By Spiro Zavos
April 2nd 2008 @ 3:15am
A brutal axing for Ewen McKenzie
The NSWRU wrapped up the announcement that Ewen McKenzie will end his five-year coaching stint with the Waratahs as a type of celebration of his career with the Blues.
This is about as genuine as telling someone about to be executed that all the pain will be over soon.
Guess who is favoured to take over the hot seat?
In reality, despite all the code words about ‘we wish him well in the future’ and ‘he has served NSW well over a long period,’ this was as brutal an axing as the NSWRU could contrive.
A brief history of how the axe fell tells the sorry tale.
At the beginning of the season, Jim L’Estrange, the CEO of the NSWRU, told the media that McKenzie had to get the Waratahs into the Super 14 semi-finals to survive as coach.
As the lacklustre play of the Waratahs began to disenchant supporters, stories started appearing in the media that McKenzie’s days as Waratahs coach were numbered.
Journalists do not invent stories like this. They come from ‘informed’ sources. They didn’t come from the coach himself, so you don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to guess who the people might be who were chatting to the media.
Then stories touting the coaching talents of Todd Louden began to appear in the media.
Louden has been a successful coach with Randwick, taking them to two grand finals and one grand final victory. Last year he was the attack coach for the Bulls, the Super 14 champions. This season he’s been the attack coach for the Waratahs.
Finally came the SMH headline on Tuesday: ‘Sacked: Waratahs call full-time on McKenzie.’
The NSWRU press release announcing the end of the Waratahs reign between 2004 and 2008 of Ewen McKenzie lists these achievements: Super 12 Final 2005; Super 14 Semifinal 2006; Super Rugby overall record: 57 matches – won 31, lost 25, draw 1.
It’s a reasonable record. But it is not a great record. Nor is it a record that suggests that in time he is the coach to take the Waratahs to a Super 14 title.
Ironically, with the bye already played, the Waratahs are only 2 points out of the top four.
But the defeatist way the Wararahs have played in the two finals matches they’ve been involved in under McKenzie suggests that, even if the team makes the finals this year, it won’t have the game plan to take it all the way.
Ewen McKenzie is a genial and intelligent man. He’s done some good things for the Waratahs.
Selecting Peter Hewat, when no one in Australian rugby was interested in this prodigiously talented player, was one of them. Stiffening up the Waratahs’ defence was another.
But I believe he has made some poor decisions:
1. He let Matt Burke go to the UK a season, possibly a couple of seasons, earlier than he should have.
2. He let Peter Hewat go to the UK before his contract time was up. He should have emulated Robbie Deans with Scott Hamilton. Deans made it a priority a couple of years ago to turn Hamilton into an All Black. Hamilton has worn the Silver Fern, but more importantly he been an immensely useful player for the Crusaders whenever they need someone to rise to the occasion. Hewat had more talent in one leg than Hamilton had in his whole body. But Hewat never became a Wallaby.
3. In five years, McKenzie was not able to develop a five-eighths who could consistently steer the Waratahs around the park to a championship victory.
4. He was too enamoured with the potential benefits that rugby league stars might bring to the Waratahs backline. None of these ’stars’, including the over-paid Lote Tuqiri, have delivered for the Waratahs in a way commensurate with their hefty pay packages. They took the money but did not run.
5. Some great talent slipped through the hands of the Waratahs as gifted NSW players ended up playing for other franchises. Two names will suffice: Stephen Hoiles and Josh Holmes.
6. His favoured game plan for the Waratahs, especially in must-win matches, is too defensive. The Waratahs became a boring team to watch under his coaching. Boring is tolerable, just, if like the Bulls last year, you win the Super 14 championship. But it is intolerable and unacceptable in an era where sport is part of the entertainment industry if your team is as unsuccessful as the Waratahs.
7. The only time the Waratahs played sparkling and successful rugby was when Brian Melrose was the backs coach. Melrose was sacked at the end of the season. Why?
I received an email from a former Wallaby and Waratahs’ great, a man of immense ‘mana’ (a Maori word meaning leadership, prestige, charisma, and intelligence) in the rugby world as a player and coach, and in the business world.
