By LeftArmSpinner -
December 2nd 2008 @ 1:19am
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Deans slays the Wallaby Demons
Robbie Deans has been the Wallabies coach for fourteen games now. In that time the Wallabies have won nine and lost three games, all by five or less points.
The Wallabies have won four away games from eight played. Of the fourteen played, seven have been against the best teams in the world, the All Blacks and the Boks, for a total of three wins.
The Wallabies are learning how to hang tight and win close games, even when sometimes outplayed by the opposition. The Demon is in the process of being slaughtered.
There have been twelve new players in 2008. These players have been well chosen and all displayed potential for the next Wallabies resurgence.
Deans has given them plenty of game time. They have slain the Gregan Demon that young players can’t be trusted and take time to acclimatise to international rugby.
The Wallabies now have depth in all positions. The scrum is now finding parity with all other leading international packs. That 2005 Demon is slain.
The poor fitness of the Australian Super 14 squads and the lack of preparation time between the Super 14 and international seasons delayed the essential improvements to player stamina and fitness until later in the season.
Last weekend against Wales, they were still full of running in the 81st minute.
The 60 minute game Demon is slain.
The Wallabies renowned defence, after a few hiccups, has transitioned from the highly successful Muggleton-era to a more flexible style.
The breakdown work is becoming a strength. The ‘Nancy boy’ Demon is progressively being slain by players with mongrel and better judgment of when to seek the turnover.
Team morale and culture have, and continue to, undergo significant and much needed change on and off the field. The coach is patient with the youngsters. The Demon that decrees that players must be treated as children, heavily scripted, and not trusted to play the game in front of them has been slain.
The State of Union is not perfect.
The backline rarely functions as an attacking unit, particularly from scrums, despite the quality and speed of its component parts. Having forwards in the way in phase play doesn’t help.
The travel Demon has not yet been slain, but it is bleeding profusely.
The team still loses concentration and wanders into and out of games. It is yet to really “click” in all departments at the same time.
The tactical kicking still lacks purpose, accuracy and an effective kick chase.
The youngsters are still learning and making mistakes in the process.
The Super 14 teams must support and co-ordinate with the national coach and team.
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It is rare, in my knowledge, for home supporters in a football match to...
Gruffalo said | December 2nd 2008 @ 7:18am | Report comment
Well said.
One further aspect I’m hoping Deans emphasises – ball in hand. We have a large mobile forward pack that is quick to the breakdown, especially with Smith and Waugh going in like missiles. This should give the backs confidence to run the ball more, knowing they will be supported if they hit the deck.
I simply abhor watching our guys simply kick away valuable possession they worked so hard to win.
Arky said | December 2nd 2008 @ 8:24am | Report comment
Well written – many demons slain and as suggested many more bleeding profusely. The wallabies have come a long way from a season ago – and they have built through hard work and good coaching a solid base on which to build further. Depth has increased immensely and attitude has been transformed. There is much work to be done but all bodes well for the season ahead.
Rickety Knees said | December 2nd 2008 @ 10:10am | Report comment
Well done leftie – your best post thus far. Deans has confirmed that he is the total package – great coach, great people manager and great ambassador for the game. He has included coaches in his training sessions and shown a generosity of spirit rarely seen in this day and age.
It will be interesting to see the Australian coaching and playing styles in the next S14.
Even looser said | December 2nd 2008 @ 10:33am | Report comment
Well balanced article. No doubt Robbie Deans has done a great deal for Oz Rugby and we are indebited to him for getting the Wallabies on track again.
As you say there’s been good solid progress but there’s still much to be done yet before the Wallabies can make their fans happy with consistently good performances from kick off to final whistle.
Have to agree that ‘ball in hand’ is an obvious one to fix. We’re just so much more effective with the ball than with the boot. Sure mix it but at present we’re too predictable (kicking as our first option) and not very good at it anyways.
Rickety Knees – Do you think the Oz S14 coaches should be working more with Robbie to develop their own team structures in a way that will gel when the Wallabies play? Or perhaps it’s just more a case of working on fitness, skills & trying to win the S14 without any thought of the National team? I feel we’re in a good time to try a few coordinated smart things, what with 3 new S14 coaches (& Mitchell open to suggestions), Robbie as the new Wallabies coach & John O back at the helm. Just seems that the stars are aligned for once.
Craig said | December 2nd 2008 @ 10:48am | Report comment
Based on incorrect assumptions;
‘Robbie Deans has been the Wallabies coach for fourteen games now. In that time the Wallabies have won nine and lost three games, all by five or less points.’
