Photo courtesy of http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com
My sincerest apologies for the quite obscene t-shirt picture. I thought it was funny. I guess I’m sick.
However, I don’t think the state of Wallaby rugby is funny. I think it’s completely fucked.
The Australian Rugby team is now fifth on the IRB Rankings. It’s lowest ranking ever. This is a side that has won the William Webb Ellis Trophy twice. They have a very good record against the All Blacks (historically). Internally, they have the current Super Rugby Title (don’t get me started). They have a proud history in the sport and now they’re 5th.
Why does this bother me? They are one of our fiercest rivals, along with England and South Africa. We should be thrilled that they’ve reached new depths of ridiculousness. Everybody is thrilled, everyone is delighted – wonderful, great, super duper. “Well I’m not Doug!!!!” (Sorry, Happy Gilmore reference)
I’ll give you some reasons why I need the Wallabies to be great….well second anyway.
The Bledisloe Cup. We can’t go on beating the Aussies like a drum. We need them to be great to keep us, the All Blacks, sharp. We also need that rivalry to be carried into the World Cup – to keep us performing at our best. You’ll probably realise this is totally All Blacks driven by now – I make no apologies.
The ITM Cup. If the Wallabies are great, then the All Blacks will be great(er). This means that the foundation of New Zealand rugby is broad and solid. Like Wyatt Crockett. If the ITM Cup is un-good then All Blacks is un-good and Dan is un-happy. Shit. I’m on all manner of weird drugs to keep me sane, the last thing I need is my passion to be trash.
So, how do we get Michael Cheika to get his canary yellow boys with the green shorts to be good again? I’d like to say “Fucked if I know!!!”, but I can’t. This is more than a game to me. This is more than a game to many people. Many people I know. The answer lies with the ITM Cup.
What if (picture a really excited brainstorming session) the ITM Cup was inclusive of the Aussies in place of the Super 4,972,368,379,172 competition? This would develop home grown players in both New Zealand and Australia. It would also mean that the threat of clubs taking over the international game would be diffused. It doesn’t mean we cut South Africa out of the picture. They already have an incredibly successful competition called the Currie Cup. And, weren’t they a bit scarier when they were isolated. Going to the republic seemed like a big deal – a mystical journey filled with intrigue and drama. Now, it’s a long flight to deal with high altitude and quota systems.
So, please Wallabies – sort it out!!!!
mysportingvoice.com 