Rugby Confidential: Reds’ dire financial woes, Karmichael to link with Quade, Japan’s IPL
QUEENSLAND’S questionable declaration to make Brad Thorn a 10-year coach is ridiculous considering their dire financial predicament and the $1 million worth of wasted talent black-listed from the club.
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WHAT is going on at the Queensland Reds?
Chairman Jeff Miller raised alarm bells when he spoke about making Brad Thorn a 10-year coach at the club.
We’re told what Miller meant was that they want to create an environment where a calibre of coach like Thorn would want to remain at the club for 10 years.
But Thorn’s calibre has yet to be proven by the results.
Thorn built his mantra around defence at the start of the year and Queensland - the worst performing Australian Super team with four wins - have already conceded 61 tries, the same amount as last year under sacked coach Nick Stiles.
Heads have been scratching over the comment, given no coach in any sport anywhere in the world is offered 10-year contracts. And Thorn is contracted until the end of next year anyway.
What has baffled insiders is why the QRU is looking at such long-term plans when they’re in immediate financial strife.
The Reds went to Rugby Australia recently to get an advance on a scheduled six-figure payment, which they received.
SUPPORT: Reds move to secure Thorn on 10-year deal
But we hear they have also taken a huge line of credit with sponsor St George Bank. The Reds wouldn’t comment.
All this while crowds dwindle and losses pile up.
Thorn has the best young group of players in the country.
His hard style of coaching has not reaped dividends but the QRU believes he will next year when the youngers are more experienced at Super level.
The whispers continue to grow louder that Israel Folau will join the Reds next season. If he does switch states, it would help boost the QRU’s bottom line.
But as with all coaches, Thorn’s future will live and die by wins and losses.
THE $1 MILLION CLUB MIDFIELD
THE other major issue bubbling along in Queensland is the sidelining of major stars Quade Cooper and Karmichael Hunt.
We can reveal that Hunt is now set to join Cooper at the Souths club in Queensland’s club competition.
Hunt had attempted to play for his clubs Norths, who decided they weren’t going to pick him due to his drugs arrest and ensuing controversy, the reason why he’s been black-listed by Thorn.
But now Souths are set to swoop in, meaning they’ll field a world-class midfield combination of two former Wallabies.
Hunt has also returned to Reds training, but Thorn has no intention of selecting him in future.
“Karmichael Hunt’s lawyers have requested that he returns to work, and the QRU is obliged to have him at work,” a QRU spokesman said.
But Hunt is in a reconditioning program and won’t be playing Super Rugby for the Reds in future.
However, there are serious concerns over comments made by Brisbane City NRC coach Mick Heenan that neither Cooper or Hunt will play in the domestic competition.
The pair are still earning highly lucrative salaries while being sidelined by the Reds, and moves to block them playing in the NRC will not go down well with Rugby Australia or tournament broadcasters FoxSports.
There will be heavyweights getting involved on this issue.
IPL OF RUGBY
JAPAN’S Top League is set to become rugby’s version of cricket’s Indian Premier League after next year’s World Cup.
That is the prediction of Sunwolves coach Tony Brown, who is expecting many of the game’s biggest names to remain in Japan after the World Cup.
“I would say that it would be a good little money spinner for the best players in the world, it’ll be an eight-week competition, a bit like the Indian Premier League,” Brown said
“I think that you’ll see a lot of the best players in the world staying in Japan after the World Cup and playing for company teams.”
Brown also believes Japan’s Brave Blossoms can reproduce another historic upset on home soil like they did against South Africa in 2015.
“We’re preparing to not only do one upset but a number of upsets,” Brown said.
“I think we’ve got enough quality players and if we get our preparation right and our game right and perform on the day then there’s no reason why we can’t perform against teams like Scotland and Ireland (In their pool at World Cup).”
HORSING AROUND
THE $100,000 Wallaby Cup horse race will be run over 1800m at Royal Randwick on Saturday, and players from the Australian sevens team will run a coaching clinic there beforehand.
Australian men’s captain Lewis Holland and vice-captain Jesse Parahi will present the trophy to the Wallaby Cup winner, with the Chris Waller-trained Dagny, Vaucluse Bay and Chatelard among the favourites.
Sevens players will run a ball skills clinic for punters from 11.30am-12.30pm.
On Wednesday women’s sevens star Dominique du Toit and men’s flyer Maurice Longbottom posed with The Wallabies Cup.
THE RAT PARK PACK
UP to 10,000 club rugby fans are expected to be at Rat Park for the grudge match between Warringah and Manly on Saturday at 3pm.
The Shute Shield continues its huge success from last year and even the replays shown on FoxSports are recording healthy viewership.
Unfortunately for the Waratahs, who are hosting the Sunwolves at Allianz Stadium, most of the diehard club rugby fans are unlikely to make the trip down the Spit Bridge after the contest.
Defending champions Warringah (third) will be looking to avenge the 34-24 defeat they suffered last time the sides met, while Manly want to extend their lead at the top of the table.
BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO IDOL
YOU sometimes underrate the mana of the truly great players as this meeting between Wallaby Lukhan Tui and All Blacks great Jerome Kaino demonstrated a week ago.
Our man in Brisbane, Jim Tucker, noted that when Kaino visited the Queensland Reds dressing room after his last match at Eden Park as a Blues player last Friday night, he sought out Brad Thorn his 2011 World Cup-winning packmate.
Had the absolute honour to share the field with my childhood rugby hero lastnight. Congrats @jeromekaino on a legendary Blues & All Blacks career. Thank you for inspiring myself and many young rugby players out there by the way you played the game. All the best in France uso 🙌🽠pic.twitter.com/UqGXTAIFKZ
— Lukhan Tui (@LukhanTui) June 30, 2018
Tui also got to talk with a player he idolised when growing up in Auckland and presented Kaino with his Reds’ No.6 jersey as a gift.
“Had the absolute honour to share the field with my childhood rugby hero. Thank you for inspiring myself and many young players out there by the way you played,” Tui posted on Instagram.
The flashback photo posted by Tui (top left), as a kid in a Blues jersey, said it all.