Pocock re-signs with ARU

Updated December 21, 2012 17:03:59

Wallabies skipper David Pocock has inked a fresh deal with Australian Rugby Union, keeping him in the gold jersey for a further three years.

Star openside flanker Pocock, who will link up with the Canberra-based Brumbies this season following six years with Western Force, re-signed with the ARU through 2015.

Acting ARU chief Matt Carroll said the process was "smooth and straightforward".

"David Pocock has made an enormous contribution to rugby, as a player and an outstanding individual, since his debut," he said in a statement.

"2013 will be a big year for rugby and we are very pleased to be able to have David available for the Wallabies when they take on the combined might of the British and Irish Lions in June.

"There's no doubt he will make a valuable contribution to the Wallabies and Brumbies when they face the Lions during this historic Tour to Australia.

"The Lions Tour is a unique Rugby experience that I'm sure David is looking forward to."

Brumbies coach Jake White said he expects Pocock to thrive in the nation's capital.

"To have a guy like David Pocock want to be involved with the Brumbies is very encouraging," White said.

"The attitude and commitment of Brumbies players both during 2012 and as we prepare for 2013 has been outstanding. I see David thriving in this environment. He will fit in here perfectly.

"At the end of the day, we want to make David a better player."

Pocock has 45 Test caps since making his debut in Hong Kong against New Zealand in 2008.

His Super Rugby career began with the Western Force in 2006 and ended when he announced at the end of the 2012 season that he would move east for the Brumbies' 2013 campaign.

A two-time IRB International Player of the Year nominee and 2010 John Eales Medal winner, Pocock recently returned from a knee injury to join the Wallabies on their Spring Tour of Europe.

Pocock is the third Qantas Wallaby to extend his contract with the ARU in recent months after Will Genia and former schoolmate Quade Cooper both re-signed.

Tags: rugby-union, sport, australia, act, canberra-2600

First posted December 21, 2012 17:02:43

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Johnson named interim Scotland coach

Updated December 21, 2012 08:58:53

Australian Scott Johnson has been appointed Scotland head coach on a temporary basis for the Six Nations and next year's tour of South Africa, Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) announced on Friday morning (AEDT).

Johnson had been working as an assistant coach to Andy Robinson, who resigned last month in the wake of a 21-15 loss to Tonga after three and a half years in charge.

"Scott has a wealth of experience of international rugby, which was instrumental in his appointment earlier this year as our senior assistant coach," said SRU chief executive Mark Dodson.

"He has coached with Australia, Wales and the USA and knows what it is to prepare teams to win on the international battleground.

"Scott knows our players and coaches well and is determined to hit the ground running with a successful Six Nations Championship."

Dodson also confirmed that the SRU will continue to seek a long-term successor to Robinson.

Johnson described the appointment as "an honour" and pledged to do his best to get the most out of the players.

The loss to Tonga on November 25 was Scotland's 10th defeat in its last 13 Tests and saw it slump to 12th in the International Rugby Board (IRB) global ranking.

Johnson, who was once caretaker coach of Wales, was appointed as an assistant coach as part of an overhaul that followed Scotland's dismal performance at this year's Six Nations, in which they lost all five games.

The 50-year-old played a part in the successful tour of Australia, Fiji and Samoa, in June this year before losses to New Zealand, South Africa and Tonga in November.

Scotland opens its Six Nations campaign against England at Twickenham on February 2.

AFP

Tags: rugby-union, sport, scotland

First posted December 21, 2012 08:52:17

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ARU adopts independent model

Updated December 10, 2012 14:23:56

The Australian Rugby Union has adopted a new independent governance model after voting for constitutional change on Monday.

Following in the footsteps of the AFL and NRL, an independent board of directors will be appointed as part of recommendations being implemented from the Arbib Review of the sport.

Over coming months a four-member independent nominations committee will be established to recommended new directors for election.

Existing directors will serve out their terms before moving on, but will have the right to be considered again as independent nominees.

The new system will give voice to Super Rugby franchises and distribute votes more evenly across states, territories and also to the Rugby Union Players Association.

Voting numbers have increased from 14 to 16 and each state and territory has the opportunity to secure an additional vote should they join New South Wales and Queensland in passing 50,000 registered players in their region.

The required 75 per cent of members voted on Monday to adopt a new government model following recommendations from the Strengthening the Governance of Australian Rugby (the Arbib Review), which was released in October.

"Today marks an historic occasion for Australian rugby," ARU president Ron Graham said in a statement.

