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Interview with the rugby vampire
The Crowd
Roar Guru
26th October, 2008
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The Crowd
Roar Guru
26th October, 2008
6
1062 Reads

I ran into Rex Goodwin the other evening at the Newport Arms. Rex has been called a rugby vampire because, however reluctantly, he’s been picking over the bones of the Australian game since the last RWC success in 1999.

But he still remains a huge Wallaby fan, and at age 78, one of the oldest active ones – he still travels to Europe to watch the game that’s played in a place he says he’s hoping to end up in one of these days.

What a memory he has, and what a mine of info.

He’ll tell you about the great players of both codes, going back to people like Ken Gee, Puig Aubert, Brousse and Ponsinet, Churchill through to Gasnier. And all the Union greats – Jarden, Meads, Jones, JPR, Windon, Campo, Rives, Sella, Blanco, he saw them all, and on their home grounds.

He’s just returned from scouting the opposition in Britain and France, so I asked him what he thought of the Wallabies’ chances in the coming tour. Here’s what he said (I took notes).

REX: I’m very gloomy. The Wallaby pack have lost three top players in Elsom, Vickerman and Horwill. We still have Smith, but the other seven members range from good to average to slightly suspect. Also, while they play fiercely and never surrender, there are no hard men among them. No Pilecki, no Tony Shaw, No Owen Finegan. All the major teams have an enforcer, we don’t.

ME: How about the backs?
REX: Still not gelling. I’ve seen some great five-eighths in my time but Giteau isn’t one of them. He’s a natural centre and doesn’t have enough room to move so close to the scrum. Also, he’s not the best attacking kicker. Tuqiri hasn’t proved to be the cross-field slashing winger they thought they’d bought. There’s a lesson there – never pay so much money for a player you can’t afford to drop him. With hindsight, I would have tried Barnes at fullback, Giteau and Mortlock as the centre pairing, Hynes and Ashley-Cooper on the edges, and persevered with some of the earlier 9/10 combos. Replacing Larkham and Latham, not to mention Kefu, has proved to be too damn difficult.

ME: So you don’t think they’ll beat the All Blacks in Hong Kong?
REX: No, I do not. The ABs have great balance and great depth. Also, they’ll want to get their tour off to a good start, as will the Wallabies, but having won the Bledisloe, the Kiwis can play a more expansive game.

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ME: How about the Wallabies versus England?
REX: Bit of a mismatch at Twickers. We just can’t compete in the scrums, and will have to work hard in the lineouts. Smith will play his heart out grabbing ball at the breakdown, but I suspect we’ll play most of the game in our own half. The English backplay has improved, and if they pick Care and Cipriani, with Sackey and Ugo Moyne on the edges, whoever they put in the centres, and there are players of quality to choose from, it’ll be a good back line – certainly on attack but, of course, they’ll need to hold up on defence.

ME: And the French game?
REX: No crowd cheers louder for their national team when they’re playing well, or boos louder when they’re playing badly. Sometimes Les Bleus respond, sometimes not. But again, the French have more good forwards than we do, and some big, pacey – if sometimes erratic – backs.

I haven’t seen the latest injury report in L’Equipe but if they go with Nallet and Chabal, they’ll be a much better twosome in Paris than they were in Sydney. In Beauxis you have a man who can put points on the board with long-distance droppies, and he’s a wonderfully relaxed place kicker. I think France by nine points but I must admit I chose them to take the 2007 RWC and I was wrong.

ME: Wales?
REX: By the time they get to Cardiff the Wallabies will be black and blue and calling on subs who may not be able to step up. And Wales will also be black and blue after games against the Boks, hard-tackling Canada and the ABs, but a home side usually has greater resources. And when you look at the 17 forwards in the Welsh squad, eight of them will make a very good pack. The odds are with Wales.

ME: So you see three defeats and an Italian win?
REX: Afraid so. My heart and my brain are going in two different directions.

ME: And the ABs? How will they do?
REX: They’ll crunch Scotland, beat Ireland, beat Wales and will have too much firepower for England.

They’ll have a faster pack than England, and Nonu running against those light English centres will cause problems in defence. However, the NZ public expect their team to bring off a grand slam, and that will weigh heavily on AB minds.

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They’ve done the trick twice and had a couple of near misses. They missed a slam in the ’72-‘73 tour when they drew with Ireland. And they missed in ’63-‘64 when Scotland held them to a draw. That was scoreless, by the way, something you won’t see today with all the penalties that are handed out, and the lighter, all-weather ball.

I think the ABs are lucky they’re not playing the French. If anyone could upset the apple cart, it would be France in Paris. I think the ABs will return in triumph this time. I hope so. I love the way they play the game.

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