GOLD DIGGER: The search for Australian rugby

2023 can probably get in the bin. Okay, it wasn’t all bad. Some of us had a great trip to France and it’s great if you follow 7s rugby, but otherwise, it’s been tough. Joining Matt to have a quick review of the year and where to next for Australian rugby is Blake from the Rugby Report Card with a slice of umbrage but plenty of strong, honest views. We talk about the Eddie show, Hamish McLennan vs the Rebel Alliance but also look at the positives, our women’s 7s, the opportunities for building rugby amongst the youth and who could be angling for the Wallaby head coach role. This episode will be the final in the current series of the Gold Digger podcast and will close with some announcements about the film and the opportunity of a new book that is perfect for some off season reading. Dig in!

It was an interview that was months in the making. Then he was sacked but still the opportunity was there. At the time of recording in early January 2023 he was a former Wallaby coach and at the time of publishing he is now the current Wallaby coach. Eddie Jones, a man who needs no introduction to Australian rugby fans.We dig into his origins at Matraville High playing with the Ellas, his coaching journey, the rise of Japan and how he changed their mindset, the evolving professional players and then cut to the core of the issues that need to be addressed in Australia and how important cohesion is. A frank chat with a battle hardened former school teacher and now journeyed coach that is all the more salient given he has been given the mantle of Wallaby coach for "one more job". Dig in!

Since when do we lose to Italy? Another historical Wallaby loss surely requires a response and with a little wine in hand, Matt decides to give it a go. Not much here except a good old fashioned cathartic whine about the bleeding obvious. We dwell on the Italian game, touch on some points around the business of rugby and also raise a glass to the Black Ferns victory and why that could matter for Australian rugby. Pour yourself a strong drink and dig in!

We made the call and many of you answered! A short but sharp Q and A session with writer/director Matt Durrant and Director of Photography Majdi Slaibi on the newly released feature documentary Gold Digger: The search for Australian Rugby. Some background on how the film came together, technical aspects of making it, more anecdotes from the production and the questions from the many and many listeners out there!If you're in Australia, you can now watch the film On Demand via Fox Docos which is available via Foxtel GO and Binge. More announcements on further releases around the world coming soon. Dig in! 

Finally, the documentary we've been waiting to share with Australian audiences will get a local release this Thursday the 15th September 2022 on the day of the Bledisloe Test Match in Melbourne. The film will be screened on Fox Docos via Foxtel and Binge.Director Matt Durrant and cinematographer and co-producer Majdi Slaibi from Thiqa Media share a few stories of how the film started almost 3 years ago and the journey of getting it from concept to broadcast. A battler story of two guys with an idea and plenty of enthusiasm who jumped in and navigated the Australian rugby sphere to chase the story despite the limits of being self funded, having a skeleton crew and managing to overcome the challenges of a pandemic that momentarily shut down production .A few anecdotes,  some favourite interview moments and a call out for listeners to tell us what they want to hear after the film is out. Dig in!

The Ella brothers are synonymous with Australian rugby and especially the era in which the Wallabies and the "running rugby" style took over the rugby world. Glen Ella, the twin of Mark and older brother of Gary, lived and played through it all from that Invincible Schoolboy Tour of 1977/78 to the dominant Galloping Greens of Randwick in the 80s and then the highest honour of  playing for the Wallabies with his brothers.We talk to Glen about his thoughts on the state of rugby now in Australia, dissect that recent series loss to England and touch upon his friendship with current head coach and former Matraville High alumni Eddie Jones. Can attacking styles be dominant again in world rugby despite ever imposing defences? Is rugby at a critical juncture in Australia where the style of the game isn't as attractive a brand as it used to be? And did rugby in Australia miss a trick by not engaging more Indigenous athletes who now populate the AFL and NRL? An honest and engaging conversation with a former Wallaby who remains just as committed to the game as the day he was first introduced to it with his brothers at high school. Dig in!

Eddie Jones talks about it, Scott Robertson swears by it and cohesion has certainly been a frequently mentioned topic across all sports lately, but GAINLINE Analytics is a company that has devoted itself to using cohesion to search for that elusive answer of what makes teams successful. With the success of our previous episodes "The C Word", we talk to the other half of GAINLINE Analytics founding partnership, Simon Strachan. Simon is also a former Wallabies performance video analyst and schoolboy rugby coach and now spends considerable time working with some of the world's leading sporting organisations on how they can use cohesion analytics to create solid governance structures that will influence on field performance.We talk about his rugby journey from the Barossa Valley to Philadelphia and then Melbourne, how a chance opportunity to film Wallabies training sessions took him to the inner sanctum of a British and Irish Lions series, review the recent Super Rugby Pacific teams and competitions from around the world and of course look at what this week's Wallabies v England match up could mean for both teams with a World Cup less than 20 games away! Dig in!

