In the aftermath of the All Blacks’ trouncing of the mentally absent Wallabies, all rugby-loving Australians forensically examine the carcass of defeat.
But for this budding rugby pathologist, I would be happy determine that the cause of death was manifold:
1. A complete lack of mental application to the task at hand. It was clear the Wallabies were not switched on at the start of the game which cost them points.
2. No plan B. The Wallabies were wayward; they kept moving from side to side without getting the All Blacks on the back foot first. No wonder we got picked off in defence, the All Blacks were rarely in two minds as to what they needed to do.
3. Lack of tactical nous. Australia had the possession and field position to really apply pressure on the All Blacks, however it appeared as if Genia and Cooper were playing a Super 15 game in a Wallaby jumper.
As Dan Carter showed again, there is no shame in slotting the odd field goal to get a return on your real estate. No pressure like scoreboard pressure.
4. No leadership. I can’t recall the last winger to captain Australia, perhaps Rocky Elsom might be the first?
The amount of time he spent as a seagull was not what was required, especially when poor old David Pocock was left alone at the breakdown to fight for the ball. Rocky simply was not in the game when it counted.
5. The breakdown; as stated, Elsom was absent, McCalman is a solid worker but is not working in combination with Pocock.
There was little to no counter ruck and we were dominated in this facet of play. Can’t expect to win a Test when you don’t engage the enemy in battle.
6. Pat McCabe is a winger. I love his direct play but he is not yet a 12.
Anthony Faainga is and has the proven combination at Super 15 level with Cooper. Give him a shot. I don’t recall any pundits praising the Brumby backline this year?
The remedy; Robbie Deans must really start living up to the old ‘reward for effort’ motto he espouses and play the guys who put in the effort.
Drop Elsom back to club rugby, reward Higgenbotham and Samo with a Test start. Swap Faainga and McCabe.
As for the game itself; be more urgent, more direct. Respect the opposition and earn the right to play with width.
Bring on Brisbane.
DD
Guest
ROCKY SHOULD NOT BE CAPTAIN! Here's Why: He fails to do what every RWC winning Captain has done (naturally). Rocky does NOT: 1. Lead / manage / engage with the Referee to put a case forward, introduce doubt or to craft the Referee interpretations. The ABs were offside heaps, knocked-on, played the ball on the ground, held players back, etc. Rocky was silent. 2. When things are going badly - Rocky is silent. He doesn't fire up his team. Worse, he doesn't initiate a change to the tactics. He just lets things bumble along when they are obviously not working. He does not have a good tactical brain, or at the very least, doesn't have the skills to communicate these or the leadership to implement change. 3. He doesn't have the command / leadership qualities needed to get that extra 15% out of his men when they are already at 100%. We will NOT win the RWC if Rocky remains Captain. Hey Rocky: Self select mate, resign as captain, focus on your game and return to being the mongrel No. 6 you can be.
jameswm
Guest
Deans is politically forced to keep RZocky atr captain.' He wouldn't have him in the team. He'd rather have a HIggy-Pocock-Palu back row. And Vicks to partner Horwill at lock.
Hansie
Guest
Elsom made zero contribution in 2 years at the Brumbies, yet somehow he's an automatic choice as Wallaby captain? I don't understand it. This article is right on the money.
MM Fike
Guest
Was Elsom really that bad? He's missed a lot of rugby this year. He will keep improving. Just a few games back McCaw was described as 'lumbering.' He wasn't lumbering at Eden Park. It takes time to get match fit. We will be there at the WC when the whips are cracking. Every win the All Blacks have at Eden Park takes them closer to a loss there. The Wallabies might be inconsistent but every so often all the ducks line up in a row and they can beat any team on the planet. The All Blacks and their supporters know this and it scares them to death.
M.O.C.
Roar Guru
yes, would love to see JON's contract vault. I bet that "captain" and "auto-selection" was part of the incentive to lure him back from Ireland. I bet there would be some other interesting contracts also - it seems that Giteau's may have just hit it's used-by-date, also I suspect that some recent(ish) league converts had auto-selection written in there .
matthew Skellett
Guest
Hey Jeremy just in case you hadn't noticed Giteau isn't even in the squad and there is an awful lot of circumstancial evidence he is betting against his own team everytime he plays , so let's NOT give it to Giteau , let's give him something though -Rexie called it "the Big A" !!!!!!
arthur rightus
Guest
Did someone mention his contract??? Yes indeed I would love Spiro or someone to have a good hard look at this & expose exactly what is in it. Can't see it happening though, as I'm sure O'Neill has it in a Swiss vault & won't let it out as I have a very strong feeling the contents would be highly embarrasing for the ARU.
