- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
New Zealand All Blacks' Jerome Kaino, left, is tackled by South Africa's Bryan Habana during their international rugby test at Westpac Stadium, in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, July 5, 2008. AP Photo/NZPA, Ross Setford
Wayne Smith should take his own advice and rule himself out of this weekend’s Test. It’s all very well to blame players, but what about team organisation and tactics. Who’s in charge of this? The coaches, the captain, and the no.10.
It seems to me that these are the guys who should be standing up and admitting they got it wrong. This is not about individuals playing badly, this is about a team not performing.
I think this is obvious to anyone who’s knows the game and watched a very organised side systematically dismantle a team on the knife edge.
That Wayne Smith doesn’t see this is concerning.
If it was down to individual performances, then three of the greatest players to play the game should be watching from the sidelines this weekend – one of whom will be – McCaw, Carter, and obviously, Rokocoko.
I don’t say it lightly but Carter had a shocker, McCaw was well below average by his own standards, and what can you say about Joe?
I think Joe is one of the best examples of it being about poor team organisation and tactical understanding rather than individual performances.
In a recent article in the NZ Herald, Joe made this quite clear that he is no longer used to his strengths, which is/was to put him into open space. It obviously isn’t his strength to be put under the high ball.
The Springboks had worked this out prior to the last three Tests.
To pick a player who can’t play to his strengths and is going to have his weaknesses exposed is just very poor tactics.
The concerning thing is that the coaches up until now have not recognised this, or worse, they have rested on their laurels rather than taking active steps to adapt with the game.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about Joe’s skills. To the contrary, Joe Rokocoko was/is a great player with unparalleled skills. He has deserved every opportunity to adapt to this new era.
The fact this hasn’t worked is precisely why it isn’t his fault and why Wayne Smith should take a look in the mirror.
Smith mentioned that players need to earn the jersey, which is another way of saying individuals need to be motivated to play. What can be more demoralising for a player like Rokococo than to spend 80 percent of training sessions receiving the high ball, or cutting back inside, rather than doing what he does best, which is to smoke guys on the outside from anywhere on the field.
Who should we be pointing the finger at for this? Certainly not the player, but the tacticians, the coach.
Smith also mentioned the need for accuracy from individuals.
On first glance, this appears to be a reasonable and an accurate assessment of the current situation. However, it makes no sense to say that poor individual skills and inaccuracy are the reason for experienced and great players to be suddenly making fundamental schoolboy errors, particularly when one player is said to be one of the greatest and most gifted players ever to play the game.
I would just like to highlight a few of these inaccuracies: dropped passes (McCaw/Nonu), intercept pass, and pass to ground, penalty kicked to touch on the full (Carter), ball lost forward resulting in an opposition try (Muliaina), taking the scrum rather than easy points (McCaw).
I cannot believe these errors come from individual players suddenly losing fundamental skills. No, these errors are caused by immense opposition pressure, and consequently the breakdown of team structure, organisation, and confidence.
I believe this is precisely what happened against France two years ago, and this was a team packed with experience and greatness.
Sorry Wayne but there is no other word for this other than “Panic.”
For me, the Line-out is symptomatic of everything. The Line-out is all about team organisation, timing, and confidence.
Confidence is an easy word to brandish around, it comes from so much more than simply trusting your team mates, and performing well as an individual. In team sports, confidence comes from an inherent understanding, a sixth sense among players, and among players and coaches.
This is the hallmark of great All Black sides.
Historically, the All Blacks are such a great team not because they are invincible, not because they win every World Cup, but because they don’t rest on their laurels, because they have always moved with and reinvented the game.
The most disappointing aspect of last Saturday’s Test is that, currently, they are not the ones doing this. It’s up to the coaches, together with the players, to do this now.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.