Five key questions for the Wallabies’ Spring Tour

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By Brett McKay, 27 Oct 2009 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: All Blacks, Bledisloe Cup, David Pocock, George Smith, Matt Giteau, robbie deans, Rocky Elsom, Rugby Union, Stirling Mortlock, wallabies

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Australian Adam Ashleigh Cooper (centre) is tackled by New Zealand's Jimmy Cowan (right) and Ali Williams (left) during the Tri Nations final between the Australian Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. The All Blacks beat the Wallabies 28-24. AAP Image/Dave Hunt

With the Spring tour to Japan and Great Britain all set to kick off this Saturday in Tokyo, five important and obvious questions for the Wallabies came to me that I feel need to be addressed.

If this tour can return positive answers to these questions, then I’ll be comfortable in the knowing the Wallabies really do know what they’re doing as the 2011 Rugby Wold Cup edges closer. And that would be despite what they’ve shown us at times this year.

Is Rocky Elsom the next great Wallaby captain?
Probably not a question that can be answered after five Tests, admittedly, but I think we’ll know a lot about the captaincy style of Rocky Elsom before too long.

Elsom’s appointment was an interesting one, in my opinion.

George Smith was by his own admission a reluctant captain, and there’s a train of thought that the pressure of captaining the Wallabies took away from his natural game this year. The added responsibility looked to have Smith second-guessing himself, and he wasn’t as effective in this year’s Tri-Nations tournament.

Being benched with half an hour to go in Wellington was probably an indication of Smith’s game in 2009, and he now finds himself under pressure to hold his place in the team.

This, in itself, is a question I’ll get to.

Stirling Mortlock’s captaincy reign was brought to an end by injury, and his being overlooked when fit in favour of Elsom has raised some obvious questions about his future in an Australian jumper.

Yes, this is also a question I’ll get to.

Mortlock the captain was probably somewhere in between George Gregan, the man he followed, and Smith, the man who assumed the role when injury forced Mortlock out this year.

Having captained the Brumbies for several years first, Mortlock had developed a successful captaincy style already, and took to the Wallabies top job like the proverbial duck to water. He was the strong public figure, and voice of the team off the field, but also had the ability to motivate team-mates with his inspirational actions on the field.

The press-conference and subsequent interviews after the appointment of Elsom filled me with a lot of confidence that the Wallabies are onto a winner though.

It seems like Elsom has always been a senior player, despite the fact he’s still only 26. I like that he was (and maybe still is) reluctant to employ a manager to handle his personal dealings; this tells me he likes to be in control, and at the same time is fully aware of all aspects of his game, and the life it brings him.

Yet, we could see the captaincy bring out the very best of Rocky Elsom. The extra responsibility should eradicate the odd unforced error from his game, and as he rarely has a bad game, it’s hard to see him not setting a high benchmark for his players.

Can Matt Giteau regain his mojo?
Depending on what you’re reading, Matt Giteau has either had a rough few months but is looking forward, or he’s completely thrown his toys out of the cot and is kicking cans down the street, hating life.

Either way, he’s not entirely thrilled with his pending switch back to inside centre, with new vice-captain Berrick Barnes set to call the shots from flyhalf.

I don’t particularly care what the scribes are saying, because when it comes to Wallaby success, Giteau’s form is paramount.

When Giteau first burst onto the international scene, it was as a super-talented inside centre with the world at his left foot, and the world’s best flyhalf feeding him. Stephen Larkham provided the direction for the team, and Giteau turned on the glamour.

The result was some exceptional rugby, and apart from Wallaby fans (and the ARU’s bottom line), the winners were Stirling Mortlock and the three flyers at the back.

Swapping Barnes and Giteau in the 10 and 12 jumpers indicates a Back to the Future point for the Wallabies. They’ve got untapped potential in the outside backs that desperately needs to be …well, tapped. Let those guys loose into space and reap the rewards.

More tries like Adam Ashley-Cooper’s special in Brisbane, thanks.

Giteau has to rediscover his natural game, and let Barnes steer the ship. Unbridling him from the chief playmaking duties could see a rebirth of Matt Giteau, rugby superstar. I’m hoping so.

Is this a career-defining tour for George Smith?
Well, quite possibly. The Roar’s own David Pocock started the international season looking to learn from Smith and Phil Waugh, hoping for an occasional bench spot.

With Waugh now accounted for, and missing tour selection, and Pocock’s star rapidly rising, George Smith is well and truly in the crosshairs.

Smith didn’t handle the captaincy well, and his own form was a reflection of the Wallabies’. No longer coupled with the captaincy, Smith needs to refocus on his ferocious ball-winning at the breakdown again, because it’s dearly been missed.

