Another Bledisloe, another embarrassment for the Wallabies. Their scoreless defeat to the All Blacks failed to meet even the most pessimistic Australian expectations.
There is a very serious problem at the heart of Australian rugby, and to call it stupidity or incompetence would be far too kind. The Wallabies suffer from a textbook case of clichéd insanity, forever repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in their kicking game. These players simply do not understand the importance of possession. Why else would they be so keen to boot the ball downfield at every conceivable opportunity?
Kicking should either be done tactically or as a last resort. There is little to be gained from aimlessly sending the ball skyward or delivering it straight to the opposition, particularly when the other team’s fullback is named Israel Dagg.
Even when an Australian breaches the defensive line, his first instinct is almost inevitably to use the boot. On several occasions last night, marauding Wallaby players who were in behind the defence forfeited possession with low percentage kicks instead of passing the ball or taking a tackle.
This mysterious kicking fetish has been an unwelcome part of the Wallaby game for years now. It has become so mind-numbingly obvious that even the most casual spectators have been known to rave at the television screen in frustration.
Robbie Deans must be equally frustrated. At halftime last night, the Wallabies were explicitly told by their coaching staff to cut down on the aimless kicking. The second half provided no evidence whatsoever that they had listened.
That is the most disappointing thing about this Australian team. The fans could handle it if their players simply lost to a better side, having done everything in their power to improve and reach their potential.
But when those players never learn, and continue to make the same basic errors, it is much harder for their supporters to swallow an embarrassing defeat.
Something has to change. Australian rugby does not have the depth for a player clean-out, so Robbie Deans is the man under pressure. If he must leave in order to shake things up then so be it.
But fixing the Wallabies’ problems will never be as simple as switching coaches. Nothing will improve until the players learn to listen, because only then will they stop repeating the same old mistakes.
SamClench
Roar Pro
Astute analysis.
strupper2003
Guest
thats so true MOC. not only the last game but for a while now thats what i noticed, wlbs backs try to avoid tackling or being tackled. in contrast, everytime the ABs backline had the ball, they run with it, and it is menacing and exciting.
Jerry
Guest
McCaw conceded 3 penalties - 20:11 – Offside (entry into ruck) – in Wallabies half. 52:57 – Not rolling away – 10m from AB tryline. 56th minute - Not rolling away - in Wallabies 22 Only 1 of the penalties was even in the All Blacks half, let alone red zone.
Harryonthecoast
Guest
Well that's a first....."Kearns astutely saying"!!!!??
Morgan
Guest
The biggest style difference between the All Blacks and Wallabies is their support play. The All Blacks from 1 to 22 are trained methodically to look for an offload in EVERY collision. They keep the ball alive and keep the tempo high. Even when the tackled player goes to ground, he is still looking for a quick pop pass off the ground. This fluid approach is why the All Blacks are a joy to watch and we sit on the edge of our seat when they are in possession. A bonus of this style of attack is it restricts the opportunities the defending team has to plifer, drive over the ball or slow down recycling. Thus challenging the defensive systems of the defending team to the max. It also makes the team look like a team with the interchange between forwards and backs seemingly effortless. The Wallabies almost never display this style. Instead they routinely either enter the contact too high, get tangled and held up surrending possession (basically cost us the Ireland game when McCabe repeatedly did this), or they immediately go to ground and await the arrival of support player not to continue the raid, but to clean-out and secure possession. This is the traditional approach which works against most oppositions but not the All Blacks. Their defence is too fast, so the Wallabies end up frequently creating a contest for the ball at the breakdown when they shouldn't be any. You know what I'm talking about if you are sitting on the edge of your seat watching the Wallabies attack, nervously waiting for them to turn it over! if they are successful in maintain possession then invariably the recycling is slow and we see Genia standing over it. Too often we rely on our forward dashing from ruck to ruck to secure possession seconds before it is stolen. Imagine if we actually coached our players from prop to full-back to approach the contact with a mindset of popping the pass. It would change the whole dynamic of what support player do. Instead of cleaning out 100% of the time, some of the time they might actually find the ball in their hands and be able to progress our attacking agenda. Of course we would need to develop the skills to run the right support lines and get the follow timing right etc We are taught from school boy level to NOT throw the 50-50 pass. Well ... maybe its time our elite national team did. Maybe if they do it enough (like All Blacks do) they will become good at it.
