OPINION – Same story, different day…
Karmichael Hunt is the latest player to expose the contempt the ARU has for its own Union, it’s players and its fans. I once apologized to Australian rugby fans for how their game was ruthlessly leveraged by the ARU however as the old saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. This time I’m not going to apologise to you, the fans. Forget the rugby-going parents, the little under 8s who hang out after Reds’ games waiting for autographs – this time I’m going to apologise to the Australian players and the non-Wallaby players plying their trade in Super Rugby.
In the latest scandal to play out on the back pages of Australia’s newspapers, Karmichael Hunt admitted to police to enjoying drug-fuelled benders and even admitted to showing up to an official function high. In any other profession, these admissions would land you with not only a stern word from your superior but with a solidly written dismissal notice. However, this hasn’t been the case for Hunt who ironically works in a profession which apparently has the highest standards which are apparently, according to endless rhetoric coming out of the ARU, of the utmost importance.
I’m not even a Wallaby fan and I’m incensed that this has been allowed to happen to the Australian game. It feels like I’m beating the same drum but what else can I do when good-hearted grassroots rugby fans are being so consistently sold short.
After the Patston, Beale, McKenzie debace, Cheika was thought to usher in a new accountability policy and behavioural criteria however, when pressed on Karmichael Hunt, Cheika only reinforced the ARU’s backing of Hunt and then followed that up by talking about trialling the 28 year old at fullblack…
Am I missing something??
I am sure I am missing something. Whether it’s a third-party sponsor deal to see Karmichael Hunt in the gold jersey or a back room deal done with the ARU guaranteeing him of a Wallaby berth when he defected, I must be overseeing something very fundamentally important that Hunt has done on the field or has embedded his contract. What happened to these high standards that were apparently set for Australian Rugby Union players?
Seven months after the McKenzie debacle culminated in the coach’s sacking, when absolutely nothing of Hunt’s behaviour should be tolerated, behaviour worse than the unthinkable glides so effortlessly under the carpet. The ARU consistently gets opportunities to prove to their fans that no player is bigger than the organisation and they are so often being found completely inept.
In all fairness, constant Wallaby scandals over recent years have reinforced not only the notion that one player can ascend heights higher than the team but that Australia has such precious little talent that they must rely on picking anyone who shows an inkling of world-class quality – a criteria of which I’m extremely surprised Hunt has even relatively met.
For the second time in seven months, Australian rugby fans have been shown very little thought for their fans so I’m not going to afford the sentiment this time. This time, I’m talking to Australian rugby players. How deep must your contempt be for someone like Karmichael Hunt? Someone who’s come into the game and had such disrespect for the environment and the teams that he was entering and treat them the way he has.
Furthermore, what does it say about the kind of governing body you’re playing for? Hunt waltzes across into rugby union and is suspended for four games after being stood down by the Reds for having been charged with drug offences – all of this AFTER being appointed joint Vice Captain at the Reds during the off season. He than misses a third of the Super Rugby season and then walks into the Wallaby Rugby World Cup training squad.
To Australian rugby players, club and province – if you feel disheartened and disillusioned then those feelings are certainly warranted.
With all the fuss being made about players going to the Northern Hemisphere, it is the least of the union’s troubles when these kinds of issues are happening at home.