Wallabies coach Dave Rennie’s bold push to spread Trans-Tasman talent around in Super Rugby
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has a bold plan that would shake up Super Rugby and help fast-track Australia’s brightest talent. But will Rugby Australia get on board with his proposal?
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Incoming national coach Dave Rennie is hellbent on convincing Rugby Australia to allow Wallabies to play for New Zealand Super Rugby teams.
Not only that, but Rennie is adamant that Australian sides should be able to start recruiting top Kiwis – even if that means seeing Beauden Barrett starting for the Waratahs and Jordan Petaia running out for the Crusaders.
Rennie is convinced it will be a win-win for the Wallabies because it will fast-forward Australia’s brightest talent by allowing them to play alongside New Zealand’s best and help prevent any mass exodus to Europe.
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It’s not as radical as it seems because it used to be commonplace for players to go to New Zealand to further their rugby education.
Martin Johnson, who captained the England team that beat Australia in the 2003 World Cup final, spent two of his formative years in New Zealand, and has long credited that stint for his success in the senior ranks.
Everything is dependent on what Super Rugby looks like next year but Rennie has already read the tea leaves and knows there’s a real danger that established and up-and-coming players will be lost to the northern hemisphere.
He’s against changing the Giteau Law because he wants to see Australia’s best players in the same competition — and even better still if they can go behind enemy lines.
BACK IN THE ‘BURBS
Super Rugby is returning to Sydney’s rugby league suburban grounds next week but it won’t involve the Waratahs.
With Allianz Stadium being rebuilt, the Waratahs have been spreading their wings all over the state but are committed to playing the domestic season at the SCG and ANZ Stadium.
The Melbourne Rebels have agreed to take the 15-man code into Sydney’s NRL heartland as they search for a temporary home while unable to play in Victoria.
The Rebels have already been told next week’s match against Queensland will have to be played in NSW and have narrowed the venue down to three grounds – Brookvale Oval, Leichhardt Oval and Jubilee Oval.
BACK IN BLUE
Former NSW hooker Dave Porecki is in line for a surprise return to the Waratahs this season.
Porecki has been plying his trade for London Irish since 2016 and was planning to head back home to rejoin the Tahs next season.
But he’s already been spotted back in Sydney by Rugby Confidential’s eagle-eyed sleuths – albeit in quarantine – so could be back playing sooner than expected, with the Tahs a hooker down after Damien Fitzpatrick’s retirement.
OLD-SCHOOL MOTIVATION
If any of the young Waratahs missed Queensland skipper Liam Wright bragging about how the Reds plan to smash them at Suncorp on Friday night, someone made sure it did not go unnoticed a second time.
In a throwback to the old days before smartphones, a mystery figure snuck into the team’s Daceyville headquarters before the players arrived at Thursday’s training session, pinning a copy of Wright’s comments on the wall for everyone to see.
PULLING THE PLUG
Life on the road has not begun well for Melbourne Rebels utility back Reece Hodge who has already found himself in hot water – literally.
In Canberra before Saturday night’s clash against the Brumbies, Hodge had a maintenance malfunction in his hotel bathroom, which his teammate Matt Toomua was only too happy to spill the beans about.
“Reece Hodge burst the pipe in his room and flooded the room last night,” Toomua said.
“We’re not sure (how it happened) but it was properly flooded though.
“We were very happy it was Reece because he cops a bit of flak here.
“We made sure everyone in the backline went up to him and quizzed him, ‘are you playing this week?’ and he was a head case by the end of it.”
RECRUITMENT DRIVE
While everyone else is counting their coins after the agreement to cut costs and slash player payments by 30 per cent for the season, the cashed up Western Force are still on a spending spree.
Their latest signings are the two ex-Wallabies, prop Pek Cowan and halfback Nick Frisby.
Cowan, 34, returns to the Force after getting a special release from Japanese club Shimizu Blue Sharks while Frisby, a former Queensland Red, returns from Europe.
Having only just flown in from overseas, both players remain in quarantine in Sydney but will be eligible for selection next week.
Originally published as Wallabies coach Dave Rennie’s bold push to spread Trans-Tasman talent around in Super Rugby