I tried to be positive, I really did. I sat down with the remote and a notepad to watch the replay of Bledisloe III and had notions of writing a ‘five positives’ article to submit.
However as I watched and rewound and watched again I kept coming back to certain key moments, moments that while seemingly minor, highlighted the Wallabies lack of leadership on the field. Moments that cost them the sight of a golden dawn peeking through the darkness.
While it cannot be argued that the Wallabies played well for most of Saturday night, the positives in the game plan and the performance of certain players all seem rather irrelevant now that a new coach is about to come in.
Instead I am going to focus on how, to my eyes, the Wallabies were let down by some poor game management. I consider this to be a very worrying trend for the Wallabies – who have been guilty of not playing the full eighty minutes a few times this year. Indeed the two best performances by the Wallabies in the past three years have come in losses in 2014 (at Newlands Stadium and at Suncorp Stadium) during which the Wallabies have been overrun at the end of the match.
Moment 1: The Empire Strikes Back – Timestamp: 12:00 to 16:00
We all know it. It’s as certain as death and taxes, the All Blacks are most dangerous just after they’ve given up points.
Nick Phipps scores and the Wallabies celebrate, appropriately so after scoring first, but where was the chat from the on-field leadership telling them to focus on the upcoming restart?
Watch the replay and Wallaby captain Michael Hooper, who is in the ruck that Phipps scores from, gets up and walks back to halfway by himself, he doesn’t congratulate Phipps, doesn’t join the team celebration. He walks away without saying a word.
While Foley is lining up the conversion you can see the Wallabies spread out back in their own half and Hooper walking alone to his restart spot.
His body language displays relief, the rest of the Wallabies look relaxed as they await the restart.
What happens next? 26 seconds after Beauden Barrett’s kick-off, Cory Jane scores in the corner.
That’s just not good enough. Hooper as the captain needed to draw the Wallabies in for 10 seconds on halfway and say “Hey, these guys are going to hit us now, focus. Secure this kick off.”
I’m going to include Adam Ashley-Cooper and James Slipper in that criticism too. They were two most experienced Wallabies on the park and both vice-captains as well, but the main fault lies with the captain himself.
Moment 2: Nick Phipps versus Liam Messam -Timestamp: 45:40
What happened? Messam is on the wrong side of the ruck and interferes with the play which leads to Phipps making a poor forward pass. Messam then stands up and has a word to Phipps, getting all up in his grill, and Phipps being doesn’t back down.
Hooper then meanders into the fray (hands on hips 15 seconds after the whistle) and steps forward, puts his hand on Messam’s chest and shoves him backwards, and clearly tells him to F-off, twice.
Messam and Phipps continue to mouth off and Joubert stands between them and tries to calm them down. Joubert then pulls Hooper up and reprimands him “Do you want to lead by example?” he asks twice.
What should have happened? Hooper should have grabbed Phipps and dragged him a step, turned his back on the All Blacks, and loudly said something along the lines of, “Nick, look at the scoreboard. He’s mouthing off because he’s scared. If you want to get to him, do it on the scoreboard, where it matters.”
I can’t recall the number of times I have said something similar to calm temper flare ups in matches. Then he should have turned to Richie and, right in front of Joubert, loudly said, “Hey Richie, how about you control your guys?”
This was a failure in leadership. Hooper was simply too immature to realise that dealing with his own players was his responsibility. Instead he wanted to shove an opposition player and act tough.
He wasn’t smart enough to realise that he had an opportunity to put it in the referee’s head that the opposition were losing control and engaging in niggle.
By not being to the situation fast enough he also missed the opportunity to talk to Joubert about the fact that Messam was on the wrong side of the ruck affecting the Wallabies’ play – exactly the thing Joubert had warned McCaw about at the 31-minute mark, after four All Black penalties in ten minutes.
Instead he got the referee offside by putting Joubert in the situation where he was doing the captain’s job.
Moment 3: Closing out the game – Timestamp: 76:30
This is at the restart after White’s long-range penalty. The Wallabies secure the ball from the restart and are at 38 metres from their own line. There is 200 seconds to go. Five phases later Wallabies get to 43 metres out, 165 seconds to go.
They are trying to close up shop, but three minutes is a long time in rugby. The Wallabies give away a penalty for holding on, but they get the ball back because Slade misses touch!
Joe Tomane runs it back and the All Blacks turn the ball over immediately with 125 seconds to go.
At this point it is blindingly obvious that the All Blacks are attacking with their defence and flooding the breakdown going for penalties and turnovers. The Wallabies need to get out of their half.
The opportunity comes the very next phase when White pounces on a loose ball 26 metres out from the line. Instead of hoofing it downfield, the Wallabies try to set the ball with one-out forward runners, except the Wallaby forwards are (a) solitary instead of in pods for momentum and weight, and (b) standing still to receive the ball meaning the All Blacks are driving them back every tackle.
Three phases later the Wallabies are inside their own 22 with 95 seconds to go. White box kicks about seven metres forward, and we all know what comes next, seven phases later Fekitoa crashes over and Slade nails the conversion to seal a one-point win.