His rivalry with Waugh has him well equipped to deal with the new challenge from Pocock, and how he comes through this challenge may well determine whether he is remembered as Australia’s definitive open-side flanker.

Where does Stirling Mortlock fit into future Wallaby plans?
Wallaby coach Robbie Deans clearly wants Mortlock fit for the 2011 RWC, but he’s also well aware that Mortlock will have to be nursed through until then, if the lure of the Yen doesn’t claim him beforehand.

I’ve suggested this before, but I think we might see Mortlock used in a different role on this tour. His days of smashing through gaps (and opposition centres where there is no gap) aren’t done just yet, but I wouldn’t mind betting that Deans uses Mortlock from the bench in an impact role.

A fresh and fit Stirling Mortlock running at tired backs in the last half an hour of games could be a very handy weapon.

Can the Wallabies win back the Australian public?
It is very obvious that the ARU is staking its future – foolishly, plenty say – on the Wallabies. Whatever we think about the merits of top-down planning (or even if there are any) the Wallabies winning again is a key to winning over a public in danger of losing interest.

Where once the Wallabies were “Australia’s team”, that probably can’t be said any more. The Socceroos’ qualifying for the last and next football World Cups has rightly grabbed a lot of attention, and backpackers will tell you that a Socceroos shirt takes up a lot less room than does a Wallabies jumper.

It just seems that when so much appears to be going wrong with rugby in Australia, the Wallabies have a massive opportunity to reset the course.

Robbie Deans’ own future rests with the success of the Wallabies, too, and so it’s in his own best interests to return them to their winning ways.

More than that though, Australian rugby supporters want to see progress. Just when things looked up in Brisbane this year, the Wellington result dealt a harsh reality.

That loss has to be the line in the sand.

Wallabies fans are generous in their support, but can also be cutting in their criticism, as this year’s results showed. This tour is the Wallabies’ last chance for the year to show their fans that all hope is not lost.

Follow Brett McKay on Twitter: @BMcSport

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The Crowd Says (51) | Page 1 of Comments

Frank O'Keeffe said | October 27th 2009 @ 4:18am | Report comment

It’s the last question that’s the one I agree with the most. There’s a general apathy in Australia right now concerning the Wallabies. Rugby Union is the number four code and interest is declining. TV ratings went down this year too.

How dreadful would it be if this Wallaby side won the Grand Slam, which would make them only the second side to do so, and have most of Australia not caring about it? The 1984 Wallabies won the hearts of Australians with entertaining rugby. The 1987 All Blacks won back the New Zealand public by playing entertaining rugby. Right now, the Wallabies might have to do something special to spark some kind of interest in rugby. New Zealand won the Grand Slam last year and ratings just continued to slide in New Zealand.

I guess this begs the further question: is the Grand Slam worth enough these days to make enough people to care?

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- pothale said | October 27th 2009 @ 5:21am | Report comment
  
  One might respond to that question saying that the opposition’s reputation is so regularly traduced in media and by rugby commentators that beating the Ireland and GB teams mightn’t amount to all that much. They’re all ranked lower than Australia and NH rugby is perceived to be of a lesser standard. Indeed, there might be more interest and commentary if they lose spectacularly to say England and Wales.
  
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  - ohtani's jacket said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:21am | Report comment
    
    The All Blacks’ Grand Slam tour in 2005 generated a lot more interest since it hadn’t been attempted since 1978 Last year’s Grand Slam tour and the one in the planning stages for next year seem like cash drives. If they can arrange more mid-week fixtures like the Munster match, I’d be all for it, since that was one of the best rugby occasions I’ve seen on our recent trips to Europe.
    
    By and large, people no longer wanna get up and watch rugby in the early hours of the morning. I don’t know whether they still have a delayed broadcast on free-to-air in NZ, but the signal for that channel used to be crap unless you had a satellite and a lot of New Zealanders can no longer afford to have satellite TV. The TV ratings for the Tri-Nations have remained high, as well as the crowd attendances. Whether people watch the European tour or not is for the broadcasters to worry about. The unions are getting their revenue sharing paydays, which the NZRU desperately need to banroll the Rugby World Cup. I’ll be watching, because I’m a rugby tragic and I think the European Tests have amazing atmospheres, but it’s like any All Black tour. You won’t hear beep unless the All Blacks lose. The genuine excitement is when they’re not a particularly strong side like the ones that toured Europe in the earlier part of this decade.
    
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Brett McKay said | October 27th 2009 @ 5:46am | Report comment

Frank I’ll reword your question, but it’s just as relevant: do people even know what the Grand Slam is any more?

