Go West, young man!

Bolting Brumby
Matt Giteau to become the highest paid Ozzy footy player, in any code, in history. 23 yr old ACT star utility back defecting to the Western Force for a 3 yr contract worth $4.5 meellion. Strewth! That's a whole lotta moolah! Perhaps now he can afford a decent haircut ;-) I say, good on him! That's what 'professional' rugby's all about, playing for $$$. Others less impressed, including (not surprisingly) Brumbies coach, Laurie Fisher:

I certainly don't think it's the best thing for his football. He won't be playing in '07 outside Stephen Larkham & inside Stirling Mortlock, he might be playing outside [Force five-eighth] James Hilgendorf & inside [Force centre] Josh Graham. There's a significant difference there. Will that impact on the quality of his football? Yes it will, I think it will. Will there be enormous pressure from the Perth community for him to be their saviour? Yes there will be. Can that impact on the enjoyment of his rugby? Yes it will.

Hmm, bitter truth or sour grapes? Regardless, the saga's provoked a top level Oz Rugger Union probe into player contracts, salaries, 3rd-party agreements & recruitment protocols. The reverberations rippling out through all the Oz union-playing states. RugbyHeaven has all the goss (unfortunately links to individual articles don't stay live for long, so you gotta be quick).

Why should we in NZ care about events in a country whose only contributions to world culture have been the boomerang and crushing an empty beer can against your forehead? Well, we don't really, but the Giteau signing has made a lot of Ozzies (outside of Perth) very grumpy - and that's what we like to see.