Jesse the giant; Kurtley the crab
27 Feb 2013
Brumbies fullback Jessie Mogg statistically is among the stars in the early stages of this season’s Super Rugby.
The full list of all the relevant statistics is listed on the Sydney Morning Herald’s Rugbyheaven website.
Mogg, in points, kicking metres and running metres has had a huge impact in the Brumbies two tournament wins.
The statistics will have greater relevance once all the teams have played more than just a single match, but already Wallabies utility back Kurtley Beale is being consistent with his strongest and weakest aspects of his game.
Beale and fellow Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper lead the offloads in tackle count with five, but Beale also leads the most missed tackles with 10 in just two matches.
Sharks captain Frans Steyn showed strength in the tackle with three offloads in tackle situations against the Cheetahs and Morne Steyn already is among those making an impression with an outstanding tactical kicking performance against the Stormers.
81 Comments
27 Feb 2013, 00:49 am
I have seen a few football teams post their harlem shakes and what do the bulls post – “oh stand, stand by me oh wont you stand stand by me!!!”
Suppose you cant blame the bulls for breaking out!!
27 Feb 2013, 01:13 am
@wallabie.-1: its all part of the ongoing “emasculation” process happening in Pretoria
first pink shirts
second, singing as one big chorus
third – their time of months will line up and be in harmony
its all to usher in their new name, the pretoria heifers
27 Feb 2013, 02:31 am
Jesse Mogg… plucked from club rugby obscurity by the magician Jake White… to Wallaby in one season!
27 Feb 2013, 06:18 am
jake is no magician, easy with the hyperbole.
27 Feb 2013, 06:20 am
i see jj engelbrecht in the new Men’s Health…following in hougaard’s shoes.
27 Feb 2013, 06:59 am
@Transformation-4:
Not my description, directly from the Australian press…
The point remains… and you can add Tomane, Palmer, Nic White, Hooper to that list…
27 Feb 2013, 07:00 am
@bryce_in_oz-3: He is a class player, gots a good left foot on him as well.
27 Feb 2013, 07:03 am
@bryce_in_oz-6: Jake has done wonders with that Brumbies team, especially after they lost so much good experienced players like George Smith, Adam Ashley Cooper, etc
27 Feb 2013, 07:04 am
straying from rugby for a moment, regarding OP and the RS murder i really found the private memorial service he hosted to honour/mourn RS a little weird and unsettling.
did he have the right to do this and was it with the consent of her family? i might be wrong but i cannot say i have ever come across anything similar to this? i also could not shake the feeling that it is all ‘seemingly’ stage managed? as much as may be made of the fact that he supposedly loved her deeply and all that, they were only romantically involved for about two months?
and was this information uncovered by the media or perhaps ‘leaked’ to the press intentionally? what is going on here? i find it all a little strange.
my gut is saying something’s not right here and i cannot shake this feeling.
27 Feb 2013, 07:11 am
@bryce_in_oz-6:
@Sasuke-8:
i think you are jumping the gun somewhat with all this Jake White hype.
i will save my opinions for closer to the seasons end.
just my 2 cents worth.
27 Feb 2013, 07:12 am
@Sasuke-7:
He’s also visibly bigger and faster this season… on consecutive weeks now he’s burned both Ione and then J’OC on the outside…
27 Feb 2013, 07:23 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-10:
What hype?
No need to hype any of what he has achieved with his out-of-the-box thinking for the Brumbies… rugby results aside… these are the ‘facts’…
-Re-ignited the ACT club rugby scene by banning all contracted players from repping anywhere else other than locally
-Second season now Brumbies have started their conditioning season 3 months before the rest
-His player-specific nutrition cafe and take-home program now in second season
-5 players were plucked from outside of Super-rugby and made the Wallaby training squad in their first season.
-Stole David Pocock from right under the noses of my Rebels (when contracts were all but signed.
-Brought Rathbone back (now Smith) to rapturous applause from one of ACT’s biggest crowds in years…
And I could go on…
27 Feb 2013, 07:25 am
I have Jesse in my fantasy team, racking up the points.
