There are plenty of ways to play the rugby and the style of play has changed often over the years.
That’s what makes it a beautiful game and separates it from the rest; while league is checkers, rugby is chess.
Every player has a specific role, having a well thought out game plan is critical, you need to adjust your thinking if things are not going to plan, and you need to earn the right to go forward.
I do not know that much about chess however I am pretty sure that if you played with six castles (against full arsenal) that it would be hard to beat someone decent; and against a great player an all-out attack approach probably gets you unstuck pretty quickly. Anyway, enough of the analogies.
When I first started playing rugby the forwards concentrated on the set piece as well as using the pick and drive/rolling mauls to go forward, and the backs stood deep and close and used quick hands to get the ball on the outside – with basic loops and cuts or creative moves to create deception.
By the time I played grade, drift defence was just starting and the backs stood wider and used a longer passing game to get outside the drift, or a five-eighth drifting across with a hard runner coming back in to get inside the drift.
Inside Centres were ‘over the advantage line runners’ who set up the second phase. There were some variations throughout this time – such as Bob Dywer stood the backs flatter and did all his plays on the advantage line to take time and space away from the defence.
With the advent of professionalism, defences improved and forwards became more multi-skilled. The Brumbies/Macqueen era saw the introduction of continuous phase play, committing fewer forwards to the breakdown in an attempt to wear down defences, create an eventual overlap or a ‘back on forward’ situation to exploit.
Eddie Jones probably took this a little further with phase plays being thought out well in advance, which probably over complicated the situation somewhat.
Attacks became very structured and players began to lose their ‘instincts’, that is, they stopped playing what was in front of them.
Needless to say, oppositions eventually worked out that they didn’t need to put as many forwards into the breakdown to defend the continuous Brumbies style. High fitness levels also meant that the defensive line could re-adjust much quicker.
This has resulted in the second line of backline play developing, whereby the ball is sent behind decoy runners who attempt to confuse or disrupt the defence, as well as the need for a second play maker role to provide options either side. And this is where Australia has become unstuck.
Love him or hate him, Bob Dwyer is on the money in my opinion.
By doing your plays at the advantage line you take the time and space away from the defenders. At the moment the second wave backline play being used just gives the defence time to read the play and re-align and this results in the Wallabies drifting towards the sideline and having limited space in the outer channels.
To make things worse we have also lost the ability to go forward initially and bend the defensive line, thus allowing the All Blacks to get excellent line speed. Therefore we often get caught behind the advantage line.
We seem to have lost the inside ball plays – i.e. George Gregan to Owen Finegan, or Digby Ioane off the five-eighth ball.
The pick and drive is rare and the rolling mauls is primarily used only at attacking lines outs. Surely if defences and fitness levels are at the highest that we have seen, the need to suck in numbers to the breakdown prior to going wide is a must.
In my opinion the All Blacks play with variation and incorporate both old and new backline styles. They play what is in front of them and make very good decisions. They use the second wave style effectively and their decoy runner are always playing havoc with opposition defences.
However as we have seen they will use quick hands when it is called for – rather than a cut out which often negates an overlap immediately – to get a man on the outside. And when they get a sniff of go-forward they punch hard at the defensive line to bend it, with straight runners hitting gaps.
Australia on the other hand are often on the back foot, we lack variation, and are therefore predictable.
It is not time to get rid of Cheika – we do not need the instability. However he needs to pick a balanced team for starters.
By playing two fetches, lack of lineout options, a fullback on the wing, a fullback who can’t kick, a small inside centre – the list goes on – it just gives the All Black staff the opportunities to exploit our weaknesses. They must love putting their game plan together.
And, as much as I liked Stephen Larkham as a player he has done nothing for the Brumbies or the Wallabies backline play. Let’s get back to basics and remember that we need to earn the right to go wide. Test match rugby is not Super rugby. If it is not on, then kick for territory.
Checkmate.