Rhino
Guest
Good point Big Steve. At the time Rocky was appointed there wasn't a whole lot of options as it was pre-Genia and Horwill was pretty much a newbie to Wallaby colours. Seem to recall Matt Giteau was the other name being bandied about at the time. But to keep the political analogies going, being appointed leader doesn't necessarily mean it's your job for life, as Mr Rudd found out. I don't buy the "the decision was made and now we all have to live with it" argument. If, as you say, he isn't doing a great job and there are now other worthy captaincy candidates available, why not explore the option. Frankly I reckon Rocky has a pretty strong narcissistic streak which used to serve him well as a blindside flanker but not so much with the captaincy. Let him get back to doing what he used to so well.
Cattledog
Guest
I think you hit the nail on the head, Steve, with 'at the time'. How stupid of Deans to appoint a long term captain, unless of course it's part of Elsom's contract!! Smarter would have been to appoint Elsom as the current incumbent captain. That way, it can change and there's no expectations, just as there should be no expectations regarding positions.
Who Needs Melon
Guest
stillmissit you've nailed it - we all remember Rocky at his best is one angry mother. As captain he seems to have tried to adopt the attitude (in public at least) of his coach - i.e. be the calm, considered, balanced even-keel. It aint working. Having said that, I agree with AdamS who on another thread today said (to paraphrase) that who has the (c) next to their name and who is leading the team may be two different things. Do we really think changing where we put the (c) on the team sheet is going to make much of a difference?
Big Steve
Guest
Rhino, they said who can we pick who we know should actually be in the team. if you think back to the time he was chosen as capitain there was not really anyone else who was a certain starter. He might not be doing a great job now, but he was the only option at the time.
Galaxy Hop
Guest
Couldn't agree with you more.
Jack Slaughter
Guest
Spot on Uncle, especially about McCabe, he is a winger with courage, as used at Brumbies this year took the ball up and nowhere. he is playing just as he did with the Brums, no penetration. Put Faainga in, it has to be an improvement, and dont they need it.
Rhino
Guest
Excellent pathological report Uncle Argyle. Speaking of pathological, when they appointed Rocky as captain, did any of them say to themselves "Is this the kind of leader who will put the team first and help turn 15 big egos into a communal culture of shared successes and triumphs as well as shared losses and accountability?" It's never too late to change leader. Bob Hawke took over from Bill Hayden the day an election was called and six weeks later was Prime Minister. Hayden went on to enjoy a great career. Elsom could return to be the fearless gamebreaker he once was. Genia is a more natural leader, but Horwill commands respect and is the best guy to take it on at this stage.
michael
Guest
I was at the game on Saturday and from my view up high there appeared to be no plan in defensive or offensive lines. Genia and Cooper were just going through the motiions. IIs Robbie just foxing? What was clear was that McCabe was not up to it. They were busting through the centre at will. Why is Digby not playing in the centres? He has shown he can play there in the past and we desperately need a decent inside. There are plenty of other decent wingers to bring in. Also clear is that McCalman is not an international no 8. Comapare with the impact that Read had and Higginbottom when he come on. Higginbottom and Samo coming off the bench would seem the go! Robbie please get their act together! It is tough being an Aussie living in NZ when they are playing like drongos. It only makes the ABs look a lot better then they are. They are beatable.
warrenexpatinnz
Roar Guru
Elsom is a bloody fine player, Australian Captain so unless your the Wallaby coach/selector or a Kiwi AB supporter, get behind him 100%, gee him up if you need to criticise. Feel like baggin someone have a crack at the AB marketing machine and Addidas and the new AB jumper cost, becoming a slight taint on the build up to RWC.
Shaun
Guest
Plan A was to move the ball from side to side until the old men opposite got tired and needed a lie down.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen
Guest
I agree that Rocky could do better both as a player and especially as a skipper. But to be honest I think it's way too late to change Captains now. IMHO we're at the point of no return and it's better to go with RE than risk further destabilsation. So.....I'd stick with him but really work long & hard on his Captaincy skills and pray that come RWC it has finally clicked. The other options are worse in my view. Not much to hang your hat on I know but that's life as a Wallaby supporter at the moment. There's a few on here talking about the Wallabies having no Plan B & Plan C. Anyone mind explaining to me exactly what was Plan A again? I'm buggered if I saw it.
The Bush
Roar Guru
"(Black and White)" I presume you mean England? You do know that the Wallabies have a 60% win ratio against England, right? Whatever may have happened at the last two (2) World Cups doesn't change this fact. As for the lollipop vesion of Rugby League we play down here - would that be the tournament wherein all the All Blacks and Springboks play? Yeah, must be a cakewalk... That must be why it's incapable of producing the three (3) best teams in the World.
Shaun
Guest
Lack of mental application? no plan B? no tactical nous? a captain not worthy of his spot? Players out of position? tactics that involve endless side to side movement in the hope that the defence is lazy? Hmmm...where have I seen that before? Oh yes, that's right...the 2003 All Blacks with one R.Deans listed as backs coach. Oh well, that worked out alright in the end, didn't it? What? Oh... And again, still waiting for David Lord to tell us why Deans "deserves" a better win/loss ratio.