The Union Thread

[Lamenting Actions]

Guys, the Wallabies are 2 and 0 with this new coach whoever he is.

Yah new coach.

Another Kiwi. Herr Josef Schmidt. Most chur name ever.

[-PJ-]

Wallabies win again.

3-0 under Schmidt.

I can see Australia Day honours in this blokes future.

[Dr Zaius]

Would have collapsed otherwise...

'We had no other option': Brumbies tell members why they had to sell club

ACT Brumbies officials told the club's stakeholders they had "no other option" but to agree to a rescue package with Rugby Australia to avoid going into voluntary administration.

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14329

LETTER FROM THE BRUMBIES TO MEMBERS

We are writing to inform you that the Board of the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union has agreed to transfer the responsibility for funding and managing the ACT Brumbies to Brumbies NewCo, a company which is wholly owned by Rugby Australia. This will result in us transferring the Professional Rugby Business and related business assets to Brumbies NewCo.

Notwithstanding our early resistance to this shift, the ACT Brumbies Board and Executive have recently been working with RA to find a solution which is in the best interests of our staff, players, members, partners and key stakeholders. This is at the heart of what we are all trying to achieve to secure a sustainable future at all levels of our game and we trust, as valued members of the ACT Brumbies you join us in this endeavor.

Despite every effort to independently secure our financial future, with genuine interest from private investors, time and uncertainty around the future broadcast outlook has been our biggest hurdle to achieving this at this point in time.

As part of our agreement with Rugby Australia, we will continue to pursue viable funding solutions, including prospective private equity partnerships, with a commitment from Rugby Australia that it will return the business to the ACT&SNSWRU either partially or wholly in the future should this come to fruition.

Throughout this entire situation the interests of our organisation and our most important asset, our staff and players, have been central to our considerations. Driving our decision is the goal of stabilising our financial position. First and foremost, to protect our staff and players, while also ensuring long term success for our men's and women's teams at Super Rugby level and producing high quality players for our national sides. We believe this agreement achieves the above goals whilst also guaranteeing the ACT Brumbies remain in the national capital, tightly connected to Canberra and the surrounding region.

Through taking on the professional arm of our business, Rugby Australia has committed to supporting the organisation through the current challenging financial climate facing all Super Rugby Pacific clubs in Australia. There is a clear desire for unity and a shared sense of purpose to work collectively to create a vision for the game that will deliver improved results across every aspect of our sport.

With this positive headway, we have committed to the alignment of the high-performance and commercial operations. This step will result in the Brumbies' professional Rugby operations across high-performance (players, coaches, support staff), business operations (sponsorship, marketing, membership, ticketing) and administration (finance) shifting to Brumbies NewCo from 1 August.

ACT Brumbies players will continue to be contracted under existing arrangements and all employees will continue in their current roles under the new entity.

The integration will still require local delivery and maintain the proud history of the ACT Brumbies. The new structure also recognises that our knowledge, expertise and experience in our own local market, with members, sponsors and key stakeholders will be crucial in working with RA to support this fundamental change.

From an operational standpoint, this is a case of business as usual in our day-to-day operations as we continue to work together to achieve heightened success. Outwardly we will continue to operate as one organisation, still proudly wearing the Brumbies colours, in support of the game of rugby in the ACT and Southern NSW region, whilst inwardly we will have different structural and governance systems.

In separating the structure, the ACT and Southern New South Wales Rugby Union will continue to take full responsibility and accountability for the community game, and for delivering programs to grow participation in, and engagement with Rugby at the grassroots, working in collaboration with the Brumbies and Rugby Australia. Enabling us to continue to prioritise the community game with a sharp focus on further enhancing our thriving rugby community across Canberra and regional NSW.

The Brumbies will be governed by a separate board comprising representatives nominated by the ACT&SNSWRU and RA, with this joint governance model supporting the co-ordination and cohesion of rugby in our region.

We are reassured by this renewed willingness to work collaboratively, with all members working together to achieve greater success for Australian Rugby both on and off the field.

