The Springboks destruction of the Wallabies was the sort of defeat that gives massacres a bad name. This was a thrashing, a walloping and a devastation.
Go through the thesaurus to find all the words for a massacre – a general slaughter, utter defeat, destruction and so on – and you get a feel for what happened at the citadel of Afrikaner rugby pride and power, Coca-Cola (formerly Ellis) Park in Johannesburg.
The Springboks were the ferocious mongols of Ghengis Khan: and the Wallabies were the hapless villagers put to the sword and fire with a vengeance and brutality.
In the manner of wiping away the blood from a victim, lets get some of the statistics out of the way.
This was the greatest margin of defeat for a Wallaby side, 45 points in arrears, since the team started playing Test rugby in 1899.
It was the second-largest points total conceded since that awful day in 1997 at Pretoria when the Springboks ran riot and scored a total of 61 points to 22.
The Wallabies have now won one of 9 Tests at Johannesburg. The one and only victory was in 1963 when John Thornett side, with the wonderful lineout leaping of Rob Heming, defeated the Springboks. This victory followed a victory in the Test before. Thornett’s side remains the Australian team to win two Tests in succession in South Africa against the Springboks.
When things go as badly wrong as this, it’s because everything goes wrong.
The five replacements to the winning team at Durban weakened the side, rather than strengthened it with new energy.
A couple of the replacements, for Daniel Vickerman and Berrick Barnes, were forced on Robbie Deans. The dropping of Stephen Moore as hooker, bringing in Matt Dunning to start in the front row and playing Phil Waugh ahead of George Smith were own goals scored by the Wallaby coach.
Dunning was substituted after 20 minutes and one would think that after Brisbane his Wallaby career is over.
Waugh showed once again that he is too small and just not a good enough player, especially at the linking game with his running and passing, to be a starter in Test rugby. Like Dunning, you would think that Waugh’s career as a Wallaby is coming to an end and some of the young loosies from the Western Force will be brought into the squad for the November tour.
The Wallaby lineout held up well, especially on the Springboks ball. Victor Matfield, usually so dominant, lost a number of lineouts.
And the Wallaby scrum, aside from a crucial scrum on its tryline when the side was leading 3 – 0 that the Springboks demolished, was adequate.
The Wallabies also did well enough in the rucks and mauls, especially when George Smith came on, to have enough ball to do well in general play.
The experiment with Timana Tahu, though, was a desperate failure. He started well with a long flat pass out to Lote Tuqiri’s wing but it was downhill all the way after that. He seemed to have no idea about defence and for the first time in years the Wallabies were being outflanked easily virtually every time the Springboks ran the ball through the backs.
Rugby league tragics are going to be angry at what I say next, so if you don’t want to read the truth drop down a couple of paragraphs. The truth is this: the days when rugby league greats like Rod Reddy could help the Wallabies win a Rugby World Cup (1991, in fact) by teaching them RL tackling methods and systems are long gone. The rugby league players of today just do not have the tackling nous of their rugby union counterparts, when they play rugby union.
We saw this with Wendell Sailor, often with Lote Tuqiri, always with Mat Rogers and now with Tahu. He reminded me of Andy Farrell’s efforts for England at inside centre a couple of years ago, especially when the Irish centres ran riot – rather like the Springboks on Saturday – with Farrell making all the wrong defensive choices (like Tahu).
Perhaps even more similiar was the case of Henry Paul who was hooked from the side on his debut at inside centre for England against Australia after about 20 minutes of being exposed defensively by the Wallaby centres. Tahu lasted 53 minutes, about half an hour too long.
Ryan Cross, a rugby league player admittedly but a former Australian Schoolboys rugby union player, made an immediate difference when he came on.
I think the Timana Tahu experiment is over for the time being and Deans will have to work out a centre combination of Stirling Mortlock-Ryan Cross for the crucial Brisbane Test against the All Blacks.
Also over, surely, is the fancy of playing Adam Ashley-Cooper ahead of Drew Mitchell at fullback. Ashley Cooper was too often out of position. His kicking was poor. His following up was even worse. There was a big improvement in the way the Wallabies handled the long kicking game of the Springboks when Mitchell came on. But by then, as Rex Mossop used to say: ‘Hang up your glasses. The horse has bolted.’
The Wallabies were tactically inept. Early on in the game they tried to run the ball in confused and confined circumstances from inside their own 22. The result was turnover after turnover, especially from bad handling, which got worse as the players tired rapidly. The Springboks exploited Tahu’s ineptitude at reading back plays, and the points piled on.
