HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND - JULY 27: Dan Carter of the Crusaders misses the tackle of Sonny Bill Williams of the Chiefs during the Super Rugby Semi Final match between the Chiefs and Crusaders at Waikato Stadium on July 27, 2012 in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)
Commodity … Sonny Bill Williams's bargaining power is a sign of the individualism creeping into modern team sport. Photo: Getty Images
It's an interesting time to be a professional sportsperson as I look at some of the management that has been going on surrounding the Australian Olympic team.
It seems these days there is so much self promotion that the big picture is being lost. I admit I have never competed in an individual sport, but I do love how golfers and tennis players talk themselves up, yet the sense of a team environment is starting to become very individualised.
My way of thinking is the players have a different sense of worth. It's not to say it's right or wrong, it's just different to the way it has been done before. We have seen rugby players have the ability to call the shots. Players have left at the top of their game to take up contracts overseas only to come back and vie for a position again in time for the next World Cup.
Sonny Bill Williams is the classic example. Rugby union, boxing, rugby league and potentially back to union and a passport that has been stamped worldwide. Players have the ability to face CEOs and coaches and dictate their own terms. In effect, if you have a commodity in your team like an SBW, you have to do everything in your power to accommodate them, otherwise rue the potential loss.
I have to laugh at some of the current scenarios. Imagine a player expressing his views to Bob Dwyer, Eddie Jones or the late Greg Smith. They would have got a short response that included some pretty descriptive words. (Go forth and multiply, perhaps).
Being given an ultimatum is not new but its usual direction is from the coach to the player, not the other way around, as it seems to be these days. In 1994, I was asked by former Waratahs coach Smith whether I wanted to play for him or that Mickey Mouse game (meaning Sevens). I had just played in the Rugby World Cup Sevens and saw that as a stepping stone to the Wallabies. David Campese got asked the same question and continued playing Sevens. I had to forego representing my country to play the 15-man game for the Waratahs and try and stake a claim for a position, but your make your choices.
This is the unenviable position players find themselves in with four years till Sevens rugby is included in the Rio Olympics. Sevens players are fast becoming specialists and full dedication is needed to play at the top level. Skills in the two forms of rugby are transferable but there are subtle differences that make a good player great in both games. It's been such a long time since any form of rugby had the backing of the Olympic rings and to potentially walk off with a gold medal would be on par with a World Cup medal.
A choice has to be made early by the players on where their future lies. Players are getting on the front foot with the establishment and telling them how their future will be played out. I wonder if the scenario will go something like this. Player X contracted to a province, wants to play in the 2015 World Cup, but has sights set on Rio 2016. Do they commit to the 15-man game and therefore not leave enough time to improve their skills in the nuances of the Sevens format, or do they sacrifice the chance of playing in a World Cup and commit two solid years to the short form of the game to strive for Olympic glory.
Players these days have no worries about breaking contracts, changing provinces and even changing codes. The game has dictated a market where the players have the upper hand in a system that is trying to manage the situation softly, softly. We had a saying in the Wallabies: ''Players' game''. This meant everything for the benefit of the player, but was tongue in cheek. It looks like this has literally become the case.
However, I did like the comments from Chris Fydler the deputy chef de mission for the Australian Olympic team who said some of the athletes needed to pull their heads in and get ready represent their country and do a job and forget about all the trivial stuff. Good advice, sir. I like it. Times are changing, though, and I suppose it's about looking after you, me, I mean, the athlete, whatever… As we have heard from James O'Connor previously, it is about the brand, and perhaps some chat in the third person.