27 Feb 2013, 07:29 am
@bryce_in_oz-6: gee wiz, after bleating about how injury ridden they were now we have to hear how all these aus new wallabies were magically ‘discovered’ by jake
aus played brett sheehan @ 9 last year, that should tell you all you need to know about doling out Test caps.
27 Feb 2013, 07:32 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-9: his UK publicist – the former editor of the Sun tabloid – orchestrated the whole thing.
27 Feb 2013, 07:34 am
only in America
Piers Morgan
@ piersmorgan
6h
Tonight I go head-to-head with the
Virginia pizza restaurant owner who
gives discounts to customers carrying
guns. It gets lively. #CNN 9pm
27 Feb 2013, 07:40 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-9:
i have that same feeling bakkies. sadly i dont think we will ever hear the whole truth.
27 Feb 2013, 08:06 am
@bryce_in_oz-12:
forgive me but perhaps i dont understand hype or success anymore these days.
so this guy’s great because:
1. he got his squad to start training a little earlier than normal.
2. is making his contracted fringe players play locally.
3. has gotten a nutritionist (sp?) to prepare menus for players (is this new?).
4. bought a big name player (i’ll give you that) who is half game changer half penalty liability (he’s won them games but also lost them games).
5. ressurected a 30 something year old former wallabie’s career who happens to be highly injury prone and certainly is not considered a ‘great’.
ok, the “5 players were plucked from outside of Super-rugby and made the Wallaby training squad in their first season.” is good, i’ll give him that.
ok, well good to know. i would like to think that winning cups and titles should count for something but hey… what do i know…
@Transformation-15:
well that explains a lot.
i think its a little trashy and tasteless really.
or at the least weird and unsettling.
@mamma_lou-17:
terrible and sad really, ML.
27 Feb 2013, 08:11 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-18:
I saw the layout of his house on the news here, clearly he’s lying.
27 Feb 2013, 08:12 am
@bryce_in_oz-12:
what i’m saying is i dont consider these achievements really in the proper sense of the word.
they are innovations which, while laudable, are only to be judged in the context of whether he ‘achieves’ any success as the coach/manager of a rugby team.
if he wins nothing but gets them further up the ladder than they have been for a while this would also not qualify as an achievement worthy of publically lauding for me.
27 Feb 2013, 08:14 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-10: For us it’s 2 cents worth, Bakks.
For you the price is Aus$3!!!
27 Feb 2013, 08:18 am
@NZINCHINA-19:
i think there are very few people who believe his version of events.
its still terible and sad all the same.
27 Feb 2013, 08:25 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-22:
I think RS’s family has being trying maintain an air of dignity about the whole thing.
But the gloves are about to come off.
27 Feb 2013, 08:26 am
I saw Searching for Sugarman last night.
Great “feelgood” documentary.
After watching it I immediately went on to wiki to find out more.
Apparently Rodriguez is well known in NZ and Australia as well and toured Australia in 1979, 1981, 2007, with the Mark Gillespie Band and Midnight Oil, and for the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival.
This was never mentioned in the documentary and contradicts the theory that nobody ever knew him outside of South Africa.
Also in the documentary he is depicted as living a very humble life in Detroit but the homes of daughters in the background looks “middle class”.
27 Feb 2013, 08:27 am
@BrumbiesBoy-21:
hehehe
i hope you still have the gees come end of season, BB.
you know what they say, whether in rands or Ozzie dollars, ‘talk is cheap’.
27 Feb 2013, 08:33 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-18:
He clearly built the foundations in that first season (including several outside-the-box methods), then took the youngest and most inexperienced side in the entire competition from 13th to missing the play-offs by a point… next step the conference trophy and making the play-offs… all that in two seasons… but who’s getting ahead of themselves… ACT stadium was 40% fuller than it’s been in several seasons in their opening game…
27 Feb 2013, 08:35 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-18: Say what you like about Jake, and many do, but the guy is a very good coach andf technical analyst,
What amazes me is that the Brumbies didn’t have a lot of that stuff sorted before!?
