Aussie Pro Rugby
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Got smashed in both grades on the weekend. Now everyone is talking about contracting to one Grade.
Thing is, last two weeks were the toughest in the comp - away against the biggest sides who will probably contest the Grand Final short of a serious upset. Both heavy Islander influence (the backline were speaking almost exclusively Samoan yesterday) and some freaking awesome talent on display. Those guys could help Parramatta or Penrith at Premier level!
For the next five games its mostly smaller teams, mostly based out of the eastern suburbs, and we stand a chance of beating them in both grades with enough numbers. But if we don't snag 2 full Grades + 5 spare, then the Committee are calling Second Grade off, fuck the part-timers, and rebuild the club with just the one grade.
I'm still on the fence about that plan. Its not going to help the club grow, but then you could easily destroy a club through injuries.
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Oh God AIG have released an extremely cringy "diversity" video with the All Blacks, probably in response to the Folau nonsense.
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@no-quarter It was always going to be released at some point. Folau or no Folau.
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@stargazer said in Aussie Rugby in general:
@no-quarter It was always going to be released at some point. Folau or no Folau.
Yeah, no doubt. It is cringy as hell though!
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@no-quarter Yep!
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@no-quarter You reckon the next jersey will have that rainbow In the armpit?
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@Sapetyvi they've already butchered the jersey with the AIG logo, may as well add some rainbow colours as well...
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@no-quarter I would say this has been in the pipelines since the stripper incident and some of the other off-field issues rugby players have been involved with in the past couple of years.
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It's actually a pretty cool idea, but I'm biased, I had two gay friends here yesterday and we were talking about how I'd deal with it if my boy turns out to be gay (my answer: first openly gay All Black). I know some of the peeps at Hakuhodou, who designed the campaign. I think it's actually more focused upon AIG, who seem to be using the ABs to push their diversity message in Japan. The Folau situation may have influenced the timing of the release perhaps.
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@no-quarter I doubt it was the intention, but I burst out laughing when the jets flew over.
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Anyway back on Australian Rugby for a moment
Our division (5th Div) has eight clubs, five of which looked like fielding 2 Grades this season. Now it looks more like 3. The young guys running a club over near Botany have forfeited two weeks of 2nd Grade so far, and we're about to start doing the same.
Have been through the numbers, and they don't stack up for two Grades. Its at a point where I'm probably starting First Grade until two other guys recover from injury - if they come back at all.
As it is, I'm on 83 games with the club, so I can't make the ton this year anyway.
And will probably break myself anyway. -
How Kiwis killed off Australian Rugby
Odd article, makes some great points but headline and ending is that this is what we want?
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@taniwharugby does Hinds think he's funny? Or is he actually Greg Growden?
Just as an anecdotal backup to the article: I'm in the local pub which "sponsors" our rugby club, and couldn't find the Waratahs v Lions game last week, nor can we find Canes v Moondog this week
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Lost today - though thankfully I didn't have to play. The opposition were mostly young and quick and they scored their tries around the outside. We bashed them up the middle for three of our own. Discipline and composure finished us, though.
In good news, Parramatta Two Blues won all four of their Grade games against Gordon
37-26
20-19
25-17
15-10
Colts was a slightly different matter: Gordon winning at home 71-0 and 97-5 and of course the customary forfeit for Parra Colts 3Penrith saw no relief, even at home against Warringah:
5-87
0-95
3-57
10-15
Their Colts travelled to Rat Park and got trounced 81-zip, 57-7, and 36-10 -
Penrith Emus to be booted out of Shute Shield
Adam Lucius and Brendan Bradford
Updated at 4:27 a.m. ETAfter 23 years in the Shute Shield, the Penrith Emus are officially extinct.
As revealed by Sporting News in February, the Sydney Rugby Union gave the struggling western Sydney club four weeks to show they deserve a place in the competition, but the club failed to meet a number of key criteria.
After being belted 87-5 by premiers Warringah on Saturday - Penrith’s fourth heavy loss in as many weeks - the axe will fall on Monday.
It's understood the SRU's decision has the full backing of the NSWRU.
The Emus have win just won game in four years and are regularly on the wrong end of cricket score hidings.
They were beaten 62-7 by Souths in round one, 97-0 by Uni in round two and 43-10 by Gordon in week three.
Penrith's lower grades also regularly received thrashings and there were concerns over the number of players forced to back-up due to the lack of depth across the grades.
Games already played against Penrith - and those scheduled fore the rest of the season - will be officially recorded as 28-0 bonus point victories to their opposition.
When contacted on Sunday evening, Emus president Jim Hook said he was being left in the dark about what was happening.
"I know nothing about it," he told Sporting News.
"I know nothing more than what's out there. They (the SRU) could have a meeting this week, I don't know.
"It would be a pretty horrific decision if they went negative. It's not just Penrith, it's the development of the game in Western Sydney.
"We've been set some KPIs in terms of fielding teams, and we felt we've been meeting them."
Earlier in the week, when asked about constant speculation that Penrith could be axed, Hook said the club had received next to no support from any of the game's governing bodies.
“I can tell you that Penrith are under extreme pressure and are working really hard to develop rugby in Western Sydney,” Hook told Sporting News.
“At the moment we’re seeking support from Rugby Australia, New South Wales and the Sydney Rugby Union, because we believe that the two million people in Western Sydney deserve to have a rugby team to represent all the population.
“We’ve had no support, we’ve had to survive on a shoestring.
"The problem is that as amateurs, the reality is that people move on.
"It’s a tough environment as a coach and as an administrator, and without any real assistance."
Emus coach, Peter Niumata - who took over the reins from former Wallaby Julian Huxley this year - said rumours of the club's demise had been swirling for years.
"We're aware of it, but all of that is external noise," he told Sporting News.
"If you let it get to you, it becomes an internal mess. At this stage, we're a happy group, believe it or not.
"I've been around Penrith for the last 10 or 12 years and when the previous coach quit, word went round and got back to me. I live out in Penrith, and I'm happy to do it.
"Every club has its own challenges, but any coaching opportunity I get is a privilege."
The Emus entered the Shute Shield in 1995 with high hopes the club would become a powerhouse.
But that never really materalised - and the SRU felt it has no option but to cull the club and start again with a new plan for rugby in Sydney's west.
Penrith Emus to be booted out of Shute Shield
