Genia and Mowen brain explosions cost Wallabies

For sure Genia and Mowen had moments that led to England points but I think there is a bigger problem, and it's not the scrum. Offloads - or the lack thereof. According to the post game stats, the Wallabies completed ZERO offloads. That is insane! In a time when the defensive structures of most top tier teams are pretty solid, effective offloading is more important than ever. We have all seen the impact that SBW can have with one of his cheeky one handed offloads that releases a nearby runner. And we're not talking about the offload where the man being tackled has hit the deck and pops the ball back up just before the ruck forms. We're talking about those offloads that keep the attack rolling quickly and that are so hard to defend. The ones that can release a support player deep into the back field of an opponent and lead to massive territory gains and often points. For the Wallabies to achieve no offloads at all I think is more disturbing than many other areas of their performance, and I'll tell you why. For me, the lack of offloads points to two things - a lack of skill to get your hand(s) free to make the pass, and the lack of support player(s) who can receive the pass and keep the attack moving forward. Both are really scary to consider. The first one I think is less likely - these are top professional players who play week in, week out in the Super 15s where fast flowing rugby is commonplace. Surely they have the skills to perfect the offload. So does that mean that the problem is the lack of support? Could it be that one of the major problems in Australian Rugby right now is that the players just are not in the right places at the right time? As a comparison of sorts - look at the last play of the Japan v New Zealand game from this weekend. Last few seconds and the All Blacks have cantered to an easy win. The Japanese make a break down their left hand wing and it looks for a split second that they might sneak a score - a score that will not in any way shape or form effect the result. But But to Richie McCaw that doesn't seem to matter - he gets his aging body over to the wing and joins his team mate in smashing the Japanese player into touch and saving the try. I'm not so much talking about heart or commitment or passion for the National Jersey because I think it is too, too easy to say that the Wallabies lack heart. But there is something in here that is about being in the right place at the right time. Whether it be in defence or attack - being in the right place at the right time makes or breaks your match. And on Saturday the Wallabies were time and again in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hooper, the greatest myth of Australian rugby: He is huge and the fastest forward of all time; He totally dominates the opposition; This is why we always win so easily. Glad I am still OS when I read that Blooper had won the JE medal, what a joke! Says a lot about where we are these days.

Now be fair, Mr Lord's expertise is in making accurate predictions before matches which....... well, OK, he's had a bad run lately, but at least he's not the type to criticize others for getting things wro.......... oh wait, he is. OK PB: that round goes to you!

McKenzie has fixed our 12 issue I think. Toomua was great at 12, and has been for three games now...

Hey bobby dazzler you are agreeing with yourself...some fair blance you have shown in your comments at least David Lord is balanced about his comments and shows both positives and negatives about the team.

Yes, at last a Red Eyed Quade worshiper that cannot recognise his mental frailties and inconsistencies. After nearly 50 tests matches how many more chances does this bloke deserve to prove his is a consistent 10 that can influence the big moments at any test match? Of course missing those two easy kicks from right in front were Quade's fault. And as DL and others here have pointed out the first miss marked a significant turning point in the match with 14 England points to follow. If at 10pts up we would have created pressure on the score board & possibly force mistakes from England playing catch up to score twice in what was a tight match. At the very least the winning kick in the 75th minute should have been in front of the sticks at 40metres out instead of having to kick for touch (we needed a try and penalty to win). One would think the lead penalty taker must be hitting them over 80%. Quade is on 80% now since Dunedin (I think 8 from 10). Dunedin was in perfect conditions indoors. How will Quade kick in inclement weather against the Irish and Scots? As I stated earlier, this team needs to take all the 3 points on offer and only CL has proven in this this season to be able to get almost all of those opportunities under pressure.

"The easiest job in rugby is a touch judge, why do so many make it look so hard?" A statement of monumental ignorance. Ignoring the fact that they haven't been called Touch Judges for a couple years....haven't seen you out there with a flag in your hand, Lord. What would you know about it??

David - you wrote an article about the Grand Slam the other week and noted: "It is there for the taking - take it" This team never had a chance of winning a Grand Slam - they have not shown any form of consistency in basic fundamentals or a continued ability to win this year that would lead anyone to actually believe this was possble. If it wasn't England it was likely going to be Ireland or Wales that would roll us. I tink we willbeat Italy and get done by Ireland and Wales before we likely pump Scotland. We are very much a second tier team at present and are no threat to NZ or SA.

Did anyone really expect this team to deliver a Grand Slam? I hear Journos saying the fans did but I think that was probably only one Roar fan in fact. This team is not good enough to clean sweep Europe. Ireland will likely hammer us as well.

