Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Queensland throws support behind Rugby Australia's centralisation bid

Reds players react after conceding a try during the Super Rugby match between the Melbourne Rebels and the Queensland Reds in Melbourne on March 25, 2023. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)

The Queensland Reds have backed Rugby Australia’s (RA) centralisation bid, provided the alignment doesn’t stretch to the Super Rugby club’s commercial arm.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Wallabies’ World Cup flop has prompted a top-to-bottom review of the national program and shone a spotlight on RA’s bid to align high-performance programs across the clubs.

On Wednesday, Queensland Rugby Union (QRU) chairman Brett Clark and chief executive David Hanham co-authored a letter to members outlining the club’s position on the reforms.

Video Spacer
Video Spacer

“While the QRU is very supportive of high-performance alignment, it will not agree to any proposal on centralising commercial or corporate functions,” they wrote.

“The very strength of our state unions is the expertise they bring in their own markets.

“We are open to work on commercial initiatives together but will always retain our independence for the benefit of Queensland rugby, its members and stakeholders.”

“It should also provide a clear view of what is needed in a leadership and governance framework to ensure we put the right people, in the right roles, in the right system,” they said.

Clark and Hanham said the recruitment of former rugby league winger Les Kiss as new Reds coach, after nearly two decades coaching rugby overseas, was executed in partnership with RA.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We want to play our part to improve rugby in this country,” the statement said.

“We have seen the benefits of centralising high-performance outcomes with teams like Ireland.”

Related

The QRU have delivered four successive profitable years to sit comfortably as the country’s most financially sound Super Rugby outfit.

Other clubs have felt the loss of an annual $1.7 million RA injection that was withdrawn during COVID-19 – money the Reds say the governing body are willing to discuss reinstating.

RA is in talks with clubs after announcing an in-principle centralisation agreement in August.

The NSW Waratahs are set to hand their commercial and high-performance keys to the governing body, while the Melbourne Rebels are expected to follow suit.

ADVERTISEMENT

The ACT Brumbies are in a similar boat to the Reds while it’s understood the privately owned Western Force are broadly supportive of the reforms.

Former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore has called for a drastic overhaul of the domestic product, despite RA stating their opposition with lucrative broadcast dollars at stake.

Moore felt money should be redirected from Melbourne and Perth’s Super Rugby teams into the club scene in those cities, for them to field strong sides in a lower-tier competition, with more resources put into resurrecting country rugby in NSW and Queensland.

“The stakeholders of the game need to decide if the people running the game are going to be able to get us out the other end,” he told AAP of the centralisation bid.

“If that’s ‘yes’, then great. But if it’s ‘no’, we need to know now, because this is the time for the change.

“It’s been in the last couple of years that we’ve really slipped down into bordering on being a second-tier side, so it’s been a rapid decline.”

ADVERTISEMENT

England v South Africa | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

Georgia vs Ireland | Men’s International | Full Match Replay

Lions Share | Episode 2

Chile vs Romania | Men’s International | Full Match Replay

USA vs Belgium | Men’s International | Full Match Replay

KOKO Show | July 1st | The Lions are here and the KOKO crew are getting excited

Touchdown in Dublin, The Red Sea Returns & We Prepare to Face Argentina | Ep 2: The Ultimate Test

South Africa v British & Irish Lions | 2009 | Second Test | The Vaults

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
AllyOz 2 hours ago
Has Quade Cooper solved a Lions riddle for Australia?

I also think that the lack of layers in the Australian system and the short season length also contributes to our lack of player development. All of the “three amigos” were in the Australian side from a very early age. We have Super Rugby but it is only 15 weeks long now (if you don’t make the finals - which our sides don’t typically do). And we only have 4 - 5 teams so, for 10s, there is only 1 or 2 spots up for grabs and one player is going to get most of the time. I imagine, in Europe where you have a longer season and then European Championship and then, in France, also a professional division below, a player of ability will get more than 15 games at the top level. There are tiers to progress through etc. The current 10 for France, on the All Blacks tour, has had 120 Top 14 games - we are putting blokes into a Wallabies squad after one or two good seasons (30 SR games at the most) and for others, like Sua’ali’i even sooner (but he did play at a high level in another code so he has had some time to develop).


We lack a tier or level, where players can develop that other comps have so that (1) they don’t need to be thrown in early (2) if they take a bit longer to develop there is a place for them to do it. You either have a place in one of the 4 (previously 5) sides or you go overseas, or you play at an amateur level. And also, you don’t have to push an older player out because, if you reach 24 or 25 and you haven’t made the Wallabies (or you aren’t a regular) then the prospect of playing OS is too financially enticing.

109 Go to comments
A
AllyOz 3 hours ago
Has Quade Cooper solved a Lions riddle for Australia?

Quade has a lot of very supportive fans, and also, in Australia (and definitely in NZ), there are those that do not like him as a player. I do think his coaches were responsible for him not getting a run when he was at his peak, Cheika didn’t appear to be a fan, giving him only one pool game in the World Cup (or very few chances anyway) but I think Quade also must have had issues in fitting in with coaches (or certain types of coaches). I also think there was a long period of his career where he played injured and was off his best. And he sat out a full season of SR to play club rugby rather than leave Queensland, when he fell out of favour with Thorn. He didn’t seem to settle in at Toulon, or the Melbourne Rebels really either and then he went to Kintetsu where he was in a team that was either bottom of the top grade or top of the next grade down, where, I imagine, it is difficult to get a feel of a players value to the national team. There are two (or more) sides to everyone of those stories.


I was in the group that probably was never a fan. I can’t really say why. When I look back on his highlight reel, there were moments of sheer brilliance and he took the Reds to a Championship win against the Crusader. But I guess I always viewed him as high risk and I am not sure that, prior to 2021, we ever saw his best. We had Foley as a long term 10 under Cheika, and also Matt Toomua and Christian Leilafano. Quade Cooper was easily the most skilful of any of those, but whether or not his own judgement or his ability/willingness to follow the coaches/teams plan was ever at the level of some of those other players, I am not sure. In some way I see him as a Finn Russell type, who doesn’t always appear to get along with some coaches but I am not sure it is always the coaches fault. I think Quade had the confidence that, if he thought he was right he would not be deterred from following that and I imagine some coaches (and not just bad ones) struggle with that if they are seeing different pictures from where they are watching.


I think he makes some good points. I really don’t understand the reluctance to pick James O’Connor and I think he makes a good point about changing coaches. I agree that there is a sameness to each of the 10s we have at the moment.


However, if we are talking about the last decade, we did have Michael Cheika as the coach from late 2014 to 2019 - so that is half the decade. Since then we have had 3 coaches in 6 years.


I do understand the charge about having lost our playing identity and I think he is right that we have perhaps fallen for the trick of trying to jump on the latest trend or copying what has been successful elsewhere and hoping that it works for us. But I am not sure how he personally would go as a coach. I see a bit of a similarity to Gregor Townsend personality wise but that is just a guess - Gregor has done OK.


I hope Quade doesn’t become the David Campese of his generation and getting involved in coaching might be a way to avoid that. It is interesting that he has written these articles in the Australian as they have been a bit anti-Rugby in Australia after they missed out on the broadcast rights.

109 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Former All Blacks pick their right wing for second France Test Former All Blacks pick their right wing for second Test
Search