There is still a lot of detail to work through and as valued members of the ACT Brumbies we will continue to update you as things progress.

Read more: https://brumbies.rugby/news/rugby-austr ... del-202478

This is sad news. A number of successful national teams improves the life force of the city. I haven't watched rugby for years, but have a soft spot for the Brumbies. Also, as already pointed out in this thread, the death of the Brumbies further impacts our chance of a new rectangular stadium. Conversely I cant help but think that if we had a flash new stadium, the brumbies crowds would be better.

[Botman]

A new stadium doesnt improve the product
unquestionably a new stadium would improve the brumbies crowds, but they're a good team have mostly been a good team... the crowds are deserting them because RU is a **** product

i dont think the brumbies impact the chances of a flash new stadium at all, mostly because i think those chances are NIL under this government, with or without the Brumbies.

[-PJ-]

The Wobblies got the wobbles in QLD last night.

Smacked 33-7 by #1 ranked South Africa.

It was good beating up on Georgia though.

[RedRaider]

The Wobblies got the wobbles in QLD last night.

Smacked 33-7 by #1 ranked South Africa.

It was good beating up on Georgia though.

Normal transmission resumes.

[-PJ-]

Can’t wait for the yearly bashing at Eden Park.

[RedRaider]

Can’t wait for the yearly bashing at Eden Park.

The Wallabies should show up in leather outfits, they seem to enjoy the floggings so much.

[-PJ-]

Springboks beat Wallabies AGAIN.

ITS OVER..

[-PJ-]

He’s doing a Schmidt job.

[RedRaider]

Argentina did a number on the Wobblies beating us 67-27. Deary me.

[bonehead]

who cares, Australia has 3 elite men's sports and a heap of fringe stuff

Sent from my SM-S911B using Tapatalk

[-PJ-]

Wobblies fall short in Bledisloe cup v All Blacks.

Lost 31-28

[-PJ-]

Another Bledisloe beating in Wellington

All Blacks 33
Wobblies 13

That’s 31 straight losses in NZ for the Wobblies.
Time for the coach to pack up his Schmidt and get out.

[RedRaider]

Hey PJ, the Wallabies have beaten England 42-37. Suualli a star. How about that one? They still have Wales, Scotland and Ireland to play, but to begin with a win is heartening for the Wallabies. Always good to beat the Poms.

[julian87]

So that was his first senior game of rugby union?

[-PJ-]

Hey PJ, the Wallabies have beaten England 42-37. Suualli a star. How about that one? They still have Wales, Scotland and Ireland to play, but to begin with a win is heartening for the Wallabies. Always good to beat the Poms.

Yeah fair play and congrats to the Cadbury Wobblies.

Extend Schmidthead, he’s a genius.

[BJ]

After all the media and Rugby fan hoo har about the amazing Jorgensen try to win the game, I thought I better watch it.

I was expecting some brilliant work and all I saw was a pretty standard try to win the match. You’d have thought it was a length of the field run beating half the team from the way Union fans were reacting.

[Botman]

After all the media and Rugby fan hoo har about the amazing Jorgensen try to win the game, I thought I better watch it.

I was expecting some brilliant work and all I saw was a pretty standard try to win the match. You’d have thought it was a length of the field run beating half the team from the way Union fans were reacting.

Haha i was saying the same thing in a group chat today
The algo gods determined i needed to see it and it was just a try you'd see a dozen times in any NRL week

Gilbert gobblers in the comments were losing their mind.

[RedRaider]

After all the media and Rugby fan hoo har about the amazing Jorgensen try to win the game, I thought I better watch it.

I was expecting some brilliant work and all I saw was a pretty standard try to win the match. You’d have thought it was a length of the field run beating half the team from the way Union fans were reacting.

England won a streak of 8 Union Tests in a row up to 2022 so to win against them in England is something for long suffering Wobblies fans to cheer about. Jorgensen showed good pace but it was a straight run to the line with no spectacular dive and one handed grounding of the ball - something NRL fans see each week. But Union fans have had so little to cheer about for so long they are over the moon. I'm glad they have found something to be happy about.