Agree with you about the style though. Australia need to ge back to that running game, and quick smart. Giteau to 12 should help this in theory, but more competition at the breakdown will be needed too. So not only do we need them playing prettier, but smarter too..

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- ohtani's jacket said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:25am | Report comment
  
  This is a disavantage of rugby not dominating the sports pages like it does in NZ. Unless you were living under a rock in 2005, you knew that the Lions were coming and the All Blacks were attempting a historic Grand Slam.
  
  I can’t imagine that it will attract a huge live audience on Fox. If the Wallabies win, does it go down in Australian rugby folklore or do they need to play attractive rugby like the ’84 side?
  
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- Brett McKay said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:34am | Report comment
  
  OJ, let’s work that out when they win the Slam!! Your point is very valid though – if they happen to go through Britain and Ireland undefeated, will it get the same recognition, or be feted in the same way the 1984 squad was?
  
  As for 2005, even if you were under a rock, there’s a fair chance there was someone else with you wearing a Lions jersey, because they were everywhere, even in Canberra for the midweek game against the Brumbies.
  
  Build-up in the media has been a little slow, but will increase now that the Wallabies (and NZ, obviously) are in Japan. My fear for this first game though is minimal FTA advertising, because Ch7 have it. I think (and would love confirmation from someone?!?) Ch10 have the Grand Slam component of the tour, so I’m hopeful for better coverage..
  
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  - Hammer said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:52am | Report comment
    
    Brett – what would the questions be then if this lot fail and fail miserably …. the Wallabies aren’t great travellers and have struggled in Europe and been especially poor over the last couple of seasons up there …. what if they lose to Wales, Ireland and England and also drop a mid week fixture plus going 7-1 down this weekend in Tokyo ?
    
    Will we see the ramping up of a campaign against Deans ? … some sections of the press have already started it, granted it’s a bit league based – but will the wheels start to come off the dream appointment … and what pressure will O’Neill be under
    
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  - Brett McKay said | October 27th 2009 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
    
    Hammer, there isn’t enough column space on the internet, let alone The Roar, to list all the questions should the Wallabies come back winless. I’d imagine the calls for heads (which definitely do exist, as you say) will almost certainly get louder, and it may even start with O’Neill himself.
    
    To be honest, I don’t want to think about it!! But you do raise an alternate perspective worth considering.
    
    The SH teams did pretty well this time last year – none better than NZ’s Grand Slam, obviously – and I’m hopeful/confident that will be the case again..
    
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  - ohtani's jacket said | October 27th 2009 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
    
    I imagine if a Grand Slam win is the catalyst for winning the Bledisloe back or the Tri-Nations then the Grand Slam will go down as historic.
    
    I read today that they’ve sold half the tickets to the Tokyo Test. Apparently, they’ve sold out the most expensive tickets, but I ought to have rocked up on the day and gotten in for free.
    
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Arky said | October 27th 2009 @ 9:01am | Report comment

The questions are all relevant and important – but the bottom line is playing rugby that supporters want to watch. A Grand Slam may actually spark some recovery for next year but after what was served up this year I dont expect early tour sucess will do much for the interest factor. The players should be encouraged to build a game and style that they can bring home for the 2010 season and beyond. They should do what they like while they are away on the assumption that few will really be watching.

The sooner the game at every level (Management, administrators, coaches and players) wakes up to where the revenues come from and what is expected in return, the better off they (and we) will all be…

Give us a reason to watch on TV or pay at the gate and only then will we return…

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Brett McKay said | October 27th 2009 @ 9:22am | Report comment

Absolutely agree Arky, they have to give us something to watch, and I’d argue that starts with the Super 14 sides too. I was very heartened earlier this month to hear Andy Friend say he has evey intention of returning the Brumbies back to their traditional running game, and the Reds played some cracking rugby at times duing this year’s S14 too.

Less than two years to the RWC, and if the progress in definitely there, and the Kiwis stay away like some NZ scribes fear theay will, then we could see seas of Gold following the Wallabies over the Ditch. But the winning habit has to start in the next six weeks..

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Rickety Knees said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:04am | Report comment

On the money Brett – good article. My fear is that any major steps by the Wallabies in winning us back (by playing running rugby) may well be undone by returning to S14 coaches hell bent on playing low risk one dimensional ugly rugby ….

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Brett McKay said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:20am | Report comment

Rickety, it’s a reasonable fear too. Notwithstanding my comment above re Andy Friend returning to the Brumbies “traditional” game, it’ll be interesting to see how Chris Hickey steers the Tahs next season for eg (Eastwood from a few years ago, or more “win ugly”?). Will Mackenzie keep the Reds throwing the ball around, or will he enforce a Tahs 04-08 style? Will John Mitchell enforce a style at all, or will he let Andre Pretorious dictate a 10-man game??