Of all the major rugby grounds in the world, with the exception of Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, Coca-Cola Park at Johannsburg is the worst ground in the world to try and run the ball inside your 22. Because of the altitude of the high veldt the ball travels much further than at sea level. So you get field position very easily by belting the ball downfield, and you hope that the opposition is stupid enough to try to run it back at you – which the Wallabies did.
When they did try to counter-attack with the kick-and-chase game they kicked far too deep, and there was no chase, until Mitchell came on to replace Ashley-Cooper.
If you watch the All Blacks their kick-and-chase game in their last two Tests was very successful because the winger positioned himself beside the fullback and ran on as soon as the ball was kicked to put pressure on the catcher. The Wallabies did not do this. Tuqiri is actually very good in the air. But where was his chase? He’s always complaining about not getting enough ball and so on. But he is a lazy player. Forget about his handling mistakes. He does very little work off the ball, particularly on the kick-chase game, and the Wallabies are at a disadvantage because of this.
It seemed to me that the difficulties of playing at altitude got to the Wallabies very early on in the game. After one early long sequence of play you could hear Matfield in his high-pitched voice shouting as the referee NZer Bryce Lawrence, ‘The Wallabies are faking injuries.’ There was a leaden-footed aspect to the play of the Wallabies that suggested that they were feeling the pressure of the lack of oxygen to their lungs and couldn’t get their second wind.
This brings us to the matter of how visiting teams should deal with having to play at altitude. The theory that works best, according to people who should know, is that you spend as long as you can at the altitude and acclimatise to it, a week before the Test if possible: or you go up as late as possible, the day before the Test, if possible.
Several days at altitude, apparently, leaves you in the worst possible position of a long exposure to the thin air but not enough time to acclimatise. This is what the Wallabies did. And the result was the massacre.
Deans now has the record of the first win in South Africa by the Wallabies in 8 years, and the worst defeat (in terms of a points-margin) in 109 years. Rooster one day, it seems, feather duster the next.
The Test in Brisbane against the All Blacks for the 2008 Tri-Nations championship now looms as a huge challenge for the Wallabies. Two slightly hopeful aspects, one short term and the other long term, emerge from all the – justifiable – doom, gloom and recriminations.
First, the short term message is that a number of the players starting on Saturday can’t be starters against the All Blacks. So selection mistakes should not occur for the next Test. And you would think, too, that the game plan for the side would be more appropriate to the skill level of the side.
Second, the long term message is that teams can recover from massacres. The Springboks came back from two comprehensive losses to score some marvellous tries and win one of their great Test victories.
Also, Rod Macqueen, as the new coach, took 13 of the Wallabies involved in the massacre at Pretoria in 1997 to a famous RWC triumph in 1999.
Robbie Deans and the Wallabies trying together the body and soul of the Wallabies after the Johannesburg massacre should take note of this splendid mantra: ‘The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.’
stuff happens
Guest
Benjamin you are quite right and I recall the ref ,who seemed to me to give an outrageous advntage to France, was Paddy O'Brien, but I could be wrong.I also recall South Africa being very lucky to beat France in RWC'95 to get to the final.Their No8 Rodruigez 'scored' a try but it was disallowed under a pile of bodies . Ah well! such is sport
Benjamin
Guest
Tah, I recall France being very, very lucky to beat Fiji in their 99 WC group.
Paul
Guest
Mr Mac; Good research. cheers P.S. Wallabies by 5 in Bne!
stuff happens
Guest
LeftArmSpinner I agree with you. In the RWC 1/4 the Poms ran over our pack and despite the scoreline we didn't look like being the better team almost from the ko.How players can go missing in a must win game like this is hard to fathom, except to say that sometimes we're just not good enough and that includes the coach. A lot of it comes down to leadership.Look at the mess the AB's got themselves into in their match against the French. Last weekend in Jo'burg was unspeakable if you're an Australian but pure joy if you're a South African and I think we should agree that the 'Boks were fantastic. I agree that the Dingo is by far the best option for Australia but the Test next week is a huge test for him too.Losing I can handle; but the manner of losing is quite something else. Some of the comments in the Sydney media by the returning players doesn't give me much confidence, but maybe that's unfair.
