Sam Taulelei's Contributions

It shouldn't matter what the origin of the coach is, what should matter is the results and tangible improvements in the time a coach has with the team. The results are not what was expected and it's notable how the goalposts continually shift in a downward direction for JON when pressed to comment on the Wallabies performances and results under Deans. For the past four years, assessments of Deans as a Wallaby coach always has to have context. There is always an underlying reason, explanation and cause. Then to make things worse, the passage of time is always offered as a cure-all remedy. The problem I always have with this proposed solution is that it implies or assumes that a team will be living in a vaccuum where they are the only ones to improve or go through personnel changes and nobody else will. 2008 promised much for the Wallabies winning their first 5 tests on the trot. They had a mid season slump but a first test victory in SA as well as their Bledisloe Cup win assured fans and sceptics that brighter days for the Wallabies were ahead. 2009 is the year I expected the Wallabies to pass the All Blacks. They had a more settled team, their early test performances were more polished and they looked like they had got their s***t together. By comparison Graham Henry was having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to rebuild his forward pack and develop combinations in the backline sans Dan Carter. What happened? 2010 saw the dismantling of the legacy team and rebuilding of a new one. Gone was Smith, Waugh, Mortlock, Baxter, Dunning and the introduction of fresh faces with the aim of peaking for the world cup in 2011. So much inexperience also brought much inconsistency, famous last gasp victories in SA and Hong Kong undone by unexpected losses on tour. 2011 nuff said. 2012 and beyond????

Remove the knives, Deans must stay on as coach

20 Oct 2011

"We are still number two in the world, we had the youngest team on average at the RWC " I dare say the world rankings will change by tournament's end and the Wallabies are not that much younger than the All Blacks on average. The average age of the Wallabies is 26 years, the average age of the All Blacks is 27.6 years. The difference is that you clock up a lot of tests nowadays so you can gain a lot of experience in a shorter amount of time compared to your predecessors. Also those average ages will readjust following the departure of those older players eg Brad Thorn. While the All Blacks do have some young backs, they also have some young forwards who will not have reached their peak for some years to come eg Owen Franks, Sam Whitelock, Kieran Read, Victor Vito from the current squad. They will form the core of the forward pack for the next four years and will have invaluable world cup experience as well.

Remove the knives, Deans must stay on as coach

20 Oct 2011

"I don’t want to be like everyone else at the World Cup. That’s just not my bag, not how I roll." In keeping with that spirit here is why I'm nervous about the French. a) They have everything to gain and nothing to lose, nobody expected them to make the final let alone win it now. b) As above, no expectations means little pressure and no fear going in to the match. Perfect conditions for the Gallic spirit to rise to great heights. c) The French forwards can match the All Blacks for power and mobility, review the tape of their earlier clash with NZ. Their scrum improved noticeably and had us under pressure when they subbed on their first choice front row. They also had us under enormous pressure in the opening ten minutes, the game would have been different for them if they had scored in that phase d) They've already played us once at Eden Park so know what to expect and won't be caught by surprise by the All Blacks or the crowds intensity, they'll be better prepared for this rematch e) Dave Ellis will have noticed and analysed how the All Blacks attacked against France, he knows that to put the All Blacks on the back foot you have to shut down Kaino and Mealamu, pressure Weepu and Cruden is too inexperienced at this level to take charge of the match.

What sort of French magic would it take to win RWC?

18 Oct 2011