Memories of rugby fan Prince Philip

Prince Philip with grandsons Harry and William at Twickenham in 2015

Thank you for your incredible response to last week’s column about Israel Folau.

Not everyone shares Folau’s faith, but the vast majority support his right to express his religious beliefs.

Spencer wrote: “Considering we are in the age of rights for every man/woman and their dog, it seems that Folau is denied any rights at all. The hypocrisy is breathtaking.”

Marc: “Never thought I’d live in a country where quoting the Bible was seen by the administrators of a noble game like rugby as worse than a criminal offence.”

Rod: “The Folau fiasco was an abject lesson in why sporting organisations should not engage in social issues. This ex-fan won’t be returning to the game any time soon.”

Anthony: “Unfortunately, Alan, ‘forgiveness’ and ‘redemption’ are not words that have meaning in today’s kangaroo court society. Their motto: Once offended, never mended.”

Simply, Folau’s rejection is nothing more than moral cowardice by administrators.

I can only hope that the decision-makers at Rugby Australia are listening to our collective voices.

The James O’Connor story, as I have said, is classic redemption.

Last week, O’Connor and a committed Queensland team found a way to overcome the Brumbies in their second come-from-behind triumph over a good outfit from the ACT.

Full marks to coach Brad Thorn and Captain O’Connor.

Queensland’s two epic encounters with the Brumbies have been major triumphs for the code this year; indeed, Super Rugby AU has been a pandemic blessing for the game in Australia.

Now the question looms, can we “aim up” in the trans-Tasman rounds?

While the Red’s supporters were celebrating their win, there was the sad news of the death of Prince Philip.

The Prince was a knowledgeable rugby fan. The great Mark Ella tells the story of how the Prince cheekily told him, “You have put on weight, haven’t you?”, after Mark retired from playing Test footy.

The Prince also gave the celebrated Welsh referee Nigel Owens a blast at a Buckingham Palace reception, saying: “When are you going to sort out the scrum feeds?”

A good point.

Only a few weeks ago, the England World Cup winner Mike Tindall and his wife Zara, granddaughter of Prince Philip, named their newborn son Lucas Philip Tindall.

Young Lucas was born at home on the bathroom floor, in similar circumstances to the birth of Prince Philip, born on the kitchen table of the family villa in Corfu, almost a 100 years ago.

The Prince was a regular at Twickenham. The rugby world will be thinking of the Prince and his family on Saturday because Philip was a consummate team player, what every good coach seeks from his rugby charges.

To matters closer to home, the 40-man Wallaby squad assembled this week in Sydney, only a few days after director of rugby Scott Johnson publicly appealed to Rugby Australia for a contract extension. Johnson should not be retained by a cash-strapped administration.

He is managed by Esportif and brought to Australia the Wallaby coach Dave Rennie, also managed by Esportif.

He then convinced a bumbling administration of Raelene Castle and Cameron Clyne that the solution to the rugby problem was to hire a head coach and a director of rugby, both appointments Esportif stable mates.

If Johnson’s efforts are measured by results, how can he be retained? He started at Rugby Australia in December 2018 and, since that time, our results have been on the decline. If he’s in charge of the Wallabies’ program, he must be accountable for the failure.

In 2019, the Wallabies won four out of 10 Test matches; in 2020, they won one out of six.

How can Rugby Australia continue to pay Johnson $500,000 — it may be more — to ride shotgun for his Esportif stable mate Rennie?

In Scotland, Johnson was criticised for pushing Esportif coaches into key positions. He’s done the same thing here in Australia.

The Wallabies defence coach Matt Taylor is represented by Esportif; so is the Wallabies scrum coach, Petrus du Plessis.

Remember, all these coaches are in full-time roles, yet last season the Wallabies played only six Test matches.

All up, the cost of the salaries for coaches and trainers would be well over $3 million. It’s a big coaching bill for one victory in 2020.

In addition to this expansive coaching team, Johnson also presides over an entourage of rugby bureaucrats.

Can you believe this? The Wallabies have a dedicated full-time “contractor” who manages the players’ deals.

It’s the head coach and the CEO’s job to manage the playing roster.

On top of the “contractor”, there is a dedicated full-time team manager for six tests.

In addition to the contractor and team manager, there is a high-performance manager. He’s clearly not doing too well because there is clearly little high performance.

On top of the full-time contractor, team manager and high or low performance manager, there is a talent development manager. He’s also clearly underperforming because most of our talented youngsters end up in rugby league.

I’m guessing these fat cat RA bureaucrats are all well paid, so we are possibly talking another $2 million a year for another layer of administrators. The cost of this extravagance is breathtaking.

I spoke at a rugby lunch in Newcastle last week for more than 500 people. These rusted on rugby supporters are not happy. They see a Wallaby team underperforming and a coach blaming the losses on a young team, which happens to be the team he selected.

My 1984 Grand Slam team was younger than the 2020 Wallabies. Picking young players is not an excuse for failure.

It’s Test match rugby. You pick the best team and you play to win, no excuses.

Finally, a word on the Waratahs’ search for a new coach.

I understand the selection panel includes Matt Burke, Richard Harry and, of course, Johnson.

Both Burke and Harry were terrific players, but they have no experience in coaching. And Johnson was party to picking the last coach, who has now been moved on.

Does anyone on the panel understand coaching and is this the best way to select a new Waratahs’ coach?

You would think it would make sense for the panel to include some successful former coaches. We do have coaches in this country who have won a thing or two.

It seems that, on the playing field and off the playing field, Rugby Australia has some magnificent resources. It’s a pity they aren’t accommodated.