Ralph
Roar Guru
Nothing new under the sun is very true. But it is also true bringing the unexpected to the game day creates an advantage in a game of inches.
sheek
Roar Guru
I don't know if I agree with this article completely. Rugby is always evolving, & teams will revisit different styles over time, even the mighty ABs. The successful teams are usually the ones at the forefront of technological change, enjoying success before the others catch up. Then it's someone's else turn to find an edge. There is a saying that, "there is nothing new under the sun." When the Wallabies under the Ellas played a flat-line attack in the early 80s, this wasn't new. It was resurrected from the Kiwis either side of WW2. The Scots even claim to have invented the flat-line attack way back in the 1880s. The ABs aren't really doing anything new of different. They have decided to base their game on doing the basics exceptionally well, & everything at pace. One of the 1905/06 Originals when he wrote a technical book on how to play rugby, spoke of the 3 Ps - position, possession, pace. Get into position quickly, secure possession & do everything at pace. This much about the ABs style of play hasn't changed much in a 113 years of international rugby. The Kiwis generally don't get bogged down with one style, or philosophy of play. They teach themselves to be competent at any & every style/philosophy & have the confidence to change depending on circumstances.
Gunslinger
Guest
Well thought out team Gazza, and definitely an improvement on what is going on at the moment.
Adrian Denyer
Guest
Thank you for your tact Did you read anything, or are you just angry?
Andrewt
Roar Rookie
Yep MC needs to get going otherwise a few more loses could be the beginning of the end. However I am not sure that the ARU has an alternative. Bottom line is that we are not as good as the AB's. We don't have their depth of talent, their coaching expertise, their structure which breads excellence. So we need the stars to align to win. I just don't understand why we make it hard for ourselves by picking an unbalanced team and offering up weaknesses for them to exploit.
Andrewt
Roar Rookie
yep you are spot on ... the decoy runners are alight on the game ... time for change
Andrewt
Roar Rookie
thanks
Chucked
Guest
Great comments on the Decoy runners. I personally believe its a blight on rugby. its hardly ever used by All Black teams, yet is in almost EVERY backline move. It borders on inteference and the sooner the game is rid of this rubbish ploy the better - Aust backline may start to play to potential
coldturkey
Roar Rookie
Anton Oliver was a good example of that. When selected for the AB's his lineout throwing was rubbish and he was continually getting into strife with the ref. AB's were low on hooker stocks and persisted with him but he never became much of a line out thrower or good with the refs. He was good at scrumming and around the park though.
Porkie
Guest
Mabey that's the problem mike , Aussie brand of rugby has run its course, and needs to be updated, the ABs brand of rugby changes every year, depending on the player availability , their individual skill set, and the opponents , that's why they are so difficult to defeat .the next 5 years we will see an even younger and hungrier group of players looking to be Allblacks, it is all part of the continual changing and upgrading NZ rugby is going through
Kia Kaha
Guest
Enjoyed that thanks. Well thought out and executed, just like the AB game plan. ;) What struck me most reading this was the ebb and flow of national teams with different styles and different levels of success. The start and end points of the 90s really were golden years for the Wallabies. Did many of those players become household names because of their strengths as players or on the strength of their team performances. When I think back to the dark days of tests under Reuben Thorne or Todd Blackadder, the names don't reel off like they do for the 87-89 team for example. Golden era or golden record? The two seem to be linked together and winning becomes a habit just like losing can. Easier said than done but everything seems easier and rosier when you're winning and perhaps players seem a lot better when they're carving out victories. Just ask Wales fans. I'd argue they put up more of a fight than Australia and put some really good moves and scores together. They're like a good local band that everyone locally seems to like but fail ultimately to make it big internationally. Enough of the analogies. :)
Akari
Roar Rookie
MC needs at least 2 years IMO from now if we want him to develop players to be ready for the 2019 RWC...