Part of what he had to say on why Ewen McKenzie had to go is this:
‘This man is a professional coach and as such is accountable. For some years now we have witnessed a vision-less, multi-jargon, multi-cliche, rhetoric-rich display, on and off the field.
Does he ever encourage standards of excellence? Directionless, robotical, passionless, skill-less displays each week.
Comments are being made about the attack coach taking over the mantle of coach.
Surely, if this assistant had any ability, he would have been impacting on the team’s performance by now.
May I say that I, out of respect for the original Waratahs, can not allow myself to call this Super 14 team, the Waratahs …’
There is nowhere for a coach to go with this sort of review of his performance.
I suggested to the author of this strong and passionate attack that he must ‘keep the faith’ as far as the Waratahs are concerned.
But with a new coach in 2009. And hopefully also the traditional and successful famous Waratahs running style of play.
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(34)
Dexter William said | April 2nd 2008 @ 9:27am | Report comment
In Defense of EM:
1. He let Matt Burke go to the UK a season, possibly a couple of seasons, earlier than he should have.
Burke has too much power within the team. EM had to let him go to gain control of the team. I feel that EM did the right thing. He appeared to me to be strong and brave in that particular decision. EM gained my respect after that decision, and the Tahs played better after Burke left – which coincide withe the Hewat golden period.
The other points you made I agree with.
You may also add Justin Harrison lost as a big mistake. Harrison gave the Tahs the mongrel that it really needed. Harrison would have played better then Sharpe in the WC if he was around.
One other negative is that his boring defensive based game is now affecting players like Elsom and Vickerman because they would wear themselves out playing the mindless defensive games. The higher the work rate of a player, the more frustrating it gets for them, as all they do is get up from a tackle and perform another and another without getting anywhere. Get bruised for nothing.
Yikes said | April 2nd 2008 @ 10:44am | Report comment
Spiro, I think you’ll find that’s Todd Louden, not Matt.
If you’re going to subtley imply he’s not up to the task by quoting attacks from a nameless “great”, you might start by getting his name right!
Interested said | April 2nd 2008 @ 11:04am | Report comment
There has been talk of Mckenzie being interested in the ARU High Performance Manager’s position. Can someone please explain exactly what is expected of the HPM and also what influence the HPM can have on the Super 14 coaches. With the ARU needing to trim their budget is the HPM needed. If a large part of his position is to negiotate which players get what salary etc etc, surely the CEO should be doing this.
Zac said | April 2nd 2008 @ 11:04am | Report comment
Thanks Yikes – name corrected.
stillmissit said | April 2nd 2008 @ 11:59am | Report comment
Spiro great article that seems to sum up how most of us have been feeling over the last 2 years and most probably have not felt since the first season of Ewans coaching where you felt that the potential in the team was going to be unlocked at last.
Dexter – if Burke was too strong within the NSW team then the most stupid thing you could do would be to sack him. It sends out a bad smell to the rest of the troups. Better to keep a talented player and either exert your personal strength ‘over’ him and he would settle in and produce for you or he would get the shits and leave on his own account. Anyway the team would benefit in your first year. I personally think that Matt Burke had only one more S12 season in him anyway.
Justin Harrison was a much bigger loss and something that could have made an impact on how we played the Crusaders by doing the mongrel stuff and showing the other younger forwards how to stand up to them.
The old NSW way of doing just enough to get by and then bathe in the glory of the money seems to have shown itself again. It is very ugly and for the half of the team that are trying to win it must be so frustrating. You can see it on Waugh’s face every week although he, rightly, never says anything.
The worst thing that is happening in the Waratahs is the young players ie Turner, Polatu Nou, Beale, Burgess seem totally frustrated with this conservative play and it may set a pattern that will be hard to get out of. Even a few of the older players ie Elsom, Vickerman and Palu seem in a similar situation. The only player who appears comfortable is Lote and he just goes home and counts his bank balance and has a bit of a chuckle to himself and thinks ‘how stupid are these rah rah’s mate’.
We dont need a genius coach we need a devious, passionate, winner who is prepared to make the hard decisions for the good of the team regardless of the politics from the HO.
