Jim Dolan: Australian Correspondent on Sam Konstas success, Boxing Day cricket and what Rugby Australia want's for Christmas

Our Australian Correspondent gives us an update on all things Aussie sport.

At 19 Sam Konstaswill get his chance on the pitch in this year’s Boxing Day test.

Rugby Australia wants two big Christmas presents: Phil Waugh admitted he is flexible to talk to Joe Schmidt about extending his time as Wallabies coach.

The broadcast deal comes to an end at the end of next year.

From January 1 Rugby Australia is able to speak with other broadcasters.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildegrave from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
And we're joined now by Jim Dolan. Jim, Jim, Jim.
This is it, mate, this is the final time in
twenty twenty four. Are you a little sad? Are you
shedding a tear for our relationship?

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Oh? Ho ho hoes Darcy. Now I'll be following you
on the socials, so I'll know exactly what you're up for.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
I've been very quiet on the socials recently, so.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Just get it up.

Speaker 4 (00:35):
Well yeah, okay, and.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's sure, but I mean I've given up on Twitter.
It's actually bad for my mental health. So yeah, I
didn't see that one coming tonight, right Christmas early for
a young Australian cricketer.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
Who's the cricketer and what did he get?

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Yeah, we've got two changes for the Test team for
the Boxing Day Test, the Aussies nineteen year old Sam Constance,
who at the start of the summer we were saying, yeah,
you'll play for Australia some stage. Some were saying from
Australian for the first Test. Well he gets his chance
now in the fourth Test. He's nineteen years old scored
a number of centuries in the Sheffield Chield earlier this

(01:11):
season which were filing far between from Australia's batsman. He
also got one hundred in that pinball game against the
Indian a side which had some of their better bowlers
in it, so he's got runs. He made the fastest
fifty in the Big Bash on debut for the Sydney
Thunder in his first game, so he's got plenty of momentum.

(01:33):
Nathan McSweeney is the man who misses out picked out
a position as an opener. For probably the real reason
he's the one to go if you're failing to get
us scored his first three Tests against India is because
Osman Kawasha, who turned thirty eight last week. He's left
hander and the Ossie Selector's lover lefty righty opening combo.

(01:53):
So that's probably why McSween is the man to mcway
and Kawaja gets another chance. So we'll see how it
all turns out. Because he found out after you've got
three missed pauls at Sydney Thunder training yesterday returned to those.
One of them was the chairman of Selected George Bailey,
so he's got a great Christmas gift of a baggy green.
He has declined the opportunity to go straight to Melbourne.

(02:16):
He's still going to play in the Big Bash Sydney
Smash the night before joining his Test team mates. Scott
Boland is expected to start for the injured Josh Hazelwood.
Travis Head's mystery. It's not a calf, it's not a
groin injury. He's still expected to play and Joy Richardson
has also been added to the squad. So there's plenty
of Blakes sitting in the shed and the fingers crossed.

(02:40):
The weather stays good in Melbourne.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
So when was that debut and the big best just
recently yet?

Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, just on Tuesday night? I think it was.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Right, Yeah, because I watched some of that.

Speaker 4 (02:51):
There was some Blake. Absolutely, he's savaging at the top.
Did he remember his name? I've got to remember it now,
don't I.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yes, Yeah, he's a talented young kid and as they
find out, when you're young, you don't get so many
things down through your head when you're at the crunch moment.
Son team mate.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
His frontal lobe hasn't fully developed yet. He's got no
idea they just don't know about what happens next. Don't
even think about that. It's very much living in the present.
Oh if only us old buggers could think like that, right, Jim.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Correct just about to say, I do standing standing over
that two foot And that's the advice. And golfers never
try and think of more than three hundred things in
your back swing.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Oh no, don't, don't.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
The worst things on the tea box is do you
breathe in or out at the top of your swing.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
That just destroys people to the whole round.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
And when you're nineteen year old, you just think about, oh,
we're going out tonight after this and smash it down
the middle. So it's the same with their batting. I'll
just whack this, you pay.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
He's got anything more for us on the on the
Big Bess and started, I really enjoyed the wbb L
and way that was running. But this big best as
it promising more. We're getting going to get bigger crowds
this time around.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Yeah, well it's really starting to get some momentum. Cricket
Australia I think is putting more promotion into it. This
trying to piece the broadcasters and he's starting to gain
some momentum. If you saw last night Ben Duckett's catch,
if you missed it last night, you'll probably see it
a thousand times across this weekend. He took an absolute
screamer in that game. Probably he's highlight giving. He got

(04:22):
a Golden Dack tonight. If we look forward, it's the
Sydney smash, the Thunder versus the Sixes at the Olympic
Park venue which changed its name every year, so I'd
just say it's the one next to the Olympic Stadium.
It's the old dogs who've been standing up for both
sides this year. If you saw Moses on Reeks starting
for the Sixers earlier this week, that game was almost gone.

