Did any of you with Stan watch the Australia A games? A draw with Bristol and a big loss to England A wouldn't have been what was hoped for.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s hopes of finishing his first Wallabies tour with a flourish against Ireland are still alive after a positive update on the injury blow he suffered against Scotland.
The code-hopping superstar thankfully avoided breaking his right arm
@Bovidae said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Did any of you with Stan watch the Australia A games? A draw with Bristol and a big loss to England A wouldn't have been what was hoped for.
Nope, but when you throw together teams you sometimes get this.
I think the "A" program was mainly to support the touring Wallabies, given we're out of time for people to shine at rep level prior to Lions 2025.
If we had a proper third tier that wouldn't have been such a concern IMHO. Right now a lot of our pro players go back to club land and finish up in September, then twiddle their thumbs for a couple of months until provincial preseason.
Probably for the exodus thread or even NFL
7 days later
@Tim said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Bloody good on them. Should be aiming for the top, and this is but a start.
Don't suppose anyone's seen said strategic plan and can shed light on how Australia are going to achieve all their lofty goals?
As long as they follow through on the bit where they help clubs. They can start by reducing fees paid the the national body
@Dan54 said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@Tim said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Bloody good on them. Should be aiming for the top, and this is but a start.
I agree. Setting goals is important as it allows you to identify the steps required to achieve them, measure progress and adapt as required.
Given SA have fucked off to seek greener pastures where they can win (URC snigger) we need Australia to get better.; competition improves the breed.
15 days later
@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@Tim tbh it would be a shame if Fox got the rights back. They were fucking hopeless (Greg Clarke aside) and I much prefer the coverage we get with Stan.
If the federal government has any sense they'll be having a quiet word to 9 about making Stan happen again
Coverage is way better on Stan and from a couch perspective that’s great, however if RA can secure more funding going to a DANZ route then surely they need to focus on that
@bayimports said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@Tim tbh it would be a shame if Fox got the rights back. They were fucking hopeless (Greg Clarke aside) and I much prefer the coverage we get with Stan.
If the federal government has any sense they'll be having a quiet word to 9 about making Stan happen again
Coverage is way better on Stan and from a couch perspective that’s great, however if RA can secure more funding going to a DANZ route then surely they need to focus on that
Hopefully it creates competition on the financial front between bidders.
Hopefully the fish heads spend it more wisely than the last windfall, regardless of the source.
Hopefully they they're a heap of it into developing pathways - particularly in western Sydney - and start realigning the pathways.
That's a lot of hope.
And it's the hope that kills you.
@antipodean For the last two reported years at least. They're claiming an increase of revenue to GBP3.2B in 2023 (up from GBP1.4B in 2022), but who knows how much more they spent.
9 days later
Aust are losing some young players. First Gleeson, now Hooper.
These are the sort of fringe guys that we're losing more and more of. Good enough at Super level, probably not quite up to Wallaby quality at the moment.
We just can't pay them what they can get overseas. So I suppose you tip your cap and say good luck. But it's one reason why we can't support five teams and struggle now to support four.
@barbarian said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
But it's one reason why we can't support five teams and struggle now to support four.
And that would be true if we went back to 3 - the product has a certain value, out of which RUPA's slice of the pie is given to players.
Less teams = smaller pie.
Aus need to identify the ones they absolutely need to keep, and pay them. Bell, Valetini, i reckon Ikitau as well.
Let Thor go, he's not worth anywhere near what he is on.
@mariner4life said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Let Thor go, he's not worth anywhere near what he is on.
He has the most expensive calf muscles in world rugby.
A short-term injury replacement for Pieter-Steph du Toit at Toyota Verblitz.
@Mr-Fish said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Isaac Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens might be related to Jacob.
9 days later
An improved broadcast deal for RA.
Rugby Australia’s next five-year broadcast deal could be worth as much as $250 million if its Super Rugby franchises and the Wallabies return to winning ways.
