Rudderless. A brilliant way to sum up the Waratahs in 2013.
What is a rugby rudder? A bloke that gives direction in key moments and different facets of a game.
All good rugby teams have a good few of them, but in the Waratahs they’re hard to spot.
So maybe that is where they need to start rebuilding: from the rudders up. Perhaps a whole new strategy should be secondary.
1. Defence.
Someone has to consistently be in the right place, be there first, and often. They have to lead the team up off the line and do so on the edge of the law.
They have to make hits that reliably get the job done fast, even if they’re not necessarily bone crunching, although this is good too.
Tatafu Polota-Nau tries, but he seems to have a poor instinct for referees. Timani makes some big hits but he’s often last into position. Dennis is good in cover but isn’t the strongest front on tackler in the team.
Palu has potential but is so often injured. He also has a habit of disappearing for periods throughout or for entire matches.
I say Kane Douglas is the man. His main job should be to get around the park, be first in, and first out of the line in defence. Make the hit and make it stick. Give the pilferers a chance to do their thing.
Team work is crucial in defence, but so is leadership and direction.
2. Getting out of trouble.
When the ball is messy and at the wrong end of the field, how well are the Tahs getting out of trouble?
Mckibbin and Foley don’t have it in this department. Is it communication? Is it instinct? Is it the quality of Mckibbin’s pass or the power of Foley’s boot? I really don’t know, but regardless, they’ve not been getting it done.
Genia and White are perfect examples of how valuable it is to have a scrum half with a good clearing kick. Mckibbin doesn’t seem to have a much of a kick himself, or doesn’t seem to use it.
Our best clearing efforts so far have been Mckibbin to Mitchel. The latter’s slicing runs have made good meters, and his powerful left boot is one of the best in Australia. But unfortunately, it’s just that, a left boot from a winger, not a substitute for a full back or fly half.
Without the ability to get out of danger when the ball is messy, we’re going to loose a lot of matches, guaranteed. All of the attacking prowess in the world won’t change that. A rugby team can’t possibly build confidence without effective clearing kicks.
So it’s going to have to be Berrick Barnes. Whether we play him at full back or fly half, the guy can clear the ball relatively well. I don’t know enough about our back up scrum half to call for McKibbin’s head just yet.
3. Who’s kamikaze leading the pack into countless rucks?
You never see his face, because it’s already at the bottom of the ruck. He might not win that many turnovers, but he cleans out like an animal. This is crazy ruck loving man. Every team needs one. They teach the rest of the lads how it’s done at ruck time.
If it’s your number 7, then you’re losing out elsewhere. Think David Pocock in Bledisloe cup one last year. He was neutralised, not so much by his opposite number, but by the rest of the lads not putting in.
6 and 8 should hit a lot of rucks, but they too have important other jobs: ball running, pilfering, cover defence, covering kicks.
And so step right up Siteleki Timani. He’s a big man and makes some good hits and some powerful runs – all good things – but he should concentrate on the break down.
They have to have instill fear! Timani should say: “You want to stand over that ball Ben Mowen – fine – but I will hurt you.”
4. Bruising runs
The team’s back is to the wall and you find yourself thinking: who’s going to make the carry?”
If you’re asking this question, then your team lacks a ball running rudder. If you had one, he’d already by crashing into the defence, and you’d hopefully already be on his tail ready to clean out or take an offload. Enough said.
I’m at a loss here for the Waratahs. Wycliff Palu is injured too often and seems to go missing at big moments of big games. Tatafu should do nothing but practice lineout throwing. Dennis? Hmmm.
It might have to be a back.
Drew Mitchell. No doubt he’d prefer to operate in space like a gazelle, but the team can’t afford it. Cheika needs to get him more deliberately involved around the fringes of the ruck; there are two other outside backs for the glamorous stuff.
5. Behind the goal posts – the captain
When the chips are down, and they are never further down than in the huddle behind the goalposts, you’ve just got to have a rev up merchant; the man with steel in the eyes.
You don’t know if you’re psyching up because you’re inspired, or scared of him, but this doesn’t matter. Those eyes say it all: “I think we’re still in this, and you better think so too”.
This is a job for the captain. No matter what you thought of the man as a player, Phil Waugh was undoubtedly a great leader and a man of steel. You need only look at the difference in results when he wasn’t playing to see his impact.
I don’t want to judge Dave Dennis too early, I really don’t, but I just don’t see the cold steel in his glare.
But who else is there? I can honestly say on this one, I have no idea. Michael Hooper maybe? But would Cheika have the guts to pull a Jake White and appoint a captain that is so new to the club?
Over to you Roarers, who are, or should be, the Waratahs rudders?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
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