Trevor said | April 2nd 2008 @ 12:04pm | Report comment
Spiros’ comments hitting a nerve again Yikes old boy.
Tony from Northbridge said | April 2nd 2008 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
All pretty much fair comment Spiro.
I agree too that Peter Hewat was a brilliant player, but with a couple of caveats on that, namely that he was too slow and couldn’t tackle. Granting Hewat a release opened up an opportunity for Lachie Turner, a better footballer at this early stage of his career than Peter Hewat ever was.
cosmos forever said | April 2nd 2008 @ 1:10pm | Report comment
The other question is why franchises (and in other codes, clubs) can’t make management decisions in line with the season they play in.
This emerging practice of giving the coach the first few weeks as an indicator is really just a cowards way out for administrators to say “we didn’t have the guts to sack this bloke at the end of last season so we’ll let him hang himself”.
If you give someone a contract stand by it – or wait until the end of the season and get rid of them then. I know it’s about accessing the coaching market BEFORE the end of the season but if it shows anyone’s incompetent it really highlights the administrators.
EM, Nathan Brown etc – all should have been gone last November if the administrators weren’t happy…
cosmos forever said | April 2nd 2008 @ 1:17pm | Report comment
Further to my point – from the linked article above:
“The Auckland Blues’ Australian coach David Nucifora has also been linked to the job, but it is understood he has not impressed the right people at the Waratahs.”
Are these the same people who left EM in charge for 5 years…God help you Waratahs!!
stuff happens said | April 2nd 2008 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
I entirely agree with Spiro and Stillmissit. Despite the talent, season after season and coach after coach the Waratahs struggle to fulfil their potential. I have no idea why.Experience tells us that just appointing another coach is unlikely to achieve much.
stillmissit said | April 2nd 2008 @ 3:34pm | Report comment
cosmos forever
what an insightful observation and so true.
Unfortunately in all walks of business life, decision making has disappeared over the last 15 years. The gutless and unimaginative are running the major and minor companies and the government has always been that way.
If you dont make a decision you cant be responsible for its results. Then they expect the coaches/managers of this world to be radical decision makers and live or die by them. No wonder Ewan McKenzie survived for 5 years in NSW, he is exactly the same as the NSW management team and its board most probably. To back up this assumption look at how E McK backed away from the Wallabies job. Couldnt have run faster backwards.
As a mate of mine says “There would be no wars if the person who started the war had to lead from the front line until the war ended”
eric said | April 2nd 2008 @ 5:03pm | Report comment
Interesting comments, none of them implying McKenzie should have stayed.
Add to his mistakes; pathetic management of the Tuquiri resigning saga, pathetic management of Tuquiri’s attack and crucifying of Sam Norton-Knight, failure to develop any players (the only players to emerge under McKenzie are Carter, Jacobs, Beale & Turner, none of whom are Wallabies, whilst numerous NSW players blossom at other teams), failure to communicate in laymans terms any vision or plan, failure to get Peter Hewat to make a single diving tackle etc etc.
I hope the Waratahs can lift their spirits now they know the head coach is going and bring back some disenchanted fans.
sportym said | April 2nd 2008 @ 9:40pm | Report comment
Good article Spiro,
Though i have to say that there is always frustration when the press quote an ‘informed” source or a rugby great etc. The way you introduced this Rugby great is fantastic…”a man of immense ‘mana’ (a Maori word meaning leadership, prestige, charisma, and intelligence) in the rugby world as a player and coach, and in the business world” Does he lack the Guts, courage and honour to be named as a source? I have little respect for people for attack others and hide behind the press as an informed source. If the press is going to use these “high pedigree sources” put a name to them…..courage is word they might want to think about.
As for EW, it was under him that the waratahs have had thier best Super 12/14 seasons. They have been the super 12 underachivers since the start of the competition, not EW’s fault. Its more of a cultural issue.
Problem with the waratahs is that they have access to too many quality players, hence the lack of a real development program. Take beale, seen as a golden saviour of NSW rugby has been given free entry into the waratahs….too soon. NSW needs a development program.