27 Feb 2013, 08:36 am
@Jeraldjay-24:
Rodriguez was very big here in Australia… not one Aussie mate (my age) had not heard of him (nor did a single one think he was dead)… greater exposure to more music in Aus than we had in ‘isolated’ old RSA back in those days…
27 Feb 2013, 08:38 am
@gunther-23:
if they did fight back i would understand but personally i think they should conitnue to maintain their dignity and let the law take its course.
27 Feb 2013, 08:42 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-22:
Including his own lawyers.
27 Feb 2013, 08:45 am
@bryce_in_oz-26:
@stormersboy-27:
fair enough, i hear you both.
good luck to him and hopefully he will achieve the success that matters most.
27 Feb 2013, 08:48 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-29:
They’ve hired a PI.
I expect more to follow.
The nationall enquirer (I know) has come out with the story that she was pregnant and thats the source of the fight.
Joh.
27 Feb 2013, 08:48 am
@stormersboy-27:
I wasn’t a believer after his poor Bokke record but he’s done a great job at the Brumbies in a very short time, the Aus conference looks very weak this year Jakie should make the playoffs.
27 Feb 2013, 08:50 am
@bryce_in_oz-12:
” -His player-specific nutrition cafe and take-
home program now in second season”
jake white knows nothing about nutrition
The changes aren’t just limited
to on field coaches, with a new head strength
and conditioning coach in Dean Benton
joining the club. Benton has previously
worked with Jones in the Wallabies set
up and has also worked with the
Brisbane Broncos NRL club and comes
highly recommended.
Benton doesn’t just look after the gym
side of things and has helped the club
employ a chef that will look after the
players breakfast and lunch needs with
specially prepared meals. Bentons
association with the Australian Institute
of Sport, which is based in Canberra,
has helped come up with nutritional
meals and will go a long way to getting
the playing squad in the best shape
they can be for the rigors of Super
Rugby.
benton was recommended to the Brumbies by Jones & not Jake.
27 Feb 2013, 08:51 am
@bryce_in_oz-28:
Hey his mystic made for a great documentary, which won the Oscar and put a positive spin on South Africa.
27 Feb 2013, 08:52 am
@gunther-32:
At the very least he’ll be convicted for man slaughter, how long do you get in the clink for that in SA?
27 Feb 2013, 08:54 am
@Jeraldjay-24:
Youre forgetting that althought the doccy was made recently, the events that lead to those two Saffas ‘finding’ him were actually way back in the early 90s which then lead to him performing in SA in 98. That is the time frame we are talking about. During the end of the Apartheid years.
Rodriguez toured Aus and NZ in 79 and 81 during the height of Apartheid when there was no internet and the news media was heavily censored
.
There is no way that an artist singing anti establishment songs while touring with a band that was pro aboriginal rights(midnight oil) would have been heard about in SA. That sort of news would never have got through the censors.
So to those two Saffas, from whos perspective the doccy is told, the story is absolutely 100% cold fact.
27 Feb 2013, 08:55 am
@NZINCHINA-33: He’s not a miracle worker as some have touted, but as coaches go he had a goal and that was to win the WC which he did achieve, and he’s doing a great job with the Brumbies who couldn’t seem to get their act together.
He can be a bot outspoken and so he rubs some up the wrong way but there’s no denying his ability
27 Feb 2013, 08:57 am
@John Galt-37: I saw the original story years ago, inspirational then,
27 Feb 2013, 08:58 am
@gunther-32:
oh dear god, i hope that isn’t true (the pregnancy angle). there is just one more sordid detail after the other surfacing from this story. i also read about rape allegations, in some or other tabloid, which i found just as disturbing.
what the hell do they want to use the Pacific Islander for..?..
27 Feb 2013, 08:59 am
@NZINCHINA-36:
His briefs will go for culpable homicide.
They’ll be hoping for no time.
27 Feb 2013, 09:00 am
@gunther-32:
pregnant by another man?
this whole thing is crazy.
27 Feb 2013, 09:01 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-42:
who knows bakkies.
