In 2010, a confidential report Australian rugby commissioned said it needed a “major reorientation” or would suffer “certain failure”. We are still waiting for action.
Not long ago, the tallest goalposts in the southern hemisphere, at Sydney’s Concord Oval, were brought down, packed up and taken away. Riddled with rust, they were deemed unsafe, now to be split up and offered to local museums.
The tears will flow long into the Lyon night for Australian rugby following their devastating loss to Wales.Yet, the corrosion in those Concord Oval goalposts has long permeated the administration of the game itself.The Australian Financial Review, Further warnings came in 2015 of the “poor alignment between the Australian Rugby Union, Super Rugby and community rugby” with the added impetus to “explore an alternate, more viable model for Australian rugby”.
It is the first time in the history of the World Cup that the Wallabies have not made it to the quarter-finals. As David Campese remarked, Australian rugby has forgotten its DNA: “skilled, pacy, unpredictable, intelligent – the complete opposite of the structured snorefest” seen in Lyon. Until the mid-1970s, excepting some stirring victories here and there, Australia’s international rugby record was rather dim. And yet things have gotten worse. Wallaby supporters are now used to losing to the All Blacks – the Bledisloe Cup has not been held aloft by a gold jumper in more than 20 years. But losses to teams that were traditionally roadkill for Australian sides – such as Ireland, Scotland, Argentina, and now Fiji – are hard to swallow.
Even for this vague bet on the future to pay off, the team will have to be more competitive on the field, and fast. And it will need to develop the same kind of depth in a sport where serious injuries, including those to the head, have become the norm rather than the exception.
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