The Financial Review revealed that the cash-strapped governing body could earn as much as $30m in incentives should its teams meet certain criteria. The extra cash would be in addition to a five-year deal worth a fraction over $210m – or 42m per annum.
“We can confirm we’ve reached an in-principle agreement with Rugby Australia,” a Nine spokesman told the AFR’s Zoe Samios. “We will share more details in due course as we finalise the contractual arrangements.”
One of the guys from my club last year had a run out for the Brumbies against the Tahs, trying to work out if he's snagged wtg spot or what the deal was, showing what the connection can be between club and pro, a lot of chatter on the club group chat about checking out the Brumbies this season
@KiwiMurph said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
An improved broadcast deal for RA.
Rugby Australia’s next five-year broadcast deal could be worth as much as $250 million if its Super Rugby franchises and the Wallabies return to winning ways. The Financial Review revealed that the cash-strapped governing body could earn as much as $30m in incentives should its teams meet certain criteria. The extra cash would be in addition to a five-year deal worth a fraction over $210m – or 42m per annum. “We can confirm we’ve reached an in-principle agreement with Rugby Australia,” a Nine spokesman told the AFR’s Zoe Samios. “We will share more details in due course as we finalise the contractual arrangements.”
Awesome, hopefully they'll pay NZR back the Dosh we're gave them over the last few years 
@Machpants said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@KiwiMurph said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
An improved broadcast deal for RA.
Rugby Australia’s next five-year broadcast deal could be worth as much as $250 million if its Super Rugby franchises and the Wallabies return to winning ways. The Financial Review revealed that the cash-strapped governing body could earn as much as $30m in incentives should its teams meet certain criteria. The extra cash would be in addition to a five-year deal worth a fraction over $210m – or 42m per annum. “We can confirm we’ve reached an in-principle agreement with Rugby Australia,” a Nine spokesman told the AFR’s Zoe Samios. “We will share more details in due course as we finalise the contractual arrangements.”Awesome, hopefully they'll pay NZR back the Dosh we're gave them over the last few years
It's completely weird that Oz is getting an improved deal, and if the stories are to be believed we're getting a much worse deal when SR ratings were up in NZ last year.
Good for me, I was worried Fox/Kayo might get them back.
Schmidts departure confirmed -
Kiss has done a good job with the Reds.
He benefits somewhat on the back of the cleanout Thorn did, and the continuity it created. But he's added real Steel to everything they do, and that could translate into Wallabies success.
@Machpants said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Sad for Ozzie but good on him for looking after his family.
Agreed. Respect for that decision.
@Nepia said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@Machpants said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@KiwiMurph said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
An improved broadcast deal for RA.
Rugby Australia’s next five-year broadcast deal could be worth as much as $250 million if its Super Rugby franchises and the Wallabies return to winning ways. The Financial Review revealed that the cash-strapped governing body could earn as much as $30m in incentives should its teams meet certain criteria. The extra cash would be in addition to a five-year deal worth a fraction over $210m – or 42m per annum. “We can confirm we’ve reached an in-principle agreement with Rugby Australia,” a Nine spokesman told the AFR’s Zoe Samios. “We will share more details in due course as we finalise the contractual arrangements.”Awesome, hopefully they'll pay NZR back the Dosh we're gave them over the last few years
It's completely weird that Oz is getting an improved deal, and if the stories are to be believed we're getting a much worse deal when SR ratings were up in NZ last year.
Good for me, I was worried Fox/Kayo might get them back.
I think you will find the Wallabies will have to win everything (including WC) to get incentives. But in reality even at $42 mill a year if they do get it, still $3mill a year less than they got before 2019. Hopefully the reports are true, and they do get more cash, they badly need it.
@Dan54 said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
But in reality even at $42 mill a year if they do get it, still $3mill a year less than they got before 2019
The $42 mil per year is before incentives.
Incentives would bump it up closer to $50 mil per year