We're back after a bit of a break to pull out our calculators and dig into the financial inner workings of the business of rugby. Following Rugby Australia's announcement of a $4.5M loss in the last financial year, the prospect looks more positive with the news that Australia will host the Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2029, along with a lucrative British and Irish Lions tour down under in 2025. To help us make sense of it all, we speak to Dr David Bond, a qualified accountant and professor from UTS who spends his spare time analysing the annual reports of Rugby Australia as well as serving as a board member of the Sydney Rugby Union.Join us as we dig into the hidden budget items, talk about how Wallaby and Super Rugby broadcast revenue has fluctuated, the importance of gate receipts and just how significant the bail outs from World Rugby and the banking system have been to keep the administration from going under. Dig in!

Not strictly an episode but an update on the latest exciting news that our documentary feature film Gold Digger: The search for Australian rugby is going to be released this coming week in South Africa on Saturday the 16th April 2022 on SABC2! The reason for the release in South Africa and not Australia is explained by Matt and rest assured the pending release in Australia and other countries later this year will be made shortly. More podcast episodes to come so stay tuned and keep on digging!

We've talked cohesion in the past and you just can't mention the word without mentioning the most cohesive professional rugby club in the world right now, Leinster Rugby. So who better than Leinster's current senior coach and former England head coach Stuart Lancaster to come on to the pod and talk to us about the success of the Leinster system, how Ireland is benefitting right now from it, his career pathway through the English RFU coaching system, the trials and tribulations of being England head coach, the 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign and of course, his perspective on Australian rugby right now.This is a fascinating episode full of honest insights and experiences from one of rugby's most knowledgable coaches that could well give Australian rugby fans, players, coaches and perhaps even the administrators plenty to think about! Dig it in!

We continue to dive down the cohesion mine but instead of a historical interview, this time we get to have another candid interview with Ben Darwin as he travels through London in March 2022! Ben and Matt sit down and discuss the many questions and queries posed by the findings in Part 1 as well as respond to the explanation video that was released this week on Youtube detailing the rise and decline of Australian Rugby Union.We go through what Australian rugby needs to grapple with to improve our systems and why just cutting Super Rugby teams won't solve the issues. We talk Leinster's near perfect system, back handed compliments from Eddie Jones, MLR, English Premier League  and even touch on the Socceroos and that "Golden Generation". Put on the kettle and this time slice off a big wedge of cake and sit back as we dig deep with The Thinking Man's Prop himself.

It's a word spoken about in sporting terms by players, coaches and pundits alike but never has "cohesion" been so articulated and detailed by none other than a former Wallaby in Ben Darwin. Along with his business partner, former Wallaby video analyst Simon Strachan, they have founded an Australian business called GAINLINE Analytics that consults to both sporting teams and the commercial business sector. Focusing on cohesion analytics and developing sophisticated and data driven metrics such as the Team Work Index (TWI) they seek to answer one of the most important questions in all of professional sport; what actually determines success?This is by far the deepest dig of all, grappling with the history of what made Australian rugby so successful and conversely, what has happened to turn the tide the other way. With case studies of other sports as well as an analysis of the changes in the northern hemisphere rugby nations, this episode seeks to get to the core of just what has happened to Australian rugby with some stunning revelations as well as guest cameos from past interviewees. Dig into an episode that is not to be missed!

Welcome back for 2022 and we're giving a nod to the pending Six Nations series by travelling north and interviewing rugby royalty in the form of Sir Clive Woodward, the former England and British and Irish Lions player and coach...and of course that little thing that happened in Sydney back in 2003. We tackle the politics of being England head coach, the difficulties of coaching the Lions and we dive into Clive's time when he was living in Manly in the 1980s and playing for the Marlins against powerhouses like Randwick and being told to "take it up"! Did this playing stint in Australia help inform his approach to winning the Rugby World Cup and what is his view on the current state of rugby union in Australia?Matt also brings us up to date on the pending release of the film and what we can expect in 2022. Dig in!

One of the magical stories of the recent Wallaby Spring tour, tighthead prop Ollie Hoskins was playing Dungeons and Dragons one minute and then the next, he was being summoned to the Wallaby training camp to debut against England at Twickenham 6 days later. Matt had the opportunity and privilege to sit down with Ollie in London and chat over a coffee about his journey from junior rugby in Perth, getting his first professional opportunity with the Western Force, learning the front row craft at London Irish and of course the inside story on that magical November call up where he became Wallaby #949!The first "in person" podcast interview of our series (complete with a bit of plane, car and cafe ambience) so buckle in to hear about a unique and unexpected journey from one of the many Australian rugby players plying their trade across the world. Dig in!

