Cheika has been checkmated once again

What I have noticed Refereeing at Junior is the trend of uncontested scrums. Meaning that teams are not learning how to scrum which will mean in 10-15 years playing for the Wallabies will not be able to scrum. Coaches are not teaching players how to scrum. Those same are clearing using it as a tactic as they are afraid of coaches who do teach their players to scrum. It is happening at the GPS comp in Brisbane which is a worrying trend. In regards to player safety, if the front row don't learn to scrum, I consider that to be unsafe as they will have no idea how to deal with front rows who can scrum.

Quite correct about our domestic Comp. grass roots rugby is dying on the Gold Coast. Not only are the private schools getting the regular Saturday fixtures and Juniors having to travel on Sunday's to Brisbane is a joke. We are loosing quality players to Rugby League, our State High Schools having know one to play. To top it off The Gold Coast Rugby Union was dismantled due to Money going missing. It's a huge strain on some families. Private schools need to play during a school week Bring back Saturday rugby to all Juniors The ARU need to look at helping our unions Let's start a NPC type scenario between Gold Coast , Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and from there you choose your Queensland side. Not this NRC

The change of the guard should have happened when Cheika become coach. New young and up and coming with experiance should have been introduced with a future plan Building phase towards the World Cup. To me it seems that who ever wins back the Bledisloe Cup will be the hero of the nation and the ARU should be held responsible. Who are the selectors of the wallabies. Who is responsible for selecting the right players for the future. The young guys that played against England to me did pretty damn well but were axed. How are they suppose to lean. I'm a Very dissapointed All Black fan who has always rated the Wallabies in high regards and the only Team I will not bet against when they play the All Blacks. Past history has shown very different results.

Far from true peterk but saying things like that makes sore losers feel better. Maybe follow another sport?

We have no players due to the deterioration of our domestic comps. This was a deliberate strategy of the ARU, so Pulver is responsible.

That truely is a thought provoking post!

Spot on Falco!!!

nmpcart, those are very valid points you raised. As you said, even your 10 year old could see that basic fundamentals were missing (draw and pass), why can't the so called experts see it?

Actually Nico, the person making the comment is extremely involved in junior rugby at club level, so they are not talking some fairy land idea. No-one said that the younger players were magically going to do well, the point was that the same old group that Cheika is sticking with are showing that they really are not good enough, so do you keep them there for a nice superannuation deal or do you say to them go away and improve, we're getting someone else in who can be developed. Could you say that Tevita Kuridrani, as an example, has developed and improved in any way over the last year or so? I'm sure he is trying but if he can't improve his skills to the level needed then they need to find someone who actually can be developed. Same with many of them. I don't necessarily agree that you discard a team's worth of players because the talent to replace them is not there, but some people need to have the wake up call of being dropped and someone else tried. There is often criticism of junior rugby ranks but in Brisbane junior rugby is in a healthy state - I can't say whether the talent is there or not but there are certainly lots of kids playing it. Keeping them in the game is an issue, especially when high schools come along and won't let them play for their clubs any longer, so that they can play a whopping 8 games in a school season. That's where self interest comes in.

• Rickety Knees said | November 28th 2012 @ 8:33am | Report comment Way back then Rickety, this was a post of yours in response to Uncle. I kept it and refer to occasionally because it resonated. There is much I recognise in myself. The reason for posting this ?, well, strangers can have positive influences. I hope you are well mate, whoever you are. Onside Rickety Knees said | November 28th 2012 @ 8:33am | There are three specific negative archetypes that we are saddled with – the Saboteur, the Victim and the Prostitute (not the sexual type but the one that sells himself to the highest bidder). Part of the journey of life is to acknowledge these within and then to master them when they present themselves. I agree with the sentiment of your well worded post. Cooper will regret sabotaging his life i.e, not accepting the original ARU contract worth an apparent total of $400k plus another $400k from Qld – to his toxic comment (Sabotage) – to now its the ARU’s fault (Cooper is now the victim) for replacing the original contract with an incentive based one- to seeking his fortune in boxing (Selling himself to Nasser’s illusionary pot of gold that could see him cop the belting of his life). Indeed Uncle, the valley will look much greener then ….

agree, add PI's players propping it up as well. Without ex-pat NZ and PI players rugby would be dead.

Rugby union cannot be considered other than a niche sport in Australia and its base will continue to contract dramatically for the forseeable future. There is a very strong possibility that it will never reclaim widespread appeal, with the only comfort available to rugby associations being that there are so many Australian based New Zealanders propping up local support.

Rickety Knees - I disagree on one thing. The player quality just is not there. There are not quality young players being over looked by and large. There is little depth. Good players coming through but not great i.e not that much of an improvement anyway. Hooker - Ready Lock - Coleman, Arnold no 6 - Timani 8 - Holloway 9 - Louwren, Stirzaker 12 - Hodge 13 - Kerevi wing - Koirebtte / Naivalu So at best replacing some of the old timers and no depth after that to cover injuries.

"...ARU needs to just accept they will lose for a number of years and get rid of many of the current players and bring on young guys, knowing there will be short term pain..." Anybody in this country who cannot see that rugby is in a serious state of decline is in complete denial or has no idea what is happening at the junior level. The continued failure to inject resources into junior rugby and grass roots means that the next generation is going to be considerably smaller again. So just where all these new 'fandango' players are going to come from to replace some of the mediocre existing ones is a flawed thinking to say the least. The number of international quality players coming through is going to get less not more. When you have a top-down approach and the top starts to fail... you know your days are numbered! If the ARU continues to neglect junior rugby and grass roots... and the numbers involved continue to contract... the next generation will be half the size of the existing one and already we are bemoaning the lack of quality players. Work it out. We are up the creek at the moment and a paddle is not in sight.

You could steal the entire Queensland SO team and Cheika would ignore them. He'd be more likely to pull Eales and Larkham out of retirement.

"As much as I have admired Cheika as coach " For what? What has Cheika brought to the Wallabies that is different than Link or Deans for that matter? He uses the same, old, tired players. He uses the same one dimensional tactics, even after getting plugged 3 zip against England, he continues with the same dumb tactics. The reality is, the Wallabies got a "bounce" that change often brings, a favourable RC draw, played a AB team that arrived from SA which had the RWC squad announced midweek and as expected, were flat in the RC decider. Amends were made the following week at Eden Park. That really is Cheika's only success. Be honest with yourselves. After finishing top of your pool (against a pitiful England and a team that hasn't beaten the AB's in 60+ years), there were no real obstacles in your way to the RWC final. Even then, you blew it against Scotland (who have never beaten the AB's) but for an appalling refs decision. The ONLY thing Cheika has done since taking over as coach is get the Gitaeu law introduced to the detriment of Australian rugby. How's that law working out for you then? Cheika has 4 years to develop the next RWC team. But he's bringing back pensioners from France to prop up his team and introducing no new talent whatsoever. So not only are you failing now, you are going to keep failing through to the next RWC. Cheika will leave and the next coach (whoever the poor bugga will be), is going to have to start from scratch because Cheika is doing nothing for the future of the Wallabies. Get rid of Cheika or face a looooong time with pitiful results.

I'd happily steal the dragons Tyson frizzel, he's way to good for league.