community rugby - Australian Sports Commission

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
10
Paul McLean
President
The tumultuous days of 1995 seems like yesterday, but it has
now been ten years since Rugby, after more than a century of
amateur status, turned professional. The progress the game
has made in that time continues to astound me.
All the profile indicators are pointing skywards - participation,
crowd figures, TV ratings, media coverage, even the number of
people you see wearing Wallaby jerseys multiplies each year.
It has been a decade of very healthy growth for the game and
2005 was no exception.
If you look at the year purely in terms of Test match results, it
clearly wasn’t one of our best. But when you look at the number
of young players who emerged out of our representative
pathway to pull on the Wallaby jersey for the first time, it was
certainly a productive season. A total of 14 players earned
their first Test cap in 2005 and one would have to go back
to 1962 to find a year with more Wallaby debutants (15 in
that year).
One would like to think a whole new generation of Wallaby
stars stepped onto the international stage for the first of many
times, in 2005.
Hugh McMeniman, Stephen Moore and Rocky Elsom debuted
in the first Test of the season, against Samoa. After a few
false starts in 2004, Mark Gerrard finally became a Wallaby
in the Test against Italy, while Alistair Campbell debuted
against France.
Drew Mitchell made a big first impression in his first Test with
a try against South Africa in Sydney. The Test against South
Africa in Perth saw Adam Ashley-Cooper debut in a numberless
jersey, while Lloyd Johansson, Alex Kanaar and Lachlan
MacKay came off the bench for the Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden
Park. Four more players - Greg Holmes, Scott Fava, David Fitter
and Tatafu Polota-Nau - all wore the Wallaby jersey for the first
time during the Spring Tour.
Coach Eddie Jones has always had a very good eye for picking
emerging new talent and he did an outstanding job of preparing
these players for the rigours of Test Rugby.
It was a tough season for Eddie, but his preparation was
meticulous and his work ethic second to none. Although the
results did not go his way, the Wallabies were never far off the
pace. Unfortunately the win-loss record was not good enough
to secure Eddie’s position and after a review of the Spring Tour,
his contract was ended.
These decisions are never easy and Eddie must be commended
for the way in which he handled the intense pressure and
relentless media spotlight throughout a tough year. He is a
wonderful servant of Rugby, with a deep passion for the game,
and its players. I have little doubt that Eddie will analyse his
own performance, re-invigorate himself and continue to be a
valuable asset to Australian Rugby. His acceptance of the role
as Head Coach at the QR Queensland Reds from mid-2006
verifies his commitment to the game and his will to succeed.
Another key ARU staff member to move on in 2005 was Dr Brett
Robinson, the General Manager of the High Performance Unit,
who played a major role in finalising a new CBA and drove the
evaluation process for the location of a new Super 14 team.
Dr Peter Davis, the former Director of Coaching and Sports
Science with the US Olympic Committee has now moved into
the role.
One of the greatest milestones to be passed in 2005 was the
new world record set by George Gregan, becoming the most
capped Rugby player of all time. George overtook Philippe Sella
(112 Tests) and Jason Leonard (114 Tests) and by the end of
the Spring Tour he had taken the record out
to 118 Tests. It is with interest that I note that
George started in 116 of his Tests, whereas
Jason Leonard started in only 102. Given
George’s physical condition and competitive
attitude, there seems to be no reason why he
can’t extend his record further.
George Gregan also had the honour, along with
Phil Waugh and Chris Latham, of representing
Australia in the Southern Hemisphere team
for the North-South Tsunami Appeal match
at Twickenham in March. It was an historic
match that raised US$3.35 million for the
victims of this tragic event. The ARU also made
a $50,000 cash donation to the Australian
Red Cross for Tsunami relief, while our staff
donated a proportion of their salaries.
With 2005 marking a decade of professional Rugby, the
ARU instigated the Wallaby Team of the Decade, which was
announced in August. We called on 30 senior Rugby journalists
and commentators to nominate their team and they came up
with the formidable combination of Richard Harry, Phil Kearns,
Andrew Blades, David Giffin, John Eales (c), Owen Finegan,
George Smith and Toutai Kefu in the forwards, and George
Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Joe Roff, Tim Horan, Jason Little,
Ben Tune and Matthew Burke in the backs. The bench was
made up of Jeremy Paul, Dan Crowley, Nathan Sharpe, Phil
Waugh, Chris Whitaker, Dan Herbert and Lote Tuqiri.
Five of our greatest ever Wallabies were inducted into the
inaugural Wallaby Hall of Fame in October. The Hall of Fame
was established to recognise the contributions of our best ever
players to the game and was unveiled at the John Eales Medal
Dinner in October.
Ken Catchpole, Mark Ella, Tom Richards, John Thornett and
Col Windon were named as the first inductees, while two more
players will be inducted each year.
My thanks goes to the eight-person panel who shared
the difficult job of narrowing down to five such a long list
of champion players from more than a hundred years of
Wallaby Rugby.
The 2005 John Eales Medal also saw the “backrow mortgage”
on Rugby’s most prestigious award extinguished. Hooker Jeremy
Paul became the fourth John Eales’ Medallist, following in the
footsteps of George Smith, Phil Waugh and David Lyons.
The evening also saw Drew Mitchell named Rookie of the Year
after scoring six tries in his first 10 Test matches and long-time
Rugby administrator Andy Conway awarded the Joe French
Award for outstanding service to Australian Rugby. Andy is one
of the most modest and admired administrators in the game.
He was the Wallaby team manager from 1987 until 1990 (a
voluntary role) and is now the Australian Rugby Union’s Head
of Tours, Matches and Rugby Policy.
In 2005 we mourned the passing of some of the great servants
of the game. Dual rugby/cricket international Alan Walker died
in June, aged 79. Alan was an immensely talented athlete
who played 10 matches for New South Wales and five Tests
for the Wallabies, before being selected in the Australian
cricket team.
John Dedrick, ARU Secretary from 1976 and the organisation’s
inaugural Executive Director from 1981, passed away in early
November. Among his many achievements, John played a
critical role in securing Australia’s place in hosting the inaugural
Rugby World Cup with New Zealand in 1987.
In the same week we mourned the passing of Eddie Stapleton.
Eddie was a powerful attacking winger who played 236 first
grade matches for St George, 13 matches for NSW and 16
Tests for Australia between 1951 and 1958.
Then, in late December, Paul Collins passed away, aged 89.
A flyhalf renowned for his ball handling skills and attacking
flair, he played 71 first grade club matches, six representative
games for NSW and three Tests for Australia. He was
Australia’s second oldest living Test player at the time of
his passing.
Finally, may I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the
dedication and hard work of my immediate predecessor, Peter
Crittle. Charlie, as he is affectionately known by all, served as
Australian Rugby’s President from 2001 until 2005 and has
been tireless in his efforts to champion the Wallabies and
grow the game. Therefore, it was fitting that at the iRB Awards
in Paris in November, he be awarded the ‘Vernon Pugh Award
for Distinguished Service’, for his contribution to the game,
and especially the part he played in Australia’s hosting of
RWC 2003.
11
Australian Rugby Union 2005 Annual Report