CAMPO: What’s happened to skills in Australian rugby?
Columnist By David Campese, 25 Oct 2012 David Campese is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- All Blacks, Mike Harris, Rugby Union, wallabies
Wallabies player Nick Phipps passes the ball. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
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Some of you might find it ironic, but I actually tipped the Wallabies to beat the All Blacks in Brisbane last weekend.
I sensed the Kiwis were vulnerable as they had achieved so much in the last couple of weeks and Australia had everything to play for.
As it turned out, the game was of a poor standard, with plenty of errors, kept interesting only by the tightness of the scoreline.
Interestingly, the two contrasting personalities of the teams were very much on show in the last few minutes of the match.
Whereas the Wallabies were indecisive and afraid to take a chance on a field goal, even when in perfect position to take a shot; the All Blacks worked the ball up methodically into range for Dan Carter to have a go.
After the 80 minutes was up, the All Blacks, amazingly, decided to take a scrum from their own line. Now that’s what I call leading from the front, McCaw.
Unfortunately it didn’t win the game for them but that wasn’t the point. What stood out was the decision to run the ball from their own line after fulltime and the guts and determination it took to action this choice.
The fact that there were no tries scored is a sad indictment on both teams’ performances, but it was evident that the Wallabies played particularly negative rugby, relying on the super boot of Kiwi ex-pat to eek out a draw.
Based on the Wallaby performance, I don’t think we’ll see too much different from them on their UK tour. Dour play, kick the goals, and hope that’s enough.
Ever since Deans got rid of Matt Giteau and put Quade Cooper offside, the Wallabies have been devoid of flair, aside from the occasional bursts of creativity from the talented Kurtley Beale.
There has to be big questions asked about the Australian backline. What’s happened to the skill, the communication, and the movement?
If Deans is such a good coach, then why is our backline practically non-existent on the field?
Australia has historically been known for having unpredictable backs. Unfortunately, the vast bulk of the current mob are straight up and down. Even worse, they can’t catch and pass.
I agree with the fuss being made about the change of allegiance of Mike Harris.
Why do Australia go and import players – and coaches – when we should be developing these players ourselves? Remember, we were the first country to win two Rugby World Cups: 1991, with two teams – NSW and QLD – then again in 1999.
So why go overseas to get players and coaches?
We have ignored the grassroots in our country and the damage is now as clear as day. We have no depth of talent to call on. It’s desperate.
Wallabies vs New Zealand is what it should be. Not New Zealand A vs New Zealand B.
As for the upcoming Wallabies tour, I’m pretty confident the team will be kicking plenty of penalty goals. That’s traditionally been the New Zealand mentality.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but that is for the Kiwis, not us. We should be selecting guys for Australia who are willing to try things.
We want the flair. But Deans just wants to keep it all very simple. Yet we still can’t catch pass and play as a team.
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- All Blacks, Mike Harris, Rugby Union, wallabies
October 25th 2012 @ 2:29am
Frank O'Keeffe said | October 25th 2012 @ 2:29am | Report comment
Campo, I’m a huge fan but I think you’re being fair to the Wallabies. I think could be more positive about the Test.
While the Aussie backs were never going to score tries, this is a second-string backline – no O’Connor, Barnes, Quade, no DIGBY!
Anybody expecting the young Wallabies to run in two/three tries against the All Blacks is kidding themselves. It’s hard enough to do that against the Blacks with a full strength side.
There were also no tries in the game because Australia defended really well.
Lastly, it was a game ruled by the referee. Six penalties each. You have to take a points when they’re there. The players could only play to the referee, who really made an effort to put his mark on the game. Maybe with a different ref, there would have been more running rugby. I actually thought having a ref like that suited the Wallabies. He was pretty even with the whistle, but a more free-flowing game would have suited NZ.
To get that result Australia had to front-up up front, which is what they surprisingly did. That was the best forwards performance by Australia all year. There were plenty of turnovers, etc.
If there’s one thing the Wallabies could be criticized for, it’s inexperience. They were too inexperienced to win.