I also have an issue with blaming EW for loosing Stephen Hoiles and Josh Holmes, had these players stayed in NSW they would still be underachiving. The reason i say this, is cause hoiles does not fit the Waratahs style of play, he has excelled at the brumbies cause thier style of play being based around a mobile quick pack, look at the history of the brumbies, they have never had a big number 8, always a light fast number 8. There are few teams that hoiles would fit into, he is perfect for the brumbies. As for Josh holmes, yes he had a great couple games at the end of last year but has not fired at the brumbies this year yet, as much praise as people give him…he is yet to live upto it in the super 14. I do not think EW made any mistakes with these 2. Signing Elmson far out weighs these 2. EW’s problem is that he should bench waugh/lote, but NSWRU has invested too much in lote and Waugh has too much power at the waratahs. Good luck to whoever takes over, but hopefully they get all the power they need to make sweeping changes to the team.
Armchair Sportsfan said | April 2nd 2008 @ 10:48pm | Report comment
I have no doubt this comment will attract significant roth from the Roaring crowd, but I care not.
You waratahs fans crack me up.
I read so many comments from NSW fans that the Waratahs have been perrenial underperformers – not just over the past 5 years, but over the last 20. Many fans can’t for the time when all the prodigious talent within NSW gets unlocked, and the tahs take their rightful place at the top of the tree.
show you what you sound like, If I were to replace your team with my team (The Reds)….
The reds over the past 5-6 years have not actually been a poor rugby team at all, they are in actual fact a world beating provincial team whose potential has yet to be unlocked……
I know that this may come as a shocking concept given the NSW-centric bias in many Australian sports…but maybe the waratahs are not a team full of unrealised potential, maybe ~20years of average results (super 14 final exluded) means they’re actually just not a very good rugby team.
Armchair Sportsfan said | April 2nd 2008 @ 11:10pm | Report comment
SORRY….BLOG AGAIN, WITHOUT OBVIOUS SPELLING AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS (cue Queenslander jokes)….
I have no doubt this comment will attract significant wrath from the roaring crowd, but I care not.
You Waratahs fans crack me up.
I read so many comments from NSW fans that the Waratahs have been perennial underperformers – not just over the past 5 years, but over the last 20. Many fans can’t wait for the time when all the prodigious talent within NSW gets unlocked, and the tahs take their rightful place at the top of the tree.
Allow me to show you what you sound like if I were to replace your team with my team (The Reds)….
“The Reds over the past 5-6 years have not actually been a poor rugby team at all, they are in actual fact a world beating provincial team whose potential has yet to be unlocked……”
I know that this may come as a shocking concept given the NSW-centric bias in many Australian sports…but maybe the waratahs are not a team full of unrealised potential, maybe ~20 years of average results (super 14 final excluded) means they’re actually just not a very good rugby team.
Spiro Zavos said | April 3rd 2008 @ 8:58am | Report comment
The reason why I did not give the name of the Wallaby great is that it was a private email to me, not to The Roar. I felt that I could quote what he said as it was representative of the feeling among past players that has been expressed to me. The points that he made did not have to have a name attached to them for their validity to stand. It was not cowardly on his part, He was expressing opinions to me that happen to be go along the general drift of others, so I ran them in this spirit.
stillmissit said | April 3rd 2008 @ 9:14am | Report comment
Armchairs old mate
You sound just like all of us Waratahs supporters, a certain angst and unfullfilled dreams, the reality from my blinkered world is that Australian rugby has underperformed since Rod McQueens time.
Good managers make things happen. Lets hope that a new era is coming.
Anyway dont know what you can gripe about you have a team that is on the accendancy and is looking better each week. As I wrote in my blog ‘Those Reds are Turning my Head’. They are showing what Queensland rugby should be about and that is guts and determination and combining it with some flair.
GENERALLY – did anyone hear Eddie Jones on Foxtel last night giving the European coaches a score for their season?
He made me laugh when he stated that one coach had got his team to kick well and kept the pressure on the opposition and tried to play the game in thier half but still managed to come nowhere. No wonder we have this madness of kicking the remains of the ball back all the time, it was a national obsession under Eddie and Ewan just did the same thing.
