Loose Pass
This week we will be concerning ourselves with looming squabbles, wastes of money, the USA, the cold, Super Rugby and the Lions.
This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with looming squabbles, wastes of money, the USA, the cold, Super Rugby and the Lions. Yes really…
Looming squabbles? Suppose we are going to hark on about the Southern Kings again eh?
No actually, it's a little closer to home. It might not happen, but given the history of it all it somehow seems inevitable: the WRU and the regions have some tough bargaining coming up.
Just as inevitably, the arguments will start with money, with the regions now self-imposing a salary cap (quite a bit less than the one used by their English counterparts too). But along with this salary cap has come a plea from Cardiff Blues CEO Peter Thomas – and captain Paul Tito – for the WRU to start paying the players who are whisked away for international duty.
They want central contracting for the top WRU players, which is a perfectly reasonable demand given that this is the model Ireland function under, and also now being as the regions have at least taken steps to take austerity measures of their own.
The WRU has not reacted (to be fair, there's been no real direct negotiation thus far), but it might be interesting to see what they do. The move will shift more of a financial burden onto the union, but if they do centrally contract players they – especially Warren Gatland – would be able to get more training time control of them, something that has long been a source of friction between the two parties.
The union also might not care too much about the burden being as the national team is doing so well – much better than the regions, it should be noted. It looks like a fair compromise, except that the union might quite rightly enquire as to what happens to the GBP6m a year already sunk into the regions. The regions might retort that it covers the shortfall caused by declining attendances as a result of the national players being so rarely available, not to mention the wages paid to the national players for their time away with the national team.
The union might then say that's precisely what it was supposed to do, you agreed to it, now you want more, etc etc etc.
There is a win-win solution to this for both parties, but we'll see how it progresses. The history of negotiations between them all is not exactly dripping with goodwill…
Still, were the regions to enquire during the course of those negotiations about what the union spends money on, the union would probably be able to give a better answer than the RFU, who have appointed headhunting firm Odgers Berndtson to go about finding the right man for the England job once Stuart Lancaster's interim time is up.
Headhunting firm? My Grandmother would probably be able to reel off the top three candidates for the job, while if the RFU manage to gather together a selection panel devoid of the mixture of business acumen and professional rugby knowledge required to negotiate the national team's coach appointment and contract, they are even more incompetent than previously thought (not that Rob Andrew is a shining example either).
Given the names being bandied about: Nick Mallett, Lancaster, John Kirwan, Eddie O'Sullivan, Jim Mallinder, Toby Booth, my Grandmother again would probably be able to form the correct opinion:
Get Nick Mallett or keep Stuart Lancaster and support him better. And then get your house in order. You really don't need some fancy headhunting firm to arrive at this conclusion – although you can only imagine the meals on the company the consultation process might entail…
One country that did get it right this week is the USA, who appointed Mike Tolkin their Head Coach for the next few years.
Tolkin is one of the USA's big rugby coaching names, having been at the top of the club game there for some time now. Never far from any conversation about potential national team coaches over the past couple of years, he's approachable, knowledgeable, dedicated and local, he's worked with the national team before under some fine rugby brains and having spent good time in the club game there he knows who's who.
Look forward to the USA progressing further the next four years.
Back to Wales, where something else they've got right is the concept of the extreme ice-bath, otherwise known as cryotherapy.
For those not yet in the know, the players are immersed in a chamber cooled to an intimidating -160°C, which rapidly flushes out the acids from the muscles and leaves the players feeling fresh and recovered much faster, allowing them to train more in between matches.
It's obviously working – there's little doubt the Welsh are the fittest team in the tournament.
Word on the grapevine is that the minor injury rate is down too. But as one of our readers pointed out this week, that could also be due to conversations along the lines of:
“Not sure if I can train today, coach, my hammy's a little tender.”
“Fair enough – double the chamber time for you today then.”
“Ahhh… eeerrr… actually, know what, I'll give it a run out, see how it goes.”
“That's my boy…”
Super Rugby is back this week, and given that next year's might be blighted by the political rumblings in South Africa, we should probably enjoy this one for all it's worth.
But the million-dollar question regarding this tournament is: how will the finals be affected by the rude interruption of the June Test window? Hopefully not, but imagine the Crusaders running roughshod over everyone and then losing Dan Carter and Richie McCaw for the finals… this schedule is not a long-term solution.
A conversation the other day was a swift reminder that we are only 16 months out from the Lions tour of Australia, meaning Lionswatch is most definitely on!
So going on Six Nations form, here's a preliminary Lions XV – with the team coached by Warren Gatland.
15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 David Denton, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Matt Stevens.
Have fun…
Loose Pass compiled by Richard Anderson