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Following Saturday’s debacle, I can understand the hue and cry of Australian fans and the knee-jerk reaction to sack the whole playing staff, irrespective of the calibre of the replacements.
However, I feel that the most obvious reason for some of the major issues has flown under the radar.
The coaching of the Wallabies.
Wind the clock back a few years to the appointment of Robbie Deans (with great fanfare), then his sacking, followed by the appointment of Ewen “Link” McKenzie (again to great fanfare) and his subsequent “long walk”, one of the saddest things I have ever seen.
Finally, the appointment of Michael Cheika (with, yet again, much fanfare) as the great saviour, based on his club and Super Rugby record.
The ARU bent over backwards to get him, allowing him to set his own terms, work part-time, while completing his Waratahs contract and change the rules regarding overseas players. As though that wasn’t enough, they appoint another rookie coach in Stephen Larkham as his part-time assistant.
We’ve all heard the comment that club rugby is not Super Rugby and more to the point, Super Rugby certainly isn’t Test rugby.
Why then do we assume that a coach, or coaches, can jump straight from club and Super rugby into the toughest competition in the world and perform?
The issue was also masked by Cheika’s fortuitous initial success during the “honeymoon” period, something that seems to happen every time a new coach takes over.
I tend to attribute this, to a large extent, to players losing their security blanket with the departing coach and trying very hard to impress the new regime.
Put simply, Cheika and Larkham are not cutting it at this level at the moment.
They’ve now been out-thought, outplayed and out-strategised in five consecutive matches by two wily and experienced old timers who have won both the verbal and playing exchanges hands down.
Wise rookie coaches should surround themselves with experienced assistants when they take over. I lost count of how many times Eddie Jones has done this, certainly even with Hansen’s experience he still has Forster and Wayne Smith (both full time) in tow.
It is possible that both Cheika and Larkham eventually develop into great international coaches if given the chance, and more importantly time, but at the moment, if Cheika would allow it, the best thing the ARU can do is import some readymade international experience into the coaching set up.
Mike Byrne was a start, but his skills are very specific, people such as Graham Henry and Wayne Smith come to mind, but that would be unlikely. Even a Bob Dwyer or somebody of similar ilk I feel would help.
I remember how well the initial World Cup set up worked for the All Blacks, with two great but not necessarily compatible coaches (Grizz Wylie and John Hart) being managed by an older and respected head in Brian Lochore, soothing the waters and allowing them to concentrate on their respective duties.
It’s not often I feel compassion for a coach, after all, they get very well paid for what they do, but the sight of Cheika in the post-match interview certainly made me sad. It was obvious he was hurting, at a loss to explain what just happened and seemed to have very little idea where to go from here.
The coaching team need help now, otherwise, I can see another “long walk” in the very near future and very little gain from the pain inflicted on the Wallabies at the moment.
And although not a Wallaby supporter, I’mm not short-sighted enough to think that what we witnessed last Saturday is good for the game we all love in the long term.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.