At the turn of the 21st century, rugby union in Australia was at it’s peak.
The Wallabies were world champions, had a winning streak over the All Blacks, saw off the touring British and Irish Lions, and the game hosted a successful world cup that provided the governing body with a massive financial windfall.
However in a few short years, the Wallabies would become easy beats against emerging nations, the governing body would whittle away all of their capital and rugby would become one of the lowest participation sports in Australia.
Matt Durrant, a long time Wallaby supporter, decides enough is enough. Tired of seeing his beloved Wallabies fall over again and again, and bearing witness to a code that is scandal-ridden, he sets out to find out exactly why the Wallabies have slipped backwards in world rankings and why the game is on the precipice of a financial crisis.
Were we just blessed with a golden generation of players? Has the professional era moved beyond the Australian game? Has Australian rugby been sorely mismanaged?
Gold Digger: The search for Australian Rugby seeks answers to these questions, ultimately trying to solve the big question of all, can Australian rugby union resurrect itself and become the global powerhouse it once was?
Like a crime investigation, the history of Australia’s rise in the 1980s and success of the 1990s are plotted out. A timeline of critical events and turning points are mapped as Matt speaks with some of the players, coaches and officials who were responsible for this ‘Golden Era’.
The focus rapidly moves into the field, interviewing current players, administrators and decision-makers who have steered the game over the last two decades. Through their testimonies, we get a first-hand account of where things have gone wrong and perhaps where the solutions lie.
New information is found in the form of performance analysis theories around what underpins success, and, by the same token, failure.
Presenting a theory on why the Wallabies have gone backwards and how that has translated to the game as a whole, Matt attempts to take his findings to the very top. The administrators at Rugby Australia.
