Rocky Elsom doesn't understand the psychology of modern rugby

McKenzie has made it clear the Reds closely study the habits and styles of every ref. If the Reds are, the the Wallabies 9and every other top nation) do too.

Plus I am sure he is affecting his game and team morale. Also ALL refs make shockers. They don't like to be reminded all the time by a surly face. put a few more refs on the pitch

when Eales was first made captain, there was enormous pressure from the media for him to step down, as he wasn't thought to be the right for the job. this in the day before internet when us armchair critics can bag anyone from the safety of the keyboard. Elsom will grow into the role, just give him time.

It's ephemeral. Some captains are good because they are part of an exceptional pair - Jones and Slack, Gibson and Beetson (who'd have thought Half a Game Artie could lead so well?), Matthews and Voss (you could almost touch how the whole team lifted when he came back on from a recovery spell). Bob Simpson (c, 41 yo) teamed with Bob Simpson, coach, to turn Australia into the best fielding team ever! (a bit of temporal licence there, I know). He demanded, unequivocally, their very best, in the manner of a Barassi. No soft and squishy Brumbies player democracy there. I digress. Others have someone exceptional out on the field with them, in trotting parlance, one out one back - Ponting had Warne; Sattler had O'Neill, Coote, Sait, Lisle, Anderson and Lummy. Farr-Jones had Lynagh and so many other competent professionals around him that he barely needed to say a word. Gary Whetton too. There are the mighty individuals - Ian Chappell (a personal favourite. Every professional cricketer ought to be taught to salute his extraordinary courage and toughness off the field too - his impertinence! - in pugnaciously standing up to a miserable, myopic Bradman and His ACB), Grumpy Border, Steve Waugh, Kevin Ryan - these ones dwell apart, remote and inaccessible. Sadly, some of them become as Patton or Douglas Macarthur, lost afterwards, a general without an army. So few get to turn it into something bigger, like Eisenhower. Je ne sais quoi - good captains carry a certain something. That great All Blacks captain, Buck Shelford, took his champions to have schoolkids teach them a proper haka - a master stroke with impact lasting 'til today. He played with bits broken, bits hanging off him - how could one of his men plead "hey Boss, can I go off for a breather?" Mark Loane was a bit the same, I'm told. Mike Brierley - he was academically excellent (people Major), an average cricketer, and 35 before he got the guernsey, to become one of England's very best. Conversely, Botham was a gifted cricketer who knew best the path to the pub - he led by first thumping the quickest bloke on the opposite team over the stand, and then snarling "How's that?" at their openers. That brings me to legitimacy - longevity. Do you know England has had 41 Test captains post war, and 12 in the past 20 years? 5 have been there for 3 tests or less. Australia has had half that, and 5 in the past 20 years - 5! (including Gilchrist standing in for 6) - for that period an average of 67 plays 20. One can see the impact of a legitimate captain on the Australian's success! Bruce Rankin wrote a series here a couple of years back that is worth reading and contemplating, found at http://www.theroar.com.au/2007/11/20/the-art-of-captaincy-part-1-the-attributes/. Elsom? I dunno - I reckon, like David Wilson, he's better off left alone to do what he does best. But there is no-one else. No-one - the All Blacks have three long termers, the Springboks two.

Just saying he needs help not that he should be dropped.

Oh please, please drop Rocky as captain. The captain needs a degree of charm and Rocky just doesn't have it. He lacks the personality for the job, either dealing with the referee or the media. Even in an off field interview on the Rugby Club he comes across as grumpy and taciturn. He NEVER cracks a smile. What's worse is he turns up at the press conference with blood on his upper lip like a schoolboy with a runny nose. It's offensive. How long would it have taken to wipe a towel over his face? Will Genia has a lovely smile!

Were some of you blokes part of the crowd criticizing the Wallabies team for not taking losing seriously? Now you dramatise Rocky's dealings with the Ref. and his post match talks which IMO were not unreasonable. Did he yell? Don't think so. Was it good refereeing? Don't think so. Is it worth dumping him as Captain for? If you're a reasonable person the answer would be 'NO!'

