Wallabies will bring discipline to All Blacks clash

Roar Rookie

By David Pocock, 21 Aug 2009 David Pocock is a Roar Rookie

Tagged:: All Blacks, ANZ stadium, Bledisloe Cup, James OConnor, Phil Waugh, Rugby Union, Tri Nations, wallabies

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The All Blacks at ANZ stadium on Saturday is a game the Wallabies need no motivating for in order to get fired up about. They don’t get much bigger than this – and it’s a must-win to keep our Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup hopes alive.

It’s fantastic to be back in Australia after our last two matches were away.

We’ve had a good ten day camp leading into this game, working hard on the areas we identified that we need to improve on.

The intensity at training has been right up there – with James O’Connor and Phil Waugh even getting into a bit of a scuffle during one of the contact drills.

There was really nothing in it – just a heat of the moment push and shove (luckily for little James!). I actually think it’s a good thing to have the odd push and shove at training between players – it’s certainly a good sign that players are pushing each other to train hard, and once training is over its back to being mates.

One of the great things about sport is that you usually get a chance the next week to move on and change your fortunes – and that is something that we are all determined to do come Saturday night.

There’s a real sense among the group that we’re moving forward (albeit slower than we’d obviously like) and are determined to get into the “winning habit” after losing two games that we know we could have played a lot better in.

The next three weeks are very exciting.

It’s New Zealand this weekend and then two games against South Africa (in Perth and Brisbane) and you get the feeling that this is our chance to move forward as a group and prove that we can win games back-to-back in the Tri-Nations, bringing that composure and discipline we have probably lacked in the first two games.

All the hard work has been done for the week on the training field and now all is left is to prepare ourselves mentally so we’re ready to come out firing.

If we can bring that composure under pressure and discipline I mentioned, as a team, I think it’ll be a good night.

David Pocock is a current Wallaby and columnist for The Roar. The ex-Zimbabwean plays for the Western Force in the Super 14 competition. He is the founder of the charity Eightytwenty Vision.

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The Crowd Says (53) | Page 1 of Comments

Knives Out said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:06am | Report comment

Thanks David and good luck this weekend. Good luck to NZ as well.

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Spiro Zavos said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:25am | Report comment

The Wallabies will need to do exactly what David has promised. They have been outscored by penalty goals in the first two Tri-Nations Tests by 12 successful penalties to 3. This amounts to a points differential of 27 points. As the Wallabies have lost both the Tests by a combined 18 points, the implication of the need for discipline is obvious.
Just take one example. The Fox Rugby Club showed footage of the Springboks and the Wallabies trying to protect their catchers under the high ball. The Springboks forward jogged to get positions in front of their catcher but some distance away. The Wallaby runners had to run around them to get to the catcher. No penalty.
The Wallaby players ran back, with the opposition runners and tried to get in their way. A clear penalty.
There was a time when Rod Macqueen was coaching the Wallabies when they invariably won the penalties and were much smarter in general play than their opposition. That time disappeared with the Eddie Jones regime and the tendency to play sneaky rugby to get around the laws, as Bill Young as prop demonstrated.
The Deans style is very much like the Macqueen style in that it tries to encourage the players to be skilful and thoughtful on the field.
David suggests that the players have got the message. Now put it into practice.

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- Knives Out said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:38am | Report comment
  
  This is the second time that you have mentioned Billy Young, Spiro, as if his tight play demonstrates some form of lazy cynicism that was specific to Australian rugby at that point in time. Young was a poor scrummager and collapsed the scrum. That much is true of Baxter – who you have been very critical of recently – during his lengthy test career. Does his continued selection by Deans demonstrate a tendency to play sneaky rugby? No. I don’t think that it does. You seem to have this forceful desire to portray Jones as some form of tin pot dictator who didn’t let his players think for themselves. How do you defend the rigid structures and obvious conservatism that Deans has instilled into this team? Eddie Jones cannot be the Australian bogeyman forever and he has proved with his time with South Africa and Saracens what an inventive and respected coach he is.
  
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  - Greg said | August 21st 2009 @ 3:21pm | Report comment
    
    KO, I was a huge supporter of Eddie Jones well into his (early) tenure with the Wallabies, but it’s folly to suggest he hasn’t been, um, off his game since. His time at Queensland was horrid — historically unprecedented — and, unfortunately a mediocre record at Saracens didn’t help emphatically restate his undoubted quality as a robust thinker and innovator.
    
