Time for Deans to fine tune his orchestra
Roar Guru
By Rickety Knees, 19 Jul 2009 Rickety Knees is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Al Baxter, Luke Burgess, robbie deans, Rugby Union, wallabies
Like all Australians, I am lamenting another loss to the All Blacks. The time has come for Deans to make some team personnel decisions.
1. Al Baxter needs to go. For whatever reason international referees – rightly or wrongly – seem to target Al. Much of it I believe is a perception that Al can’t prop and is the go-to-man when scrums disintegrate and a penalty is required. A tough call but the Wallabies are better off without him.
2. Luke Burgess needs to go. As nice a guy as he is and no denying his wholehearted performances, his pass is not up to international standard – nor is his kicking game. Genia’s passing at the end of the game was a revelation.
This Test, however, has been another step in the right direction, there is much to play for in this 3N and the RWC next year. The basis of the team is there.
The loss is going to make Deans and the Wallabies even hungrier for success as we build to 2010. The time has come for Deans to fine tune his orchestra.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby Union articles
- Will Super Rugby crowds continue their slide? (201)
- Will South African rugby force a Super 21 by 2018? (173)
- The real story of how John O’Neill turned Manchester City down (70)
- Dan Parks and the unsolved questions of expat rugby (65)
- Australian teams at Super disadvantage (58)
- Pocock set to be named new Force skipper (56)
- Can the ‘Tahs win the battle after losing the Waugh? (51)
- France turns to Parra and Trinh-Duc
- Rebels look to lift for formidable Blues in rugby trial
- Mr Fix-It Lucas wants to nail down No.10
- Force roost loses ‘Mother Hen’ Sharpe
- Waratahs romp to 83-5 trial win over Samoa A (2)
- Quade Cooper’s return to the Reds goes up a gear
- Chiefs continue to wait for SBW (7)
- Wales show Southern Hemisphere how to play running rugby (29)
- What opening matches of Six Nations taught us (19)
- Will Super Rugby crowds continue their slide? (202)
- Clinical Chiefs cost rusty Rebels in Corio (9)
- Six Nations shows rugby is a parochial game at heart (5)
- Goose’s Super Rugby up-and-comer XV for 2012 (29)
- What does the future hold for the Six Nations (50)
- Explore:
- Al Baxter, Luke Burgess, robbie deans, Rugby Union, wallabies
john said | July 19th 2009 @ 6:45am | Report comment
face it baxter has never been decent and always collapsing scrums finally a ref got him in the act. but there is no one to cover this position mr o neil may have to change the rules again!!!
LeftArmSpinner said | July 19th 2009 @ 8:42am | Report comment
Rickety, Who would you replace Baxter with? I can only agree that there are some really strange decisions that seem to go against Big Al. Illogical in terms of position on the field and who is feeding the scrum. I dont get why he would infringe when theWallabies are on attack and have the feed. Maybe Knives Out can give us some insight.
Dan Crowley’s match commentary and opinion was ” to avoid the ref’s wrath, Baxter is having to hold Woodock up!!!”
Now to Burgess, Sadly I have to agree. But I just dont get it. Burgess is exactly what the Wallabies want in terms of attacking and defending skill and courage. He is also a truly admirable young man. And yet, he is yet to be a reliable and strong passer. It just doesn’t make sense.
Having said that, he looked out of sorts, eeriely quiet and subdued all evening. after several near perfect games recently, he made too many mistakes and Genia just kept it simple. Quick accurate passes, frequently with forwards in the way. It was refreshing to see.
We are well on the way to true depth at 9 and there is nothing wrong with that. Burgess needs to, and I am sure will, get his pass sorted out. He is not the first sportsman to face such a dilemma. He is made of stern stuff and will respond. Frankly, if Genia keeps doing what he did last night, Burgess will have to!!
Come on Lukey!!!
Nick said | July 19th 2009 @ 8:49am | Report comment
Burgess need to go…. simple as that. As a halfback, he cannot even get the basics right. He is too set on performing his own runs and box kicks which in my opinion are a waste of time. He has one main job, get clean ball to the men outside him. If a kick is on the cards, why not give it to Giteau with pin point accuracy.
Knives Out said | July 19th 2009 @ 9:05am | Report comment
LAS,
Agreed some of the decisions were definitely strange but that’s rugby. Refs have never understood scrummaging – a truly outrageous scenario given the money involved in the game. Overall I think the scrum battle was 50/50. I don’t think Crowley was on the money simply because Hore or Mealamu were never under pressure from Baxter. I recall one incident – and I’m not suggesting that this is a reflection of the whole match – where a scrum collapsed and Baxter motioned to the touch judge to check Woodcock’s bind. However, replays showed that Baxter had pulled down on Woodcock’s bind so he couldn’t bind on Baxter. Were Baxter holding Woodcock up, as Crowley suggests, then there wouldn’t have been as many collapses.