Wallabies have lost 4 games. Three of which were by 5 or less (Wales, NZ in HK, NZ in Brisbane).
Do we not remember Eden Park (39-10) and Joburg (53-8)?
Besides the win against the English, the NH tour cannot be viewed as succesful. To say the scrum demons have been laid to rest is perhaps a bit premature. There was a push over try against France (first I have seen in international rugby in years), and the number of free kicks and penalities given at scrum time is high. If we base this assumption on the game against a very weak English side, then yes.
‘The Wallabies now have depth in all positions’.
Do you really belive this? We saw how the Wallabies were shaken when Mortlock left the field against the Welsh. That is not a sign of depth.
ohtani's jacket said | December 2nd 2008 @ 12:19pm | Report comment
The Wallabies lost five times this season. I like the way you guys forget the losses.
Reg said | December 2nd 2008 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
what a fantastic undefeated season by the Wallabies this season. Its a pity we only played the All Blacks once however. And when will get a shot against the best team in the NH, the Welsh?
Worlds Biggest said | December 2nd 2008 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
I agree with some of this article but not everything. The away losses to NZ and SA were abysmal particularly in SA. Yes we have made positive steps in certain area’s but once again the issue of inconsistency continues to lurk. I don’t think we are as smart on the Field as we think we are. I certainly don’t agree with ” depth in all positions “. We are short of quality props, genuine blindside flankers, Number 8’s, halfbacks and centres. I am sure this situation will improve in time. Dingo has done a good job but we annointed him a little early I think. Let’s see how the team progresses first.
Howi said | December 2nd 2008 @ 1:05pm | Report comment
Rather than having depth as such I am prepared to conceed that the POTENTIAL for depth is there. A couple of positions cannot be manned adequately unless all players are fit and on deck. For example, Matt Giteau adequately fills the 10 spot and Barnes can be called upon, but Quade and Beale are but waiting in the wings. (Beale seems to be the forgotten player of 2008) So the potential is there but not all 4 players could attest to being Test Match standard all of the time. Likewise with a couple of other positions. I like the fact that we have AACooper, Mitchell and Hynes available for fullback, but all three players need more work and match experience. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – keep your eye on Hynes. This Rookie of the Year I believe is in line for many more accolades to come.
Deans has certainly got the team pointed in the right direction and is assembling all his pieces nicely. I long for the day when the Wallabies will be truly respected and feared such as they were in 2000 at the end of the MacQueen era. Although it is hard to tell, I gather that MacQueen and Deans share an ability to develop rapport and trust with the players. They are rock solid and add stability to the team. Eddie was a great coach in many respects but he fired from the hip a little and was a little eccentric and that doesn’t add stability. Connolly admitted to being there for a short time regardless of whether it was a good time. Deans and MacQueen also appear to have the long term goal in mind and know that the hard yards now are a means to that. Maybe Dwyer was also in this category? Alan Jones – don’t think so. What if he’d got the job? Where would we be now?
Gruffalo said | December 2nd 2008 @ 1:18pm | Report comment
Howi
“Eddie was a great coach in many respects”.
Please explain – in which respects? I wasn’t happy with Australia searching for a non-Australian coach – but, where Eddy’s concerned, I’d hire an Eskimo and an Inca to do the job.
Mark said | December 2nd 2008 @ 2:05pm | Report comment
Demons shemons…LAS you’re rewriting history my friend.
scrum demon – OK this is a recent one, fair enough but this was only a temporary glitch in the Wallaby history.
tight games – rubbish, I’ve lost hair watching Wallabies in the past win the tight ones in the last few minutes. Kefu’s try & Eales penalty spring to mind.
Gregan Demon that young players can’t be trusted and take time to acclimatise to international rugby. – What are you on ?? Some of the great Wallabies from teh past have been teh young guysd that other countries suddenly go “uh-oh” the fisrt time they see them. Even Gregan was anewbie once & how many caps did he have when he made “that” tackle on Wilson ?
60 minute game Demon – well this one’s news to me, as a kiwi I’ve learnt to never rest until the final whistle blows.
