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?
ten four
Guest
I still think they are attempting to back them selves , and are definitly playing with more structure than in previous seasons. I think Foley , if he dosent get bagged too much for making the odd mistake, has real potential.
Bakkies
Guest
If true that's an embarrassment. McKenzie got his Tahs team down to Canberra earlier in the week
Bakkies
Guest
Exactly. The 16th man aka the fans are massive to a team. You just have to read comments from Munster supporters and players.
jeznez
Roar Guru
And early season with too much kicking there are two games I can recall boos from the Bruce crowd even last year.
jeznez
Roar Guru
I don't know 10 4. You Brumbies lot were booing your team two seasons ago. It is just that your board reacted quicker and put the broom through the place. Tahs will take a bit longer to get back but at least for the first time in a few years I see signs of improvement. Am not expecting the world from the Tahs this season, just want them to keep their heads up and keep stepping forward.
Malo
Guest
Great article. If it was a close loss ten four, but they were never in it . I think Barnes will add a lot and would put him at five eight. I like Foley and thought McKibben was poorly protected by the backrow but can play better. Barnes for captain Dennis gets the drop punt from the team. There has to be someone with mongrel out there in the clubs bring in some fresh recruits. Time for drastic action another loss and season kaput.
ten four
Guest
As a brumbie fan, I was suprized at how well they played . But I thought that it was a high quality match and that the Waratahs played a lot better than people a giving them credit for. waratah`s fan are harsh and fickle ,one or two close losses and the knives come out.Maybe if their supporters would stop booing them when the players are down the players would want to play for them more
jeznez
Roar Guru
Luke - I agree that the leadership is not obvious with this team. Just a note on your defence comment though. There are two key elements in the defensive structure - one is close to the ruck and cannot be owned by just one forward. At different times all forwards will have their head's buried and Douglas should be belting rucks just as much as Timani in the role you've ascribed to him above. As such that ownership of the posts and defence in that zone must be shared. If any one person is going to organise it then the halfback is probably key as he is the one with the head up who can actually pull forwards back out of the breakdown if we have overcommitted (very little chance of that occuring on the weekend's evidence). For the broader defensive line there should be a back owning it. In most teams I played in it was the 12 who took the lead here, ideally it will come from 10, 12 or 13 and the biggest requirement other than willingness to get up and make those hits is a big voice.
ncart
Guest
Surely the captain should be the key rudder, pulling everyone together and directing others to play a key role, e.g. in defence. When I watch the Waratahs I just don't observe Dennis getting excited and pulling everyone together behind the goalposts to rally them, or getting them going around the field - you see this in other teams when they get points scored against them - think Horwill or Genia, and Delve. I'd start with the captain and tell him to step up and make more of an impact, not just in his play but in what he demands of those around him.
Rickety Knees
Roar Guru
Great insighful post Luke!
Who Needs Melon
Roar Guru
Unfortunately it's not just the Tahs that are rudderless. The same could be said of Rebels and the Force. At the Rebels the only REAL leader is Gareth Delve. And we had to import him from another country. Without him they look a bit lost. Not to say they don't have some reasonably good forwards - but none of them have that cold steel in their glare as you put it so well. At the Force the only real leader now is Hodgson. Again, they have some good players but even Hodgson I think is just a good, solid player - a bit like Dennis but better in my eyes - and doesn't seem to have that aura that a captain exudes. Reds and Brumbies are the only teams that seem to have any real leaders and you could probably list more than one for each. Horwill and Genia. Mowen and Pocock. Maybe also Stephen Moore.
BL from Canberra
Guest
Folks NSW travelling late into Canberra on Friday from their trip down to Hume and consequently late for the time honoured Captains Run at Canberra Stadium - and also not travelling with or having their regular and dutiful Doctor available and then requiring the Brumbies admin to provide a replacement Medico at impossible short notice - it just means that all is not well a the NSW front door either !
RugbyRene
Roar Rookie
Well I'd say the crowd should be the 16th player but when the crowd consists of three men and his dog, it's hard to get any sort of atmosphere going. And the less said about Tah Man the better. He's an embarrassment.
RugbyRene
Roar Rookie
Good article. Agree totally. What I see from the Tahs is a lot of talking it up but when push comes to shove they appear timid. We have some big......no HUGE men. Palu, Timani (both of them), Kepu, Taffy. These guys should be bulldozers in attack and brick walls in defence. Nothing should stop these guys getting over the gain line in attack, and they should be an impenetrable wall in defence. In defence they should be thinking: "You want to get past us? Fine, give it your best shot. If you try we will hurt you." In attack they should be saying: "I'm running towards the try line. If you try to stop us we will put you in hospital." What I see is a very timid team not sure of who they are or who they want to be.
formeropenside
Guest
*shrug* With a forward pack full of current Wallabies, and the best backline (ARU) money can buy, why do they need our help?