Crusaders' Thomas Waldrom is hammered into the ground by Brumbies players in the Super 14 rugby match at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. AAP Image/Alan Porritt
With just four rounds remaining, the Super 14 round games are almost over. Yet, there is no clear favourites to win the title. The standard of this year’s competition is down and it is showing in the TV ratings.
In comments posted on the Roar, it seems that we have all been holding our breaths since the first round for the competition to kick into another gear of play and entertainment. No matter who we follow, it seems that our team has played more poor games than good.
Heyneke Meyer, an outstanding coach, has explained that the Super 14 has been diluted over the last two years by the number of players plying their trade in Europe. The New Zealand teams have been affected the most.
Eddie Jones has also commented that the standard has dropped away.
But why is this? Is it a product of the environment, the laws, or the coaching strategy?
Lets talk about the environment first.
Currently there are four new head coaches experiencing their first year at the helm. Add to this an additional five head coaches in their second year as head coach, and that is a lot of intellectual property that has walked away from the Southern Hemisphere’s premier rugby competition.
A good example of this is Ewen McKenzie’s departure from Waratahs.
He is smart coach who promoted a lot of young players into the backline last season. He has a wealth of Super 14 experience and, I dare say, given the standard of the competition this season, the Waratahs would have won it easily with Ewen in charge.
Money cannot buy experience, and it seems that unlike the player rosters at the various franchises, there is no succession planning of coaches.
This is a little silly given that the Super 14, I believe, is one of the hardest competitions to win on the sheer basis of the amount of travel involved.
Such is the nature of the business that new coaches, and those in their second year, need to establish themselves by getting results quickly. To do this, coaches will either consciously or subconsciously play for the win only.
And that is often conservative rugby, given their experience in the competition.
Reading many of the posts about the Australian teams, supporters are saying we have such great young talent but we are not performing. Look around the competition – the Waratahs, the Reds, the Brumbies, the Blues, the Crusaders, the Highlanders, the Bulls and the Cheetahs have all introduced a lot of young talent.
The exodus of players to Europe and retirement has left the competition poorer in mature skill, experience and game breakers.
If the young players can be retained, then the Super 14 in 2011, which also happens to be a World Cup year, will be a cracker.
There has been much debate about the ELV’s, but lets discuss their factual impact on the game.
Lineout quality possession has diminished considerably with less lineouts, a greater defensive contest focus, given the unlimited numbers in the lineout, and most teams are being forced to win the ball at number two in the lineout, which vastly limits the attacking options and ultimately gives the defence the upper hand.
There are a greater number of free kicks and penalties awarded against the attacking team and therefore some teams have conservatively stopped playing possession rugby and opted to play field position.
Add to this a subtle yet significant tactical increase in the defensive systems, which slow the ball up greatly at the tackle contest, and teams can play too much rugby with a young immature skill base giving the defence an advantage in tactics and in law.
Not being able to pass back into the 22 to kick into touch on the full has had a huge impact on the Australian teams, as generally we have not been a kicking nation.
Most of the Australian teams only have a one-kick strategy.
Most of the South African teams understand the concept of a three-kick strategy to manipulate the opposition to a point where they can attack. If you watched the Bulls against the Brumbies on Saturday night, they scored a classic try because they understood the three-kick strategy.
Kicks per game have risen to sixty and most are down the opposition’s throat. What has happened to the long kick and the weighted kick with good pressure?
It seems that the competition has gone contestable kick mad, which brought fair results early in the competition, but due to the defensive strategies applied by most teams, it has released more receivers to the backfield to play aerial ‘ping pong’.
Combine all of these points together, and a general conservative approach in this year’s competition to counter attack, and unfortunately supporters are turning away from the game disappointed with their team.
I read a lot about how good the Heineken Cup standard is, but like the Super 14, I have only seen a handful of great games so far.
My advice is to hang in there, give the coaches and the players time to mature their skills, strategy and confidence working towards the next World Cup, and we are going to see some great rugby.
Until then keep supporting your team – they need it! – and cherish the good games.
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April 21st 2009 @ 10:06am
mother teresa said | April 21st 2009 @ 10:06am | Report comment
james mortimer,you can say whatever you like mate cos its your opinion and noone should shut you up
doesnt mean people cannot return serve themselves
April 21st 2009 @ 11:12am
Harry said | April 21st 2009 @ 11:12am | Report comment
Thanks for sharing thoughts Todd – the quality of the Bulls backline play in 07 and the improvement in the Tahs backline in 08, (and this year’s awful regression) are clear enough testimony to your coaching skills. Australian rugby needs you back in Australia, particuarly given your SA experience. I think we massively underestimate and disrespect South African rugby tactics, philosophy and approach in Australia, and we have much to learn from it eg. the 3 kick strategy you explained.