Regarding you specific question, if a scrum is in the ascendcy and receiving attacking ball then logic dictates that the stronger scrum would force the weaker scrum back or up, but scrummaging is never so simple. There are various solutions: maybe Woodcock folded under genuine pressure, maybe the NZ front row stepped back upon engagement or Woodcock folded seeking a penalty, maybe Baxter folded looking for a penalty? I mentioned this in a previous thread, and I think a NZ Roarer has as well, that quite a few scrums showed Woodcock flat out on his belly with Baxter basically bent over double which suggests that Woodcock wasn’t dropping under pressure. I’d have to see the replays because it was an 8.30 am game for me, and I was rather bleary eyed, but either way I don’t think the referee was right, nor do I think the Australian scrum beat down the Kiwis. A bit of fence sitting for you.
Rickety Knees said | July 19th 2009 @ 9:16am | Report comment
The refereeing of scrums is a total mystery to me in general and especially last night. I know that we can all do dumb things under pressure but why would a prop deliberately ball down a scrum on his teams attacking ball and give away a penalty. This seems to continually happen to Baxter, who is an intelligent man – I can’t believe that he continues to do this. Surely the benefit of the doubt must always go with attacking team.
Do referees actually get any scrum coaching?
Jack of said | July 19th 2009 @ 9:27am | Report comment
Rickety Knees
Like most Wallaby fans I was at a total loss about the penalising of Al Baxter on our feed with our scrum going forward.
I’m not wishing to turn things into a bash the ref session but for the life of me, is it really that hard for the ref to judge?
Cameras are involved with trys and whether or not someone stepped out yet there’s very little replay and assessment at scrum time, in an area that keeps costing us dearly. I’d really like a scrum guru on Fox or here at the Roar to take us through what it is that the ref is penalising Baxter for.
Maybe then if all Rugby followers understood then so too would the refs.
taylor bridge said | July 19th 2009 @ 9:42am | Report comment
Is there a process whereby referees association can specifically, and not with generalisations , explain the way scrum penalties were awarded each match.. The lack of transperency is as bad as an Iranian election and as good for the rugby public as it is for the Iranian public.
Burgess’s pass compared to particularly the French scrum half is like a third grader. He is not up to it. Will Genia is great but Ben Lucas is even better. Harbour bridge passes show sad lack of technique. I knew a great coach who was a builder and insisted on getting his half back to pass a pallet of bricks every day. What a pass he developed.
sheek said | July 19th 2009 @ 9:47am | Report comment
Rickety,
Welcome to rugby lotto – or, “what was that for, ref”?
As for tossing out Baxter & Burgess, which I agree with in principle, who do you replace them with???
And this is a general question for Leftie, who advocates that Australian rugby is on track. Well Leftie, are we?
It seems a case of one step forward, two steps back, or is the other way around.
Anyway, while the Wallabies will improve eventually (they can only go up from where they are), I still maintain the problem with the Wallabies is a problem with Australian rugby structures. But I’m not going there today, other than to mention it in passing!
Rickety Knees said | July 19th 2009 @ 10:58am | Report comment
Thanks Sheek – as previously posted I agree with your thoughts on the lack of Australian Rugby infrastructure. Genia looked the goods when he came on but it is early days. As for replacing Baxter well I just don’t know who the likely candidates are, perhaps someone could provide a few clues on this much vexed subject – the dark arts of the front row.
Rugby Lotto is an apt description of what I saw last evening.
Worlds Biggest said | July 19th 2009 @ 11:47am | Report comment
Replacing Baxter sounds easy in theory but what about in practice, Ben Alexander will take a while to develop if he in fact can scrummage now ?. LAS your Easts, Waratah loyalty to Burgess is admirable however how many chances does a guy get ??. Burgess should consider a switch to flanker as that is how he plays the game, he is gutsy and wholehearted. Unfortunately he is not an International halfback. How or who is going to fix his pass, we complained about Gregan’s service for years and it never got quicker. Burgess is headless and just takes on too much, why the need with a good backline outside him. He was very poor last night and should have been hooked when he kicked out on the full in first 25 minutes. The only way to turn it around for him is to make Nick Farr Jones his full time mentor. Otherwise it’s Will Genia. If Deans persists with Burgess then he will lose me. I don’t blame the ref, sure he was ordinary but didn’t cost us the game. The Wallabies have a long, long way to go.