October 25th 2012 @ 6:24pm
hoqni said | October 25th 2012 @ 6:24pm | Report comment
Rest assured, with Barnes, there will be a llot lot more kicking
October 25th 2012 @ 2:35am
Frank O'Keeffe said | October 25th 2012 @ 2:35am | Report comment
Just an afterthought…
Wow this Test is getting mixed reviews! David Lord and David Campese thought the Wallabies were poor. Spiro Zavos and Andrew Logan thought they played really well. My favourite person Bruce Sheekley thought it was one of the better performances.
And me… I’m in the middle.
I’m proud the Wallabies fronted-up. I didn’t expect too much from an inexperienced side.
I was disappointed the Wallabies blew a 15-6 lead, and a few errors crept into the Test in the last 20 minutes.
In terms of entertainment, the quality of the rugby wasn’t great. But the effort was fantastic.
And lastly the ref had more of an influence on the Test than people are willing to admit. A more free-flowing Test could have happened… but Joubert is strict!
October 25th 2012 @ 9:13am
Who Needs Melon said | October 25th 2012 @ 9:13am | Report comment
You’re right Frank – there are a lot of mixed reviews. And I’m probably somewhere in the middle myself too.
But I think Campo is right. If the ABs had scored a few early tries and so it WASN’T close then there would be far less (if any) positive reviews. The effort is great. And the defence is great (which is mostly about attitude). But we’d be saying they just don’t have the skills, tactics, creativity or leadership to match the ABs. And I agree with Campo that that’s a dire situation since all those things I’ve listed are traditional STRENGTHS of Australian rugby.
What I don’t agree with is that the issue is solely Deans. Or *gasp* foreigners. We should be welcoming diversity. Differing focus should be bolstering our weaknesses while preserving our strengths. But that’s not happening. It’s not the lack of the few injured players – there’s a systemic / structural problem.
October 25th 2012 @ 3:31am
Johnno said | October 25th 2012 @ 3:31am | Report comment
In the last 5 matches vs AB’S including last years RWC 2001 semi-final, the wallabies havenot scored 1 try vs the AB’S.
That is 320 minutes with no try. Wow That’s 5 hours and 20 minutes no try, unbeleivable. Is that good defence by AB’S, or pedantic referring, or lack of fitness or poor skills by wallabies. Maybe poor skills of backlien have to do with it to a degree. Quade Cooper,Beale or Mcabe haven’t flowed. Is Pat Mcabe to blame entirely , I don’t think so. Barnes and Quade together did nothing. mind you Barnes kept kicking as an I/C.
I blame the endless kicking , poor direction from the 5/8′s selected (Barnes,Beale, Qaude). Pat Mcabe plays a simple game you just pass him the ball and he runs straight how is that complicated for a 5/8 or inside centre to work with. Predictable yes but not flaky, or soft, or fragile, he just runs hard and straight how hard is that for a creative 5/8 to work out or work with.
Also the passing of Genia and Phipps too. Poor judgements a lot, and too many box kicks and aimless kicking with no tactical purpose too it. When Dan carter or Isreal Dgg Kick it is purposeful and tactical.
October 25th 2012 @ 6:58am
Dan said | October 25th 2012 @ 6:58am | Report comment
um first game in Sydney Im sure Sharpie went over.
Johno you are a little negative when it come to the wallabies remember the glass half full or half empty still equals the same amount of liquid
18 injuries mate
get a grip
October 25th 2012 @ 8:59am
Snobby Deans said | October 25th 2012 @ 8:59am | Report comment
There weren’t 18 injuries at the time of RWC2011 semi, nor were there the same extent of injuries in Bledisloe 1 & 2 this year – three games where a total of 1 try was scored.
This single try in 3 games vs AB’s is just a subset of the 12 tries in 11 tests this year. If you can get past the injuries excuse Dan, what’s the problem?
October 26th 2012 @ 1:59am
Dan said | October 26th 2012 @ 1:59am | Report comment
SD not sure what your are trying to say all I was doing was correcting Johno the entrnal pessamist when it come to the Wallabies.
“In the last 5 matches vs AB’S including last years RWC 2001 semi-final, the wallabies havenot scored 1 try vs the AB’S.”
