It is clear from the recent All Black demolition that Australia needs to try something a little different in order to salvage some pride from the third Bledisloe Test.
The next time gold meets black, Bernard Foley will most likely be starting fly-half, with his housemate Nick Phipps at 9.
The Wallabies are currently in a great position to try something a little left of centre. They should look to address their weakest area – the go forward.
The Wallabies aren’t effectively taking the ball into contact. The only player that did drag defenders along with his ball carries was the smallest one out there – the captain, who has cool hair.
The lack of go forward from our second-rowers and thier overall inefficiency around the park far outweighed their supposed contribution at lineout time.
Take Sam Carter: a real bargain buy at Super Rugby level, but he dropped the ball at important moments, one leading to a turnover and subsequent try, a possible 14-point turnaround. Fans were no longer screaming at the missed head-high tackle on Israel Folau, but at the quality of hands on show from national players resembling a digital clock.
Carter’s previous Test stats have been 10 runs for 15 metres, and 9 runs for 15 metres. This was praised in the media. I’m no mathematics teacher but basic calculations suggest he would make more metres per run if he just caught the ball and lay down.
It is hard to be critical of Rob Simmons, even if his yellow card was costly. But other than some solid tackles and allowing Adam Ashley-Cooper to catch the re-starts, it’s also hard to be positive.
In attack, the game seriously slows down when either of these two tall timbers lumber into motion. We need more from these players than securing already secured rucks.
Meanwhile, Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock dominated well beyond their set piece specialties, pilfering balls, making big hits and throwing passes with precision.
The biggest difference between New Zealand and Australian teams is the Kiwi ability of all players from 1 to 15 to play ball-in-hand rugby. Keven Mealamu can actually play at 10, he’s just waiting for his 200th cap.
One idea is to move several of our keen and underused blindside flankers into the second row spot. Think Scotty Fardy, multiplied by three.
Envisage Fardy, Scott Higginbotham and Ben McCalman all playing at once. These guys are all solid rugby players – they catch, pass, fend, and jump at lineouts. Above all when these guys run, their teammates hit a ruck that is ahead of where they caught the ball. They go forward.
What would the cost be? How many lineouts are now won by the smallest of margins, where height is a factor? Lineouts look more like they are being won by out-manoeuvring the position of the lifters. Can we not be lifting Hooper with the same success? Many times on the opposition throw, we don’t even contest.
Crazier ideas have found success. Jim Williams and Radike Samo made excellent back-rowers after feeling ostracised on the wing. Israel Folua changed entire football codes. Twice.
Essentially, the back row of three could become a back row of five.
Chose four from Higginbotham, Fardy, McCalman, Wycliff Palu and Will Skelton to accompany Michael Hooper. Or play Hooper and Matt Hodgson together. Hodgson’s little black book contains only two rugby secrets – pilfer in defence, go forward in attack. He actually swiped it from Richie McCaw’s hotel and hasn’t had to add a thing.
Maybe these changes aren’t required for South Africa, and we can scrape by doing what we’ve been doing.
But I’m over owing beers to mates from across the ditch, and seeing a whole lot of blindside mongrel sit on the bench. It’s time for some creativity.
Harry Jones
Expert
They did? I didn't see Louw outplayed at Eden or Ellis Park. In fact, if you watch those tests again and just focus on Louw, you'll see a textbook "how to play openside flank." We lost at Ellis Park for reasons unconnected to Louw.
somer
Guest
Yeah Louw is easily one of the best in the world. Hooper 1st and Louw 12th is laughable when consider Louw's complete domination of Hooper in the RC last year and I predict we'll see exactly the same in Perth.
canadiankiwi
Guest
The All Blacks' flankers 4 times!
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Well said Rob, couldn't agree more. But where is all the supposed depth in Australian Rugby that many keep harping on about. We are very light on at second row, 6 & 8. We just don't have the athleticism of the NZ players in these positions. There guys are thoroughbreds whereas our guys are plodders. The ARU must target up n coming AFL players as potential tall timber prospects. They all can't play AFL at elite level so have a crack. The Rebels second rower Neville was plucked from rowing. Perhaps targeting basketball players is also an option. The game is not producing the forward talent so must look outside the square. Also a scrum / tight 5 academy must happen, we have been calling for this for 10 years. Headed up by Topo the best young talent could live and breath scrummaging and live in the weights room. This process could apply to our best young second rowers and aspiring talents from other codes. Australian Rugby has to think outside the square.
hasbeen flanker
Guest
A lot of guys agreeing Link was tapped on the shoulder from North Sydney.....sad if it's true. Agree on Hooper, I'm not showing a lot of love ATM and you've summed up exactly my reason why too. Also, Hodgson must be considered, especially in front of the home crowd next test to have a crack.....to have had the season he's had and be denied would be a travesty. Hadn't thought of Higgers as (C) but agree 100% about captaincy being given to a 22 year old. A further reflection of the immaturity in our rugby. He got there after injury let's face it (Moore) so let's hope it reverts back shortly and he can concentrate on the head down arse up stuff good 7's are born to do.
