sport news Australia legend David Campese bemoans the 'old boy's club' in rugby trends now

sport news Australia legend David Campese bemoans the 'old boy's club' in rugby trends now
sport news Australia legend David Campese bemoans the 'old boy's club' in rugby trends now

sport news Australia legend David Campese bemoans the 'old boy's club' in rugby trends now

'It's more sunshine than you'll ever get in England, so don't come over here and whinge about it getting dark early!' says David Campese, having been held up in an Uber during the Friday night rush-hour in Perth

He was trying to reach the harbour for a photoshoot before the early winter sun set, having spent the afternoon at a long lunch function with Eddie Jones and a group of guest speakers.

'We had a referee doing a talk at the event. In our day, nobody cared who the referee was, How things have changed. When the hell did people start paying to watch referees?'

One of the most outspoken men in rugby, the sharp-tongued Australian, who has 101 Wallaby caps, jokes how he changed his speech when he realised Jones was in the audience. Posing for the cameraman before night quickly falls, he shares a few stories about their days together as Randwick team-mates. 'He was a little a man with a big voice and nothing's changed … typical hooker!'

As the shoot ends, he begins to run the rule over the state of the game.

David Campese sits down to speak to Sportsmail in Perth ahead of the Australia-England series

David Campese sits down to speak to Sportsmail in Perth ahead of the Australia-England series

Campese is a legend for the Wallabies and now one of the game's most outspoken characters

Campese is a legend for the Wallabies and now one of the game's most outspoken characters

'I'm worried about rugby,' he says. 'The hardest thing for me is when we played in the amateur era we entertained. Now it's a different animal and it's frustrating to watch. It's all about winning. In the coach's contract, the more they win the more contract they get. This weekend you've rugby league on AFL on and the Wallabies match so we need to entertain people. It's a crowded market. Everyone loves to win, but we need to entertain or we won't get the new fans.'

Taking a seat at a nearby bar, he settles in over a glass of wine. 'Pinot noir, please. Australian. No pommy stuff.' The place is bustling with office workers enjoying after-work drinks.

'Look around,' he says. 'Go and ask that table over there and I bet they don't know there's a match on this weekend. How many Wallaby jerseys can you see? None. It's sad.

'I wasn't joking about the referee earlier. People who know rugby love rugby but new fans aren't interested in watching a referee constantly blowing a whistle. No one cared about referees when I played. The less involvement they had, the better. Now it's like they are always looking for something to penalise, rather than letting the game flow. It's pedantic.

Campese described England head coach Eddie Jones as a 'little s***' during his playing days

Campese described England head coach Eddie Jones as a 'little s***' during his playing days

'In 1991, a scrum took 11 seconds. Now they're three minutes. Now we've got a game where the scrums are decided by referee. I'm a winger so I've got no idea what really goes on in the scrum. It used to be a weapon for the backline. Now it's a weapon for penalties. Now they walk to a lineout instead of speeding the game up. It makes me sad because I played in an era where we played a style of rugby that people wanted to play. Nick Farr-Jones, Michael Lynagh.

'These days, every team has the same play book. Every team does the same move where they pass the ball behind four

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