Rugby Australia has insisted that the announcement of the 2022 John Eales medallist is imminent as rumours swirl about the name of the winner and the reasons for the lengthy delay.
More than four months after the Wallabies played their final game and seven rounds into a fresh Super Rugby Pacific season, RA has still not made public the winner of last season’s award for the best male 15-a-side player.
RA also said the game’s night of nights to celebrate major award winners would not be a thing of the past. In years gone by, RA has hosted an annual awards night and left no stone unturned when it comes to making it a memorable evening for players, officials and rugby figures.
In 2017 and 2018, the RA awards were held in the ballroom at Royal Randwick Racecourse. They moved to the Seymour Centre in Darlington in 2019, when Marika Koroibete collected the top gong.
Due to COVID-19, RA decided to reveal the 2020 and 2021 award winners online with daily announcements on social media for the various categories in the men’s and women’s games.
In a statement early last year, RA boss Andy Marinos said: “While we are incredibly disappointed to not be hosting these awards in person, this is an opportunity to celebrate our great game and all the people who make it possible.”
Marika Koroibete with the John Eales Medal in 2019, before the pandemic changed the way it was celebrated.Credit: Getty
However, questions have been asked in rugby circles as to why RA did not – and has not – organised a night to celebrate its 2022 award winners. The NRL and AFL hosted their major awards nights in September.
On its website, RA says the awards would be “released across February and March”. Awards, such as the Super Rugby Player of the Year and Wallaroos Player of the Year have already been announced in press releases and social media posts.
On February 6 last year, Michael Hooper was crowned the 2021 John Eales Medal winner.
Michael Hooper has won the John Eales Medal four times.Credit: Getty
Speaking to the Herald, Marinos insisted that RA’s decision was not a cost-cutting exercise. RA’s view is that by drip feeding award winners over a number of weeks, players get more recognition.
RA has been mailing awards to players throughout the country.
There is also no guarantee that the John Eales Medal winner will be a Super Rugby player, given that the Wallabies have increasingly been calling on overseas-based players. However, Australian-based players featured more heavily in Wallabies Tests in 2022.
“We’ll be looking to make an announcement in the next week to 10 days,” Marinos said. “We had disruptions during COVID, so wanted to try this method this year where we are able to give every single award winner and recipient their time in the sun.
“It’s not [about cutting costs]. We will more than likely look to go back to an awards evening after the World Cup and get everyone in again.”
In the past, RA awards nights have traditionally taken place in October before the Wallabies head to Europe for their end-of-year spring tour.
However, the voting period is now done over a calendar year, meaning spring tour votes count towards that year’s winner.
One of the big challenges for RA is getting players in the same room, given that Wallabies representatives are scheduled to take annual leave after the spring tour. Once Super Rugby starts in February, that becomes even more difficult.
RA could have found time for an awards night in January or February but decided to take a different approach.
The governing body has been busy since the Wallabies played their final Test of the year in November.
RA sacked Wallabies coach Dave Rennie with a year remaining on his contract and immediately appointed Eddie Jones as his replacement. Hosting the Sydney Sevens in January also took up much of RA’s time and resources.
Officials have also been working hard to secure private equity investment in the game.
“[An awards night] will be reinstated in all its glory next year … bigger and better than ever before,” said RA chairman Hamish McLennan.
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