The Rogues Rant #253

Welcome to The Rogues Rant, an occasional look at all things Rugby

The Bledisloe Cup is gone for another year. While the first match of this series in Wellington brought new hope to Aussie Rugby fans, we were all brought back to reality with a thud on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium. The embarrassing 43 – 5 margin to the All Blacks was their biggest win ever over the Wallabies which confirmed what deep down we all new. It has long been the opinion of this column that the Coaching and Development program of Rugby Australia is just not producing the quality of player and indeed coaches, required for the Wallabies to be competitive at the International level. The Wallaby performance here was way off the pace, with the match having the appearance of Men against Boys such was the divide between the performances of the opposing players. The All Black players were too strong, too fast and too skillful all round. More correctly the Wallaby players were under strength, slow and lacked the skills and power to compete with their Kiwi rivals. This situation is not going to be turned around simply by bringing in a new coach although Dave Rennie should be applauded for his efforts and his positive approach so far. It has taken ten years or more to create this situation and it is going to take even longer to turn it around, if indeed at all.

I read a wonderful piece in the Sydney Morning Herald the other day written by Illawarra Junior Dan Palmer. The article outlines Dan’s life on his journey through the ranks of Australian Rugby through the Waratahs, The Brumbies and the Wallabies, while dealing with his sexuality. It’s raw, confronting, enlightening and inspirational. If you haven’t read it yet go to the Sydney Morning Herald website. (https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/my-own-death-felt-preferable-to-anyone-discovering-i-was-gay-20201029-p569os.html)

A great result for Gordon Rugby Club with their recent 28 – 8 Shute Shield Grand Final victory over Eastwood. Gordon struggled through season 2018 with just one win to celebrate. It has been 22 years since they last won a Grand Final and have gone through some tough times which threatened their very existence. Their revival mirrors what Bowral went through in the IDRU and I’m sure that their Premiership glory will be appropriately celebrated.

All opinions offered in this column are the opinion of the author. They should not be considered to represent the views of the IDRU.