Out with the old, in with the new as Deans dumps Smith
By Darren Walton, 28 Oct 2009
Darren Walton is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Adam Ashley-Cooper, All Blacks, Ben Alexander, Benn Robinson, Berrick Barnes, Bledisloe Cup, David Pocock, Digby Ioane, George Smith, James Horwill, Mark Chisholm, Matt Giteau, Peter Hynes, robbie deans, Rocky Elsom, Rugby Union, Ryan Cross, Tatafu Polota-Nau, wallabies, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu
Confirming no-one is safe from Robbie Deans’s razor-sharp axe, champion flanker George Smith was on Tuesday shunted to the bench for Australia’s Bledisloe Cup clash with New Zealand in Tokyo on Saturday.
Young gun David Pocock, considered by many a future Test captain, will start as openside flanker, opposing All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw, after Deans relegated Smith for the first time in eight trans-Tasman encounters since taking over as Wallabies coach last year.
With 105 Tests to his credit, 29-year-old Smith is the most-capped forward in Australian rugby history and captained the Wallabies in their past four Tests before Deans this month appointed fellow breakaway Rocky Elsom as his spring tour skipper.
All up, Smith has led Australia eight times during Deans’ 25-match coaching reign.
But there was no room in the starting XV for the dual John Eales Medallist when Deans named a reshuffled line-up in the hope of ending the Wallabies’ six-Test losing streak against the All Blacks.
Deans and fellow selectors Jim Williams and David Nucifora believe the powerhouse Pocock will better serve the Wallabies at the front end of the game.
“What we’re trying to do is find a way of winning so we’re looking for little points of difference that can help us to get there,” Deans said.
Nevertheless, the selection is certain to raise eyebrows among Australian rugby fans who have grown accustomed over the past decade to seeing Smith win countless games for the Wallabies with his brilliant ball pilfering.
An eternal optimist, Deans shed his nice-guy image after Australia’s 33-6 loss to the All Blacks last outing in Wellington, the native New Zealander breaking ranks with his troops to condemn the Wallabies’s lame finish to the match.
He then piled veteran forwards Phil Waugh and Al Baxter onto his high-profile scrapheap, the pair omitted from Australia’s 35-man spring tour squad as Deans’s sweeping generational change continued in the countdown to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The demotion of Smith, though, is undoubtedly the biggest selection gamble of Deans’s 17-month tenure.
Should the Wallabies lose a seventh successive Test to their fiercest rivals for only the third time in history and again be battered at the breakdown, critics of Deans will doubtless be screaming.
But the unflappable coach is unfazed at the prospect of any backlash should his dumping of Smith backfire.
“That’s part of the industry. There’s always going to be differing opinions,” he said.
“You can’t satisfy everyone. The critical thing is to satisfy what we’re here to do and that’s have the Wallabies succeed.
“That’s the underlying motivation.”
In total, Deans made four personnel changes to his run-on side, with No.8 Wycliff Palu’s inclusion in the back row in place of Smith the only alteration to the forward pack.
Wingers Peter Hynes (knee) and Digby Ioane (shoulder) earned recalls after recovering from long-running injuries, replacing Drew Mitchell, who has been relegated to the bench, and Lachie Turner, who was dropped altogether from the match-day 22.
And Ryan Cross returns at outside centre, with Adam Ashley-Cooper moving from the midfield to replace teenager James O’Connor at fullback.
O’Connor will start on the bench.
Newly-crowned Wallabies player of the year Matt Giteau remains at five-eighth but will continue to share the playmaking role with inside centre Berrick Barnes.
Wallabies: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Ryan Cross, Berrick Barnes, Digby Ioane, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom (capt), Mark Chisholm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Stephen Moore, Matt Dunning, Dean Mumm, George Smith, Luke Burgess, Drew Mitchell, James O’Connor.
© AAP 2012
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mcxd said | October 28th 2009 @ 2:17am | Report comment
im more excited about this backline. Hynes and Digby seem to give it some oomph that its been missing.
Who Needs Melon said | October 28th 2009 @ 6:06am | Report comment
I feel for Smith. Pocock is getting better but Smith is at the moment still a clearly better player in my view.
cinematic said | October 28th 2009 @ 6:17am | Report comment
After being much talked up by some Roarers Pocock was invisible in Wellington. This is an appalling selection. Smith is world class, Pocock appears to me to be a journeyman.
Dean’s isn’t selecting the best, instead he’s making sure all and sundry understand he’s the big boss. The same crap played out in the AB’s when he was co-coach.