[julian87]

They can be happy that the bloke waltzing straight into the Wallabies side is a bit better than Ryan Cross, Cooper Vuna and Eto Nabuli.

[-TW-]

Cooper Vuna.. that's a name I haven't heard for ages

[Botman]

What's very funny is Suualli probably isnt in the top 20 outside backs in the NRL
Very good and talented and maybe one day he'd have been there but i genuinely dont think when he left the league he was a top 20 centre/winger

And not a top 50 NRL player. But he's immediately the best player in Australian Rugby
And i know he has a rugby background as a junior, but it's been years since he played Yawnion

Really makes me wonder... i understand there are very technical aspects of RU that would make it hard. All the worst parts of the game - the scrum, line out and ruck... but given the talent and athletic disparity in quality between the ARU and NRL. How long would an NRL have to train in RU before they'd just beat the Wallabies?

I reckon they'd get after 6 weeks of intensive training. (And im only... maybe 50% joking)

[RedRaider]

The Wallabies have done it again PJ. They have beaten Wales 52-20 despite having center Samu Kerevi red carded in the 2nd half. The red card seemed to bring out the fight in them and they did not wilt but went up some notches when it was 14 players v 15 players. Not only that but the Wallabies did not select Joseph Suaalii in the run on side, the MOTM against England, but had him on the bench. Hooker Matt Faessler and Fullback Tom Wright both got hat tricks with 2nd rower Frost and center Ikitau also scoring for Australia's 8 tries. A great effort by the Wallabies in Cardiff.

Next up is Scotland in the early hours of Monday 25 November.

[-PJ-]

The Wallabies have done it again PJ. They have beaten Wales 52-20 despite having center Samu Kerevi red carded in the 2nd half. The red card seemed to bring out the fight in them and they did not wilt but went up some notches when it was 14 players v 15 players. Not only that but the Wallabies did not select Joseph Suaalii in the run on side, the MOTM against England, but had him on the bench. Hooker Matt Faessler and Fullback Tom Wright both got hat tricks with 2nd rower Frost and center Ikitau also scoring for Australia's 8 tries. A great effort by the Wallabies in Cardiff.

Next up is Scotland in the early hours of Monday 25 November.

Let’s test the whole squad.

[RedRaider]

At half time Scotland lead the Wallabies 7-3. Bad news for Australia is that Joseph Suaalii has left the field with a suspected broken arm following his attempt to put a big hit on. With one suspended and one injured we are running out of center three quarters.

[RedRaider]

Scotland have beaten Australia 27-13. Scots too good.

[-PJ-]

I just saw highlights Red.

At least 2 Scot tries were from very soft defence, simple 1 on 1 miss tackles.

No good enough.

Schmidt really.

[RedRaider]

Yep PJ, still a work in progress, but a vast improvement on the coaching days of erratic Eddie Jones. I reckon Schmidt will be scouring the Super Rugby squads and also youngsters coming through at Club level. I reckon the Wallabies are better at set pieces already than at any time under erratic Eddie. As you said, some players have defensive issues and I reckon Schmidt will either improve or replace them. Another game coming up against the aggressive Irish will test them again. At least under Schmidt they are watchable. Nit picking Refs remain a blight on the game as a spectacle. They seem to think crowds pay their money to watch them blow a whistle.

[RedRaider]

The Wallabies have been beaten 22-19 by Ireland. The Wallabies led for much of the match but the World No.2 ranked side proved a little too strong at the end. The Wallabies were not disgraced and had some chances but they just could not capitalise on those chances. Whereas Erratic Eddie Jones gave us nothing but confusion, Joe Schmidt has put some starch into the side in all areas of play. Next years British and Irish Lions tour should be a hard fought contest on our home tracks.

[-PJ-]

They are an improved unit for sure and should be happy with their results overall.

There weren’t embarassed.

[RedRaider]

They are an improved unit for sure and should be happy with their results overall.

There weren’t embarassed.

Some highlights PJ.