RWC semi was IMO other factors including poor mamagment use of bench mainly attitude.
so whats your point champ???
October 25th 2012 @ 3:58am
Rob from Brumby Country said | October 25th 2012 @ 3:58am | Report comment
Come off it, Campo. If our backline is having problems now, it’s because we don’t have the cattle to make it as good as it has ‘historically’ been. The standard of our roster has dropped; Beale is no Burke, Ashley-Cooper is no Mortlock, and Cooper is definitely no Larkham.
Now I’m not sure if it’s entirely delusion or partly desperation, but the talking heads in the media such as yourself like to build some of these guys up like they’re the most talented footballers to ever strap on a boot. You’ve got to stop doing it, it’s gone to their heads. They skip team functions, they get into fights with bouncers, and they dump on the team when they feel like making excuses for their own poor form. These are supposed to be senior Australian representatives. No matter how much talent we think they might have, it’s obscene that we can carry on with a ‘boys will be boys’ attitude when they act like spoilt brats and then act surprised when they stack up as boys rather than men when push comes to shove. No amount of talent is worth their misplaced egos and bad attitudes.
Now you can lament the dullness of the backline all you want, but the side that played on Saturday night gave it their all and did not come back to us with excuses. It wasn’t a polished performance, but it was only marginally worse than the other team that was on the field. They’re the only team that they had to measure up against, and the result was a draw against one of the best All Black sides I have ever seen. Not bad for a team with a non-existent backline.
October 25th 2012 @ 6:23am
Justin2 said | October 25th 2012 @ 6:23am | Report comment
Leadership and a lack of discipline has been the problem with this team for some time…
October 25th 2012 @ 7:16am
Dan said | October 25th 2012 @ 7:16am | Report comment
hear here!!! sick of everyone kicking them in the guts
campo how good was your defence do you think you would cut it now???
you were awesome in attack you bamboozaled the best defenders of the time but not so awesome at defence IMO your spread was around 68attack 32defence now these new generation players (backs)have to be equal 50/50or they get cut down or run over.
games changed far superiour/harder/faster more physicall than the level you played defence has evolved out of site that is the reason there is less tries period..
Easy to sit in your ivory tower and cast aspertions does this help???
Some one like you needs to have some of your magic rub off on thse guys for confidence sakes at least.
Some one like you consitantly bagging the men in gold identifies many things some that are detrimental to your personal character.
We held onto the ball and nearly jagged a win hope they take this gameplan up north.
peace…
sorry but that a fact jack..
October 25th 2012 @ 7:54am
Frank O'Keeffe said | October 25th 2012 @ 7:54am | Report comment
Like I said, I’m a huge Campo fan.
But I’m with the people here who think he could be a bit more positive about the Wallabies…
October 25th 2012 @ 9:00am
Jase said | October 25th 2012 @ 9:00am | Report comment
And as for Gitau. He was pumped up to be better than Dan Carter long before Deans took over and he never lived up to his own ego. Larkham left him for dead.
October 25th 2012 @ 5:08am
mania said | October 25th 2012 @ 5:08am | Report comment
whilst i’m usually in full agreeance with you campo i have to argue the point about deans fault that there isnt any skilled players. where is deans supposed to finds these ella’s, mortlocks and campeses? and your line “I’m pretty confident the team will be kicking plenty of penalty goals. That’s traditionally been the New Zealand mentality. ” actually kiwi’s go for the tries first
October 25th 2012 @ 6:52am
richard said | October 25th 2012 @ 6:52am | Report comment
” I’m pretty confident the team will be kicking plenty of penalty goals – that’s traditionally been the nz mentaliaty” – revisionist crap, Campo. Nz hasn’t played ten man rugby in decades; for mine, you would be looking at the early 1980′s, prior to the first wc. From that time on, nz has , for the most part played fifteen man rugby, and better than anyone else in the world.
The traditional oz running game campo talks about is a myth, if oz did play such a game in the past, it was more to do with pragmatism, due to a lack of forward dominance. The one thing I will agree with campo on is his views on the importing players – if a former wallaby can see this, why can’t the oz rugby public?