Trying to close up shop was a bad decision. It’s all well and good to try and retain possession with a ‘they can’t win without the ball’ mentality, but in that case the Wallabies should have done what they had been doing all game – punching the ball up in the centres or one channel wider with Tevita Kuridrani and Israel Folau and then working the short blind with forward runners.
The one-out stuff doesn’t work. The right option was a pass back to either Folau or White himself with someone else at scrumhalf for a big kick downfield with a hard chase from Lealiifano, Ashley-Cooper and Tomane.
But the Wallabies weren’t set up for that. Neither Foley nor White had the presence of mind to think of it.
In this instance the fault is not Hooper’s. There was no break in play for him to say “get out of our half”, although he should have said it before the restart).
I am going to pin this one squarely on Ashley-Cooper, who is both vice-captain and the most capped backline member. He is also a back-three player with a decent boot.
The Wallabies have been weighed down by a dearth of on-field leadership all rugby championship, and it cost them the match on Saturday.
Garry
Guest
Love your work (mostly) Red Kev however I am a firm believer that possession is king and I don't buy the boot it downfield with 2 mins to go as a sensible option. All Blacks with possession anywhere with 1 mins to go needing points is just too dangerous for me. They have form, good form and maintaining possession (ie; not kicking) is how we got to be leading the game. If it comes down to simply risk management then making the All Blacks defend for 2 mins in our 22 is much safer than having them in possession on their own 22. One moment that had me wondering where Hooper was is the Aaron Smith try where the tap was taken nowhere near where the offence occurred, a point that Hooper did not even seem to consider worthy of comment to the referee. I like Hooper, love him in fact as a player but his on-field management of the team is sadly inept.
Zero Gain
Guest
I have no reason to believe that Hooper is anything but a great bloke, a great team mate and a very, very good rugby player. But he is not a captain and he is not a no7. We can't be the best in the world without a captain or a no 7, can we.
Geoff Brisbane
Guest
Wallabies can ill afford the loss of close matches because of poor leadership/direction. Hooper does not possess the abilities of a captain at international level. And yes it takes time for a good captain to develop but some of his decisions have not been what is required and dare I say it even at super level. My captain at lowly club level is making better decisions then Hooper. Winning games is what is required to bring more supporters new and old to follow the Wallabies and rugby, but because of poor on field decision making and leadership it ain't happening. How many more close losses are the Wallabies and Australian supporters prepared to take before a decision to change leaders occurs.
Rouaan
Guest
Totally agree with the article...WBs should have won Bled I and Bled III. I however include McKenzie as coach as he is next to the field and can definitely get some messages across to Hooper, AAC and Foley in the last 10 minutes of a tight test. I was worried about Hooper being captain after Moore's injury. Youngsters do not close out tight test matches....it has been proven so many times. McKenzie should have stepped up in those last 10 mins in both tests. Regarding Messam's clear off-side play, I blame Joubert for not penalising him. Phipps had the right to protest as all scrumhalves do it under those circumstances. Juobert chose not to penalise and that's why Messam, even being clearly offside, had the guts to engage Phipps in an exchange. Joubert stays a bad ref when it comes to penalising the ABs> They make all those penalties and they should just be penalised.
Red Kev
Roar Guru
No it isn't. Anyone who has watched the Wallabies with even a modicum of rugby knowledge will have seen that they are lacking in on field leadership, that they drift in and out of games and have been unable to close out games they should have won. That isn't up for debate, that is unequivocal fact. "...I watched and rewound and watched again I kept coming back to certain key moments, moments that while seemingly minor, highlighted the Wallabies lack of leadership on the field. Moments that cost them..." I picked moments to highlight it - an article has to be succinct you know. I could have picked apart the decision to go for the line 3 times in succession within 9 minutes and failing to get any points before finally going for the posts after the 4th penalty in 10 minutes. I could have gone on about the lack of leadership shown when the ABs were down a man. I could have highlighted the lack of chatter and huddle after the Wallabies gave away points. I could have detailed the delays in Hooper's decisions after penalties. I could have listed every moment that Hooper was swanning out in the backline. I could have done the same for the last two matches against Argentina and South Africa too. The moments are picked are meant as good examples of what Hooper is doing wrong: - Not grounding the players and refocussing them after the try; - Getting on the wrong side of the referee in a situation where the All Blacks should have been getting a talking to; - Blowing a lead at the end of the match. They aren't conjecture. "Ideally" doesn't come into it. "Ideally" the Wallabies wouldn't be down 6 hookers. "Ideally" the Wallaby captain wouldn't be injured. "Ideally" the Wallabies wouldn't have lost a coach 5 days before a 4-test tour. "Ideally" there would be a core of veterans to surround a young captain with, and a solid leadership group to help shoulder the load. Guess what, there isn't. Right now the Wallabies can't afford a captain who lacks the experience and maturity to handle the big moments, who can't talk to referees, who can't command the respect of both officials and players - the Owens and Joubert incidents alone should be death knells for any captain.