"We have listened to our members and worked with them to get to where we are today.

"I am proud that the decision has been made to take the game to the next level and officially move to having an independent corporate governance structure."

AAP

Tags: rugby-union, sport, australia

First posted December 10, 2012 14:23:56

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Deans gets ARU backing before crucial year

Updated December 13, 2012 08:15:23

Australian Rugby Union chairman Michael Hawker has made a passionate defence of the Wallabies' season ahead of a make-or-break year for coach Robbie Deans.

Deans may struggle to push on beyond his contract which finishes in 2013 following a season in which the Wallabies dropped from second to third in the world rankings and played a brand of rugby which delivered just 15 tries in 15 games.

Hawker admitted 2013 shaped as a significant year for Deans and the Wallabies, with the three-Test British and Irish Lions' Australian tour the biggest indicator of success in the coming 12 months.

"I think for coaches every year is make or break," Hawker said on Tuesday.

"That's the nature of coaching. I don't think Robbie takes anything for granted.

"For us, I think everyone in the Australian public is pretty keen to win all the games.

"So is Robbie, and he'll do the best he can to do that. In the board's view we've got every chance of defeating the Lions next year.

"... Next year is a huge year. (The Lions tour) always creates a huge wave of anticipation in this country, seeing the best of the northern hemisphere come here.

"We're pretty keen to try and thump them."

The Wallabies' dour playing style has not hampered participation rates across the country, with the ARU announcing on Tuesday a fourth consecutive year of growth - with player numbers totalling 323,115 in 2012.

Hawker said it was unfair to criticise the Wallabies simply on their record of nine wins, five losses and a draw - pointing to the unprecedented number of injuries which rocked the national team this year.

Playmakers Will Genia, Quade Cooper, James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale all missed significant portions of 2012, as did skipper James Horwill and world-class flanker David Pocock.

"From the Australian Rugby Union we're happy with where the Australian team is. We'd like to have less injuries and I think if didn't have as many injuries we'd have been right up the top," Hawker said.

"... You've got to put the Wallabies performance in context with how many injuries we've had.

"We've had 55 people play for the Wallabies this year which is a pretty broad number of players and so we've had an unusual level of injury rate.

"... You look at some of the international teams (and) if you took Carter and Richie McCaw out in New Zealand you have a different proposition."

So severe was the injury crisis Hawker revealed it had prompted an internal investigation, the result of which was a new process to handle injured players.

"We've actually just approved a better player management process between the Australian Rugby Union and the Super Rugby franchises to make sure that a player's welfare is managed right collectively across those two levels of the game," he said.

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted December 11, 2012 21:48:41

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League trumps rugby in charity boxing

Updated December 16, 2012 08:20:37

Plenty of punches landed but there was no serious damage as rugby league came out 3-1 winners in its rivalry with rugby union in a charity boxing event in Auckland.

NRL players Paul Gallen, Greg Bird and Manu Vatuvei all won their bouts over three two-minute rounds at the Fight for Life for prostate cancer awareness on Saturday night.

Former All Black Carlos Spencer got one back for rugby, while Willie Mason and another ex-All Black, Troy Flavell, fought out a draw in the battle of the big boys.

NSW skipper Gallen proved the surprise packet with a unanimous decision against All Blacks hooker Hika Elliot.

At the weigh-in, Gallen had talked down his abilities against an opponent who boasted a 62-0 record in karate.

But the Cronulla forward picked his moment to throw his punches and was able to find his mark with a series of combinations.

Gallen said he had privately backed himself, even if all the talk about Elliot's ability had made him nervous.

"I didn't want to be over-confident, to be honest," he said.

"I heard so much about the bloke and how good a fighter he was, I just wanted to go out there and do what my trainer told me."

Despite his clear-cut victory, he won't be hurrying back into the ring.

"I've got no plans to be a boxer."

Gallen won despite carrying an elbow injury from training a couple of weeks ago and for which he will have surgery on Thursday.

He said the rehabilitation period was only a fortnight, so he would be 100 per cent for the new NRL season.

Vatuvei also got all the judges' votes against London Games rowing gold medallist Eric Murray.

The Warriors winger could not quite tag Murray with a big shot, his opponent managing mostly to keep himself out of range, but he was buzzing after the fight.

"It was an awesome feeling," he said.

"I'm happy I jumped in. Eric and I went in to put on a good show and hopefully everyone enjoyed it."

Bird won an incident-filled contest over Blues back Rene Ranger via a split decision.

