The spotlight has been shone on the way rugby union in Australia nurtures its grassroots,on the back of a diabolic World Cup campaign in which the Wallabies failed to make the quarter-finals for the first time.
Furthermore,Super Rugby sides have continued to struggle against their New Zealand and South Africa rivals,prompting Rugby Australia’s moves to put in place a centralised model.
The model has proved a success in Ireland,where the small nation has surged to become a world rugby powerhouse.
Kiss,who last coached in the Irish competition,said while there were “some clues” in how the nation had made it work that could be replicated,ultimately any changes made needed to support the players.
Touching on the need for coach upskilling and training at community levels,while supporting the suggestion of a second-tier competition,the 58-year-old said the structure would be beneficial only if its presence was from the ground up.
“It[Ireland] is a different type of nation,a different demographic. Where they come from is totally different from where we come from - it’s a smaller country,it’s easy to get around and put things in play,” Kiss said.
“I’m open to the idea that the high-performance areas of the game can be aligned to a certain degree.
“We just need to have the right people who get to the right things,and I think one of the things that Irish rugby did well is it became player-centric.
“It was about what was best for the players and,aligned to that,what was best for the coaches. How do we educate well? How do we do the things that allow the grassroots right up to flourish?
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“We’ve just got to get those things right. I hope it’s a player-centric model,not a power-centric model.”
Kiss stressed that,while a centralised model could reap some rewards,ultimately the Australian clubs needed to be given licence to establish their own brand and identity.
He said if the restructure stripped clubs and coaches of the chance to bring fresh ideas to the table,the concept would fail.
“I wouldn’t say it’s about conformity. The Irish system isn’t about conforming – it’s about getting the right things aligned so that the players and the coaches have a pathway,and they can work hard and become better,” Kiss said.
“It’s about getting the right things in uniform – if everything is conformity we get no innovation. Each club should be able to innovate,because you need innovation in your system and Aussies are very good at innovation.
“We know how to play the game,we’ve got wonderful skill sets,we’ve got wonderful tactical acumen and great strategic minds.
“We’ve got to let each province flourish in that area,but we must get the right things right in our performance pathways.”
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