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Wallabies need a dose of consistency and commitment

14th September, 2014
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Michael Hooper breaks free from a tackle against the All Blacks. (Photo: Paul Barkley/LookPro)
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14th September, 2014
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It’s great the Wallabies beat the teak-tough Pumas 32-25 on the Gold Coast last Saturday night, but not in the way they did it.

It’s even better the Wallabies are back to number two in the world rankings, but there’s daylight to the All Blacks so don’t get too carried away.

But the immediate giveaway that all is not well with the men in gold were the 14,281 hardy fans who turned up at Cbus Super Stadium – a stadium that has a capacity of 27,400.

If the Wallabies were playing entertaining rugby, and on the job for the greater part of the 80 minutes, a 14,281 crowd at a Wallaby international, the worst this century, would be rated an embarrassment.

You can’t fool rugby fans. If the mix isn’t right, they won’t bother to part with their hard-earned.

So what’s wrong with the Wallabies?

It’s a twofold problem – coach Ewen McKenzie isn’t picking the form team, and those who have been selected aren’t doing their job well enough for enough of the 80 minutes.

Take Saturday night. The Wallabies led the Pumas 14-7 at the break.

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With 70 per cent of possession and just as much territory in the first half, the Wallabies should have led by 30 points.

Even though it’s readily recognised the Pumas are far better than 12th in the world, a mountain of Wallaby possession and territory should have been converted into points.

It got worse. When the Wallabies led 29-13 at 60 minutes, it should have been game, set, and match.

Far from it. With a minute to go, the Pumas had the scrum feed near the Wallaby line. If they hadn’t been penalised by referee Glenn Jackson for an early feed, the international could well have finished a 32-all draw.

In those last 20 minutes, the Pumas scored 12 points to 3 and were by far the better side, finishing the stronger.

The Wallaby equation is quite clear and simple – lack of concentration and commitment equals either complacency or carelessness, or a bit of both.

Whatever the net result of the equation, it will never be anywhere good enough to beat the All Blacks, which is the only and obvious benchmark,

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I firmly believe these Wallabies are capable of regaining the Bledisloe, winning the Rugby Championship and eventually a third World Cup.

But not until the correct starting line-up is recognised, and those selected do justice to that recognition. The Wallabies have three x-factor players – skipper Michael Hooper, Israel Folau, and Kurtley Beale. You don’t leave Beale on the bench.

It would be like South Sydney rugby league leaving one of Greg Inglis, Sam Burgess, or Adam Reynolds on the bench.

Or the Melbourne Storm benching one of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, or Cooper Cronk.

So let’s equate the Wallabies to golf and boxing.

Rory McIlroy is without argument the best golfer in the world. Yet he can win golf tournaments by four-putting a hole from five feet, just as the Wallabies beat the Pumas even though they led 29-13 with 20 minutes to go, but went to sleep.

If multiple world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather had that sort of concentration and commitment lapse, he wouldn’t be undefeated in 47 fights, 27 by knockout, 21 by decision.

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Especially yesterday in Las Vegas against Argentine Marcos Maidana, a mighty tough hombre who stuck it to Mayweather for 12 rounds.

The champion won a unanimous decision by keeping his wits about him for 36 torrid minutes while Maidana threw everything but the kitchen sink from all points of the compass.

Anything less than total concentration and commitment, and Mayweather would have been flat on his back in Disneyland, not hearing the 10 count.

So the Wallabies and McIlroy can have their moments of aberration and still win, Mayweather can’t.

But the Wallabies will never beat the All Blacks until they play like Floyd Mayweather fights,

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