Why would he have to drop him as a player? Can't follow your logic here Google.

If the past few post match interviews are anything to go by, Rocky needs some help right now. You can clearly see how frustrated he is which is understandable but you shouldn't let your team see you play that out in an interview for the world to see. He doesn't praise efforts of his team, in fact he leaves his audience to believe that either he has a crappy player on board or they got ripped off. The Wallabies deserve better than that. Not very good for team morale. He needs to learn how to play the media not the other way around and he shouldn't let his emotions conduct the interview. Make the media wait a little, compose himself, maybe get a pre-written script until he gets the hang of it.

The problem Deans has created with Rocky is that if he were to drop him as captain he might have to drop him as player as well. Unless Rocky himself comes forward and asks to be relieved then he may have to stay.

There's no doubt McCaw is now a fine captain but if you go back to his early captaincy career he was average at best. Elsom just needs the time to develop as a captain. Like the slogan says "it won't happen overnight but it will happen". -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.

I hope it's not too late for Pocock, and that he hasn't learned too many bad habits, because he seems just as keen to tell the ref what to do. Drop it from your game David, it does you no credit.

G'day Blinky. I'm not necessarily advocating Nathan as captain. I was pointing out some factual aspects that need to be considered when selecting a captain. Jeff Miller was blind to this fact and QLD lost Sharp to the Western Force as a result. I'm not sure of Pococks pedigree in this regard, nor Genias. One thing's for sure, the Team has to respect the individual chosen and understand the basis of that person's selection. I'm sorry, but this selection is not a democracy. Because someone's a good bloke and has the respect of his peers, doen't necessarily make him captain material, and I think we are seeing this now. It's not too late to change the captain but there certainly isn't the time available to 'groom' the current bloke as there are too many lingering anomolies to rectify the situation. I can think of a number of tests now where a captain of Eales, Farr-Jones or Slack's ilk would not have let the game slip as it did. Just my thoughts, Blinky.

You make some very valid points about the Captaincy. When I watch a game I like to see how the Ref gets on with the Captains. Body language says a great deal and on Saturday my distinct impression was that Lawrence was just wishing for Rocky to 'bugger off' and leave him alone. Who is Captain, how they lead and how they interact with the bloke with the whistle is a HUGE factor. If the Wallabies want to win we need to sort out all the aspects of modern Rugby that are preventing points from going our way. The Captain can be a make or break in tight games. Would Sharpey make a better Captain? Will he be selected in 2011? Could he show the future Captain how it's done? Maybe!

Matt, a good post and something worth discussing. I think we have seen over several months now how a team performs when the captain is less than effective. Captaincy is something that should not be taken lightly under any circumstances and in the main, you need to look at the background of individuals to see whether they are up to the task. Possibly the most qualified for captain within the current crop of Wallabies is Nathan Sharpe. Consider this, at school, he was the school captain, captain of rugby and I believe captain of boats (rowing). Selection of this nature doesn't go to just any Tom, Dick or Harry. He should have still been captain of the Reds although Jeff Miller could only see this after he had been offered the switch to the WF along with the captaincy, where he has done a sterling job. Now, before all and sundry jump down my throat arguing school has no bearing on the real world, I would argue that leadership is moulded from an early age and positions of responsibility held prior to a position as important as captain of a National team should have significant bearing on who gets the position. Unfortunately, the psychology of leadership at this level won't be sorted by a couple of 'couch sessions' . And most importantly, you need someone who can establish and maintain a good rapport with referees and officials and can be articulate at the end of a game, win lose or draw. Unfortunately this isn't Rocky, good player that he is. The Nick Farr-Jones' Eales and Slacks all had this ability and were very successful captains. Sean Fitzpatrick and now Richie McCaw can also win over referees at the drop of a hat. If Deans and his management can't see this, then regardless of cattle, we stand little chance of sustained success moving forward. 10 men well led will beat 100 without a head!

Yeah, I'd like to see how Genia goes as captain !