    In the scrum, it’s clear Australia is paying for the cynicism of the EJ era and Bill Young’s smarts (which wouldn’t have raised an eyelash had he not be burdened with ‘propping’ a traditionally reluctant Aussie scrum). Baxter is the fall guy.
    
    The great disappointment about this, from a long ranged Australian POV, is their losses have been inflicted when the team is actually winning the mongrel forward battle (sadly, seven lineout losses against SA, will pull the pin).
    
    Look forward to Deans getting his backline to function more instinctively this weekend and Pocock’s
    teammates showing the kind of discipline (Ah!! It”s Kaplan’) to give a good team and a potentially fine coach a chance to shine.
    Greg
    
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    - Knives Out said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:11pm | Report comment
      
      Sure, I can’t deny that Jones had a disastrous period at the Reds, but he did more with the South African backs than any other coach has managed in the past decade, and speaking from personal experience I know that he was very good with Saracens and he adopted a positive policy of integrating English youth into the first team. It isn’t his fault that Young couldn’t scrum. Nick Stiles, Fletcher Dyson and Glenn Panaho were hardly propping enforcers either, so to lay the blame for a national propping malaise at the feet of Jones is probably a bit OTT. Even Richard Harry was the weak link during Rod MacQueen’s era. Baxter is paying for the sins of mismanagement and a disinterested administration, not one man as Spiro incorrectly suggests.
      
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- Ben J said | August 21st 2009 @ 9:15pm | Report comment
  
  Wallaby players should keep the training day mongrel for the test. You do not hear of Springbok and All Black players getting testy with each other. Is that because they are more professional and do not have to manufacture “mongrel”?
  
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- Ben J said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:40pm | Report comment
  
  Unfortunate for David that his teammates have not shown the composure he is so sure they will bring to the game. One of the most undisciplined Wallaby outfits in many years. He has nothing to base his assumption on and it will probably be their demise against the All Blacks now that Carter is back. He is one of the most steady players under pressure and will exploit their fragility even better than Steyn.
  
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- Grandpabhaile said | August 23rd 2009 @ 1:22am | Report comment
  
  Unfortunately, the Wallabies haven’t got the message about discipline. Another 5 penalties conceeded.
  
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Mitch O said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:37am | Report comment

Agreed Spiro, the Wallabies had a clear brains advantage over the AB’s and Bok’s during the Macqueen era. Which was massively frustrating as an AB fan.

It seems though that the game has reverted to a bash and kick fest, or effectively been dumbed down. Unfortunately for the Wallabies there’s a big question mark around their ability to handle the bash.

Particularly when you look at their back 3 for this weekend who, with the greatest respect for their skills, are all midgets.

I suspect the AB’s will bludgeon their way to a win on Saturday. In exactly the same way the first four 3N games have been won this year.

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Brett McKay said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:55am | Report comment

Let’s hope so David, because discipline and composure were somewhat lacking last start. Thanks for another great insight too.

All the best to you and the team tomorrow night, should be a cracking game..

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johnny-boy said | August 21st 2009 @ 10:56am | Report comment

David – I’ll believe it when i see it. Nothing worse than players mouthing off about discipline and then continuing to give away penalties on the field – a la George Smith. We the suffering supporters, live in hope. But is a very small hope based
on performances to date.

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Hammer said | August 21st 2009 @ 11:02am | Report comment

Mitch I’m with you on that score re an AB’s win … I took a double yesterday Manawatu / NZ and must say was sweating far more on the Manawatu result …

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- QC said | August 21st 2009 @ 6:20pm | Report comment
  
  I had money on the Bucketheads to get up on the Otago boys and I too was sweating especially when Thompson scored I nearly threw my ticket in the fire lucky for me the touchies and ref were so inept they said it was a no try when in all reality it was a definate 7 pointer and would’ve drawn the game.
  So I picked up a sizeable bag this afternoon and laid out some more on the ABs
  
  (sadly though the lack of a tv umpire has lead to Taranaki missing out on a win last weekend against Hawke Bay and having to settle for the draw and now last night Otago missed out on the draw and have to take the loss on the chin now that has to be hard to take)
  
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Mitch O said | August 21st 2009 @ 11:18am | Report comment

Hammer, Manawatu? Nice pick. I’m guessing that bet has some tasty odds.

With Kaplan in charge the game should be reasonably structured. Just don’t think the Wallabies have the grunt for the style of game required to win under the current laws. Especially missing Mortlock.

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Who Needs Melon said | August 21st 2009 @ 11:46am | Report comment

Hmm…

Forums like this are always swarming with armchair experts. No offense to anyone because – hey! – I’m one of them!

