Every year we hear the same thing: ‘The Wallabies are getting closer to the All Blacks…’ ‘This year will be the year….’ ‘On paper, we’re just as good, if not better…’ ‘Our new coach will be the turning point for us…’
But every year it’s always the same. Always has been. Even in the days where the Wallabies could win a few, it was only ever just, and it was never for very long.
Yes, people can argue that the best potential rugby players in New Zealand play rugby, while the best potential rugby players in Australia are often lost to other football codes. And yes, people can argue that the new National Rugby Championship will eventually create the depth that the Wallabies need to be the best.
But I reckon there is still something missing – something deep inside the Wallaby psyche that needs addressing.
The Wallabies have always been a confidence team. Their confidence levels have to be just right for them to fire and play at their best. Usually when they’re backs are against the wall and they’re under pressure, or when they’ve been written off by every one, they’ll play at their best.
But so often when their confidence gets too high, it’s like they relax and make the most basic errors. How many games have the Wallabies played against nations they should have beaten by a long way, only to just win, or even lose?
How many times have you seen the Wallabies take their foot of the pedal when they’re ahead? How many times have you seen them only put their foot to the pedal when they’re behind? How often do you see the All Blacks play a consistent ruthless tempo from start to finish?
Why aren’t the Wallabies ever able to play at their consistent best, week after week, for the full 80 minutes? Is it the subconscious mentality of supporting the underdog, even when it’s the opposition?
Rugby is New Zealand’s game. Always has been. It’s what puts them on the map. They have something worth protecting, something they fear losing. It’s a culture.
The All Blacks are very much like the Queensland rugby league team in this regard. There is so much more at stake if they lose.
And this is the motive that brings the best out of them, and allows them to play at their consistent best. It’s not confidence. It’s fear. Fear of losing.
This is what the Wallabies have to capture and develop to be the same.
The Haka is not a confidence-creating war cry. It’s a cry of fear. Think of an animal that gets extremely aggressive and ‘flares up’ in order to protect itself when it’s threatened. The reason it does this is to intimidate its enemy.
The All Blacks are prepared to put everything on the line. They must crush their opposition in every way. They must assume dominance. They must not give any hope to their enemy. The threat must be completely suppressed and wiped out. Everything is at stake if they don’t. And this is what drives them.
The Wallabies mistaken response to the Haka is to try and look confident. They mock it with wry smiles. But this is a mistake. Not only does it feed the All Blacks, it makes the Wallabies over-confident and vulnerable.
The Wallabies have to move away from their reliance on ‘feeling confident’. It might work for the Americans, but it works against Australians. It’s not more confidence they need. It’s fear.
What stops the Wallabies responding to the Haka with their own war-cry? It’s because they are not really ready to put everything on the line. They are not really prepared to crush their opposition in every way. They are not ready to assume dominance.
They don’t want to disrupt their feeling of confidence by looking silly. In short, they don’t fear losing enough. They need to fear losing so much that they’re prepared to do anything to protect themselves and crush the enemy. There can be no mercy – not even for the ‘underdog’.
Until they are ready to set the stakes higher, and have so much more to lose, it will be the same old, same old.
I’m actually expecting the Wallabies to play better against the All Blacks next time they meet. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the Wallabies won. But it won’t mean they are on the improve. It won’t mean they will play to their potential the next time after that.
This is just the Wallabies usual cycle when their backs are against the wall, when it finally sinks in that they are the underdog. But that feeling won’t be enough to carry them over to the next game after that. In fact, it will probably make them over-confident again, and around and around we go.
Until something changes, nothing changes.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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