ARU prepared to wield sword on half-million-dollar men

THE Australian Rugby Union, apart from being aghast at the behaviour of certain Western Force players and officials, are uneasy about the exorbitant salaries numerous Super 14 players are receiving. Dramatic cuts at renegotiation time appear inevitable. The new ARU regime is stunned by the number of players on $500,000 or more. One official said: "If you saw some of the players on the top band, you would be staggered. Value for money? Hardly." The ARU is also aware of several player agents dramatically inflating overseas offers. It has checked out a number of offers with the overseas clubs and discovered the real figures are considerably less. The response could be brutal, with some at the ARU prepared to lose players to Europe. The real talent will, apparently, remain.

Hairy Hurricane

Hurricanes second-rower Jason Eaton, who is up against the Waratahs tomorrow night, boasts an enormous beard, which he is growing for charity. He explained in the Waratahs match program: "It's weird. I get heaps of blokes saying, 'It's awesome, you have to keep it,' but then on the other side, the females aren't so happy."

Mum knew best

The Western Force swamp job continues. The Force's website this week had interesting details about Haig Sare, who made headlines when his jaw was broken during a fight involving teammate Matt Henjak, prompting a judiciary hearing next week. In Sare's profile, he said the best advice he received from his mother was : "Always throw the first punch." Funny, a day later that comment was no longer part of his profile. And those on an overseas representative tour two years ago have been in contact to say that Henjak's off-field behaviour was far from impressive, being aggressive with several officials and teammates.

Last call for Lucas

Sydney is a big place, but not that big. When Queensland arrived for a pre-season trial at Campbelltown, the Reds decided to stay in Parramatta. As the Reds left their Sydney flight, one of their younger players, Ben Lucas, was overheard saying to a teammate: "What time's the connecting flight to Parramatta?" And a Waratahs official got all confused at Bluetongue Stadium when asked on the two-way radio which way the two teams - the Waratahs and Brumbies - were running in the first half of their trial. After working out which team was which, the official asked: "Can someone confirm which way is north?"

Watch Bs and Qs

The appearance of Tah Man is the talk of Sydney. But the unveiling of the new Waratahs mascot was not a memorable moment for one of its creators. Jamie McGregor, who works at the Tahs, went to the function in the city, but couldn't find anyone. So he left, being hit for $40 to get his car out of the car park. Then on the way back to work, he crashed the car. The previous day at the Waratahs team announcement, replacement halfback Luke Burgess discovered he was the forgotten man. MC Mark "Pinky" Cashman called out each player in alphabetical order to parade in front of the crowd. According to Pinky, there was a glitch in the paperwork, and instead Burgess appeared among the Ds. In Tahland, he's now known as Luke Durgess.

Unwanted kudos

Rugby has suffered recently from numerous negative stories, but one it shouldn't have been connected with was the Wayne Carey domestic violence saga. In one television interview, when a US policeman explained how Carey got into trouble in Miami, the former AFL star was tagged a "champion rugby player".

Sharpe as a pin

For the record c At 11.50am on February 4 at the Super 14 launch in Sydney, Western Force captain Nathan Sharpe took the honour of being the first representative rugby player in 2008 to say: "We'll take it one game at a time."

Rumours c

¡ There is strong mail that the quokka shocker story involving Western Force players was far worse than the details that made the headlines; the penalties could have been more severe; and the incident involved more players. It is amazing how many quokkas you can get in one room.

¡ A Sydney official, with links to several sports, has been linked to the Western Force chief executive's position. But with the never-ending scandals in the west, who would want to take that job?

¡ Can it really be true that a Waratahs supporter approached the NSW Rugby Union this week to ask where he could buy a Les Kiss action figure? Kiss, the NSW defence coach, is a cult hero in Tahland.

Quote of the week


"It's not a distraction at all."

FIGHTING FORCE


AFTER the Matt Henjak-Haig Sare stinkaroo, how apt are the words of the Western Force team anthem. All together now c

"Shout out, everyone

Come on, bring it on

We are in this together

Fighting side by side

Full of western pride

Lifting each other higher."

John Mitchell on the Henjak-Sare punch-up. Which planet is he on?
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