Reading Spiro’s piece on the attributes of Michael Cheika, I couldn’t help but agree with at least one of the sentiments that Mr Cheika ends to tone down the rhetoric on refereeing.
The Wallabies were thumped in the first Bledisloe by six tries to nil and in the second by four tries to nil. Nothing to do with the ref there.
And thanks to Spiro for writing the piece. There is no one more likely to be heeded my said Mr Cheika than the doyen of rugby journalism in Australia. Whether he reads the article, ponders on it and modifies behaviour is up to him. Worth the effort though.
But what of recent Wallaby coaching? My personal view is that Robbie Deans was the best of the last three. He seemed to be able to win fairly regularly against any opposition other than the All Blacks and occasionally hit one out of the park there too.
Ewen McKenzie was well schooled by long apprenticeships with Rod Macqueen and Eddie Jones and as the longest-serving Waratahs coach. He learned the trade well and his record with the Wallabies stands pretty proudly. From memory his team beat the All Blacks once or twice and the final game came down to a one-point differential.
A great pity about the demises of both these men. I guess it was arguable that we needed an Austrlian coach to succeed Robbie and it should be remembered that Ewen resigned rather than was pushed.
Michael Cheika was catapulted into the job with much less tuition than either of his predecessors. For mine, his great attribute has been in recruitment. With the Waratahs he sourced Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau. Without those signings the Waratahs would not have won their title.
He also recruited Mario Ledesma to fix the perennially ailing scrums, retained a handy defence coach in Nathan Grey and opened his arms to rival Stephen Larkham.
So here we come to the test of Michael Cheika. Can he overcome his aggressive nature when talking about the fault of everyone else and can he develop players?
Player nurturing will be the way forward for the Wallabies whoever the coach is. To find the talent and then to school them into a formidable unit will take some time.
Others have commented on the need to rotate players and whether that is done in a timely manner will be self evident. Irrespective though is the need to lead a squad of fifty or so up the incline to the pinnacle of the game’s competitions.
In a way, the failures against the All Blacks are akin to the failures of New South Wales against the Maroons in State of Origin. The lopsidedness has become entrenched but we know it will level out at some point.
So Michael, please heed Spiro’s words. His intentions are honourable. And please build as much strength as you can to cover each field position for the next generation of Wallabies.
troy
Guest
proofs in the pudding and seen no evidence of tactical superiority.
troy
Guest
link was found out as unprofessional in dealings with patston wasn't he?
troy
Guest
denial in spite of the facts defines delusion doesn't it?
Felix
Guest
Of course He can. If he starts to select with his "head" instead of his "heart"!! Also to look to the future & "blood" newer players in all positons.He should also "heed" Spiro's critisisms in the "spirit" that it was given.Let the Ref:'s do their job & get on with playing Rugby.Cheik's is still the best coach & motivator we have in Australia.He can & will find the "mongrel" that we lack at present. Go for it!!
Wayne
Guest
Foley wont be 10 in 2019
Bobbo7
Guest
Agree, though I don't think England are even close either. They could not give away massive possession to the ABs like they did to the Wallabies
Tycoch
Guest
Umpires = Cricket
Dave H
Roar Rookie
Sorry I disagree. Both the Pumas and Bokke have a better set piece, kicking game and defensive structure than the Wallabies. Playing field position and kicking penalties and droppies will get the Bokke wins and looking at the Pumas performance in Salta I am sure I saw some NZ influenced offloading in the forwards and backs attacking with a skill level beyond Australia's capacity to defend. I believe Australia will be lucky if they get one home win and I'm 50/50 on them achieving that.
Redbull
Guest
Probably not
CUW
Guest
maybe u shud look at how auzzy play at home and abroad. i think u will find a different philosophy .
Wag
Guest
Get rid of Cheika, and use MacQueen to monitor and guide a top, but less experienced, NORMAL coach. They ARE out there in Clubland and Highschool land
Wozza
Guest
It's not the end but the trend's not looking good. We should remain competitive but I expect our days at the high table are numbered and I next see us drinking from the BC ummm never :(
Wozza
Guest
Dealings with the ref are an issue but. Poite is a terrible referee but Moore is the real problem and everyone knows it. He is totally incapable of dealing with the officials. Step 1 for a better Wallaby team - replace Moore. DO IT NOW!!!
Davo
Guest
My wallabies team for spring tour (to blood for 2019 WC) 1 Alaalatoa 2 Ready (need I say more) 3 Robertson 4 Holloway 5 Coleman 6 McMahon VC 7 Pocock C 8 Timani 9 Powell 10 Foley 11 Naivalu 12 Hodge 13 Kerevi 14 Folau 15 Beale Bench: Smith, Sio, Hansen, Skelton, Douglass, Hooper, Phipps, Haylett-Petty
Wozza
Guest
It's funny how the people who whine about some Australians complaining about the ref when we lose are the same ones who complain about bad refs when we win.
Deano
Guest
@Pirates. Your delusions are quite frightening. I hope they don't let you drive a car. Nonu has received many yellowcards in his career... but he wasn't playing on Saturday. Do you think a ref should stop and say, " Oh no, I cannot card that Australian thug, Ma'a Nonu was guilty of something similar years ago in a different game"?
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yawn...
Deano
Guest
@ lancerman You must be a novice or a bluffer. There are referees in rugby, not umpires. Your puzzlement over the ABs not getting yellowcards just because Colemen got one is a sidesplitter. Do you think the referees dish them out by rote: one for yellow, one for black... You would have more credibility if you acknowledged the fact that Australia had a golden run with referees (umpires to you) at the world cup. The same ref that make a cock up to gift a Super rugby title to the Waratahs also gifted a RWC semi-final place to the Wallabies with an even bigger balls up. As you would expect, the whiney bunch that are now attempting to blame the Wallabies' woes on referee bias remained silent.
Akari
Roar Rookie
Partly perhaps because Cheika was rushed into the job to prepare the WBs for RWC 2015 and, if not for a red hot ABs side, could potentially have led the WBs all the way to the championship. Job done and on return, the players went back to their respective franchises to prepare for the 2016 super 18. I am not sure when Cheika’s ball-in-hand attacking style came into being but he was talking about it during the England tests in June this year. Jamie Pandaram of the Daily Telegraph reported, "the coach will not deviate from his game plan. Instead, he will put his players through a gruelling fitness camp in the lead-up to the Bledisloe showdown so they can execute the style under pressure and fatigue, which they failed to do against Eddie Jones’ team. “We’ve got to get a little fitter,” Cheika said. “If we want to play this much footy, we’ve got to be a little fitter.”'. (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/rugby/international-news/michael-cheika-says-the-wallabies-are-too-unfit-for-his-style-of-play/news-story/3c2c1c5cd12172be103170cf69dafb5f). If the ball-in-hand style was developed this year, it is obvious then that Michael Cheika will not have much time to get it adopted and refined by Oz franchises during super rugby 2016. Then again, this style was nullified by England according to JD via "smart tactical kicking and defence". One can only wonder why Cheika would persist with it and against a team that plays 'total rugby' with the personnel that are even better equipped than England when it comes to "smart tactical kicking and defence".
jameswm
Roar Guru
Mick Byrne might end up being the best signing. And Cheika needs to change the culture, starting with himself. More respect for the ref and the opposition. More hard play without off the ball stuff. etc