Mr Mac
Guest
RE: The Ampresand (&) issue From what people have been saying I think it is a combination of non US Keyboard and/or language settins on the users machine and the interpretr software that the Roar uses to generate the emails. It has nothing to do with being either a Mac or other hardware One for Zac et al
Rickety Knees
Guest
Leftie - TT - all - its all about LEADERSHIP! The expression of 'playing for each other' is about creating a bond within the team that will withstand and rise up against adversity. However this has to be underpinned by inspirational on field leadership. Now I am a great fan of Morts as a player but he is too far away from the action. A great outside centre his - a great leader - I am sorry to say - he is not. We have to find a forward who the others look up to - someone who does not flinch in the heat of the battle and somebody who is a good man manager (knows when to use the carrot and when to use the stick) ie past leaders like John Eales, Phil Kearns, Simon Poidevan, Buck Shelford, Sean Fitzpatrick etc For mine Big Kev should lead the Spring Tour. He has mongrel, form, intellignce, size, is the always in the action and has captained Qld - he will be better for the complete leadership experience a tour provides and will be in his absolute leadership prime come the next WC.
True Tah
Guest
JohnB, I watched Tonga v South Africa, Fiji v Wales, Fiji v South Africa, USA v South Africa...all of these games had moments...the 99 world cup had the france v NZ QF and Pumas V ireland, but there were no strong performance from so-called minnows. Who was the Takudzwa Ngewenye of the 1999 world cup? There was none. Connolly was never a long term coach, he knew he was in for the short term...just listening to him, he didn't seem enthusiastic or charismatic...Steady Eddie, well he is never going to win a crowd with his enthusiasm now is he? Deans is the man, it is a long road, but I think he can create a strong team culture within the Wallabies, which creates the platform for success.
LeftArmSpinner
Guest
True Tah, I agree with John B, have another look at the RWC99 final. Jones and connolly had their moments. Jones got em to within a wicker of a RWC win, although, never with fluidity or the feeling that they had reached their potential, a bit like a badly tuned V6. Connolly filled a hole and brought on the scrum and some young guys. I know what happened, but not why it happened in the qtr final 07. IS it just the same lack of ticker we saw last week in JBurg? where have all the mongrels gone?
JohnB
Guest
Never quite understood the bagging Connolly keeps getting. Sure the QF last year was very ordinary, and he has to cop his share of the fall-out from that. However, they'd played well pretty much all year before that. A distant second in the second half against the AB's in the last Tri-Nations game (probably the AB's best passage of play that year), but 2 home wins and a strong away performance against SA. Beat whatever dross came down from the NH in June, and a very strong win over Wales in the pool match at the world cup. Deans may prove to have a better record which would let those of us who have no actual contact with him conclude he is a better coach, and I hope he does, but Connolly's record is more than that one QF. To question his motivation draws a very long bow. Jones certainly tailed off badly, and there's a lot of questioning of his approach and some of his selections - but he did get a relatively average team to a world cup final (in the process beating a team which had put 50 points on them a few months earlier) and again I don't think motivation was ever his downfall. And TT if you thought the 99 world cup was boring, you can't have watched much of the last one!
True Tah
Guest
Jam, whilst I appreciate MacQueen's results, he really did it by using defence orientated game, and it was really boring to watch, the 1999 world cup was the most boring by far, despite having some outstanding Wallaby backline talent. Deans' Crusaders on the other hand have deservedly got a reputation for playing attractive expansive rugby. Also annoyed when people say Deans is the same as Connolly and Jones, Deans is a hell of a lot more motivated than either of these two guys were, and I believe in 2011 we will appreciate how good this guy really is!
LeftArmSpinner
Guest
Jam, Not sure how much relevance your comparisons have to this situation today. But, I do agree that there is a delayed/lagged effect to coaching and to this end, Connolly has made a positive contribution, as an interim coach, much better than Eddie. Deans, and McQueen, both share the ability as man managers and the belief that elite rugby is essentially played above the shoulders and that players need to be "managed". It will be interesting to see who Dingo selects on the tour and then who he plays and in which position. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Brisbane game. There is a lot to play for for everyone!
stillmissit
Guest
Kaplan is a disaster for the Wallabies and always has been. His pedantic style will kill any chance of an open and fast game. NZ by 10 points. Jam good analysis between the 2 coaches. I always thought that the European tour is when we will start to see Deans real selections. Next season I would like to see us a bit more consistent, then 2010 builiding a winning ethos in the team and then a grand final against NZ for the WC would be magic to me.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
I don't think anyone has been overly critical of Deans. The NZ journos wrote the whole thing off as irrelevant, since Deans is the guy they wanted and they don't know how the Brisbane Test will swing. Deans is pretty much exempt from criticism. We'll see how the Wallabies go in Brisbane, but they're a tad bit lucky to be in this position.