Colin N said | October 28th 2009 @ 12:07pm | Report comment
“Smith is world class, Pocock appears to me to be a journeyman.”
He’s only 21, give the lad a chance. Also, played very well in the victory over South Africa
sportym said | October 28th 2009 @ 10:17pm | Report comment
Not at the wallaby level. We need the best team on the pitch to win. Aside from the SA game he has been missing and given away some dumb penalties.
Robbo said | October 28th 2009 @ 6:25am | Report comment
Smith (and Giteau in form) is Australia’s only world class player. Dropping him is the most knee-jerk reaction I have ever seen.
Sure, blood Pocock in the Scotland game, but you need to pick the big names for the big games.
Rob said | October 28th 2009 @ 6:41am | Report comment
Slightly off track here and no names but I know a person who worked with Mitchell at The Force. He said “…he was nuts..”
I asked why would they appoint someone if that was the case and his reply was that he had conned the AB administration as well.
Deans was part of that coaching set up. Given some of the snippets we are hearing about selections in the AB 2003 campaign I wonder if Deans had a role in any of those.
I think Smith looks a bit battle weary so I hope that is the reason he’s on the bench and not what otherwise would appear to me to be an odd selection.
Brett McKay said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:30am | Report comment
I think this is a case of Smith being challenged by the coach, prove to all the critics there’s still plenty left in him…
Chris said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:59am | Report comment
Let’s hope its not permanent. Wouldn’t be the first time Deans has made an absolutely bloody stupid decision as a coach.
The Link said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:43am | Report comment
Good move, Smith goes missing against the All Blacks too often. Can’t think of a game where he had it all over Richie.
Dean Pantio said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:53am | Report comment
And you think Pocock is going to do any better? Just who went missing as flanker at Wellington?
Bay35Pablo said | October 28th 2009 @ 9:05pm | Report comment
Most of the bloody team went missing …
Robbo said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:57am | Report comment
I can’t think of a game when ANYONE had it over McCaw – least of all Pocock. If you are saying Smith is a failure because he can’t dominate McCaw then you are a bloody idiot.
Vented Relief said | October 28th 2009 @ 9:07am | Report comment
Russouw. Two out of the three games they played this year Mccaw was dominated.
stillmissit said | October 28th 2009 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Abso-bloody-lutely – Vented Relief. This Russouw is an amazing player, I thought that McCaw was a one in a generation until he turned up.
Very surprising, can we bring him to OZ on an assisted passage????
No, oh! well.
Dean Pantio said | October 28th 2009 @ 10:36am | Report comment
Perhaps you mean Heinrich Brüssow?
True – but only as a result of the disparity between the effectiveness of the packs and gameplay. In S14 how did he go?
True Tah said | October 29th 2009 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
Dean when the Cheetahs played the Crusaders, the Cheetahs won and it was largely due to Brussow…although Im not 100% if McCaw was playing.
Dean Pantio said | October 29th 2009 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
That would be the Cheetah’s that came last? The Cheetahs that managed to win two matches?
ohtani's jacket said | October 28th 2009 @ 3:15pm | Report comment
He didn’t dominate McCaw. That’s such a crock. Opensides don’t even match up to be dominated.
Vented Relief said | October 28th 2009 @ 3:33pm | Report comment
Outplayed. Shown up. Call it what you will. Brussow played better than Mccaw.
ohtani's jacket said | October 28th 2009 @ 5:59pm | Report comment
Never. Happened.
Rin said | October 28th 2009 @ 11:14am | Report comment
Robbo your memory must be extremely short, H. Brussow, totally dominated McCaw in every aspect of the the tri nations games this year…i honestly thought McCaw wasnt even playing.
Jerry said | October 28th 2009 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
Broussow’s domination of McCaw is completely overstated. He edged him slightly in turnovers.
fox said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:47am | Report comment
Smith has been a true champion of the game and a warrior for Australia for the best part of a decade. It is difficult when such a player is dropped, but it is not the first time in his career he has been sent to the sidelines. He has always fought his way back. Can he do that again? He certainly is equipped to. In my opinion what Smith offers is the ability to turn ball over and he has pretty good ball-handling skills. His defence has often been viewed as a weakness and he doesn’t give you momentum in counter-rucking. He is an out-and-out pilferer. Deans seemingly feels the need for more impact at the breakdown and in counter-rucking.
