One of Australia's greatest rugby players Tim Horan has praised the move towards greater cooperation between Australia's Super Rugby franchises and the establishment of a fighting fund to keep the best youngsters in the code.
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Rugby Australia (RA) on Monday announced an alignment between the four local Super Rugby organisations and the need to get behind the Wallabies as the standard bearers of the code.
New Zealand have traditionally benefited from putting the All Blacks' interests ahead of individual franchise concerns, something which hasn't been the norm in Australia.
RA officials on Monday declared the new understanding had led to unity, with data to be shared and the Wallabies' interests being paramount.
"It's difficult to imagine that the Queensland Reds are going to provide too much information to the (NSW) Waratahs and vice versa," Horan said on Fox Sports.
"But it's more about making sure that all the four Super Rugby teams understand that the Wallabies is the showcase of Australian rugby and that's why kids play the game.
"When they see the Wallabies gold jersey running around and they see them beating sides all around the world, so that has to be paramount.
"It's certainly worked in other countries and this is a really big positive for rugby in Australia, to have these four teams aligned."
Horan believes the new agreement will ensure there's no repetition of the situation in 2018, when contracted Queensland five-eighth Quade Cooper didn't play any Super Rugby.
"If you look at what happened in 2018 with Quade Cooper not being wanted by Brad Thorn, the coach of the Queensland Reds, that would then come back to Rugby Australia and then Rugby Australia could place him in another franchise," Horan said.
RA has set up a fund to keep emerging youngsters, which has been supplemented by donations.
Angus Crichton and Izaia Perese are among those in recent times to have moved from union to league.
"I remember talking to Angus Crichton when he was thinking of leaving rugby to go to rugby league and the difference financially was about $100,000 in his first year out of school," Horan said.
"So that's going to change and change for the better.
RA has already signed up several youngsters and says its talent pool means it won't be spending those funds on rugby league players.
Australian Associated Press
