CAMPO: Keep it simple stupid, and go back to our strengths

 
David Campese Columnist

By , 13 Sep 2012 David Campese is a Roar Expert

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    CAMPO: Keep it simple stupid, and go back to our strengths + enlarge image

    Australian Rugby union head coach Robbie Deans. AAP Image/Paul Miller

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    I know I must sound like a broken record but can anyone tell me what Robbie Deans is doing with the Wallabies? What is he trying to achieve? I have no idea, and I don’t think he has either.

    After kicking away any decent ball they got on the weekend, somehow Berrick Barnes has been kept in the team and moved to fullback to replace Kurtley Beale, who is one of the few attacking weapons in the backline.

    And that has been our biggest problem over the years is that we need to have players who can put the opposition under pressure.

    I believe an ex-Wallaby is mentoring Barnes. This player was a great runner with the ball and a great player, but what is the incessant kicking all about? Every time Barnes gets it, he hesitates then kicks.

    I know, I know … the modern day players are bigger, stronger, faster, better than the players of my era. Yes, yes, I wouldn’t make it in this era, blah blah blah.

    But really, the basic skills of some players are very poor and the vision is not quite there. Why?

    What do they do at training?

    Not that the Boks were any better. They just looked like a bunch of guys going out on the field having no idea about what to do.

    In the first half there were 43 kicks! And half of those were ‘no idea’ kicks.

    The game is about the Ball. If you don’t have it, you can’t score. Very simple.

    And what’s with all those ridiculous cut out passes? The Boks were attacking the Wallaby line and they cut out three players and still couldn’t score. Please tell your kids not to use cut out passes as it doesn’t work.

    They should just put the ball through the hands and run into space. This should be a thing you do everyday at training.

    It’s obvious that Deans hasn’t got the players’ confidence. They’re not playing for him. They’re not playing for the love of the game either.

    It’s a sad reality.

    I don’t understand the Wallabies selections. Apart from the mysteries of the starting line-up, there are no impact players on the bench – apart from Beale, who is down in confidence.

    So get players around him to give him the confidence he needs

    Who is going to win the Wallabies the game when they’re behind on the scoreline? We need players on the bench who can make a impact, not defend.

    Where have we gone wrong over the years? I must be missing something.

    I get sick of talking week in, week out about the same thing. Am I expecting too much from the players? Perhaps I should be diplomatic and say everything is going well.

    But I can’t. Australian rugby is a real mess right now.

    I Tweeted a simple solution last week: three franchises, the ARU control them all, and set up a Rugby Academy where all the players come out of.

    The Academy then supplies the three teams with players who are up to the standard. Not like how it is now, where the gap from club rugby to Super Rugby is huge.

    Australian rugby has traditionally been at its strongest when you have just three teams.

    We cannot sustain five teams. We have to get too many players from overseas to make it work, which makes our rugby base smaller and therefore weaker.


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