There is no doubting Pocock’s ability, but some may question whether he is “there yet”. Again some believe he was “invisible” in Wellington. Personally I think that he has the goods and this will only become evident if he is tested in the international arena. Otherwise how do you know? His form in super rugby hasd been superb. Aside from my opinion, him being invisible or “not there yet” doesn’t appear to be Deans’ opinion who replaced Smith early in the second half and left Pocock on the field. I believe Pocock being invisible is a bi-product of him doing the hard work and being in amongst the rucks and mauls. he certainly wasn’t seagulling on the wing, if that’s what is implied by the criticisms above. Smith is more easily recognisable, as he has a tendency to hang in the backline on attack and sometimes plays wider in defence as well. Perhaps Deans is looking to explore the narrower channels, which is I believe where we can target the All Blacks rather than going wide too early as has been the case in all previous encounters with them this year. Bringing in Palu and retaining Pocock to me seems like the best way to accomplish this. We need to pick and go and the AB’s with their forwards typically positioned in a wider defensive arc offer us that opportunity.
In any event, this is a match played purely for pride and God knows the last XV didn’t play very well in Wellington. If I were Deans I would be trying something different as well. It will be interesting to watch anyway. Digby and Hynes I very much prefer to Turner and Mitchell, though I would have liked to see Digby at 13 – probably he’s being blooded out on the wing with a view of bringing him in to 13 if he looks fit and Cross plays good to average (as I believe he is as a player). The backline is looking closer to what I imagine it will look like in 2011 (but Ioane at 13 and O’Connor on the wing).
Armchair-critic said | October 28th 2009 @ 8:35am | Report comment
Judging from videos on rugby.com.au i get the impression Smith new this was coming for the game in Tokyo.
I also liked the response he gave: “You won’t see me moping around the camp…I think it shows the character of a man when he is dropped to try and work your way back.”
That’s the sort of attitude i want to hear. A bit of steel and determination. Maybe this is going to rekindle the desire within Smith – only time will tell.
Either way he is “a class act” (as noted by Deans) and i have no doubt he will remain an integral part of the Wallabies through to the World Cup, even if he plays off the bench.
Pete said | October 28th 2009 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
“You won’t see me moping around the camp” – absolutely that’s the spirit of a team man
The way it is! said | October 28th 2009 @ 7:47am | Report comment
I believe that the overall selections are a good thing. Smith needs a wake up call and with him coming on late in the match will help the Wallabies get over the line with a win. He has been below his best for most of the Tri Nations by giving away too many silly penalities and when was the last time he actually made a break beyond the advantage line. He will be back but has to get back to the Smith we know but this will be unlikely due to age.
Also thank you for dropping O Connor to the bench as I’m still not a fan just yet, maybe when his about 24 years mature we will see a consistent rugby back. Overall it looks a more stable team which should be more consistent across 80 minutes. Time will tell!
Pete said | October 28th 2009 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
“Smith needs a wake up call ” , seriously ?! I think he is outstanding.
I honestly believe that since he cut his hair he appears to be less effective, and that’s not because of some Samson like quality, its because he stood out more. Now he just blends in… same reason why people a pink jersey during subbies trial games…
Hoy said | October 28th 2009 @ 8:17am | Report comment
Not a fan of Cross at all, but really not a fan of his starting. He has kept the old League run sideways thinking. I have not seen him dominate anyone, and if we are going for more punch on the wings, it won’t be helped by Cross taking up space crabbing.
I don’t think O’Connor is a fullback, I don’t rate Mitchell or Turner at the moment, and I think Adam two dads is better at 13. Which means I can’t pick a fullback from anyone they have, except maybe Hynes there, but then you can see what I think of the other wingers.
Oh to have Gerrard, or even Shepherd.
Jez said | October 28th 2009 @ 9:29am | Report comment
I agree – Ryan Cross is a passenger – his game against SA in the tri-nations was horrible. Shame Rob Horne is injured (again), though I doubt he woulda been picked anyway
Justin said | October 28th 2009 @ 6:12pm | Report comment
Tend to agree with that Hoy, although it I have to say JOC wont play that poorly again, he is a rare talent, its a pity Drongo is having him play Test football out of position…
Dean Pantio said | October 29th 2009 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
Just what position would you play him in at Test level against the second best team in the world at the moment?
ThelmaWrites said | October 29th 2009 @ 12:48am | Report comment
Or Peter Hewat who currently is fullback for London Irish.
Dean Pantio said | October 29th 2009 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
He’ll never play a Test for Australia. Anyone close to the Wallaby set up during the Connelly era can tell you why.
ThelmaWrites said | October 29th 2009 @ 10:36pm | Report comment
Lote Tuqiri is no longer with the Wallabies, there is a new coach, and time might heal wounds.