Dearth of experience is costly
REDS skipper Scott Higginbotham has identified the experience void in Australian rugby as the gulf that must be closed to start regularly beating Kiwi teams again.
The 126-game Super Rugby veteran can’t believe the Aussie inability to finish off New Zealand sides in Super Rugby has grown into such an ugly hoodoo in two years.
No.8 Higginbotham will lead his Queensland youngsters against the hot Hurricanes in Wellington tonight with the ledger at 39 straight trans-Tasman losses.
“It’s hard for me to hear that stat and completely believe it,” Higginbotham said.
“In 2015 I was in a Rebels team that beat three of the four Kiwi sides we played.
“The Kiwis are good but they are definitely beatable if you front up rather than stand back and watch them play.”
Flanker Scott Fardy winning a European Cup with Leinster and Leicester centre Matt Toomua being voted into the English Premiership Team of the Year highlights the drain on Australia’s thin playing depth.
Equally, Michael Cheika’s call that Quade Cooper’s Wallabies career is dead unless he leaves Brisbane club rugby.
ISRAEL Folau has had his sponsored car confiscated by Land Rover following his controversial comments regarding the gay community.
The luxury car company, which signed an $850,000-ayear deal with Rugby Australia in February replacing BMW as the Wallabies’ car sponsor, had given Folau a brand-new car.
But after Folau wrote on Instagram that gays were destined for hell, Land Rover repossessed the car.
Land Rover said Folau was never an official ambassador.
However, the Bulletin has confirmed through other sources that they did indeed take back a car given to Folau.
But Folau still gets around in style in his $500,000 Lamborghini, purchased with his own money last year.
Land Rover’s withdrawal of the car is the first financial hit Folau has taken for his fundamental Christian stance.
The 29-year-old Wallabies and Waratahs fullback followed up his initial comment with a video on Twitter warning that tolerance of homosexuality would be punished by God, but Rugby Australia has not sanctioned him due to the complex moral issues around free speech.
While RA disagrees with Folau, chief executive Raelene Castle said they also must respect his right to express his religious beliefs, adding that penalising him would alienate a large section of their Christian supporter base.
Meanwhile, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika gave a strong indication yesterday that Folau would refrain from posting further inflammatory content.
“What’s happened has happened, it’s been dealt with now and it’s not going to be ongoing, so it’s not going to be an issue,” Cheika told Macquarie Sports Radio.