Australian rugby great Dave Campese believes the modern game has a lot of problems to address – chief among them the lack of entertainment value.

“The game is getting to the stage now where it isn’t really entertaining,” Campese, 60, told BBC Sport NI.

“The amount of box kicking these days is unbelievable.”

The 1991 World Cup winner’s long-held misgivings about the way his sport is going were only increased earlier this year by the 51 minutes that it took to complete the first half of the contest between Australia and the All Blacks in Melbourne.

“You’ve got so many stoppages. New Zealand had the ball for seven minutes in play. Australia for six. That’s 13 minutes of 51 that the ball is in play.

“Is it really entertaining? There are a lot of problems.”

‘Referees have too much control’

Campese believes referees, in part hamstrung by “ridiculous” new laws, and coaches are playing key roles in what he perceives as rugby union’s regression.

“The laws have changed the game. The referees have got too much control.

“You’ve got Cheslin Kolbe, Antoine Dupont, Finn Russell, the Barrett brothers from New Zealand, Willie le Roux and I still like Danny Cipriani though he’s getting a bit older now…..players who are very creative.

“Those guys we need. We need those players to entertain but unfortunately the coaches are the ones who put the game the way it is because for them, it’s a job. They want to win. They don’t care how they win.

“I’ve been told that the Wallabies’ game plan now is to win the kicking competition because the statistics show, the more you kick, the more you win. That’s not rugby.”

Campese, whose direct rugby involvement these days is confined to coaching kids in Newcastle near Sydney despite insisting that he “would love” to take on a role with the national team, believes constant tinkering with the game’s laws has also blighted the sport.

“We’ve got Rugby League rules in our game. The goal-line drop out. That’s ridiculous. We’ve got the 50-22 rule which is ridiculous.

“Why we do have to go to another sport to bring to our sport. We are very unique. All sizes can play our game and yet we’ve got people going around trying to change our game…..I don’t understand that.”

Rugby’s diminishing exposure Down Under

Of particular concern to proud Australian Campese, who despite having an Italian father and an Irish mother insists he would never have considered representing any other national team, is what he says is the diminishing exposure rugby union now gets Down Under.

“We’ve got Rugby League and Aussie Rules on free to air TV. Rugby is pay to view…..kids don’t watch and they don’t know who the players are. I just think that’s a shame. They know all about the other sports.

“And we are slowly, slowly becoming smaller [also] because we are just not entertaining and if we’re not entertaining in Australia, we’re up against it.”

Despite his concerns about the modern day game, Campese’s trip back to Ireland has brought fond memories of his first time in the Emerald Isle in 1984, when the Wallabies clinched a 16-9 triumph at the old Lansdowne Road, as part of the famous grand slam of victories over the four home nations.

Four days later, Australia’s midweek team were defeated 15-13 by Ulster at Ravenhill and Campese laughed this week as he recalled crossing the Irish border on the Wallabies’ team bus as it headed north.

“There was a police vehicle on the road blocking the bus. So I thought ‘this is going to be interesting’.

“So this guy gets on the bus and he’s got a gun and a rugby ball and he says: ‘Is Mark Ella here? Can you sign my ball for me?’

“I’ve always enjoyed coming here. I think I played my best rugby in Europe because there’s never any pressure.”

Seven years later, Campese played in a dramatic World Cup quarter-final against Ireland at Lansdowne Road as Gordon Hamilton’s try put the hosts ahead before Michael Lynagh’s last-gasp touchdown sealed victory for the Wallabies, who went on to defeat England in the final at Twickenham.

“I never lost to Ireland. Not like the current guys unfortunately,” adds Campese.

“The memories are great because it’s the things that you remember off the field as well.

“The World Cup was amazing. We were in Dublin for two weeks and the atmosphere, the people and obviously I played my best rugby because we enjoyed being here.”