Bird was caught flush with a right hand in the second round and dropped to the canvas.

But Ranger was docked two points for throwing the punch after the referee had called for the fighters to break.

"I've copped bigger hits than that on the footy paddock," Bird said.

"I'll be right. The head's pretty solid."

Spencer got a majority verdict over former Kiwi Jarrod McCracken.

The bout developed some feeling, with Spencer unhappy with some of McCracken's tactics, including a couple of punches thrown when Spencer's back was turned.

"A win's a win," he said.

"It was more like a league match than a boxing match."

Mason and Flavell provided plenty of entertainment with a mix of big punches and occasional wrestling, and could not be separated by the judges.

In a six-round women's lightweight professional bout, New Zealander Daniella Smith's aggressiveness paid dividends as she beat Australian Lauryn Eagle by unanimous decision.

AAP

Tags: boxing, rugby-league, rugby-union, new-zealand, australia

First posted December 16, 2012 08:07:28

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Brumbies coach no 'queue jumper'

Updated December 11, 2012 21:15:13

Brumbies coach Jake White says he has no ambitions to either take the Wallabies coaching role from Robbie Deans or leapfrog any queue for the role.

White was last week quoted as saying it would be a "dream job" to coach the Wallabies.

However the Springboks' 2007 World Cup winning coach set the record straight on Tuesday, saying he did not want to oust Deans and making it plain he was not trying to push himself ahead of heir apparent Ewen McKenzie.

"To be fair it was a bit of a difficult (question) to put to me because I coach a franchise in Australia where all players are basically eligible to play for their country," said South African White.

"But I have no ambitions of taking Robbie Deans' job or jumping in front of the queue in front of everybody.

"I have a job to do (with the Brumbies) and if that means that you get earmarked for greater things then that is fantastic."

Entering the final season of his contract, Deans has been under the pump since the Wallabies bowed out of their 2011 World Cup semi-final, with critics including former Test great David Campese lamenting their often dour play and highlighting losses to Scotland, Samoa, Ireland and a French thumping over the past 18 months.

White is entering his second season with the Brumbies, having turned them around to go within a whisker of the finals last season.

The man with runs on the board in Australia is Queensland Reds director of coaching McKenzie, who led the franchise to the Super Rugby title in 2011 and previously took the NSW Waratahs to two finals.

However White said as a fellow coach of an Australian rugby franchise it would be wrong for him not to show interest in coaching the Wallabies.

"If I coach in a country like (Australia) you've got to buy into the fact that you're in this country and you're doing it hammer and tongs. So it would be a great honour," he said.

"Any guy who is in coaching who says he wouldn't want to coach one of the best sides in the world is dreaming.

"So it is obviously something like that I would look at, but at this point in time I'm with the Brumbies and my job is to make sure I produce Wallabies."

AAP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, super-rugby, canberra-2600, act, australia

First posted December 11, 2012 18:09:40

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Smith joins Brumbies coaching ranks

Updated December 11, 2012 08:09:23

Former NRL coach Brian Smith has joined the coaching staff of Super Rugby club the ACT Brumbies for next season.

Smith coached NRL clubs Parramatta, St George Illawarra, Newcastle and the Roosters.

Smith never won a premiership in more than 20 years as a top grade coach, but his football experience and track record with young players will certainly help an inexperienced Brumbies squad.

He will take on the Brumbies' role vacated by Newcastle Knights veteran Danny Buderus, working alongside Brumbies head coach Jake White.

Brumbies' chief executive Andrew Fagan says Smith will bring a wealth of experience to the club.

"There is particular focus of his work around those defensive systems, but I think because of his experience we'll be using him to look at exchanging ideas in all sorts of areas," Fagan said.

The Brumbies' appointment of Buderus as a part-time coach was over even before it started, with the NRL blocking the rugby franchise's move to sign him as a collision coach.

The league issued a statement seeking "an immediate explanation" from the Knights with regards to the deal after saying no third party agreement had been lodged as the NRL salary cap requires.

Brumbies boss Andrew Fagan said he thought that Buderus had Newcastle's blessing but evidently not the NRL's.

The Knights later said in a statement that the final agreement between Buderus and the Brumbies had not been seen by the club and needed to be submitted to and approved by the NRL.

But Newcastle chief executive Matt Gidley did say the club had encouraged Buderus to seek varied work experience.

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, nrl, rugby-league, sport, canberra-2600, act, australia

First posted December 11, 2012 08:03:06

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