27 Feb 2013, 09:02 am
@Transformation-34:
Jones?
‘Fast Eddie’?
this guy just pops up all over the place.
is there anything he hasn’t turned to gold.
27 Feb 2013, 09:03 am
@Transformation-34:
Err… you can google all you want but why not take it straight from the ACT’s mouth…
“Starting from scratch, White restructured the entire rugby program in Canberra, surrounding himself with industry pace-setters like Dean Benton (Athletic Performance Coach), Laurie Fisher (Forwards Coach), Stephen Larkham (Backs Coach) and Tony Thorpe (Team Manager). ”
There is no doubt his close-knit relationship with Jones (who is still on the pay-roll thanks to JW) helped secure the above… it’s not rocket science JW’s biggest asset is his ability to surround himself with the best… and that’s not just in rugby union…
He’s spent week’s with the Storm, weeks with the AFL, he’s been wooing the legendary Jon Donahu for quite some and is not stopping there…
27 Feb 2013, 09:08 am
@Jeraldjay-35:
Yep I enjoyed it all the same (downloaded a copy after Sundance)…
27 Feb 2013, 09:11 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-44: yeah eddie us behind george smith going to the brumbies from suntory too.
27 Feb 2013, 09:13 am
@bryce_in_oz-45: jake knows nothing about nutrition
27 Feb 2013, 09:16 am
thid is GREAT!!!!!!!!!
thank you multichoice
@ Kaunda Ntunja
Its official! We are getting our own show.
Igama lenqubo ngu – VULA NGUMBHOXO LO.
Starts on tuesday next week at 18h00 on SS4
#xhosacommentary #SSRugby
27 Feb 2013, 09:18 am
Skopskiet moaned constantly here for years saying how bad a coach Jake White is and that the 07 Boks were only good because of EJ’s influence etc. Skop was also adamant that JW would never coach any SR team to any glory whatsoever.
Skop knows his rugby. (seriously?)
27 Feb 2013, 09:24 am
Not often you see Trannie and Bakkies both outside the tent pissing in.
27 Feb 2013, 09:25 am
@gunther-51:
27 Feb 2013, 09:31 am
For my money there is not much difference between what Jake is doing to what guys like Ewan Mac and Solly are doing.
Surrounding themselves with good people and pulling the strings from the managers office.
27 Feb 2013, 09:36 am
@gunther-53:
my feeling too
but i dont want to make too much noise about it.
@gunther-51:
hehehe
27 Feb 2013, 09:53 am
Yip Jakey the fakery recognized quiet some time ago that he’s pretty useless as a hands on rugby coach so now all he does is surrounding himself with a whole bunch of people who can command respect in their appropriate fields of expertise and pulling the strings as an overrated puppet master. The critical issue in this type scenario is the puppet master got to keep his nose clean because if at any time the puppets start thinking the puppeteer don’t know wtf he’s doing then they start dancing to a complete other tune.
27 Feb 2013, 09:54 am
@gunther-53: funny you should say that, it was posted hear just yesterday that solly is doing nothing and it’s all matt sexton doing the coaching.
27 Feb 2013, 09:55 am
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-18: Oh Jake also brought bok rugby out of obscurity to win the first tri-nations in years and then completed a successfull World Cup campaign, he is also responsible for developing the most capped bok team ever? Jake was the beginning of any type of success we’ve had since Strauli.
Respect what he has done for SA and ACT, the man has shown twice now that he takes weak teams and turns them in to competitive outfits!
There is no hype, hype is before someone has proven their worth, JW has proven himself allready.
27 Feb 2013, 09:55 am
@skopdiekan-55:
27 Feb 2013, 09:56 am
@gunther-53: Like JW always said, it isn’t rocket science, but then again HM seems to be struggling with the concept big time.
27 Feb 2013, 09:57 am
@skopdiekan-55: The final piece of the puzzle fell into
place with the arrival of renowned
performance director Dean Benton to
oversee a revolutionary strength and
conditioning regime – which has already
garnered eye-catching results.
