After watching the Rugby World Cup semi final and digesting the result for a few days, I am now left to ponder if there is a silver lining to our latest visit to the Land of the Long White Cloud.
Firstly, kudos to the All Blacks, a great performance from a champion side.
Good luck in the final – you are deserving of your place in history. It is a shame Dan Carter will not join Richie McCaw on the field as the two most influential All Blacks of recent years.
Let’s start up front with the Wallabies – has our scrum improved? Well the money is that we have, but like all of the elements of the Wallabies – where is the consistency? How can the same players front up in a Tri Nations match and hold their own against the All Blacks and then get smashed at will in key scrums in the semi final?
If we have improved, it is not consistently as a pack – our performance against one of the best packs in the world again showed our deficiencies in the set piece.
Have our lineouts improved? Both of our hookers were under pressure to maintain possession from our own ball in the final series.
Loose play? Pocock is world class, a young future champion who plays without fear. Consistently the player the Wallabies needed every match and who was only outplayed once – by McCaw in the semi final.
Our other flankers – Elsom, Samo, McCalman – who will be playing in gold in 18 months? Probably only McCalman at best and he is not a match winner.
Around the park – Moore worked tirelessly and proved again his leadership potential, and Horwill was committed, led from the front and earnt the respect of his team mates and opposition.
So, we probably have three world-class players in our starting pack – Pocock, Horwill and Moore.
At 9 Genia is the goods, a talented player who can influence results, inspire his team mates and motivate his forwards to deliver.
At 10 Cooper appears to have a mortgage on the jumper, and with some validity. But to say that he has under delivered on the biggest stage is an understatement.
Against weak opposition, and with his forwards dominating he produced some brilliant moments, however as Ireland exposed, and the kiwis ruthlessly exploited – he lacks consistency and big match intuition to influence close results. This responsibility falls to Genia in this pairing.
Barnes – who knows? Game time to date has not allowed him to contest the position Cooper owns.
It is the shame of this Rugby World Cup that Cooper and Barnes did not start in key matches and develop an offensive partnership where Cooper could be free to play instinctively and Barnes manage the set piece.
Personally, I think Cooper will be in rugby for only 12 months, the lure of league or overseas rugby will be too strong – as is his desire to play alongside his friend Sonny Bill Williams.
Our centres – McCabe and Fainga’a have potential, but were 12-18 months from competing with the likes of O’Driscoll, Nonu (my man of series), or Smith. McCabe needs further coaching to change his running style, lines and delivery, and Faiinga needs to learn timing and temper his enthusiasm. The jury remains out on their future in gold, but it is clear that their ball carrying skills can be negated by savvy coaches and experienced opposition.
In the back three – Adam Ashley-Cooper is close to the end of his tenure as a mainstream Wallaby. His runs from 15 rarely looked to break the line. Beale, O’Connor and Ioane are without doubt the goods.
Ioane proved he plays with as much passion as any of his team mates, his runs and physicality were excellent and he displayed numerous occasions that he was a catalyst for momentum. Beale also played well during the series, and demonstrated his class.
O’Connor was the backline standout for mine. A rare talent who played exceptionally well and must surely be considered for a move inside to either 12 or 10.
I strongly believe he has the ability to take ownership of the first five jersey and keep it for a career. He is world class and an exceptional runner and defender.
So where is the silver lining? The All Blacks winning the Rugby World Cup would be the most obvious – such a dominant side and so deserving.
And the gold lining? No surprises to say Pocock, Genia and O’Connor are our future with Pocock and Genia as on-field leaders.
However, we need to develop ruthless match winning tight forwards.
And a last word for our coaches? If I have one key observation from the last six months, the Wallabies are coached to improve last week’s faults – not play their next opposition.
We mitigate errors – defence, set piece, breakdown for a week or two and then lose the intensity after we have delivered once or twice.
Please coach the opportunities in front of you – not the match behind you; just as you want the players to play ball and opportunities. Our last few matches post Ireland are a snapshot of the issues that we must overcome.
The silver lining for the wallabies is that a young side that has developed together will have many years of rugby ahead, many more wins to enjoy.
In my opinion, as disappointed as I am with this campaign and frustrated by the inconsistency of the side, the silver lining is that we are 12-18 months from a golden age of Wallabies rugby.
Good luck All Blacks – get a result for the southern hemisphere and show France how to play rugby.
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He was born 1905, 1904 or 1908 according to various reports, in Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, and is remembered as one of the great Māori players.
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