Mana in Mosman
Guest
Skelton a mongrel ?!?!? Now that's funny !!' More like a big fat slow docile giant. He's soft like his sloppy core .
Harry Jones
Expert
What a rubbish list Opensiders mixed w blindsiders Louw outside the top ten; who has outplayed him in last 24 months?
canadiankiwi
Guest
Thierry Dusatoir is the 28th best flanker in the world? Ya right!
canadiankiwi
Guest
You are dreaming if you think anyone outside of Australia would ever list Hooper the world's best flanker. You may want to have included Jerome Kaino and Matt Todd on your list.
canadiankiwi
Guest
Skelton is soft. He may be a giant, but he is not tough and horribly unfit. He was manhandled by the Blues's Patrick Tuipolutu. The Australian media, some at least, have built him up into a monster that he is not.
MiB
Guest
hey mate, yes I think we're all on the same page with the necessary changes! However, unfortunately, I don't think Link will be so brave. For whatever reason, he appears to be basing selections on a combination of: fear, doubt, defence and possible ARU pressure (KB). I think Hooper is a good player, but highly overrated. In terms of form and fitness he is certainly one of the best available to the WB's this year. I just don't believe he is performing his core role as a #7 effectively; the breakdown, turnovers, slowing down opposition ball, defence around the fringes. His form in those areas will improve, but I doubt it will happen while he's carrying the burden of captaincy (he is too young to truly lead an international team - even if his performance were at it's peak). For me, Hodgson is a better #7 particularly as a starter. And he brings experience to the pack. Hooper would be better utilised at the 60min mark when tired legs open up the field. I also believe that Higgers would bring the energy missing at #8 and wouldn't look out of place with the (c) next to his name. From this starting lineup you have good coverage in the scrums, lineouts and at the breakdown.
hasbeen flanker
Guest
MiB I listed a slightly different team list on another thread but respect for yours. Looks well balanced, with the changes where we have all generally agreed they need to occur. But you haven't expounded why you've left Hooper out to StuB or Jason above, who rates him at the pinnacle!! Stu, rookie write, rookie errors dude. That you notice Hoopers hair and his running raids before you notice that he was way way way off the mark with the rest of the backrow last Saturday (doing the "over the ball" work that backrowers are paid to do!) tells me you will need to write two stories daily for another season (or 2) before you get a promotion from the ROAR editor mate. And Jason, whose list is that BTW......?? Yours? The Waratah's fan clubs list?? That McCaw isn't #1 and Duastoir a close 2nd is a joke. Hoops is a great ball runner but has MUCH to learn about #7 play I'm afraid. I think Horwill has to come into the 2nd row and I think he has a prime opportunity to play the kind of solid second row rugby we know he is capable of. I'm a little wary of starting big Will but would love to see him man handle the Bokke pack. If anybody witnessed how those big bucks from the Pampas schooled them last weekend you'd better hope we've had an extra weatie by the time we face them.
MiB
Guest
I wrote this on another article, but for the WB's to compete at the breakdown and unleash the backs, this needs to happen - 1. Slipper 2. Hanson 3. Kepu 4. Skelton 5. Horwill 6. Fardy 7. Hodgson 8. Higgers (c) 9. Phipps 10. Foley 11. Beale 12. Toomua 13. Kuridrani 14. AAC (vc) 15. Folau 16. Fainga’a 17. Sio 18. Alexander 19. Simmons 20. Hooper 21. Burgess 22. Godwin 23. Betham
mattyp
Guest
Nice list but... if we were picking a world XV to play the martians for the salvation of the planet, I would pick McCaw and Dusautoir every time. You just know that they won't let you down.
Rob9
Guest
Completely agree with the premise of your article. 4, 5 and 6 were the key difference (not the only one) between us and the AB’s last weekend and until we have a solution, there will always be a gap between us and NZ (and probably us and the Boks as well). I’m not a fan of starting Fardy, Higginbotham and McCalman in those spots though. I think Fardy and the 4 locks currently in our squad are all ‘good’ players, but we really are crying out for two of them to step up and be the destructive pillars we need to rip into our opponents gain line while creating that platform for some quality front foot ball. Simmons is great at lineout time and has shown his physical attributes at times in the past. Has grown a lot over the last two years but still not the consistent performer we need. Carter has shown a lot of potential but is obviously new to test rugby and has much to learn. His height into contact on the weekend was a frightening indictment on his test credentials. He’d benefit a lot from having a dominant lock beside him to show him the way. Skelton also has mountains of potential. Going the distance appears to be the issue for him but I believe the big fella will get there. Horwill has been what we need previously. Can he get back there again? Fardy is also in the hot and cold basket. If he can be more hot than cold, I’d be happy to have him as a lock but he doesn’t have time on his side like 3 of the other 4 options. For the rest of the Rugby Championship, I’d go 4- Skelton 5-Horwill 6- Higginbotham and 19- Fardy to cover the second row and 6. This is a bit alarmist and a frantic approach to finding the players we need after being shown how far behind we are in this department. But... I think we should bite the bullet and start big Will. He’s our most promising lock for the future and even if it’s an investment in that future, so be it. He went the distance against the Lions last year for the Tahs and I think he’ll be right for 50-60 minutes. Better that than 20-30 at the end. As I said, Horwill has been a shining light for us in the past. His selection is a tip of the cap to this while hoping he can recapture some of the form that saw guide the Reds to a maiden SR title and rise to take the test captaincy before the last RWC. He showed glimpses of his best for the Reds this year, hopefully he has a blinder in the NRC this weekend and he’s ready to go for the Boks. Higgers was great when he came on last weekend. Hopefully he’s now finally ready to take his Super Rugby form over to the test arena. When we have a traditional over the ball 7 in Pocock back (provided he gets back to his best), we’ll have a really nicely balanced backrow that’s up there with the best of them (provided we see more of Sydney Palu as opposed to Auckland Palu). All of this said, instead of trying to get players like JOC back and holding onto Beale, can we focus just as much attention on our forwards that are leaving or have gone? Let’s have a crack at getting Peter Kimlin back. He was a standout for the Brumbies last year and provided that grunt and punch that’s lacking at the moment.