The addition of Benton, who had
previously worked with the Queensland
Reds, England’s Leicester Tigers and the
Brisbane Broncos, also provided White
with an avenue into the Australian
Institute of Sport and its world-class
cross-training facilities and sports
scientists.
“Dean had strong ties with the AIS from
his days working with the national track
and field team,” White explains.
“I mean, it is regarded as being among
the top five training centres in the world.
“And you have some of the finest athletes
and coaches on the planet coming to
train there at times throughout the year.
“For me, it has been really incredible to
have an intellectual exchange of ideas
with men like Ric Charlesworth, Frank
****, Vern Gambetta and Bill
Sweetenham – guys who have just been
leaders in their respective fields for
years.
And from a player’s perspective
you are getting the chance to train in the
same warm-down pool as Ian Thorpe or
run on the same track Sally Pearson runs
on.
“To me, it doesn’t get any better than
that in terms of motivation. If you want
to be the best – and that is what we are
all here working towards – you need to
learn how the best go about things.
27 Feb 2013, 09:58 am
@Transformation-56:
That is quite funny.
27 Feb 2013, 09:58 am
Interesting stuff, these stats.
Top 3 turnovers all No 2s.
Then the Cheetahs had the most linebreaks as a team, but don’t feature on these stats. Guess the refs made the breaks for them.
27 Feb 2013, 09:59 am
@goodstuff-59: heyneke has his Masters in Rock Science…
27 Feb 2013, 10:00 am
@skopdiekan-55: Wow, you must be one of those bulls idiots who hated JW? Right? Get over it, the man is a winner. What were the boks before JW? What was the state of the ACT Brumbies before White?
Your statement that he can’t coach is retarded in its ignorance.
27 Feb 2013, 10:04 am
@Transformation-48:
Well he is from CT… the home of the ‘Gatsby’…
27 Feb 2013, 10:51 am
Jake White coaching legacy before the advent of Eddy Jones
Played NZ 10 – won 3 lost 7
Played France 4 – won 1 lost 2 drawn 1
Played Ireland away 2 – lost 2
Played England away 3 – won 1 lost 2
Biggest international loss by a Springbok team in the Springbok historical record books 0-49 – 7 tries to zero
Anybody still thinking Jake the fake is anywhere remotely akin to a decent hands on rugby coach who only came good after he bailed out of the coaching role and handed it to his friend and mentor Jones don’t know what a good hands on rugby coach is.
He has belatedly learned that there are other far more astute rugby coaches available so all he has to do is pull the right strings make the right noises and put on a decent show of pretence and everyone will believe that the conglomerate effect is all down to his astronomical ability as a defunct hands off rugby genius.
27 Feb 2013, 11:32 am
Jake White is already the Brumbies’ third-most successful coach since the advent of Super 12, and is clearly just getting started:
Since Super 12 (Games-Win-Loss-Draw-Win%)
Rod McQueen – 1996–1997 (24-16-8-0-67%)
Eddie Jones – 1998–2001 (48-28-20-0-58%)
David Nucifora – 2002–2004 (38-24-14-0-63%)
Laurie Fisher – 2005–2008 (50-28-20-2-56%)
Andy Friend – 2009–2011 (28-17-11-0-61%)
Tony Rea – 2011 (14-3-11-0-21%)
Jake White – 2012–present (7-8-5-0-62%)
Current forwards coach Laurie Fisher was sacked for failing to get the team to perform and Larkham was attack coach under Tony Rea, who was brought in as interim coach after Andy Friend was sacked in 2011 – and achieved a magnificent 21% winning record.
So who turned this Titanic around?
Should the current success of the Brumbies be attributed to two assistant coaches who failed to perform previously, or to the head coach whose arrival has totally transformed their fortunes – lifting them from 13th spot to seventh (and it could have been much more)?
Only a desperate man with an axe to grind would say White doesn’t deserve the credit.
27 Feb 2013, 11:34 am
Jake White deserved to win Australian Super Rugby Coach of the Year Award, Sam Bruce writes
by: By Sam Bruce
From: FOX SPORTS
July 26, 2012 3:56PM
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Man with a plan … White’s four-year Brumbies blueprint took shape a little earlier than most expected.