Ben said | April 3rd 2008 @ 10:54am | Report comment
Spiro, interesting justification for not naming names. The email was private and so you can’t reveal the source, but it wasn’t so private that you couldn’t reveal the contents. With rationale like that it’s no wonder you lot (ie rugby ‘journalists’) are despised by a lot of your readership (or perhaps you’d prefer us to be referred to as your fanbase?).
As for your ‘don’t blame us, we’re just stating the facts’ line defending journalistic integrity – “Journalists do not invent stories like this. They come from ‘informed’ sources”, I don’t doubt that they come from informed sources, but they also come from informed sources who have agendas to push, politics to play, backs to stab etc. And you willingly play along with their airing of dirty laundry (all in order to keep your ‘most favoured journo’ status and keep the flow of insider gossip, leaks and private emails going) gives you no right to piously claim innocence or the defence of ‘just reporting the facts’ that you have raised on the roar previously.
As for the Tah’s, while the style of play this year and last has been mind numbingly boring, what was Link meant to do. Our forwards have been our only real strong point for a couple of seasons, to think that a midfield of Sheehan, Beale, Carter and Jacobs is going to do a good job of ’spinning it wide’ and playing running rugby is ludicrous in the extreme. We simply don’t have the troops to play an expansive game, although given how our forwards have played this season we barely have the troops to play 10 man rugby either.
On some of your ‘mistakes’ that Link made, I agree that letting Burke go and the obsession with the leaguies were the big ones (although it’s hardly insightful journalism to say the latter, blind freddy could see that this was a mistake). It would’v ebeen preferable to keep Holmes, but the claims that Stephen Hoiles was a big loss is nonsensical. The bloke is lucky to be 100kg dripping wet and as sportym correctly pointed out, he plays the Brumbies basketball style of rugby and was of no use in a team with a forward oriented style. Hewat was a good atacking player but a woeful defender who would not put his body on the line ever and his kicking, which had been a big plus for the Tah’s, had gone off the boil by the end of last season. The lack of a decent 5/8 is a problem, but when was the last time NSW had a decent 5/8 who could “steer them around tha park to a championship victory”, it was well before McKenzie took over. As for why was Melrose sacked, I’m sure you got plenty of tipoffs, inside goss and private emails on this, but I assume they probably don’t support your viewpoint on the matter so they’ve been kept quiet.
cosmos forever said | April 3rd 2008 @ 11:08am | Report comment
So Ben – Hoiles wasn’t a loss because he wasn’t suited to a playing style that is in your words ‘mind numbingly boring,’.
No wonder you New South Welshmen are stuffed!
El Capitan said | April 3rd 2008 @ 11:41am | Report comment
It seems that in this current age of professional sport, there is a lot of coaches being given their marching orders half way through a season. I can understand that the officials are frustrated with EM, but their decision should have been made after the Super 14 season. Decisions like this can upset a team even further, or bring them closer together under a standby coach (ie Brad Fitler).
Either way, lets hope who ever replaces EM, will be courageous enough to let the players play with style and running rugby. Too many coaches follow the stats and not letting players with a natural ability take control.
As for the source of Spiro’s comments, I would think it would have been one of the greats that played for Randwick and played in the Grand slam of 84?
cosmos forever said | April 3rd 2008 @ 11:44am | Report comment
The view from Capital Hill (well my personal view)
EM to France
Laurie Fisher to high performance role ARU
Todd Louden to Brumbies
Nucifora to remain at the Blues
NSW – up the creek but by having their hand forced hire one of the high quality club coaches they should have hired all along!
Ben C said | April 3rd 2008 @ 11:55am | Report comment
Ben (I admire your parent’s choice in names)
There is a difference between a well known rugby journalist who has had his reputation out in the public for many years disclosing material from an unidentified source when he is known to have such contacts and one of the anonymous contributors to this site like me trying the same thing. You may assign less weight to the comments without knowing the specific source and whether he had an agenda but it isn’t inappropriate for Spiro to refer to such material. Make whatever use of it you will but there is no reason to shoot the messenger.
