Each week during the Super rugby season I will be writing a preview of the round of rugby to come.
Link to the first round of starting tonight is here: http://pinkrugby.com/2014/super-rugby-predictions-rd-1
Can’t wait for the first game to start!
Tag Archives: Rugby
Super Rugby 2014: Preview and Crystal Ball
I am again writing for the excellent pinkrugby.com website for this Super Rugby season.
Here is my first post of the year: http://pinkrugby.com/2014/super-rugby-2014-preview-and-crystal-ball looking at all of the teams for this season and predicting where they will end up in their respective conferences.
Round 1 kicks off (yes that pun will be used regularly during the season) in the early hours of Sunday morning Australian time.
Mowen departs: Where to now for the ARU?
Ben Mowen is heading to France to ply his trade in 2015. He will be playing out his 2014 contract with the ACT Brumbies / Wallabies. The announcement of the contract for 2015 has been made, ostensibly, to allow both teams time to plan for the departure of Mowen from the scene.
The fact is that Mowen is the incumbent captain of both the Brumbies and the Wallabies, having been elevated to the captaincy in favour of James Horwill on the summer tour to Europe. He is the incumbent Number 8 in both teams. Mowen’s defection, he has been reported as saying, on family grounds (note that it was reported broadly in October 2013 that there were monetary factors also in play) raises a number of issues for the ARU which, with the Super 15 season so close, must be answered swiftly.
The principal issue for both the Brumbies and the Wallabies must be whether Mowen continues to be selected, both as captain and in those respective teams in general. For the Brumbies the answer is simple: it is a professional rugby franchise rather than a representative one and thus his ongoing selection in both role raises no issues at all. The position for the Wallabies and the ARU is far more vexed. In my opinion it can not be in the interests of the Wallabies to select a player for whom the allure of being the captain of his country or playing at a World Cup is not strong enough to keep him playing for said country. I applaud Mowen’s devotion to his family (if one is to believe the reason given) but taking this position leaves a serious question of his commitment to his country.
The World Cup is being held in 2015 and the test matches played by Australia in 2014 will be an important guide to the make up of the Wallabies team that takes the field in that tournament. That being the case, Mowen simply can not be selected for Australia this year can he?
The other major issue that the defection of Mowen raises is who will be the next captain of Australia? James Horwill seems to be on the outer as captain and the return of David Pocock to the line up hinges on his return from a lengthy rehabilitation from a serious knee injury. In Europe, Quade Cooper was elevated to the vice captaincy in the aftermath of Horwill’s demotion. It should also not be forgotten that Will Genia has manfully taken on the position in Queensland during Horwill’s all to regular injury lay offs. I am not certain who the ARU will pick for this position as they all have competing claims. It will be vital though that the ARU pick a captain this year that they, injury and form permitting, intend to be the captain at the 2015 World Cup. The last thing the Wallabies need after all is more instability.
The departure of Ben Mowen again opens the door to a discussion around the recompense of professional rugby players in this country (let’s be honest here: money is an underlying factor no matter the reasons posited by the man himself) albeit I remain steadfastly of the view that the money presently being paid ought be more than enough for the privilege of wearing a gold jersey.
What’s going on with the Wallabies?
Ewen McKenzie has named his team for the test against Italy tomorrow evening. The team is:
Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua, Nick Cummins, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Ben Mowen (c), Michael Hooper, Rob Simmons, James Horwill, Sitaleki Timani, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, James Slipper. Res: Saia Faingaa, Benn Robinson, Sekope Kepu, Dave Dennis, Liam Gill, Nic White, Christian Lealiifano, Joe Tomane.
Rob Simmons comes back from a knee injury on the side of the scrum and, despite some press about it earlier in the week, Ben Mowen remains the captain.
There was much talk around the dinner table last night about the Wallabies woes at the moment: from lamenting the Deans years through to a consideration of whether we have too many Super 15 franchises to some forceful discussion about Australian rugby’s obvious failings when it comes to the domestic game. The crux though of all of the problems we discussed seemed to come back to this immutable truth: the Southern Hemisphere competitors of the Wallabies come from countries where rugby is the national sport. Unfortunately, diehards aside, rugby union is the 4th most popular “winter” sport after NRL, AFL and, of late, soccer.
Therein lies another problem: rugby union seems to be losing its base. The Deans years and the lack of immediate success arising from McKenzie’s appointment is frustrating the diehards and, frankly, moving them away from the game. I offer myself as an example: 12 months ago it would have been personally unthinkable for me not to stay up late into the early hours of the morning to watch the Wallabies play on the European tour. This year I have chosen sleep over disappointment.
I am not sure what will bring back the diehards like me. Winning will help. That said: being competitive will be a bigger help. Here’s hoping that process starts against Italy.
Rugby: Finally someone does what Robbie Deans would not!
James O’Connor has been stood down by Ewen McKenzie from the Wallabies indefinitely following his poor conduct at the Perth Airport.
All I can say is: finally!!!! After the era of Robbie Deans pandering to the whims of O’Connor and his poor form and conduct the McKenzie era has now been stamped with not accepting poor player behaviour like that of the past!
I hope O’Connor learns from this. Equally I hope that the ARU also learns from this a message that facilitating poor player behaviour does not lead to the player’s behaviour actually improving. This is a step that the ARU and it’s previous coach should have taken some time ago.
Mowen Factor: in search of a better performance and a win
Much has been made during the week in rugby circles of the dropping of Will Genia and the elevation of Ben Mowan to the captaincy of the Australian team.
First things first: Genia had to be dropped. He has been in ordinary form since (indeed during) the Lions tour and only the frailty of Australia's fly halfs and forwards has saved him from scrutiny he otherwise would have faced. Nic White has earned his chance.
Onto Mowen: it has been obvious to all keen watchers of Super Rugby that Ben Mowen was a captain of the Wallabies of the future. I just don't think anyone expected his elevation to come so soon. Having seen his exemplary work at the helm of the Brumbies and noting that he is leading a team replete with his Brumbies team mates, I have no doubt he will do a fine job.
As a Wallabies fan I want to see a win tonight. It is that simple. Equally, I remember the sour feeling left with me having watched the Wallabies scrape to a win against the Pumas on the Gold Coast last year so the other thing I want to see from the Wallabies is a vastly improved performance as well. It is not good enough, in my unlearned opinion, for the Wallabies to scrape over the line here because that will still be considered a loss in some quarters. So, for me, the win is important but equally as important is the performance.
A final word: I wrote earlier in the week about giving Ewen McKenzie a break from the rhetoric and my view in that has not changed. Indeed, I have probably moved even further along the spectrum to the view that I am comfortable with Australia coming third in the Rugby Championship because this is an obvious rebuilding phase in the post Deans era. South Africa and New Zealand are ahead of us at the moment and that, as hard as it is to say, is ok because I have faith that McKenzie can turn us around given time.
With one eye on tonight and one on the future: I can not wait for kick off and seeing Ben Mowen lead Australia into battle.
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