atlas
Guest
Paddy who? he is long gone as referees manager. March this year. Obviously you mean to say in respect of his replacement: "Frenchman Joel Jutge does not want the ABs to lose", knowing how fond France and French rugby is of NZ! sorry to puts facts in the way.
tortfeaser
Guest
Whatever else could you do but laugh?
mick-e
Guest
The only back who made real yards was Ioane and he goes to ground.
guinness14
Guest
Sure, bn McCaw, and Wallbies would have come away with the win. Yip he is a CHEAT. OMG. AB, and Western Force supporter.
mick-e
Guest
The Wallabies are on the front foot so rarely these days that their first reaction may be to do what they do for most of the game when they have no forward momentum-kick it away. Also support play is very poor. There is a lot of criticism of Barnes standing deep these days but what else can he do when he gets geriatric- speed delivery from his forwards and Genia and little or no front foot ball. Also the AB rush defence cuts down the options if he stands flat. Add in outside centres with no attacking ability and the options are few-stand deep and try and create some forward momentum or kick the pig skin. Paul T is right in my view. It all comes back to big powerful forwards getting over the gainline and providing quick service to the backs by controlling the breakdown and then and only then line busting backs. We dont have many of either at the moment..
mania
Guest
peter it was just one of those moemnts of comedic timing.
Billy Bob
Guest
McCaw infringed twice in a row with Wallabies in the red zone. He was not binned probably be because he is the captain and binning the captain for only cynically infringing twice was not enough reason to unfairly advantage the Wallabies.
anon69
Guest
What is the point of playing ABs at all. No refree will allow that. For instance, McCaw infringed more than 4 times, Nonu was playing the ball o nthe ground after tackling Mitchell, Jane dropped the ball there were numorus other incidents that were not blown. Looks like Paddy O'Brien, does not want AB to loose at all.
bluerose
Guest
the NZ 7s coach always say ''kicking is for karate''.
Post
Guest
The issue is that every nearly every time a Wallaby back made yards they would boot the ball away. You can't consistently get over the gain line if you kick away possession every single time you start to gain momentum. Of course, most of our backs were (incredibly) Waratahs, and they did exactly what they have done all year.
SamClench
Roar Pro
That's all true enough, but it does little to explain all of their kicking while on the front foot. As I point out above, there were several separate instances in the last game where a Wallaby player made a clean break and then kicked possession away instead of passing or recycling. These players have a kicking fetish, plain and simple.
PaulT
Guest
SamClench you perhaps miss the point that bad possession is worse than no possession. If you have the ball but do not have field position, breakdown parity or cannot get over the gain line - what will you do? Umm, lets sees now, tick tick (thats my brain) - oh yes, you kick the ball! Why - because thats the least worst option. If all you tactical experts out there concur, then the problem is not kicking per se, but that the kicking was executed poorly. So rather then vent at Robbie Deans, maybe some tactical advice would be useful. My observation is that the wallabies do a pretty good job on defence, but they were eventually ground down. Thats percentage rugby for you. To improve their tactical range the wallabies must find a way to consistently get over the GAIN LINE. Lets go find some big skillful forwards, with a priority one being a top NUMBER EIGHT. Looking back the wallabies at their peak had top guns like Greg Cornelson, Willie O and Totai Kefu. This is not a coincidence.
atlas
Guest
abs made 26 offloads in the tackle, wbs 5. for every offload, whether it was nonu, sbw, smith, how often were two players involved in the tackle, yet the ball still gets released? and only 6 of those 26 were from sbw.
brooke48
Guest
MOC,digby takes it into collisions and plays a halfback come loosie role similar to what nonu used to do from the base of rucks/mauls. why because they are better at this style and cant kick (and also have handling difficulties).also both have difficulty with legal tackling but have energy to commit defences .digby (when playing) bends or breaks the line one time in 3/4 thus no more than most wingers adopting his approach.clearly at one try this year and his incompetence under high ball and pressure defence behind support, the results of reds and wallies are a true indication that there is more to test rugby than pure energy. the all black finishing had the same obtuse vision as digby one would think.
chuck
Guest
Confidence is spooking the wallabies at the moment and keeping the pressure for 80 mins they blasted out of the block on Saturday which look bloody good but smarts let them down WILL & SHARPIE & MOORE did unrealistic things that lead too a 2 inch explosion they will regret it after seen the replay no doubt day light is running second between these two South Africa next game in Perth where the Books have a wining advantage there so I am going to back the wallabies because they did improve from the 1st game they were up against a Hot all black side So come on Wallabies you can do it.