Hoiles was a loss to NSW. They should have tried him at openside flanker as he has the speed for it. A backrow of Hoiles, Elsom and Palu/Lyons would have been an interesting experiment, particular as Ewen seems to appreciate the a good big man is better than a good smaller man theory of selection. Holmes I thought was a loss but he hasn’t performed as well as expected in the ACT. Burgess, if he ever gets some game time, may prove to be a better long term choice. Hewat had his strengths and weaknesses but I think he should have been kept until we had a decent goal kicker in the team. I bet teams are less afraid of infringing knowing NSW does have an accurate kicker like Burke or Hewat to punish them consistently.
Ben C said | April 3rd 2008 @ 11:59am | Report comment
Things could be worse for NSW. Eddie Jones was in Sydney recently and NSWRU could have tried to poach him for coach. Then we could truly say NSW Rugby had jumped the shark.
stillmissit said | April 3rd 2008 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
Ben
I will grant Spiro some slack that I don’t grant to Greg Growden. At least Spiro adds information to his writing and doesn’t rely on gossip and inuendo alone.
Did you not want to hear what an un-named ex wallaby wants to say? No! then Ignore it, it’s easy. We are; at least most of us, prone to a little gossip from time to time and I for one don’t believe the official sources of information. They are the result of a round table discussion on how to put a spin on the story and little of it rings of the truth.
I still believe we will live to regret losing Josh Holmes even if Burgess becomes a good player. Hoiles was a different story he was in the ‘very fast but is he good enough’ basket as far as I was concerned. Still it continues to be the case that we dump players and they turn into great players elsewhere. This points to the NSW environment being the wrong place to develop young talent. I think we are always looking for Jesus Crist to step up and take over 5/8 and all would be well. As for the rest of the players well the opinion seems to be who cares?
The other problem is the money available. I bet if Johnathan Thurston indicated an interest in turning to rugby there would be a million on the table by the end of the week if not sooner. Therefore why do the development work, when you can just buy what you want. BTW he would most probably be another wasted investment.
Tony from Northbridge said | April 3rd 2008 @ 12:55pm | Report comment
OK:
Cosmos forever – I believe your analysis of the coaching musical chairs could be very close to the mark. Alan Gaffney and Michael Cheika as smokies for the Tahs job.
El Capitan – unlikely to be someone from Randwick on ‘84 tour. More likely to be someone like Dave Brockhoff.
Stilmissit – your observation that not all journalists are the same is spot on. They are just as likely to have “d*ckheads amongst their number as engineers, lawyers and accountants. Well, maybe not lawyers. The range of talent and incisiveness of journalists can be huge – even at the same newspaper. Witness Phil Wilkins and Greg Growden at Fairfax.
I know every sub-editor loves a good headline, but was Ewen really “brutally axed”? His contract was up at the end of this season, and it was decided not to renew it. I believe there is a difference. If he were re-signed, wouldn’t we be just signing up for more of the same, and is that what we want?
Dexter William said | April 3rd 2008 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
In defence of EM on selection:
He made a good choice of getting Elsom which Sportym pointed out, and developed into a top class back rower.
He got rid of Morgan Turinui which was a good thing.
As for Hoiles, it was a great loss. Like Ben C I have always thought that Hoiles should be given the open side flanker position. He is built like Richie Mackaw and has great passing skills to add to his speed.
Josh Holmes was a great under 21 player and was captain. All he needs is some time to come good. Based on S14 performances todate Burgess has my vote.
stillmissit said | April 3rd 2008 @ 1:09pm | Report comment
The bottom line here guys is that some of you are very nice people and some of us are, well more like me.
I was baying for his blood and feel relieved that we get another chance at the mystery box that is NSW rugby. There are several here who would agree with me. The rest of you are nice guys who although stating your concerns about EM were not happy with how the ‘Move’ was handled. That’s fair enough.
Then if you feel that Ewan McKenzie, good guy and well thought of by the players and the traps should have been kept on after this season then please say so clearlty and unambiguously.
I for one would like to see us try another coach this S14.
stillmissit said | April 3rd 2008 @ 1:31pm | Report comment
Tony from Northo
I thought it sounded like Nick Shehadi (or however you spell it) he gets pretty worked up at times.
Whoever he was, he stated very eloquently what many of us supporters are feeling.