In fact, one thing I’ve always admired about the Wallabies is their ability to not just put an opponent on teh ropes, but to then step up a gear & finish them off. You’ve had a couple of rough years but give Deans a season of sorting out the S14 options & you should be firing on all cylinders next insternational season
Howi said | December 2nd 2008 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
I take your point Gruffalo. And admittedly it isn’t easy to pinpoint exactly what I mean. But Eddie took a below-par team to within a bee’s appendage of winning a World Cup. Even with Larkham calling the shots I don’t think you can do this without something of a great coach. But let’s not get lost in the fog here. The point was that where I believe Deans and MacQueen contribute(d) to the stability of the team as a whole I think Eddie instead detracted from the stability. And maybe there’s an even better word than stability here. The esteem in which the Wallabies were held whittled away under Eddie and Connolly and of course this goes hand-in-nand with players, performances etc.etc… I thought that maybe had the Wallabies beaten Wales on the weekend that it would have gone a long way to restoring the morale of the Wallabies and the ‘aura’. But maybe I am wishing for too much too soon. As our writer, LeftArm seems to allude to, I am prepared to trust in Deans.
Nick (KIA) said | December 2nd 2008 @ 3:43pm | Report comment
Potential for depth. Sounds like a hole that hasn’t been dug yet.
Howi said | December 2nd 2008 @ 6:55pm | Report comment
That’s the point.
bennalong said | December 2nd 2008 @ 9:18pm | Report comment
Geeezz, some of youz blokes are tough markers !
LAS makes some good points and I don’t think he’s comparing the current crop with Wallabies of old. He’s saying look how far we’ve come !
Are we agreed : the scrum is way better ?
the forewards are way smarter ?
the fitness level is way higher?
the confidence level is way higher ?
the likelihood of winning away is way higher ?
a good number of newbies have made the most of their game time ?
our backline has done well considering the loss of Barnes as a foil for Giteau ?
Robbie Deans is doing a bloody good job ?……….. ……….. and the best is yet to come!
Now I know the answer from some of you guys will be further argument but I would contend you’re simply happiest having a whinge. You guys or you uncles were complaining even when we were winning.
Aussie D said | December 2nd 2008 @ 9:20pm | Report comment
Howl, Gruffalo, EJ was/is a great technical coach, probably one of, if not, the best , in the world. Where he fell down was in the areas of player management and trusting his support staff. I am not a fan of his style of play but wpiuld love to see hime brought back into Oz rugby in a technical role, similar to what he did with SA at last year’s world cup.
bennalong said | December 2nd 2008 @ 9:24pm | Report comment
Winning against the AB’s, I mean…….! !
Hey we’ve beaten them a couple of times recently !
My bet is we’ll have them crapping themselves again soon. I know you knockers are nothing compared with NZers when the AB’s lose to us !
LeftArmSpinner said | December 3rd 2008 @ 7:06am | Report comment
gruff, rickety, looser and Arky, the difference between my more back play and ball in hand is a valid distinction and one I agree with. thanks for that.
Craig, played 14, won 9, lost 5, of which three were by 3, (wales, NZ in HK and NZ in Brisbane) by 5 or less. Apologies for the error.
I would go further, the big losses in auckland and Jburg shows that the job is not yet finished. OJ, it was not to ignore these large losses, and the jburg result in particular was so large as to either be a once off random or, if followed by similar results, a dire sign of worse things to come. my opinioon is that it was a once off.
As regards the other points, WB, the inconsistency is in my view, different to them winning ugly and different to them not producing cohesive and truly breathtaking rugby. In my view, winning, no matter what, is satisfactory in the first analysis, particularly with such a young team. The bar then rises as time goes on. Unlike the AB’s, who produce and play a more attractive game more consistently, the Wallabies can only aspire to gaining this X-factor ofer time, like all great teams have to.
Depth was well analysed by Growden in the Herald. the depth is not as simple as naming three in each position as most, excluding Tuqiri and the props, are able to play in at least one of not more positions. (4,5,6,7,8) and 10, 12, 15 and 11, 14 and 15.
Overall, the wallabies are not the finished article, but they are in a good place for this point in the four year cycle.
Howi, I agree. But, because we are in the middle of the cycle, an assessment of the depth requires some projections. there is a reasonable possibility that Beale will step up to Test level, given the way he has stepped up to s14 from school boys, all at the age of 19. but, he has to actually do it!!!
Connolly’s comment was wrong. He had nothing to lose and eveything to gain. he chose the conservative road and went with old has beens with poor technique and poorly coached.
mark, Im not rewriting it just recording it. We all know that history is dependent on the person who writes it.
tight games, a long time ago but they won them because they were a great team or on the way to being a great team. The current wallabies have to climb the same mountain.
Bennalong, exactly right.
Mark said | December 3rd 2008 @ 8:08am | Report comment
LAS – good summary & response. My point which I tried to make was that teh Wallabies have only had a couple of average years in a long history of excellence. Most of this abberation was down to a lack of player management and succession planning, not with the skill available in Oz. So your ‘history’ is the recent past only.
