a good initiative to infiltrate this level, formerly the exclusive domain of rugby league scouts with their cheque books and promises.
The provinces are all now contracting younger and younger players, which is good because we secure our depth but the physical transition is not always complete. Some schools don't allow full participation in the NTS program, so the development remains in the school's hands. Schoolboy stars Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper effectively arrive in November and four months later are expected to cope with the physical demands of playing and touring in the world's toughest provincial competition.
Where am I going with this? The move towards youth has an impact. The recruitment of players with the ability to cope with the professional game has been a subjective thing. The opinions on a player's potential are endless, and their ability to step up is an extrapolation between the environment they played in and the one they are being asked to play in. Our Super 14 predicament suggests that if you scratch away the top echelon, the up-and-comers might be a little farther down the ladder than we thought.
There is no question that the step up without the physical preparation is a difficult one. The step up strategically is also massive. The understanding and the physical changes do not happen overnight. Hopefully, the stripping away of the "middle class" will be temporary as the arrival of the new Australian Rugby Championship in August will help shore up the gap. Critics of this new competition are also the ones who are asking questions why the Super 14 teams are struggling this year. The correlation is ironic yet inevitable. Change management is always difficult and takes time but the reconstruction of Australian rugby will keep us competitive. Bring on the ARC.
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