We want this team to show some development contrary to Armchair’s Qld’er view of NSW. I also want to see us building a 5/8th to go with Beale not hoping that one falls out of the trees and that person should be SNK.
I think that starting the game with SNK and then bringing on Beale as an impact player at 5/8th for the last 30 mins could be very interesting. Particularly if SNK was moved say to full back, moving Turner to wing and Lote to the bench and then open up the attacking throttle.
timO said | April 3rd 2008 @ 1:56pm | Report comment
Ben it is logic like yours that is the reason the tahs are hopeless the Tahs have undervalued skill for size for a very long time eg Palu insteed of Holies but then again you probably like Lotie the choice of the new coach is a simple one Pick someone who will get rid of Lotie, Dunning, Sheehan ,Palu, Baxter I would be begging David Knoxs & Micheal Cheika to come back and coach
stillmissit said | April 3rd 2008 @ 2:27pm | Report comment
Just read this out of the level 3 coaching manual. Thought you might find it relevant as we weigh up the attributes of the new coach.
This is a document put together by Ross Reynolds and using several well known coaches for input.
‘2. Coaching personality
Decide what type of coach you want to be. Select a little from each coach on the
menu i.e. mentors you admire. Be yourself don’t pretend to be someone else.
Develop your own individual coaching personality.
Do you want to be an attacking or defensive coach?
Kevin Sheedy is a risk taker, never frightened to rotate players and experiment
“I wasn’t going to be a boring person, I don’t want a boring footy side that doesn’t win
games and wont fill stadiums. My job is to fill our 95,000 seat stadium. I have one
client, Essendon Football Club and has been for 20 years.’
I think the last sentence sums up what the job is all about – don’t you?
Greg said | April 5th 2008 @ 11:23am | Report comment
Ben
Spiro has differentiated himself from the likes of Peter Roebuck by being exact in what was said / emailed to him. Privacy is an extremely important part of democracy, and any democratic process.
Spiro has read the situation accurately in regard to E.M, and Stillmissit has provided a great source for contrast to the Tah’s game.
I do wonder if the Tah’s problems can be partly sourced in its sense of identity. Having lived in Queensland, it wasn’t hard to notice that Queenslanders get a large aspect of their identity from their opposition/hatred of NSW. However, NSW doesn’t have the same reference point. Also note that Brisbane, up until quiet recently, has been a ‘large town’ more than a big city. This had an advantage in terms of ‘localising’ support. An example is the one-town phenomenon of the Brisbane Broncos.
I wonder if the Waratahs need to cease to be representative of NSW start to think about a corral location around which the players can focus. West Sydney, East Sydney…whatever. I remember Tahu saying that he was surprised by the distance the RU players travelled to training. Is there any other team in the S14 with players living so far away from each other as NSW? Does this impact on the players?
Thoughts?
Greg.
nadal said | April 27th 2008 @ 11:51pm | Report comment
spiros
all very valid and correct points
however was it not melrose who founded hewat in qld and brought him to nsw shores?
and convieniently when melrose went to the tahs so did hewat into the starting XV
maybe we can read between the lines there
Hatchet said | May 12th 2008 @ 9:43am | Report comment
How did EM get the job in the first place?
He had never coached a team. He must have been selected on a wing and a prayer. There are better coaches running around in club football. We have financed hi schooling as a coach over the last five years. Perhaps a light should be shone on the NSW Board. They appear to be highly disfunctional and have a history of apointing people to positions and then intering. Their greatest mistake was ditching Ian Kennedy on the “advice ” of a rag, tag and bobtail assortment of player agents. I doubt that we will be able to achieve greatness with the current Board.
The Link said | May 12th 2008 @ 10:12am | Report comment
Geez for how did the players possibly make 3 out of 5 semi’s in spite of the “high school” coach (assumning they make it this year?). He has the best record of any Aussie S14 coach in the last 4-5 years as a whole and the best Super 12/14 coach NSW has ever had. I’ve said it before here, but the stick dished out to Link versus the relative silence about Fishers record is a disgrace.
Albeit it was probably time for a change, but EM changed NSW from a basket case into one of the more consistent sides in Super Rugby.