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Brumbies coach Jake White should have been named the Australian Super Rugby Coach of the Year, despite Queensland Reds finishing higher on the table.
Reds coach Ewen McKenzie claimed back-to-back awards alongside star Reds halfback Will Genia – who was named Player of the Year – at the Australian Super Rugby Awards in Sydney on Thursday.
On the face of it – and as the ARU always rewards the highest-finishing coach – the Australian conference standings suggest McKenzie deserved the award.
But looking beyond the hard results – the Reds finished with one more victory than the Brumbies – surely White’s transformation of the Canberra-based franchise carries greater significance.
The South African took charge in Canberra after a horror 2011 season in which one coach was sacked and another launched an extraordinary post-match attack on the entire Brumbies organisation.
The Brumbies were the first side to be beaten by Melbourne Rebels, and they lost at home to the competition’s perennial strugglers, the Lions.
It was rock bottom.
After taking the reins midway through last year, White began to talk of a four-year plan for the Brumbies and his vision to return the club to the glory days from the start of the century.
Catch the Super Rugby semi-finals Live and in HD on Fox Sports! Tune into Fox Sports 3HD and Fox Sports 3 from 5:30pm (EST) Friday to see the Chiefs v Crusaders and then Fox Sports 1HD and Fox Sports 1 at 1:00am (EST) Sunday for the Stormers v Sharks clash!
But after even just a few matches, it was clear things were well ahead of schedule.
His decision to appoint Ben Mowen as captain drew criticism. It worked.
Rookies such as Jesse Mogg and Joe Tomane were introduced with immediate effect, while fringe players such as Nic White, Sam Carter and Andrew Smith were given the confidence they needed to succeed.
Former coach Laurie Fisher was brought back into the fold to give the forwards an edge, while it was easy to see Stephen Larkham’s influence on the backline – particularly on Christian Lealiifano.
There were victories in South Africa and New Zealand, and six wins out of eight against their Australian conference rivals.
In the end, the feel-good story of the season wasn’t to be as the Brumbies suffered a brain fade in their final-round clash with the Blues in Canberra.
The Reds took advantage of the Brumbies’ slip-up, sneaking into the play-offs by a solitary point.
That results means little now after the Reds were beaten by the Sharks in Brisbane in the qualifying finals.
Would the Brumbies have done any better? Who knows?
Is White angry he missed out on the Coach of the Year Award? Almost certainly not.
But his effort in lifting the Brumbies from 13th to seventh in just one season – ensuring the Australian conference wasn’t a complete laughing stock in the process – deserves another mention.
And if we’re to look beyond the final ladder, probably a little trophy too.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/brumbies-coach-jake-white-deserved-to-win-australian-super-rugby-coach-of-the-year-award/story-e6frfkp9-1226435905939#ixzz2M5fxjyPo
27 Feb 2013, 11:35 am
Was it White that Ewen beat Jake for coach of the year?
David Lord, The Roar. (view \ add comments)
Tags:Rugby Union, Ewen McKenzie, Reds, Super Rugby, Will Genia, Expert Article
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Ewen McKenzie won his fifth Australian Super Rugby coach of the year yesterday and Steve Walsh his first referee of the year award. But both selections posed interesting questions.
Coached by McKenzie, the Queensland Reds were the only Australian franchise to earn a play-off berth for coming top of the Australian Conference, finishing on 58 points with the Brumbies, but winning on a countback with 11 wins to 10 in the regular season.
But the Reds were Super Rugby champions last year, and failed to defend their title.
The Brumbies were close to last in 2011, yet went within a whisker of making this season’s play-off, thanks to their new coach, South Africa’s 2007 Rugby World Cup winning Jake White.
Which begs the question: should the coach of the year award go to the best-performed in that season, or the coach who made the greatest improvement in his franchise over the previous year?
In other words, McKenzie or White?
