David Campese is one of the best rugby players this country has ever produced and one of the biggest.
The chip he had carried on his shoulder for so long while receiving treatment in his home country had become a malignant tumor.
His latest “poor me” gibberish was printed in England. whole body – The interview, which started as a walk down memory lane about the wonderful and historic Grand Slam Tour of 1984, ended with another step into the house of horrors that hit Australia – Campese’s mind.
Since his days as a player, Campo hasn’t just burned bridges, he’s piled tons of dynamite underneath them and lit the fuse.
Before we go into more detail about his latest complaints, let’s look at a personal anecdote.
In 2019, Campese wanted to replace Daryl Gibson as coach of the Waratahs.
After he was rejected, he contacted Athletes Voice, where I was editor, and I spent hours with him writing a column about the state of coaching in Australia and the pain his rejection had caused.
In a first-person column, Campo asked: “Why can’t I get a job in Australia? I have coached in South Africa, Singapore, Kenya and Tonga. “But in our country it’s always overlooked, and I don’t know why.”
So I wrote the column, deleted the copy, and set it to publish at 7 a.m. the next day. That night, ahead of publication time, Campese posted a column on his Facebook page, and almost immediately, all of my ghostwritten quotes appeared verbatim in the Sydney Morning Herald, giving me the “scoop”.
A bridge was nuked. And the context for this piece has been appropriately provided.
“I’m canceled so the only way I can get my message out is through my podcast,” Campese recently cried in Australia.
“There is not a single journalist in Australia who speaks to me. I was kicked out of Stan (owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead) and kicked out of the paper. That’s why I do a podcast. Because I told the truth.”
I’d suggest that there isn’t a single journalist in Australia who can afford to talk to Campese, and the budgets and expectations are what they are. There’s nothing wrong with making a living, but even he is insinuating that there is a conspiracy against him in the Australian media based on fear of the truth.
In fact, Campese always seemed to have a difficult time transitioning from a global superstar as a player to a mediocre media talent or unwanted coach.
Photo: Russell Chain/All Sports
He seems genuinely surprised and dissatisfied that his glorious story is not celebrated as much as he would like. But when roar Campo, who prepared the Greatest XV ahead of last year’s World Cup, declined to be interviewed.
When we picked up his quote from a paid column elsewhere and ran it on the field, he banned us from the tournament.
24 hours ago he talked to me for 30 minutes. ‘Roar’‘s Christy Doran, but after it was revealed he had already signed up for an ‘exclusive’ paid column, he asked that his quote not be used.
In a 2019 Athletes Voice article, Campo complained that the kids he coached didn’t recognize him. This lack of respect between generations is a recurring theme, and a strange one to keep discussing.
“When I go out to coach, most kids have no idea who I am,” Campo said in his Athletes Voice column.
“Matt Burke was doing a coaching clinic the other day and one kid was walking over to get a drink and said to another kid, ‘This is fantastic!’ The other child said, ‘Yes. ‘But why is that guy who reads Channel 10 news coaching us?’
“It’s really scary. There’s a lot of rugby history in Australia, but no one knows who we are. It’s not a pride issue. You have to have a sense of history. Because the reason most of us became Wallabies and won the World Cup is because of the people who played before us.”
However, it actually seems to be an “ego thing”.
In his latest outburst, his ego was seething like a clogged toilet. A man who complains about a lack of love and shakes his fists at his relatives.
“We were really proud in 1984. I’m not saying the current Wallabies aren’t like that, but it’s a different mindset, mate. It’s about money. They got paid. It’s a job. It’s part of life. great. But I think if you get paid to play in a big country, you should have more respect and understanding as to why you are there.
“They are playing on a team that has won a Grand Slam and two World Cups. And they have no idea why they are running! When I started at age 19 I had no idea what I was doing, but I soon learned about wallaby history and culture.
“If you mentioned Greg Cornelsen to these people, no one would know him. He is the only Wallaby to score four tries against New Zealand at Eden Park in 1978. No one knows! It’s about money. They’re getting $60,000 or whatever for the Wallabies. We were paid £20 a day. “We played 18 games on the ’84 tour!”
David Campese of the Wallabies in action during the Rugby Union Test match between Wales and the Australian Wallabies at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Australia won 28-9. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
My anger continued to rise. One of the things he hates the most is foreign coaches invading the Australian game and taking away what he can do.
“Joe Schmidt. He knows nothing about Australian rugby. That person is from New Zealand. He is not interested in finding out who we are. We would hit back, or at least attack at the opposition’s 22. Now we come to the downfall at number 22. That’s not Australian rugby. We used to attack! In Australia, you have to entertain people to get them to watch.
“I’m not saying he’s a bad coach, but why should we have a New Zealand coach? We are not New Zealanders. No one has ever coached a foreign team to victory in a Rugby World Cup. Eddie Jones was South Africa’s assistant coach in 2007, but now you look around the world and most teams have a local coach.
“Mike Catt is coming to coach the Waratahs. He doesn’t even know anything about Australian rugby. He is South African-British! Each country had its own way of playing. It’s sad that we have to call in people from other codes to guide us. That was the unique thing about rugby. “You had your own way of playing.”
And here are his views on the leader of the Australian game.
“Without the Lions or the World Cup in 2027, there would be no rugby union in Australia,” Campese says. “We have a lot of debt, but we still have a board. Did you say the fish rotted from its head? “You can pick 10 people to replace that position who could do a much better job.”
There are no prizes for guessing who will be number one on his list.
