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'I'm all for it': Ex-Wallabies duo want further Giteau Law changes

(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Chris Latham has urged Rugby Australia to continue loosening Wallabies eligibility laws, saying they must embrace the inevitable urge for top-line players to chase big-money overseas deals and not be restricted by the Giteau Law. Australia saw what they have been missing in Sunday’s defeat of world champions South Africa with Samu Kerevi’s dominance at No12.

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Sean McMahon has also joined the squad, the pair both contracted in Japan and are only allowed to play for the Wallabies under a relaxation of the 60-Test qualification Giteau Law established in 2015. COVID-19 has allowed for some wiggle room, with coach Dave Rennie now able to pick two players who don’t meet that criteria.

Latham wants RA to go further, though, given there are many others overseas that would arguably strengthen the squad ahead of the 2023 World Cup. Will Skelton and fellow lock Rory Arnold are dominating in France while Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete, one of Rennie’s first picked, will also head to Japan next season.

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Quade Cooper gives his thoughts on last Sunday’s Wallabies win over South Africa

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      Quade Cooper gives his thoughts on last Sunday’s Wallabies win over South Africa

      Quade Cooper, who meets the current criteria with 71 Tests, has also successfully rejoined the Test fray after four years from the Japanese league in a nod to the improving product that is luring Australians on big-money deals. “It’s great when guys are eligible,” Latham said of Kerevi and potentially McMahon’s impact ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship rematch with South Africa in Brisbane.

      “All of a sudden you have got options, you can start to pick on performance, put pressure on individuals and even get the opposition to start guessing who they’re going to pick and what game plan they’re going to go with.

      He added that Rugby Australia now needed to continue to relax the Giteau Law and offer players overseas sabbaticals, but that players would leave knowing their Wallabies future was not guaranteed. “I’m all for it, we need to find a better balance of being able to bring back our stars and find a way they can still go and get that type of money in Japan or wherever for a year or two and have the ability to have them play for the Wallabies as well,” he said. “It’s inevitable so you may as well embrace it.”

      With a 2027 World Cup bid in the pipeline, former Wallabies playmaker Elton Flatley stressed that “rugby needs to win the hearts and minds of young boys and girls. And to do that we need the Wallabies to be successful… if that’s getting the guys overseas that can make them better I’m all for it,” he said.

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      Latham has coached in Japan and says the competition has reached a point where, like Wallabies captain Michael Hooper did last season, players can go and return a better player, not just fill their bank account. “It had a reputation ten, 15 years ago of being a slow, static competition where older players not good enough to play for their country or state could play,” he said.

      “It’s not that anymore. As much as you’d like to keep the talent in Australia… it’s just not possible. I have done it myself; at the end of the day you are only a footy player for a short window and you do the most you can for your family. If that is to take a year or two to go over and still be eligible, then you have got to make those adjustments.”

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      N
      NH 25 minutes ago
      'The Wallabies need to convert much better - or Melbourne could be much worse'

      Nice one as always Brett. I think the stats hide a bit of the dominance the lions had, and they would look alot worse in that first half when the game was more in the balance. You mention it here but I think it hasn’t been talked about enough was the lineout. The few times the wallabies managed to exit their half and get an opportunity to attack in the 1st half, the lineout was lost. This was huge in terms of lions keeping momentum and getting another chance to attack, rather than the wallabies getting their chance and to properly ‘exit’ their half. The other one you touch on re “the will jordan bounce of the ball” - is kick chase/receipt. I thought that the wallabies kicked relatively well (although were beaten in this area - Tom L rubbish penalty kicks for touch!), but our kick receipt and chase wasn’t good enough jorgenson try aside. In the 1st half there was a moment where russell kicked for a 50:22 and potter fumbled it into touch after been caught out of position, lynagh makes a similar kick off 1st phase soon after and keenan is good enough to predict the kick, catch it at his bootlaces and put a kick in. That kick happened to go out on the full but it was a demonstration on the difference in positioning etc. This meant that almost every contested kick that was spilled went the way of the lions, thats no accident, that is a better chase, more urgency, more players in the area. Wallabies need to be better in who fields their kicks getting maxy and wright under most of them and Lynagh under less, and the chase needs to be the responsibility of not just one winger but a whole group of players who pressure not just the catch but the tackle, ruck and following phase.

      17 Go to comments
      J
      JW 41 minutes ago
      Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

      Thanks for the further background to player welfare metrics Nick.


      Back on the last article I noted that WR is now dedicating a whole section in their six-point business plan to this topic. It also noted that studies indicated 85-90% of workload falls outside of playing. So in respect to your point on the classification of ‘involvements’ included even subs with a low volume of minutes, it actually goes further, to the wider group of players that train as if they’re going to be required to start on the weekend, even if they’re outside the 23. That makes even the 30-35 game borderline pale into insignificance.


      No doubt it is won of the main reasons why France has a quota on the number of one clubs players in their International camps, and rotate in other clubs players through the week. The number of ‘invisible’ games against a player suggests the FFRs 25 game limit as more appropriate?


      So if we take it at face value that Galthie and the FFR have got it right, only a dozen players from the last 60 international caps should have gone on this tour. More players from the ‘Scotland 23’ than the more recent 23.


      The only real pertinent question is what do players prefer more, health or money? There are lots of ethical decisions, like for instance whether France could make a market like Australia’s where their biggest rugby codes have yearly broadcast deals of 360 and 225 million euros. They do it by having a 7/8 month season.

      68 Go to comments
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