It was very significant that McKenzie was quick to praise White in his acceptance speech. No surprise in that: McKenzie is at all times an open book and totally honest – a breath of fresh air.
He’s one of the most respected Super Rugby coaches in the tournament’s history.
By naming White so strongly, McKenzie was virtually saying the South African deserved the recognition more than he did. And I agree.
The Brumbies were a basket-case when White took over, a franchise that had been torn apart by insipid player-power and ordinary administration.
Almost overnight, White changed the culture and the Canberra-based franchise played a lot of attractive and attacking rugby in 2012. So much so that they led the Australian Conference for almost the entire tournament, until the wheels fell off in the last two rounds.
Steve Walsh is a very different kettle of fish.
Kiwi born and bred, Walsh crossed the ditch in 2009 to become an Australian citizen and is employed by the ARU.
SANZAR now recognises Walsh as an Australian, which is categorically and legally true.
But that recognition will be really tested when the referee for the Super Rugby final is selected, which will definitely be between a South African team and a New Zealand side, on the neutral referee basis that precludes the world’s best rugby referee – South African Craig Joubert, who controlled the 2011 Rugby World Cup final – from being appointed.
Walsh will be refereeing the semi-final between the Stormers and Sharks at Newlands early Sunday morning AEST, which should make him a laydown misere to control the final.
But for the vast majority of his life – 37 out of 40 years – Walsh has been a New Zealander. And there’s no other Australian born and bred referee good enough to fill the bill.
Catch 22.
All of which made for an intriguing presentation lunch in Sydney yesterday.
Reds half-back Will Genia won his second successive player of the year award by a point over David Pocock, Scott Higginbotham, and Christian Lealiifano; and the Reds won the try of the year engineered by winger Dom Shipperley, and the team of the year, dominating the luncheon with four of the six awards.
The rookie of the year went to Brumby back Joe Tomane, who was on crutches.
If there was an award for the quote of the presentation, Tomane would have won that too.
“This time last year I was running around Ipswich playing social rugby. The move to Canberra was good because there’s nothing to do in Canberra.
“And that’s what I like doing. Nothing”.
27 Feb 2013, 11:35 am
@Transformation-60:
Oh Transformation! No wonder you ‘never’ provide sources for your ubiquitous cut-n-pastes… you ‘selectively’ omitted this first part… and the last part… wonder why that was?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/sport-active/how-to-train-like-a-brumby/story-fnc9wiz4-1226541377405
“WHEN Jake White arrived at the Brumbies last season, he went searching for an edge.
Once the dominant force in Australian rugby, the departure of greats George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff, George Smith, Jeremy Paul and Stirling Mortlock had left the Canberra-based organisation battling for relevance and struggling on the field.
“The big question facing us was how we compete with the big-city markets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne,” White says.
“We can’t compete with the corporate dollar. We don’t have the beaches or the nightlife of those bigger cities. So what could we offer them others could not?
“So we went about creating the most professional environment possible – the ideal training base for a young player wanting to get the absolute most out of themselves as professional rugby players.”
With that in mind, the World Cup-winning South African coach hired respected former Brumbies head coach Laurie Fisher as his senior assistant and former Wallabies legend Larkham to work with the backs.”
Oops and then this…
“But, as the saying goes, the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary, and work the Brumbies’ staff and players did in the lead-up to the 2012 season.
For almost two weeks, Benton and White led the players on a massive renovation of the South Canberra bowling club, transforming it from a dilapidated eyesore to a fully furnished team headquarters, complete with kitchen and dining room, sleeping rooms, hot and cold rehab station, boardroom, meeting and video rooms and gymnasium.
“It’s like our mini rugby institute,” says boom winger Joe Tomane.
“Everything we need is right here. We don’t have to go off site at all.
“Everyone put a lot of work into it to get it looking decent, and Jake made a point of getting us to take some ownership of it and to take some pride in looking after it.”
Aware they did not boast the talent or experience to compete with rival Super Rugby franchises, White and Benton devised a training program heavily focused on athletic development.
Basically, they wanted their squad to be fitter and faster than any opponent they faced.
