Business lessons from a dismal defeat
Founders and capital allocators can learn a lot from the Wallabies' defeat at the Rugby World Cup and the sport's 20-year death spiral in Australia.
There are plenty of business lessons to draw from the Wallabies' record defeat at the Rugby World Cup on Monday morning, which is really the culmination of a two-decade death spiral for the 15-man code in Australia.
Rugby is struggling to achieve product market fit in Australia's intensely competitive winter sports landscape. Successive leadership teams at the governing body have misallocated capital, spending money in the wrong areas — launching unprofitable teams and competitions, buying players from other sports, firing key personnel — in search of short-term boosts, while neglecting to invest in other places that could yield better long term returns — the grassroots tier, which is the key source of talent. The game also lacks a coherent org structure.
But one recent decision by the game's powerbrokers illustrates the muddled thinking that has plagued the game in Australia for too long.
When Eddie Jones was abruptly installed as Wallabies coach in January it was widely hailed as a PR masterstroke. Jones’ outspoken nature would reignite interest in the flagging code, returning it to daily news bulletins and newspaper back pages.
