Rugby Confidential: Queensland in line to host two Bledisloe Cup clashes in October
Countries are growing more optimistic about the chances of staging international rugby matches soon, with a Bledislow Cup double header likely for Queensland. Get the latest whispers in Rugby Confidential.
Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Rugby Australia is prepared to stick with a domestic competition for the next two seasons if New Zealand doesn’t agree to a trans-Tasman competition either in 2021 or 2022.
Rugby Confidential understands that the Kiwis have still not made a firm decision on whether they will play in a competition featuring all five Australian teams despite reports they were now on board with the proposal.
Watch every game of Super Rugby AU Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly
Buoyed by the runaway success of Super Rugby AU, Rugby Australia’s position remains unchanged: it’s all or nothing, so plans are now being made to persevere with the domestic competition for as long as it takes.
Rugby Confidential has already revealed both countries are planning to run separate tournaments next year to buy more time before reuniting in 2022 but RA is now preparing for different contingencies.
TESTING TIMES
There has been better progress on this year’s proposed international matches.
New Zealand is now hugely optimistic that it will be able to host The Rugby Championship as planned despite the recent spike in COVID cases across the ditch.
The six-week tournament will kick off as scheduled on November 7 and end on December 12 and will include both Argentina and South Africa, despite misguided reports the world champion Springboks were heading to Europe instead.
Queensland is now likely to host both Bledisloe Cup matches before The Rugby Championship – on October 10 and October 17 – because of the problems crossing borders.
Suncorp was already locked in for the second match and Sydney and Perth were in line to host Game One after Melbourne was ruled out, but that will now go to either Brisbane or the Gold Coast with talks already well developed.
SEEING RED
Getting both Bledisloe Cup matches is unlikely to appease the rugby community in the Sunshine State, who are unimpressed by the Queensland state government’s chest beating about securing the AFL grand final.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and tourism Minister Kate Jones have been sprouting about the economic benefits big sports events will bring to Queensland but the rugby brigade is running out of patience for confirmation the planned redevelopment of Ballymore is going ahead.
The federal government has already pledged $15 million to redevelop the spiritual home of the Reds into a state of the art national training centre but the state government has been holding matching that despite Jones recently telling local radio it’s “long overdue”.
Rubbing salt into Queensland’s wounds is that Victoria announced earlier this week it was funding the development of a “new home” for rugby in the state.
TV TALKS
Any rugby supporters hoping that Friday’s submission deadline for potential broadcast partners will deliver a quick windfall are set to be disappointed.
The deadline for expressions of interest marks just the beginning of the process to try and rebuild the game’s financial health, not the end, so no big announcements will be forthcoming.
Rugby Australia has already revealed that it is willing to sell the rights to different competitions to different broadcasters rather than sell the lot so the process will continue until all the deals are done.
CLUB RUGBY ON HOLD
The uncertainty about whether the Waratahs will make the Super Rugby AU playoff or not has cost Shute Shield teams the chance to get players back a week earlier.
The Waratahs will be back at training on Friday and will remain in the bubble until their season is officially over – which could be as early as Saturday if the Rebels beat the Force – but that will be too late for this weekend’s round.
Anyone on Dave Rennie’s ‘player of national interest’ (PONI) list will be prevented from playing club rugby but the rest will be released immediately. Any Western Force players who are picked will be asked to train on the East Coast instead of returning to Perth.
TIMELY RETURN
Brumbies young gun Noah Lolesio is on track to make his return in the Super Rugby AU grand final on September 19.
Sidelined since mid July because of a hamstring injury, the former Junior Wallaby has been back training and will be available for selection.
The first order of business for the Brumbies as soon as they secured the final was to send a request to the ACT government asking for a bigger crowd.
The Brumbies have been restricted to crowds of 1,500 at GIO Stadium since the domestic competition kicked off but that was doubled to 3,000 for last weekend’s match against the Western Force.
Now they’ve asked for the capacity to be doubled again – to 6,000 plus 500 corporate seats – for the first final in Canberra since 2004.
HORAN: HOW THORN HAS BENEFITED FROM COVID SHUTDOWN
— Tim Horan
There are few people in Australian rugby that have been blessed more by COVID-19 than the Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn.
All coaches in all sports are always under pressure but Thorn was under more than most after the Reds made a slow start to his third season in charge.