To do this meant applying a brutal pre-season program, with players allowed just one day off a week – and then only if skin-fold measurements and fitness targets were met.
To ensure the players were getting the necessary rest and replenishment to cope with the demands of their training load, a team chef was employed to prepare breakfast and lunch for the playing group.
Nothing was left to chance.
Beds were set up for players to rest in the middle of the day – the routine and rest helping to ensure training intensity remained as high in the afternoon as it was in the morning.
Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen says: “Well, I have been a part of both the Queensland and NSW camps and, with no disrespect to them, the things I have learned just over one year here – it’s been incredible.
“I am lighter, leaner and faster than I have ever been in my career, but I am lifting weights 10 and 15 per cent heavier.
“I guess the best way to put it is I actually feel like a professional athlete these days.
“I guess, before, I don’t know that I looked at myself that way.”
The Brumbies finished 2011 with only four wins and in second-last position in the Australian conference – ahead of only newcomers the Melbourne Rebels.
In 2012, they won 10 games and missed out on the finals by the slimmest of margins.
Evidence White’s revolution has worked, but proof more work is needed.”
Oh Transy!
27 Feb 2013, 11:43 am
@skopdiekan-66:
Dumbass… you can quote your watered down stats till the cows come home… but…
He won the 3N in his first year… fact!
The IRB voted him the IRB coach of the year not once but twice… fact!
No other RSA coach has achieved that nor has won both the 3N and the RWC… fact!
And the Aussie rugby public and media are now in awe of his nouse… he (and his Brumbies) average more than an article a day in the main rugby rags… particularly as he went 1-0 in both the mind-games with McKenzie and on the scoreboard…
And now that same battle starts with their next best coach namely Cheika and his Waratahs…
27 Feb 2013, 11:45 am
JW by his own admission said the main role of a coach was player selection. its also personnel selection, he has proved quite the master in both facets. maybe he isnt the best specialist in certain areas but i dont think ACT expect that from him. coaching a high school side with one assistant is different to a super comp side. Man management is far more important, choosing the best and getting the best out of them. Something AC could learn a lot from IMO.
27 Feb 2013, 11:53 am
With this public shaming and the Frans Steyn tribute, perhaps you should give Keo a miss today Skop.
27 Feb 2013, 12:18 pm
@bryce_in_oz-70: nobody has ever asked me for links, have you ever?
27 Feb 2013, 12:20 pm
What’s KEO saying there is no better 12 in world rugby then Fran Steyn, what exactly does he base that on?
27 Feb 2013, 12:27 pm
@bryce_in_oz-70: jake knows nothing about nutrition so he couldn’t opened a ‘cafe’; true?
27 Feb 2013, 23:08 pm
So all this JW love but some seem to have forgotten that he was very unliked in 2006 and 2007. I recall for his head during these years and then one tournament all was forgotten…..he became the greatest thing since sliced bread. And he is even better now that he has left SA…..Is he that amazing?
Last week we were told JW saved Rathbone from the brinks of destruction with his therapy and now he is a magician and a nutrtionist…… all i know is when you put him side by side against Graham Henry…he does not look that great at all.
And by the way this new guy, i see he being found was due to JW…. i thought even the brumbies would have scouts….Cant imagine JW touring around colleges and club games to find players….that is not his job.
27 Feb 2013, 23:10 pm
OH and by the way i am not a JW hater.
I am stating my opinion and i think he is a good coach….not an angel that has been cast down to earth for being too good in heaven
28 Feb 2013, 00:08 am
Lots of Aussie love for jake white today.aussie rugby is kuk so I will reserve my judgment when he comes up against the top kiwi and SA franchises.
28 Feb 2013, 13:32 pm
@Hurricane-77:
Wrong… he spent his first 5 months in Australia following the club rugby scene not too mention scouring rugby league…
1 Mar 2013, 08:44 am
@bryce_in_oz-80:
So JW did scout this guy all by himself??… a year and a half ago?
OK dont believe it but it is good to see thats the only part of my post that you do not agree with
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