(04:43):
When he's stuck his head down and batted extremely well
for the Sixes and then Daniel SAMs for the Thunder, well,
they were gone the other night until he hit three
sixes and two fours in one over off Lloyd Pope.
They probably shouldn't have held the leage to him, I think,
but everyone in the Thundercolors is expecting Dave Warner, the

(05:05):
new skipper, want the type of innings that he's known
for to get the fans excited tonight, So there should
be a very big crowd for that last Saturday before Christmas.
No excuse not get along and enjoy that. And the
weather will even be good, which will be seeing.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
I watched a weebit to the start of it, but
old Timmy Seifert the Key were doing particularly well.

Speaker 4 (05:25):
That was a that was a rawt.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Hurricanes renegades match it Hurricanes rolled and what the thirteenth
over or something for seventy.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Odd just out of a great start.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
No cipher there I found it thirty seven off nineteen deliveries.

Speaker 4 (05:42):
He just went Yahoo. They had done very very easy.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
One of us Australia is leading statisticians who is a Tasmanian,
tried to find a positive out of that and he said,
if you take out all of the wicket palls, the
Hurricanes run rate was actually pretty good.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
Oh, next test seventy five it's very best.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
And finally Jim mcdolan Rugby Australia wants two big christ
Like Rugby Australia. Everybody had their prisons. They've had a
year's worth of Christmas prisons. Then he picked up a coach.
That's what he's doing.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
Yeah, we always want more Darcy phil Warre, who's the
boss of Rugby Australia. He's admitted that he will be
creative and flexible in an attempt to talk that man
Joe Schmidt into extending his time as Wallaby's coach. Apparently
the deal runs out at the end of the British
and Irish lines too in July. Schmid makes no secret
that he wants to spend some more time in New

(06:34):
Zealand with his family, so that will be a key feature.
I don't think at this stage it's going to lead
to the Wallaby's training in New Zealand, but I'm not
prepared to rule that out because we're pretty keen for
him to stay on as coach.

Speaker 4 (06:46):
Anyone asked he still, he still? He loves him?

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Again?

Speaker 4 (06:51):
Fine, he was.

Speaker 3 (06:52):
I'm sure in the week between Christmas in the evening
when someone's going we need a story, Oh, I'll just
ring David, so yes, we'll get something going. Then. There
are four options to replace Joe Smith as Wallaby's coach,
but none of them have international experience, and I'd imagine
another year of them watching what Joe Smith does is
probably a good idea. The other thing is the broadcast

(07:15):
deal also comes to an end at the end of
next year, currently getting thirty million dollars a season, which
isn't amongst the best deals they've done. Channel nine's exclusive
bargaining period runs out on January December thirty one, so
from January one and Rugby Australia is able to speak
with the other broadcasters. So I'd imagine Phil Wall's got

(07:35):
a fair bit of work to do in that area
too this week, because they would like more cash in
the deal, especially with the British and Irish Lions doing.
They think rugby is on the app, so they would
like broadcasters to pay for that too. Broadcasters of course,
as say, oh they're going to accounting every penny here
and so yeah, that'll be an interesting negotiation which I
hope is not fought out in the media.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Ossie Rugby need as much mode as they can get
to pay Joe Smith to stay there and those other
four possibilities. They actually know their possibilities to be the coaches.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
Anyone told them.

Speaker 3 (08:07):
Yes, because it's mentioned in the paper all the time
Stephen Lark and let's kiss etcetera, etcetera.

Speaker 4 (08:13):
Yeah, and do they want to that's another story. For
another day.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
Jim, Thanks for all of your contribution right the way
throughout the year. Thanks for dealing with thanks for being
patient and polite. You have a fantastic holiday season, my friend,
and we'll catch you on.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
It again next year.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
Ah Jim, All right, bye, see thanks for coming bye,
Thanks good luck cleaning the reindeer crap off your dick.

Speaker 1 (08:38):
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