A historic new expansion that turned into one of Australian rugby’s most bitter civil wars, the Western Force is a franchise that has ridden the rollercoaster of excitement and devastation. This is an episode that looks at how the team came into existence, how Australian rugby and Super Rugby evolved over that time, the inside story of the controversial axing of the team and how the Force managed to rise again from the ashes.With first hand interviews with former ARU Board director and WA rugby stalwart Geoff Stooke, former Rugby WA chairman Tony Howarth, former ARU CEO John O’Neill and a host of others including clips from the Senate Enquiry into the “Future of Rugby in Australia”, we piece together just what happened to the Western Force and why it still matters today. Get a big cup of coffee, sit back and dig into this gripping yarn.

It's been one of those weeks, hell months, if you're a Wallaby fan. Within hours of that devastating loss in Cardiff to Wales we pour a glass of whiskey, press record and let it all out. The Welsh loss, the TMO, the Spring Tour, the Giteau Law, 2021, everything. We ask how the Wallabies have performed, where do we want to see them go from here and what questions the administration has to start answering.To help us out we talk with our very own rugby agony aunt Mitch "Rev" Evans from the Rugby Fixation podcast. We try to make sense of whether Dave Rennie is settling on his best Wallaby selections and whether we can still be on track for a run at the William Webb Ellis Cup in 2023. Matt gives it a yay or nay on borderline Wallaby squad members futures and Rev tells us his 2021 World XV.Lie down on the couch, deep breathes, clear your mind and let's dig it all out! 

Dividing her time between training in the Wallaroos squad, being a STAN Sports pundit, ABC Sports podcaster and public speaker, Sera Naiqama is one of the busier rugby personalities going around. She drops in for a quick chat to dissect Australian rugby as we experience that post domestic season lull before the Spring Tour/Autumn Internationals commence! We discuss the difficulties the Wallaroos are facing having played no games in 2 years and being a year out from the World Cup in New Zealand and why a decision has to be made soon on investing in the future of Australian women's rugby. We also hear about Sera's journey from 7s player to Waratah and then being in the Wallaroos setup, the leap from online vlogger to prime time sports pundit, the perfectly worded "Can you be more Pacific" sports podcast, acoustic versions of Nelly's "Ride wit me" and a Golden Gun teacup (just listen, it'll make sense). Dig in!

The Wallabies and Springboks continue to have a decorated rivalry with the men in gold taking the latest chocolates over the reigning World Champions. But when it comes to peaks and troughs, both Australia and South Africa have many parallels in terms of controversy, challenges and dire patches in performance. To unpack this we speak with Thala Msutu from the South African rugby website and soon-to-be podcast “Rugby Bits” and cover the recent games between the Wallabies and Boks in Queensland, the current status of rugby union in South Africa and the social and political complexities the sport faces, the “ex-girlfriend” that is Super Rugby and what comparisons can be drawn between the two countries when it comes to dealing with the “player drain” and the pressures placed on the national team to succeed. It’s a SANZAR discussion minus the NZ. Dig in!

Imagine having Toutai Kefu teach you the ins and outs of back row play, or having Elton Flatley give you a personal kicking course, or perhaps a one on one exclusive from George Smith on how to jackal at a ruck? Welcome to Wallaby school and two different academies that are designed to pass knowledge from some of Australia's best and most experienced players to the emerging youth coming through.Firstly we speak with All Black legend Murray Mexted about how he set up IRANZ (International Rugby Academy of New Zealand) and then the Australian equivalent IRAA in late 2019. Murray also gives great insight into the Australian style of rugby over the last four decades and what could be done to help turn the game around.Then we hear from former Queensland Red Brad Free and Scott Oakhill who run the C2K Academy in Queensland and are able to summon a  who's who of Australia's best and brightest to give hands on tutelage to some of the state's most promising rugby players. Two very exciting and important endeavours that could give that important edge Australian rugby needs to create world class players and retain some of that all important rugby IQ. Dig in!

From rugby battlers to reigning Shute Shield Premiers, the Gordon Highlanders have a long history of achievement but a recent one of survival and reinvention. We talk to club stalwart and Gordon rugby life member Peter Sherwood about how the club went from being on the brink of insolvency and struggling for numbers to now being one of Sydney club rugbys power houses.Along the way we get a history lesson, discuss the current controversy around the SRUs plans to impose new conditions that might impact Western Sydney clubs, the latest news on former Gordon head coach Darren Coleman's offer to coach the Waratahs and just what direction NSW rugby and perhaps even Australia broadly should be going in order to keep up with the changing sporting climate. Plenty of lessons to learn from the Gordon experience. Dig in!