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It always amuses me how we rugby types cope with the extra time afforded to us with bye weekends, and competition changeovers, and the like.
Clean air, particularly if it comes directly after a good performance like the Wallabies’ big win in Rosario, only tends to fuel the anxiety levels while we await the next fixture on the calendar.
And like all people with a passion, our rugby minds tend to wander. Hypotheticals and lateral thoughts emerge, and then, weirdly, we feel compelled to share them with like minds.
On numerous walks with the Labrador over the weekend, one thought dominated all others for me.
If we all agree that the Wallabies need some serious work – and I think we do – which names could Ewen McKenzie call on to assist with the fix?
I’ll add the disclaimer at this point that some of these names will be available, some won’t. It won’t matter either way, as McKenzie has said numerous times over the last month or so that he’s more than happy with the job his current assistants are doing.
Kicking and high balls: Paul Roos
There are two sides to this appointment. I’m sure we’ve all heard the tale of Paul Roos coming along to a Wallabies training session at the invitation of Robbie Deans a few years back, and being rather unimpressed at the skills and techniques on display under the high ball.
McKenzie himself spoke of this particular skill last Thursday night on Fox Sports’ Rugby HQ program, telling Phil Kearns and Rod Kafer,
“High balls and kicking part of the game… It’s not the kick so much, it’s the chase, it’s the contest, it’s the getting the ball back.
“The All Blacks have kicked more than any other team [in the Rugby Championship], but they’re bloody good at getting the ball back.
“They’ll kick a box kick, and their winger will go and get the ball back.
“If you’ve got that scenario there, you’ve got the perfect scenario. You can kick the ball, and you can get it back. You can use your kicking game to put [the opposition] under pressure, and they can run the ball from turnovers…”
It’d be interesting to know if Roos’ opinion of the Wallabies’ skills under the high ball, and indeed kicking in general, has changed. I suspect it probably hasn’t.
Interestingly, McKenzie said on Rugby HQ that the kicking and high ball skill set is a 12-month thing, and that it’s something he’ll speak to the provincial coaches about.
This comes back to that point of mine a few weeks back of the Wallabies leading the coaching direction of Australia’s professional players.
Roos is probably a touch busy currently, but I still think an AFL background is something that needs to be explored. A recently retired player – ex-Swan Jude Bolton is a good example – would quite likely be just as handy to bring in as a consultant coach.
Moreover, there’s clearly value in using AFL types in rugby; Mick Byrne’s been involved across the ditch now for years.
Goal kicking: Someone not on Skype
I say this with no disrespect to Braam van Straaten’s methods, and I’m well aware of the obvious telecommuting benefits of Skype, but I’m not convinced that kicking practice in front of a laptop is ideal.
Daryl Halligan would be an obvious name to throw up here, but someone like Andrew Johns (who could be more than handy for Wallabies playmakers, too), or Hazem el Masri would be well worth talking to. Andrew Mehrtens is based in Sydney these days, so he’d be another good one to contact.
The point here is not so much the goal kicking per se, but rather that so much faith sits at the foot of Christian Lealiifano. He was yesterday ruled out of Saturday’s third Bledisloe, but regardless, if he wasn’t a goal kicker, would he hold his place? It’s a skill that needs to be spread around the squad more than appears to be the case.
Scrum: ‘Topo’ Rodriguez
I’m sure we all saw Topo’s comments against Spiro’s scrum piece back on September 16, but on the off chance you haven’t, and along with the disturbing revelation that four separate approaches to the ARU since 1997 to set up a much-needed scrum academy drew no response at all, this was his main point:
“Australian’s penchant and ability for inventions is well known! – In my “book” when I need to construct a solid building I build first the foundations then the walls, then the roof and then the decorations. I think several Australian coaches (not all) of the last 25 years including the foreigner have been purchasing the “Colourbond corrugated steel first”? And a crook one!”
McKenzie still believes that Andrew Blades is doing a good job with the scrum set piece, but the jury remains unconvinced. Surely even just one session on technique with Topo Rodriguez would be beneficial.
Breakdown: Laurie Fisher
One of the key factors of the Brumbies’ run to the Super Rugby final in 2013 was that forwards coach Fisher was able to place complete faith in senior players (Dan Palmer and Ben Mowen, respectively) to ‘coach’ the scrum and lineout.
This allowed him to concentrate solely on the breakdown contest and trying to introduce a bit of what he described as “Munster mongrel” into Australian methods.
The Brumbies’ work at the breakdown this year earned all sorts of criticism for being the most penalised in the competition, but they continued to be effective all season because they became very good at identifying each referee’s limit.
Perhaps they should have earned more yellow cards than they did, perhaps they shouldn’t have. It’s immaterial now.
What’s puzzling is that a lot of those same Brumbies players aren’t playing with anywhere near the same breakdown intensity in a gold jersey. You could say the same of the championship Reds of 2011.
If Fisher’s not available, then one name emerges clear as our best breakdown exponent: George Smith.
Defence: Ewen McKenzie
John Muggleton might seem like the obvious choice, though the Reds’ defence coach from 2011, Matt Taylor, might be another one worth considering.
Muggleton’s methods helped Rod McQueen take the Wallabies to a Rugby World Cup, but the Wallabies haven’t used him for several years now.
What’s more, in Muggleton’s two seasons as a senior assistant with the Melbourne Rebels, their points conceded only improved ever so slightly from one season to the next, while they actually conceded six more tries in 2013 than in 2012.
Therefore, I’d suggest McKenzie take charge of defence himself.
The attitude of players toward defence simply has to improve when the man making all the selection decisions is the one in charge.
Right now, we see a lot of lazy recovery among the Wallabies defenders, never mind poor positioning and communication, and I’m willing to wager it would improve with McKenzie in charge.
It’s got to be worth trying.