You’d like to hope if the Wallabies start playing ball-in-hand that that also flows down, but we’ve seen how these things don’t always flow previously…

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- reds fan said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:31am | Report comment
  
  Link has said that he can’t throw out the Reds style from last year, and that he needs to work to the teams’ strength which at the moment is its backs. so fingers crossed he continues to unleash our backs whilst working furiously to get our pack up to standard.
  
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Wally James said | October 27th 2009 @ 11:51am | Report comment

Brett

Thanks for an another well thought article.

There are myriad of other questions to be asked of the Wallabies but I wonder whether one equally as important as yours is whether our tight five will stand up. We really have only one specialist second row in Horwill. Apart from him we have Chisholm 197cm, Dennis 192cm, Elsom 197 cm and Mumm 196cm varioulsy described as second row come breakaways.

Our lesson should be taken from 1984. Jones then wanted big men in the lineout and a big scrum. He got it and we won well.

I fear for our lineout with such a comparably short set of jumpers. Add this to Tatafu who, while a fabulous scrummager, can’t throw straight to save himself some of the time. It does not augur well at lineout time.

It also all very well to have a good front 3 but if they are not backed up by two good men immediately behind them, the scrum fails. If Horwill gets injured we are not looking good.

After all, as the old adage goes, the forwards win the game and the backs determine by how many.
Cheers
Wally

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mudskipper said | October 27th 2009 @ 12:04pm | Report comment

Brett I enjoyed your article. A fair minded analysis of the Wallabies recent form and possible rewards fro changes in players roles. I would have like two more questions: one about Robbie Deans and the ARU management effecting team morale…
And one about Will Genia’s possible tour success as scrum half as it will define whether or not Barnes or Giteau are successful at flyhalf on this tour…

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Sam Taulelei said | October 27th 2009 @ 12:17pm | Report comment

Good article Brett.

In a forgettable year for Australian rugby starting with the Super 14, I’m of the opinion that the style of rugby played by the Wallabies and hopefully imitated by the Super 14 sides will go further to winning the public back than just wins on the board.

If we can assume that people on the Roar are your hardcore rugby tragics, very knowledgeable of the game, of strong opinions and very demanding of their teams then the general public are more the fair weather supporters and quite the opposite.

Even if the Slam is achieved reading it in the print media isn’t going to excite and stir the passions of the people who for most parts wouldn’t have seen the game or even know that it was on.

Pictures say more than a thousand words and if the Wallabies are bold and brave in how they want to play the game, break with current conventions of what’s regarded as winning rugby and demonstrate flair then that is what will grab the general public’s attention, even if they weren’t ultimately successful. A 30 second soundbite on the 6pm news that the Wallabies recorded a narrow victory and all you see is shots of penalties kicked and a try scored off a forward drive where you can’t see the ball will be quickly forgotten.

The ARU should have made a deal with a FTA network to not only broadcast the game live but also a replay the following day in a more civilised timeslot to reach more of the general public. It’s not as if there’s a lot of competing sports on the tube this time of year.

Yes it’s importatnt to all stakeholders of the game in Australia that the Wallabies start winning again consistently but to expand the game beyond it’s core supporters, they also need to offer something more.

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Brett McKay said | October 27th 2009 @ 12:28pm | Report comment

Wally, Mitch Chapman is another one – predominantly a 6 but spent time in the second row for the Brumbies this year. And your fears about scrum and lineout are all very valid, though at least there will be plenty of jumping options, which hasn’t always been the case.

Mudskip, the ARU management effect is worth exploring, for sure, but of late, I’ve noticed that the players appear to be back “on message” with Aussie Rob. Whereas straight after Wellington there was a bit of he said-we said, they all now seem alligned. Of course, the change of leadership probably has a lot to do with that.

I’m also looking forward to watching Genia, but I’ll also be very interested to see how and if Luke Burgess fights back. There’s no doubting Burgess went slightly awry this domestic season (if I can be polite), but I still think he’s too good a player to be lost forever. I nearly fell off my stool at Mark Ella’s suggestion that it was time to try Giteau at 9 again, surely one of the dumbest experiments in recent years.

Anyway, glad you guys enjoyed the read. There’s obviously heaps of other questions to be addressed on this tour, some probably even more important than what I’ve come up with here. These seemed the most obvious to me, for the moment anyway…

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- mudskipper said | October 27th 2009 @ 3:25pm | Report comment
  
  Does Mark Ella wish Gits to move elsewhere so Beale could get a chance by any chance? Is he still Beale’s manager?
  
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