Archive for Rugby

Making inroads

October 28, 2009 at 5:52 pm · Filed under Aussie Rules, Rugby

Couldn’t have been initiated by a better club either ;-)

Hawks cast recruiting net across Tasman

EXCLUSIVE: HAWTHORN has muscled in on New Zealand, running a nationwide school competition with a view to tapping into a fresh source of international recruits.

The cashed-up 2008 premier has been quietly monitoring Kiwi talent for several months, overseeing a “Hawks Cup” for Year 9 and 10 students.

Rivals looking at frontiers beyond Ireland have been left behind, with the Hawks striking up a partnership with AFL New Zealand.

Still, the article is a bit more optimistic than I think what the actual reality is here in NZ. On the other hand, there have been a few more examples of rugby (league and union) players making the transition in recent times, such as Mike Pyke with the Swans.

The Karmichael Hunt experiment is going to be interesting. It seems slightly incongruous to me that he’s been signed up on such a massive salary. I’m not a follower of the NRL, but I believe he’s a very good player. But you can’t tell me the new Gold Coast franchise hasn’t got at least one eye on his marketing potential in getting him to sign. I’m be happily surprised if he’s more than an average player in the AFL, but it’s not just the issue of transferring skills from rugby to AFL, it’s the whole area of tactics as well. You don’t want to run at the opposition and get tackled, right?

Where AFL clubs might be successful is if they find promising 17-18 year olds, get them over to Aus, put them on their rookie list, and give them a year or two to develop. Then I think we might see some Kiwi players go across and do well. At least they’d be used to the oval ball, unlike Gaelic football players.

And so the Aussie Rules quest for global domination continues…

Follow Fush ‘n’ Chups on Twitter.

Comments (2)

Mr Pink or Mr Blonde?

August 25, 2009 at 5:42 pm · Filed under Rugby, Trans-Tasman Relations

Kevin Rudd, resplendent in his All Blacks tie, looking a bit like he’s come straight from the set of a Tarantino movie.

John Key’s enjoyed his trip to Aus hasn’t he? It’s been very productive by the sounds of it.

I tell you what John: you can get rid of the border controls, have a single currency, a single market, and we’ll even buy your friggin’ apples.

But in return, we get your rugby team. Maybe one or two of the Wallabies might get a guernsey for the AUS/NZ team (the All Golds?), but we’ll just merge the squads and pick from the best, okay?

And we also get Dan Vettori and Jesse Ryder. We’d also take Jacob Oram but we already have one injury-prone over-rated all-rounder.

Done deal.

Follow Fush ‘n’ Chups on Twitter.

Comments (19)

Dingo Deans: Saviour or Saboteur?

July 19, 2009 at 9:08 pm · Filed under Aussie Rules, Rugby, Trans-Tasman Relations

The scenario: The All Blacks bombed out of the last World Cup badly, as did the Wallabies. Much of the blame for the All Blacks’ failure was placed on their coach, Graham Henry, due to his controversial rotational selection policies.

Most ABs coaches don’t last long after such an embarrassment, and there was another younger coach who’d been very successful at Super 14 level by the name of Robbie Deans. Many expected Deans to replace Henry.

At this time the Wallabies were also looking for a new coach, and were interested in getting Deans (a kiwi) on board. However his preference was to apply for the ABs job, which he did.

So, the NZRU had the choice of two main contenders: Henry, who’d tried and failed, and Deans, seen externally as the favourite.

We all know what happened: Henry, despite pretty much being seen rightly or wrongly as one of the main causes of the ABs under-performance at the World Cup,  was reappointed. Leaving Deans to take up the Wallabies job.

The Wallabies camp thought they’d won lotto, but I think we might’ve been duped.

I mean, last night, an out-of-form All Blacks comfortably beat a supposedly in-form Wallabies after a second half comeback. This is an ABs team that only managed to flog, rather than massacre, a weak Italian team recently (I’m led to believe a comfortable 27-6 victory was disappointing).

And I don’t buy the whole we-haven’t-won-in-Auckland-for-137 years excuse. Australia does not do losing. At least not well. Don’t get me started on the bloody Ashes.

So, until Deans proves otherwise, I think he might be the Terry Wallace of international rugby coaching. For you kiwis, Wallace could probably be best described as all sizzle and no sausage, as the recently departed coach of the Richmond footy club.

Either that or he’s a saboteur, sent by the NZRU to ensure the Wallabies don’t win the next World Cup (because if anything could cause riots in the streets of NZ, the Aussies winning a WC hosted by New Zealand would be just about it. Actually it’d be beautiful to watch – from a distance). If this is the case, then well played NZRU. It’d almost be an Australian-esque venture into questionable ethics in the sporting arena. About time you caught on.

Of course I wouldn’t have the slightest clue if I might be right, seeing as I follow proper football, and really I am completely uninformed and unqualified to be commenting.

But still, there’s a small chance I might be on to something. Let’s wait and see.

In the end, none of this really matters of course, because the Hawks are doing a pretty good impersonation of Lazarus, easily beating the Pies and keeping alive their finals chances (until they play Geelong again). Carn the Hawks!

Comments (20)

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.