As an AB supporter I’ve learnt NEVER to write the Ozzies off & the ‘demons’ are a temporary state, in fact most of your ‘weaknesses’ e.g. scrum, breakdown, young player, support, defence, have in fact been your strengths in the past.
Bennalong – the only time NZ is really up in arms is when we lose a winnable game in the WC – AGAIN. Otherwise when we lose to the Boks or Wallabies it’s normally because we were outplayed. The amount of ref bashing I see when the Wallabies lose is hilarious !
Rickety Knees said | December 3rd 2008 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
My dear fellow Mumblers and Fumblers – being human has its foibles, particularly when it comes to getting it 100% right – at any time. It is so easy to criticise and have a whinge – to provide the constructive is the challenge for us all. Leftie has provided a good summary on where the Wallabies are presently at.
And it is time to feel positive. When I check how I feel, rather than how I think, then I feel optimistic, pleased with the coach, pleased with the newbies and my perception of their potential. I feel that the Rugby in Australia is secure with JON at helm and I feel the Deans and the Wallabies will give the next RWC a real shake. I contrast this to the despair I felt after being shunted out in the Q/F of the last RWC by England.
Well done Leftie – again a good article and I agree with the spirit of what you are saying.
LeftArmSpinner said | December 3rd 2008 @ 1:25pm | Report comment
mark, Since the 1984 Jones period, I agree Wallabies have been mostly good and very good, with periods of poor. the history is of the very recent past, the Deans era.
Yes, Demons are temporary in both existence and removal.
rickety, it is a time to be positive and realistic. I also agree that JON is the best to have at the helm. I hope that the Deans and JON influence will permeate the S14 organisations in both management and coaching departments. thanks Rickety.
Worlds Biggest said | December 3rd 2008 @ 7:58pm | Report comment
I can’t agree that the scrum is ” way ” better. We took a step foward against Poms, the a step back against France and probably Wales too. We need a tight head desperately. Robinson and Moore are coming on very well. In saying this we need to scrum as an 8 man unit.
Ben C said | December 3rd 2008 @ 9:34pm | Report comment
OJ
I have to agree there is still an element of rose tinted glasses. I like the way Deans is heading but it is still early days, the changes are only incremental and the test will be whether we can keep improving
It isn’t the fact we lost that is problematic. Three of the losses were winnable (Brisbane, Hong Kong, Wales) with a bit more luck/application/mental toughness. What worries me is that the All Blacks and Springboks handed us two absolute hidings where the Wallabies were never in the game after the first few minutes. The problem is not the five losses it is the two utter failures and what that says about the team.
Still, better than the Eddie “the Walking Whinge” Jones era. At least when we lose it isn’t the fault of the referee/touch judges/opposition cheating/unfair alignment of planets etc.
Ben C said | December 3rd 2008 @ 9:37pm | Report comment
Worlds Biggest
Agree entirely. Looking ahead for the next few years (assuming Baxter is close to retirement – voluntary or not):
Loose-head: Robinson, Alexander, Kepu, Holmes
Hooker: Moore, Frier, Polota-Nau
Tight-head: Dunning (proven not up to it), Shepherdson (proven not up to it), Blake (may learn how to prop in France, or not) and …
mcxd said | December 3rd 2008 @ 11:07pm | Report comment
well the rugby year is not over yet (but almost given the baa baas tonight) and im allready looking forward to the next rugby season.. cant wait to see what the wallabies will have install for us.
my predication that after the s14 there will be a few new faces..hopefully beale can stay fit and uninjured ( i would have loved seeing him on this tour) and maybe even Georges bro Tyrone, he had a great S14 for the brumbies, maybe next year to take the step up and i think he’ll go brilliantly at 12. i think Rocky will be back by then too ?
a year of s14 for the younger faces in the current wallbies will do a world of wonder.
LeftArmSpinner said | December 4th 2008 @ 1:24pm | Report comment
Ben C, I am less concerned about the hidings and more concerned about the close ones. once a game gets to a certain point were it is lost, due to a breakdown in fundamentals, in this case, the mid field defence of Tahu/Mortlock,it is very hard to recover. the defence has been addressed is now much better, even an atacking weapon while we still struggle to get a back line happening.
MCXD, I too would have also liked for Beale to have toured but , not at 10KG over weight as he was. It was a big lesson for him to learn. lets hope it is the last time he pigs out during rehab!!!
We are going to see some more Props at the tahs with the injuries to Dunning and Kepu. a blessing in disguise. the question is where will they come from??? Sydney Grade. look out for Paddy Ryan, former Aust school boy. mobile, but also a loosehead!!
I would love to see a back line movement, with surprise and precision.