Ken
Guest
Sorry Cadfael, but If you`re annointed as aussie captain you get no slack, you do your job , this isn`t over 35`s subbles on a sunday ,..Give it to someone else, because this kid aint got the right stuff !!
stillmissit
Roar Guru
Benna - Does your statement dismiss the lack of basic captains nous? He arrogantly dismissed a good chance to take 3 points at the end of the first half and they lose by one point. He needs to learn a couple of things about International rugby and that is, it ain't Super rugby, points don't fall off trees. The other points made here show that nobody is schooling him Captains are made as much as they are born - John Eales was a classic example.
soapit
Guest
probably none of it. and probably none of it is likely to change unless australia becomes new zealand. get on with the job robbie, oh ..wait.
Sportym
Guest
And you are just a Hooper apologist..... The fact is , he as an awful captain. Keep up the apology campaign, it does not change the facts though.
ozinsa
Guest
Was the problem exclusively with on-field leadership or does the message coming from the coach's box need to be reviewed too? If we accept that putting Cooper on the bench was the right call (and it has to be questioned given the rugby he hasn't played in the past four months) then we should ask why he wasn't given the opportunity to close the game out when Foley was struggling for fitness. Does White at any time and Foley when running on empty look a better option to close out this match than Genia and Cooper? I think not. And that sort of tactical mistake was made from the relative calm of a selection table or coach's box. Hard to then turn your attention to a young captain failing to rev up his charges after scoring in the first quarter of the game. Feels like an exercise in bashing Hooper even if you say it isn't. That said, the last two points are hard to dispute and indicate Hooper needs some help if he is to keep the role after Pocock and Moore are back
PiratesRugby
Guest
I thought Hooper would not survive as a 7. I was wrong. In fact, he's been our best player at times. I also thought he wouldn't survive as captain. Too young and inexperienced. But he's the captain of the s15 winning team. That's a good start. Like people above have said, we should cut him some slack. Regrettably, he has failed at almost every challenge. His game management is nonexistent. He gave up penalty points in Sydney to go for tries and came away with nothing. No thoughts of a drop goal either, just go for the try. Red Kev has identified many of the flaws in Hoopers ref management. How embarrassing to be told off by Joubert like that. He gets no respect. Nigel Owens asked him to speak to his men. hooper said "it's hard". Oh god, how ebarrassing. It's the national team not the Colts. He should've come out and made it clear that the WBs players and staff do not condone sexual harassment and respect the contribution of women to the game. Silence. But Beale's a great player, apparently. Whilst we should give Hooper every chance to find his feet as captain , it is still fair to say that he's not done much to impress.
bennalong
Guest
Thanks for your contribution Kia A pleasure to read commentary that seeks to enlighten rather than simply criticise. The appointment of McKenzie two weeks before the double Bled last year (a stupid idea in itself) was monumentally incompetent by both the ARU and McKenzie himself. Nevertheless the toxic nature of provincialism in Oz guarantees ANY losses will see brickbats flying from all points outside NSW. The idea of having input from Larkham and Foley was an attempt to get national support but we may have to wait for Bledisloe triumph to get Oz back behind the Wallabies.
Chivas
Guest
That is quite a mature and sensible comment. For once I have nothing to say :-)
Chivas
Guest
He did struggle when he first got the captaincy. Something I believe he even mentioned in his book. He was way young and didn't have the respect of the team or the confidence. It came over time. I am guessing Tinman above reads the papers and watches the highlights more than following the game too closely,
bennalong
Guest
What did you think of his leadership of the Tahs Brett? I don't remember criticism.
bennalong
Guest
This all goes back to the coach No-one following the Tahs had any reason to criticise Hooper's leadership! Care to tell me why?IMO: ......Because everyone knew their roles and all were more worried abouit letting the team down than their own Star Come up with a better reason or leave Hooper off your nark list.
bennalong
Guest
This all goes back to the coach No-one following the Tahs had any reason to criticise Hooper's leadership! Care to tell me why?IMO: ......Because everyone knew their roles and all were more worried abouit letting the team down than their own Star Come up with a better reason or leave Hooper off your nark list.
OJP
Guest
Don, how can you possibly say that AAC has shown no leadership.... did you not read the story of his authoring an epic poem for his teammates and then reading said poem out to the whole Tah's outfit in their final run before the S15 final, which of course they went onto win with AAC scoring a brace of tries himself. Unlocking the inspirational power of poetry ... that's leadership right there!
Kia Kaha
Guest
Cheika's already hinted at issues with the ARU. The only thing to do to keep the critics at bay is achieve noteworthy results. Up north, that's realistic though certainly challenging. In the RC, it's nigh on impossible with the current crop of players which is not to say they are not good enough but more a reflection of what they are up against. Fail to win consistently against SA and NZ will bring out the divisions. Unrealistic but that's the sad reality Deans and McKenzie found out.
Digby
Roar Guru
Yes, and that experience and confidence tends to trickle down into the Super teams as well with a solid core of experienced players and role models spread through the Super teams which OZ seems to lack with a smaller talent pool and losing a number overseas. I genuinely hope Cheika does well but amongst what seems to be a fair bit of euphoria at his appointment, Ewens appointment was also championed. Time will tell I guess but overcoming the divisive nature of OZ rugby will be a massive challenge.