RuggaMatrix – Show 055 – The Anniversary Show
RuggaMatrix_-_Show_055_-_The_Anniversary_Show.mp3
Well this is it .. our anniversary show. RuggaMatrix turns 1 this week and we have a special guest to celebrate it with us. Former Wallabies lock Daniel Vickerman, fresh from leading Cambridge to victory over Oxford in the annual varsity match, gives us a special insight into that game and his life post test rugby.
Is it all over? Well not quite, Dan hasn’t closed the door yet on once again playing for Australia.
It might be our anniversary show but we still get down to business and the Heineken Cup is at the top of that list.
Eye gouging is again in the news and we discuss that too.
We look back at our big moments from the year past.
Our In-Depth Analysis is BORN TO PLAY.
Brought to you by bobwyerrugby.com (purchase an associate membership and use the code ‘ruggamatrix’ and you will receive 20% off. Offer valid until December 25th 2009)
Should kids and professional players have a rugby ball at arms reach at all times? Does handling the footy make you a better player?
We take another in-depth look at what it takes to be a highly skilled player.
Once again it’s a coaching masterclass from Ewen McKenzie and Les Kiss.
So join in the fun and listen to our anniversary show – it’s a year to remember.
Well done on the first year lads – Ruggamatrix is always one of the highlights of the week for me so just want to thank and congratulate you all on a year of great shows and great banter – keep up the good work and have a great Christmas..
Congrats guys on getting through year 1, have enjoyed every minute of every show & it was my rugby fix while on holiday & rugbyless last month.
Keep it up guys, I don’t know what I’d do without ya!
Here’s to the next year,
Sláinte
Congrats on the 1 year anniversary guys! I have really enjoyed the show each week. Awesome stuff. I would love to hear your thoughts on “depth in Australian rugby”?
My point of view is Australia does have depth of player talent, but we don’t have depth commercially. Just looking at the odd Heineken Cup matches on ESPN and there seems to be 1 or 2 Aussies playing in most major European clubs. Some we’ve heard of like Lote Tuqiri and Mark Gasnier, but many are not well known, yet they play at a high level like Brock James of Clermont and Paul Warwick of Munster.
What happens to our Australian junior rep squads over the 2 to 5 years post junior reps days? It appears to me that some move onto 1st grade rugby in the semi-pro Brisbane/Sydney comps. Some get academy contracts at Super 14 teams, some get full Super 14 contracts. Some end up in the NRL U20s comp and graduate into regular NRL players. Some get frustrated by lack of Super 14 opportunity and move onto professional contracts in Japan, Ireland, UK, Italy and France.
The Wallabies is generally made up of the best available players and the ARU has the dollars to outbid the big European clubs and secure the very top players. The focus is on the great youngsters coming through domestic systems and occasionally topping this up with high profile NRL switchers.
But what about the Super 14? Theoretically, this should give sharp competition and depth in every position across the park for the Wallabies. But is that really happening? It seems if a player is a regular Super 14 player, they obviously want to take the step to be a Wallaby. It also seems that if that isn’t going to happen by about age 24-25, then Super 14 isn’t a long enough season or financially rewarding enough to keep our best players (unless they are also Wallaby where they earn significant additional income). Good examples of quality provincial players moving past Super rugby due to lack of Wallaby exposure is Peter Hewat and Sam Norton-Knight. They simply earn a lot more to be a quality provincial player in Europe than Australia. So how “super” is Super rugby?
I’d love to understand what the Ruggamatrix team think about this? I’m excited about the potential for the Super 15 and the revised season format. Along with a 5th Australian side, we get 8 home and 8 away matches every year for all teams and 8 local derbies for each franchise versus 3 per year now. All up 20 all-Australian derbies. Is that enough to get 1 all-Australian derby on free to air TV each week, with the balance of Super matches on pay-TV? If so, does that significantly change the commercial landscape for Super rugby locally? Will this mean that quality provincial rugby players may be rewarded enough that more stay here for longer? Maybe even some quality players come back from Europe/Japan and play for Melbourne and the other teams (that will undoubtedly lose some players to Melbourne)? Could this mean that less of our quality juniors use the NRL as a pathway to their first professional contract? If so, and if similar things happen in NZ and South Africa, then maybe, just maybe Super Rugby could become truly “super”. A bigger broadcasting pie is surely in the broadcasters best interests too as the player depth and quality of Super rugby should go up across the board and this will also give our national selectors more choice and fierce competition for Wallaby spots. And that has to be a good thing.
Am I dreaming? Or is there real potential for Super rugby players to earn quite a bit more in the new competition structure?
G’Day Ross great question – keep listening as some time in January we’ll do a full Super Rugby preview.
We’ll definitely handle your issues then. Thanks so much for your support of the show and have a great 2010.
Djuro