Benjamin
Guest
Jam, Deans has been watching, recording and analysing various Australian players for years so it's not like he's been doing his job blindfolded. I think the only reason that people are being negative of Deans is because he was so overhyped in the first place - by the press and public.
jam
Guest
That is bad news about Kaplan. He's pedantic and loves the sound of his own whistle. I would have preferred he do a swap with mark lawence or even joubert
jam
Guest
Stillmissit, i agree that blame shouldn't be heaped on individuals. Still, I think some of us are being far too harsh and impatient judges of Deans, expecting 1998 all over again. There are some key differences between the appointment of Rod McQueen and Robbie Deans. The main one is there was a far longer buildup to McQueen's appointment and seemingly instant success. McQueen coached the Waratahs in 1991-2, and was a Wallabies selector in 1994-5 before taking over at the Brumbies in 1996. He was clearly a settled part of the Australian Rugby hierarchy. Once there he had a good two years to develop some of his proteges, who later appeared in his Wallabies teams. John O'Neill and the ARU were in a rush, understandably, to pick up Deans as a windfall from the AB's before he got another offer. Because Deans had to finish off his last season at the Crusaders, he got less than a month between meeting the players in his capacity as a coach and their first game against the Irish. In contrast, McQueen was appointed in September 1997, which makes you wonder if the ARU already had him in mind before the 61-22 thrashing in Jo-Berg. McQueen had a NH tour and the Super 12 in 1998 to solely focus on his plan for the Wallabies, possibly with the ears of the Super 12 coaches as to any suggestions on player selection. This is a luxury Deans has not had. Given the lack of time to develop and blood uncapped players - which he has done anyway with a very good rate of success - what was he supposed to do? The 3N is a crucible, with the top 3 teams in the world playing each other consecutively. It's hardly the time to take huge gambles at fixing long-term problems like the front row. Timana Tahu has experienced the kind of nightmare debut the 3N is capable of dishing out. I support Deans holding off on a few other players to avoid destroying their confidence and giving them baggage that he would have to work at undoing. Sure, sometimes blooding players in high pressure situations works. The Berrick Barnes example is more one of circumstance, as Larkham couldn't play and Giteau was already set at 12. Horwill, Hynes and Cross have worked too, so credit thereto Robbie. This lack of preparation time means that Deans has wisely not played his full hand. It also means majority of the Wallabies team picked itself. Pat Howard and David Nucifora probably still have a large amount of input in player selection. Btw - who are the current selectors? Give Robbie credit. I didn't predict that the Wallabies would do as well as they have this year, given Marseille last year. I thought they'd finish last. I'm amazed at the lack of patience displayed by some on this site here and in other threads who are adopting the attitude I used to in early high school in 95-97 of "I want a totally new team and I want them to win and I want them to win NOW!" It should be obvious that it takes at least a full year to get a true indication of the impact a coach is having on a team. That's how long McQueen had by the end of the 3N in 1998. That's also close to the amount of time Eddie Jones took to make the Wallabies post a downturn, although the full effect of his mismanagement wasn't felt until 2005. Deans has been given until the WC in 2011 to produce results, which I think is fair and achieveable. I have heard some say they are sick of hearing about Deans the Messiah and that they think he hasn't achieved anything that Connolly hadn't already. Even if this is so, we've still won one in SA, something that Connolly never achieved. Some can attribute this to the Boks playing poorly rather than the Wallabies clearly beating them, but normally it's the opposition not allowing a team to play well. Either way, part of what we're seeing now is to some extent a result of Connolly's rebuilding of the team from the nadir of 2005, for which he deserves some credit. So far, Deans this year is stacking up pretty damn well against McQueen in his first year given the constraints on him. So there are shades of 1997 as well. So what? Rome wasn't built in a day. They managed to beat the Boks in Perth, unlike 1998. The Boks may be a weaker, definitely less consistent team than 1998. The ABs are definitely better this year than the 3N wooden spooners of 1998. Going into Brisbane we are in a similar position to our last game in the 3N of 1998, where if we had won in SA against a strong team, we would have won the 3N. The ABs of today are comparable to the Boks of 1998, judging by their last two games, but a win (at home mind) would mean the 3N title as well. A respectable loss would still have Deans stacking up well in my book against McQueen in 1998. So enough death-riding Robbie Deans! Maybe we are in a similar situation to 1996. We might not quite have the players ready yet to be world-beaters. We'll find out soon enough. I have confidence we'll get a lot better in the next four years.
Paul
Guest
I think he has paid his debt by now!!!
ohtani's jacket
Guest
I think Kaplan has been repaying us for Wellington 2000 all these years!
Paul
Guest
Oh dear! So u aint wrong! Oh well, we'll just have to be on our game big time.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
There's a press release about the referees before the Tri-Nations begins: September 13 Australia v New Zealand Referee: Jonathan Kaplan Assistants: Craig Joubert, Mark Lawrence TMO: Johann Meuwesen