The danger faced by a player posting articles on this site is that it’s a bit of a magnet for all of us to chip in and offer our 2 cents worth. We’re like the old timer in the clubhouse who corners you at the bar after the game, regaling you of how you ought to do things… even though he never played beyond 16Bs at school.

So although, like others here, I’m always spouting off my opinions, I’ll refrain this once – since I’m not arrogant enough to assume I know better than the player and those already advising him – and and offer a simple, dignified line like KO did above…

Good luck David! Go the Wallabies. And boo hiss to the All Blacks.

PS. I think you need to straighten your back a little on the scrum engagement and tell Al Baxter not to drop his shoulder so much and blah blah blah…

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Hammer said | August 21st 2009 @ 11:56am | Report comment

Mitch they were when doubled up with an AB win … I can’t help but think that the strength of the NPC can’t be ignored when comparing what’s going to happen this weekend … some of the AB’s have had the opportunity to have a good run over the last couple of weekends … plus throw into the mix the batch new guys on going development

take for example Cruden (who must be close to an end of year tour slot) – about 3 -4 weeks ago Spiro wrote on here how he should be rushed into the AB’s squad solely on the back of the U20′s result … – which is a classic Aust appraoch because they’ve got no testing ground …. Henry who would never have contemplated such a thing – made a quick mention of him in dispatches while also commenting on the Cantrbury log jam and he’s been allowed to find his feet away from the spotlight and is by all accounts playing well …. but he’s a classic example of what Aust are missing in respect to trying to compete on a level footing with both NZ and SA (and throw into the mix the daft decision not to continue the Aust A programme) …

Deans has nowhere to go when things aren’t clicking he’s stuck with moving the pieces around the board … Ryan Cross and Peter Hynes are further examples -everyone bangs on about about Carter being rushed back – but he’s playe 3 NPC games and has proven his fitness – Cross and Hynes have been playing club rugby – when they can get it … there’s no comparsion

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- Brett McKay said | August 21st 2009 @ 1:30pm | Report comment
  
  So Hammer, would you mind 5 Australian teams playing in th NPC?? I ask this in all sincerity, by the way..
  
  Hynes was a victim of scheduling from memory, just as he was cleared to return, his club side had the bye, and then there was a general bye (or something silly) to follow. There were all sorts of wacky ideas of short term loans to another Brisbane club, or even a Sydney club, but then good old fashioned Australian rugby politics interjected and common sense and rational thought was quickly dispersed..
  
  Dropping the Australia A program was one of the dumbest decisions in recent memory too.
  
  But everything you there is spot on the money, which prompts my question above.
  
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  - Hammer said | August 21st 2009 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
    
    Simple answer to that Brett is no I wouldn’t – I don’t think it could be funded properly with the added travel component and obviously room would need to made for them which would bounce traditional unions out of a spot in at the top table plus we have a competition already which pits aussie teams verses kiwi ones … by all accounts the NPC is getting back on the radar of the NZ public – 7,500 last night in Palmerston Nth is a good crowd for a Thursday night and I don’t think the introduction of Australian sides at the expense of say a province like Manawatu would go down to well …
    
    But I see no reason why aussie players couldn’t fit in to various provinces … Taranaki have in the past picked up Australian players and Manawatu had a number of SA players in their initial team structure … surely players like Horne and Carter from the Waratahs would benefit a hell of a lot more from a player development perspective playing NPC rugby rather than club rugby in NSW …
    
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    - Brett McKay said | August 21st 2009 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
      
      Fair enough Hammer. I wasn’t necessaily thinking in place of any NZ unions, but your response is still perfectly reasonable, and even half-expected.
      
      In short, I couldn’t agree more that young Australian players would benefit from an NPC stint, which further highlights the need for a revamp of our rugby structures on this side of the Ditch.
      
      But I’ll refrain from dragging David’s column down this very well-worn path…..
      
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ExpatSin said | August 21st 2009 @ 12:45pm | Report comment

Hammer, spot on. The habit in Oz of retaining players past their prime also supports the theory of lack of depth in Ozzie player stock. The obvious example at present (and sure to get a response) is Mortlock. One of the greats of rugby and in my mind a truly inspirational player and motivator for any team, but let’s face it he is way past his best. Deans know this and I believe he sees this injury as a blessing in disguise. The other easy one of course is Gregan. Another truly great but retaining him for so long is the sole reason for the horrible lack of a proficient test half back for Australia.

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