I do support the Reds regardless. It has not been very enjoyable for the last 5 years but I have the consolation of the glorious history of the previous 25 and a belief (being tested I must concede) that Qld will re-emerge as a rugby power.
Please enlighten me – does a player like Daniel Heenan earn more playing on Japan than he does in the Super 14? I just use him as a classic example of someone who should be playing say for the Reds and giving them a bit of much needed depth and selection options.
April 21st 2009 @ 11:19am
pothale said | April 21st 2009 @ 11:19am | Report comment
mother teresa are you related to e e cummings by any chance?
April 21st 2009 @ 11:48am
Cracker said | April 21st 2009 @ 11:48am | Report comment
The coaching staff across Australia’s teams have endured a lot of criticism for various reasons. With Chris Hickey I’d be interested to know what made him such a successful coach in the past because I understand that he won plenty of silverware. What did his teams in previous years do that made them stand out from the rest? Why is he not having the same effect on the Waratahs? etc
Phil Mooney at the Reds has not been criticised as much as Reds coaches of years gone by despite acheiving similarly low results. He does appear to have promise but his teams of 2008 and 2009 have been pretty inconsistent – not entirely his fault given the inexperience and lack of composure sometimes evident in his players.
April 21st 2009 @ 11:52am
mother teresa said | April 21st 2009 @ 11:52am | Report comment
pothale,no dont believe so;is she good looking?
April 21st 2009 @ 12:50pm
LeftArmSpinner said | April 21st 2009 @ 12:50pm | Report comment
While I respect you Todd and your achievements in the pro ranks, I disagree that:
1. it is particularly hard to get, specifically, the Waratahs backline to function as a try scoring machine, new coach or old coach.
Secondly, lack of experience is no excuse for choosing the correct playing strategy. If in doubt, (and this should not be the case, but….) benchmark the team’s rpevious season and the best performed teams in both the Super 14 comp and other comps around the world.
In the case of the Tahs, the choice of playing strategy is plain dumb and ignorant of the fundamentals of rugby. You need the ball in your hadn to score. You select and then position your fastest, best attacking, try scoring players, 7 of them, almost half of the team, in the back line to score tries. Give them the skills, the ball and the playing strategy to allow them to score the tries that the crowd is looking for and that the team needs to win games, accumulate bonus points and win the comp.
It is just that simple………………..And it is lower risk than taking the ball from a bunch of attacking players and telling them just to tackle until they drop….
April 21st 2009 @ 12:54pm
Clarky said | April 21st 2009 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
Curiously no one has at all focussed on this line from Todd:
Money cannot buy experience, and it seems that unlike the player rosters at the various franchises, there is no succession planning of coaches.
I tend to agree that in all sports, but particularly with Rugby, you get results or you all get tossed out. The Waratahs have a completely new coaching regime this year as a case in point. We often see posts about the implied pressure on playing style by the NSW Board. Surely if there was a preferred style, it would make supreme sense that in a short competition like the S14 you would have a clear coaching succession plan so that your players had consistency in game plans and evolving style of play, whilst also have a clear team focus having grown with the new coach from potentially an assistant role.
It’s an interesting observation.
April 21st 2009 @ 1:00pm
romey said | April 21st 2009 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
james, you often write informative and insightful comments / articles about rugby , and ive always enjoyed reading them
but now ur just being a jerk. who cares about his writing style. Argue your point about the laws of the game, the quality of play, the coaches or the players, but dont criticise the mans writing!
while i dont agree with a lot of what is said in his article, i never once thought to belittle his writing style or essentiall what he does for a living. thats like me going to a mcdonalds store and criticising the young girl cleaning the floor incorrectly, and pointing out the stains smudges and grease she left on the floor.
at least man up and respond to people knocking ur comments!!!
April 21st 2009 @ 1:13pm
Reg said | April 21st 2009 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
3 kick strategy? What is it?
April 21st 2009 @ 2:07pm
Hammer said | April 21st 2009 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
“He is smart coach who promoted a lot of young players into the backline last season. He has a wealth of Super 14 experience and, I dare say, given the standard of the competition this season, the Waratahs would have won it easily with Ewen in charge”
FFS – I know you were involved mate … but come on … the Waratah’s last season really didn’t shown any indication that a revolution was around the corner .. they were well beaten in the final …. throw in the Elsom and Vickerman leaving and I’m sorry but no way in hell would the Waratahs win it easily this season if McKenzie had stayed … I