Jason
Guest
Worlds Top Ten Flankers The Waratahs seemed well placed for their first Super Rugby title, led by our Top Flanker and Wallaby captain Michael Hooper. His presence on the world stage over the last year has been prolific, with 13 tests and 15 SXV appearances as of this writing, and remarkably consistent. Further down the list is Matt Hodgson, who has done all his work in Super Rugby with the surprisingly successful Force. England have stepped up the tempo under Stuart Lancaster, facilitated by captain Chris Robshaw and the dynamic Tom Wood. Interestingly, only Robshaw, Wood and Steven Luatua on our list are regular lineout targets. Given that it is a source of stats that count in our ratings, we might have expected more. The talismanic All Blacks captain Richie McCaw checks in at #3, despite missing a large swath of the Super Rugby season and perhaps losing a step as the years go by. Liam Messam has a similar rugby profile to McCaw and has made the most of the injury bug that has hit the New Zealand blindside community. The Sharks' duo of Willem Alberts and Marcell Coetzee represent South Africa, with the former being a test regular over the last year and the latter catapulting himself onto the list with a two try performance against a weakened Scottish side at the end of the June tours. Ireland put Chris Henry into the list with his very strong Six Nations campaign and we scan down further to find his teammate Peter O'Mahoney at #15. Other names worth watching include Francois Louw at #12, Luke Braid at #13, Jacques Du Plessis at #14, Yannick Nyanga at #21, Dan Lydiate at #25, Thierry Dusautoir at #28 and Sam Warburton at #30. Top Ten: 1. Michael Hooper 2. Chris Robshaw 3. Richie McCaw 4. Tom Wood 5. Liam Messam 6. Willem Alberts 7. Marcell Coetzee 8. Chris Henry 9. Matt Hodgson 10. Steven Luatua
trent
Guest
'Hodgson’s little black book contains only two rugby secrets – pilfer in defence, go forward in attack. He actually swiped it from Richie McCaw’s hotel and hasn’t had to add a thing.' I like your trail of thought but I would also add the following: He is an experienced lineout jumper and can call the lineout. His reported vertical jump is off the scale and have you seen the long arms on the guy? No wonder you can't get past the man. He can cover the entire backrower if required on the night. He is the single most experienced player in the squad. He played and captained the Australian 7s team. Played Australia A. Has 13 super rugby seasons to draw from. He has won 3 Force player of the year awards, even back in the day when they had over a dozen Wallabies in the team. He has been in the Wallabies since 2009 with few opportunities. And he is a proven talented leader. His stats this year in defence we all know but he was also the highest scoring Forward which rarely gets a mention. To keep this guy in a suit on game day is a mistake.
Mike
Guest
I'm really not sure about a lot of your suggestions, but the basic premise of your article is correct - its the forwards that matter!
Hoy
Roar Guru
We use our Rowers for carries, only they don't really carry for metres at all. Think Nathan Sharpe. Touch him, and he fell down. There was no fight for metres at all from him. And now we have more than just the one doing it. I don't know if they are coached to do it, for quicker, cleaner ball, but IF we are going to use our rowers for so many carries, lets select some who will mongrel up and carry for metres. Get some aggressive rowers who CAN carry. Carter has been terrible in the last two games. Happen to be the only two I think I have seen of him... Maybe France, but I can't even recall what he played like then...In Bledisloe 1, everyone in the world must have noticed how damn high he was carrying. Surely that can be addressed quite easily can't it? But no... Come Bledisloe 2, he ran just as high, and turned over ball just as easily. Next rant? Hookers at 5/8! Why does Australia insist on running our hookers at first receiver from phase play? Get them out of the way, and running off an actual 5/8 maybe? Might be handy... Might not stolt our attack so much. Rant number 85 over...
thoughts
Guest
Ok so clearly you've never had the honour of kneeling with your head between a prop and a Hooker's size 44s and had your shoulders near ripped from your neck but surely you were watching not 6 days ago when our scrum got ripped apart because we had to put a part timer in the second row. Carrying the ball is not a 4 & 5's job. We have the same number of back rowers as everyone else. If they get beaten the answer is not to get more of them.