AS staunch supporters of Australian rugby await the return of utility back Kurtley Beale in the middle of the year after his one-year contract with English club Wasps ends, another Wallaby has decided to end his playing career in Australia to play in England beginning the 2017/18 season.
Giant lock Will Skelton has decided to join Saracens on a two-year contract after first playing for them from last December on a short-term agreement.
He may have started only six of his 18 Tests for the Wallabies but at 24 is too young a player for Australia to lose.
His departure means that Skelton will not be eligible for Wallaby selection, which only looks at players overseas who have 60 caps or more. If he wants to be considered for the 2019 World Cup, Skelton will have to return home after his Saracens contract.
NZ Herald columnist Chris Rattue has rounded up on Auckland-born Skelton with a very uncomplimentary piece questioning his attitude but All Blacks with many years of rugby ahead of them have also opted to play offshore.
So far Aaron Cruden, Charlie Faumauina and Steven Luatua will be going to France and England after this season. Money is the main incentive and you can’t fault any of these guys.
But the in the case of Skelton, the effects on the Australia Rugby Union will be more telling because the country has a real issue with player depth.
On the other hand many players do return home after playing overseas and they have their own reasons for this.
Among the Wallabies, those who have returned home are Sekope Kepu (after a season in France), Quade Cooper (a season with Toulon) and Kane Douglas (two seasons with Leinster).
Beale will be the latest to return to his former team the Waratahs. He is said to be one of the highest paid, if not the highest, player in England. Thus for Beale money may not be the only reason that determines where he plays because it is unlikely the ARU can afford to pay him as much.
The gloom continues for Australian teams in Super Rugby, with the Waratahs losing 28-38 to the Hurricanes in Wellington despite a strong comeback in the second-half. It’s now 12-0 for New Zealand teams against the five Australian franchises so far this year.
One man who is concerned with what’s happening and wants to see changes made is former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer who took them to the 1991 World Cup title.
Having looked at all the factors, Dwyer has called for the resignation of RU chief executive Bill Pulver and the entire board, citing the lack of leadership as a major factor.
In the European Champions Cup, three former champions from the competition’s last 10 editions are in the semi-finals to be played two weekends from now, with Clermont being the fourth side.
Irish sides Leinster and Munster, English club and defending champion Saracens and Clermont all had comprehensive wins last weekend.
For Clermont, the win over fellow French club Toulon was all the sweeter since it was Toulon that defeated them in the final in 2013 and 2015. But this time Clermont was not to be denied and humbled a Toulon with several foreign internationals 29-9.
Munster won once in the last 10 competitions and that was way back in 2008 while Leinster had three successes in the same period, with their last achieved in 2012 after beating fellow Irish club Ulster 42-14.
Saracens is third of 12 teams in the Premiership for now but their teams for the European championship are always stronger than those that play in the former and on account of their performance last weekend looks to be very strong, especially the contributions from the England contingent.