"Referee George Clancy?" Whenever we play whoever it's always us versus 15+1, and that extra bugger is invariably always the ref though on this occasion it was also the TJ, and perhaps even the TMO. As Kamahl famously reminds us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znodcpMzcnA

Only minutes into the 2nd half Will Genia just got his box kick away by millimetres - a sign of things to come. Why when we were on our try line defending fiercely didn't he simply pass to Matt Toomua who was standing back near the dead ball line waiting for the ball so he could clear it? Bench Will for the next two matches, promote Nic White (or Phibbsie) so long as he promises not to kick the leather off it. And then try 2 for the Poms occurred because Stevie Moore attempted unsuccessfully to milk a penalty for being impeded... where was the Pom s'posed to go, disappear into thin air? Moore had to simply move across to his left and block Farrell front on and no try would've been conceded. So now Saia Faingaa should be promoted for at least the next couple of starts. Four to go. With the right attitude we should do okay. A bit more 'ball through hand' running and a little less kicking away of possession and we should do okay. There's no getting away from the fact the Pom forwards finished all over us in that 2nd half, particularly towards the end. "The Wallabies' forwards will be the difference between winning and losing and unless they can be competitive, the side has no chance to win Australia their second Grand Slam." http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/opinion/forwards-hold-key-to-ewen-mckenzies-fate/story-e6frg7po-1226751564838

im as angry and disolusioned as anyone right now, and blame needs to go somewhere. id like to point everyone back to the selections and selection time, and link was being praised at the time for making almost all the right decisions. now with hindsight it looks like the forwards need a change but i think link still has more grace till we all call for his sacking. there are still 4 games in the tour and at the end we will get a very good idea of where we are. i think after 4 games if we only win 1 or 2 then thats about it for me, find another coach. link seems to be doing a good job with team culture and making a close knit group and the all blacks show thats a winning recipe, but what else happens at training? its def not ball handling drills. i feel sorryfor him being dropped in the deep end but the rugby public demand better, and being a test prop himself, he should be getting results. so thats my rant over = summary= if no improvement by the end of the tour, give the reighns to someone else who will get 1 1\2 years to build for the world cup

I think a most of the word think that. And with decent forwards he would be killing it.

Nice and concise, but could be shortened to; the pack lacks.........? Just a stray thought, I wonder how would the WB's have gone v's the Brave Blossoms. Possibly would've provided the final reality check for EM.

I agree. Pulver is too much of a fan of the game and not enough the hard nosed businessman we need. I know he is making job cuts and expense cut backs but he needs to let the coaches run the game and stay out of it. His statement that we need to win the Grand Slam just creates unnecessary profile and pressure and is frankly unrealistic as to where we are at. Mckenzie must have been furious but if he disagrees then he looks a fool. None of my mates (all rugby loving wallaby fans) ever expected a grand slam. The rot I am afraid started with John O'Neills return. He conveniently was at the ARU when we had a champion team in the 90's/early 00's and could ride the Wold Cup win, the Lions 2001 and 2003 World Cup but his return was a disaster. His return was based on a big pay check, at the expense of the 3rd tier comp, the reappointment of a guy who failed to win the world cup (as JON said he had to), reigniting the private school only feel to the game, and then he sailed off into the sunset with $1m+. My experience with grass roots rugby in Sydney is great. Kids love it, parents enjoy it, the community feel is fantastic, there are great skills on display and in most clubs I see the numbers are growing. So there is positivity out there. The ARU just need to better engage with it and build from the bottom up. Whilst we will always lose kids to RL, aussie rules & soccer we should be able to capitalise on this cross skilling by enticing players to stick with the game and to join the game. But this will only happen if we get a better structure and support in place. Starting with getting Super XV on free to air! In terms of who to pick

The pack lacks hardness. That's it.

A thoughtful and balanced piece BenBris. The top down model that was employed by previous ARU administrators to develop their "elite players" for test match rugby is the reason for the Wallabies decline. Thanks to this flawed model, the breakdown was inevitable and australian fans are now reaping the fruits of the ARUs incompetence. Fortunately, the current ARU administrations decision making for establishing a commonsense national competition to develop their current/future players/coaches is a crucial positive step forward for pulling rugby union out of the quagmire it is currently residing in. Moving forward, these changes will benefit the "next" generation of Wallabies. "Suffer the pain now to reap the rewards tomorrow" was a favorite quote from a fellow poster. A worthy statement.

I dunno guys. I agree the hype was BS. But I would have been furious if we didn't go over there with the intent of winning the grand slam. I'd also be furious if Japan and Russia etc didn't go into world cups with the aim of winning it. Always aim as high as you can. This isn't something reserved for the All Blacks, every team should be busting there arse to win everything and aiming as high as they can. I was hoping we would get a Grand Slam, I'm gutted we lost, but I'm not upset that we dared to dream.

Could be spot on there.

That's a better suggestion than mumm. Sheehan has exactly the type of MONGREL our forwards need