The Reds won six games under Thorn in 2018 and six more in 2019 so supporters and stakeholders were looking for a better return on their investment in him.
That meant in 2020 winning at least eight games for a pass mark because he’s had the same squad together for a while now, with the addition of some fresh faces in Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson.
Two wins from the first seven matches of the full Super Rugby competition wasn’t what anyone wants from a head coach you want to keep investing in so COVID has been the break Thorn needed both for his current and future coaching career.
The stop then switch in competitions has been a godsend because it allowed Thorn to recalibrate and turn the Reds around.
The Reds are through to the finals for the first time since 2013 and have got some real stability back in the club with the CEO, chairman and head coach all having been there for a few years now.
Playing in a domestic Super Rugby competition makes a big difference because it’s so difficult to build confidence in players when teams are getting beaten every second weekend.
We’re not that far behind New Zealand in terms of our skill levels but the real benefit of Super Rugby AU is that it has been breeding more confidence in everyone — players, coaches and supporters alike — because teams are winning more often.
Brad Thorn’s always been a tough but fair coach and what I really like about his coaching is that he’s always willing to give players an opportunity.
He doesn’t just stick with the same team week in, week out so if you’re training hard and you come off the bench for 10 minutes and make a good impression, then he’ll give you a chance and that just creates a really positive environment and competitive tension within the team.
I’m looking forward to seeing Jordan Petaia starting at outside centre this week. He’s played two really solid matches on the wing but we’re stacked for sensational wingers in Australian rugby at the moment so the centres is where Jordan needs more time to play because that’s one of the hardest positions to defend from.
What’s also clear from the domestic Super Rugby competition is that Australia has got five really good head coaches at the moment.
Dan McKellar is now a very experienced and innovative coach and Dave Wessels has been doing a good job with the Rebels for a while now.
The Waratahs are showing a lot of improvement under Rob Penney in his first season and will only get better and while the Western Force haven’t won yet, I think Tim Sampson has the potential to be a very good coach and I rate him highly.
If the trans-Tasman competition doesn’t go ahead next year, Australia will only benefit from playing another year of domestic rugby.
Are we ready to play New Zealand teams every second week? Yes.
Will our teams get beaten from time to time? Yes, but not as much as previously.
I’d love to see us playing New Zealand teams in 2021 but if that doesn’t happen, 2022 will be the perfect time to step it up because the year before every World Cup is always the most important on the calendar.
MORE RUGBY
IT’S DO-OR-DIE AND THE REBELS KNOW IT
PETAIA AND KURIDRANI ALL SET TO LOCK HORNS
Reds superstar Jordan Petaia will line up against his Wallabies World Cup teammate Tevita Kuridrani in Saturday’s top of the table Super Rugby AU clash against the Brumbies.
Even though the result will have no bearing on the competition, both teams are rolling out their big guns to try and gain a psychological edge before the final.
The Brumbies will host the decider on September 19 no matter what happens this Saturday while the Reds will play either the Rebels or the Waratahs to decide who joins them in Canberra.
Petaia has been playing on the wing for the Reds since returning from injury but is expected to move to outsider centre after Josh Flook dislocated his shoulder two weeks and has since undergone surgery.
Chris Feauai-Sautia will return from injury to fill Petaia’s place on the wing, with Hunter Paisami starting off the bench.
Kuridrani has missed the Brumbies last two matches so is likely to be rushed back this weekend to get another game under his belt before the final – setting up a mouth-watering clash with Petaia which new Wallaby coach Dave Rennie will be watching closely.
Test hooker Folau Fainga’a is also expected to return to the Brumbies starting side for the first time in four weeks with Bayley Kuenzle calling the shots at five-eighth after signing a one-year extension.
South African-born flanker Brynard Stander is in line for a recall to the Western Force side to take on the Melbourne Rebels in Newcastle.
The Rebels need to win by four points or more to leapfrog the Waratahs and snatch the last spot in the finals but aren’t expecting any favours from the Western Australians.
The Force haven’t won a game this season but remain bitter rivals with the Rebels after they were cut from the competition in 2017 and the Victorians got to stay.
“We want to get our win for the season and we want to end on a real high,” Stander said. “That is very important for us, not just for the team but for the whole organisation.”
Originally published as Rugby Confidential: Queensland in line to host two Bledisloe Cup clashes in October