October 25th 2012 @ 11:57am
mace 22 said | October 25th 2012 @ 11:57am | Report comment
I thought this myself. In all the world cups and I would think test matches since the first RWC, the all blacks would lead the stats on tries scored. Why has carter got the world record in points scored it’s not from all the penalties he has kicked ( johnny wilkinson ) but mainly because of convertions of TRIES and I must add 29 tries. So I think campese got the all blacks and england confused. As to the game on saturday, I just knew no good would come from the AIG sponsorship.
October 25th 2012 @ 7:37am
Jack said | October 25th 2012 @ 7:37am | Report comment
More predictable criticism from Campese. Giteau was dropped because his form over 3 years was poor, for the Force, the Brumbies and Australia. Dean gave him every chance. Gitts ran across field, cramping his outside backs and made way too many errors, for years. . Did he knuckle down, improve his form and come back? Do a Sharpie? No a bit. Its was a great effort from and undermanned team. There is no such thing as a dead rubber game against the ABs. The look on their faces said it all. The problem with test Rugby is that backlines are allowed to stand offside. Refs waving them back. The ITM cup is open and entertaining because the refs penalize offside play.
October 25th 2012 @ 7:37am
Riccardo said | October 25th 2012 @ 7:37am | Report comment
Surely Campo the continuous selection merry-go-round, partly inspired by an injury blight but equally due to Deans’ lack of a clear game plan and matching personnel (think Taps’ lack of game time here) contributes to a lack of established combinations. This is particularly evident in the makeshift backline that is not serving up the tries you lament.
Your assertion that the All Blacks traditionally play a game that seeks to advance the scoreline via penaties may have had more relevance during your tenure as a Wallaby although I would like to see some stats to support it, but I’m pretty sure that the same stats over the last 5 – 10 years would bear out the opposite argument.
I understand what you’re getting at regarding the Wallabies’ lack of flair, a traditional strength. The return of some of the injured roster may help advance this issue but IMO, the disconnect between Deans and the Wallabies is the greater problem in this regard.
Link and Larkham, for example, may go some way to invigorating the Wallabies. Not only do they resonate with the Australian psyche but both have some runs on the board regarding attacking rugby.
For me though the grass roots problem remains Australian Rugby’s biggest headache. It may bear fruit in the long term but I’m still not sure abolishing the fledgling ARC competition in favour of Super expansion was the right call. In fact, chasing the spectator dollar may turn out to be quite shortsighted.
October 25th 2012 @ 8:00am
willow said | October 25th 2012 @ 8:00am | Report comment
Dont bag campo. the most exciting player that ever laced up. Campo is right. Basic skills seem to have been lost somewhere, and its at grade level that has been neglected. or is it at schools level. where is the Geoff Mould and John Pappa of this time. back to skills. when a backline runs straight , the ball when passed should go out infront of the receiver, so as the ball can be run onto, but when the backline crabs sideways the passed ball will go behind the player , making them reach back to catch it and halting all momentum. this crabbing also limits the room for the fast men on the exteemes to weave their magic and so forces these talented speedsters to cut back inside….and in most cases get nailed. the beautifuly crafted try the week before for Digby , gave me hope again that our aussie backs can play smart. Last week the backs tried another well thought out attack from set play but it didnt work. we saw one move. In the full 85 mins
October 25th 2012 @ 8:09am
Atawhai Drive said | October 25th 2012 @ 8:09am | Report comment
Kicking plenty of penalty goals has traditionally been the New Zealand mentality, according to Campo.
In the days of Don Clarke, aka The Boot, maybe. But that was 50 years ago.
The modern All Blacks look for tries. Occasionally, the tries don’t come, and they take whatever points might be on offer through penalties. But attack is the key to their game.
October 25th 2012 @ 8:49am
Mals said | October 25th 2012 @ 8:49am | Report comment
Yep have to agree. I’m sure if a try tally was done for the top playing nations over the past 30 years the All Blacks would be far & away at the top.
October 27th 2012 @ 11:27pm
Neuen said | October 27th 2012 @ 11:27pm | Report comment
Actually not. They been doing what they have been doing since the 80′s and score from counter attacks. You won’t see them throw it around from deep in their own half.