Akari
Roar Rookie
I was thinking, Andrew, that MC may have picked the wrong players to implement his game plan. I agree that MC should pick the best 15 in their supposed best positions but there is a strong argument (eg, ABs) that players must lift their game and standard if they make the team and are playing out of position (eg, a 15 playing on the wing). If they can't (eg, DHP on the wing), then there is something wrong with the player for not ensuring that they get it right during training and every other opportunity they get. Sonny Bill Williams is well-known for taking notes and taking extra care that he gets it right when he moved from league to union. There really is no excuse for players like DHP not to do his homework and 5 tests in the making since June this year.
Mike
Guest
Best way for Aussie to beat AB's, go back to Aussie rugby brand and stop trying to play them at their own game. I really miss being nervous better AB v Aussie match. Just play your own game.
Master Chief
Roar Pro
How long should MC be given until he decides to pick a balanced team ? After all, he's the selector and therefor responsible for it. How long should he be given to experiment with things ? This is an approach that his predecessors would've been hung out to dry for.
Realist
Guest
Laughable. It's all Larkham's fault. BS, the buck stops with Cheika and his bizarre selections. The backs can't do anything with the terrible setpiece. Lineout is worse than ever and defense has disappeared.
Jimbo81
Guest
Holloway for number 8 as soon as he's fit. McMahon at 6. Fardy is a penalty magnet. Hooper dropped for good or inside centre (McCabe role). Folau to 13 ASAP.
Erictheviking
Guest
Whilst it would not help to roll over yet another coach , how many losses can the Wallabies supporters and ARU stomach ? If Cheika cannot improve basic skills and handling then what ever the game plan it is bound to fail .Not controling ones own lineout is poor form , while you might lose one or two, anymore is a serious problem. A captain that gets offside with the Ref needs to go , it is one more problem that the Wallabies cannot afford.Plus the fact that the Captain is linked to more than one issue should be ringing warning bells. Look at it this way would a Captain whos lineout throwing is in question and appears to have communication problems with the Ref be tolerated in the AB's dressing room ?!!
Timbo (L)
Guest
Great Article, I particularly liked the chess analogy. A rook (Castle) only moves in a straight line and does a lot of damage when there is only 1 opponent in front of it.. A great tool to have if there is quite a bit of open space. In traffic, pieces that can run angles or jump over the top are better assets. Lots of the same player is good in specific circumstances, but overall it creates a brittle product unable to adapt to a changing situation. The 2 Fetchers and 4 outside centers that we saw against England worked for the first 35 minutes. After the poms adapted, there were no options left and the forwards got bloody in the front lines trying to defend a stale plan. Hodge, Cooper, Coleman and Hopefully Morahan for AAC/Horne will put the bishops and knights back on the board. The only outstanding issue will be freeing up the number 8 slot for Timani or MacCalman by dropping one of the #7's. Recently I watched an Australia v South Africa Highlights Pack focusing on Michael Hooper. He looked fantastic fetching and tackling on the advantage line and even pilfering. I haven't seen him play like that since and I also remember that a highlights pack doesn't show the other 79 minutes. A highlights pack for Pocock, Fardy, Gill, MacMahon, McCalman or Timani are all much longer and do include missed tackles. They defend when needed and on the front line, they don't cherry pick to improve their stats, They understand that slowing down a bus is sometimes enough to allow someone else to hail it, bring it to a stop, rob the cash register and make a getaway in a plumbers van before handing it off to little guy screaming away in a go-kart.. Cheika relies too much on a kid that put shiny wheels and a turbo charger on his mum's Corolla and took it racing on the stock car circuit.
Adrian Denyer
Guest
Good analysis. The interesting thing is that the Cheika Wallabies are not playing the style that won in 2014 with the Waratahs. Cheika is good at that style, which is essentially the style that Dwyer used. Cheika is using a compromise between his style and the Brumbies second deeper backline style of assistant coach Larkham. The style is more like Larkham's than Cheika's. The players he picks are a mis-match with this style. The style worked at WC,until the final, but as now been worked out by ABs and England. It won't work, because we don't have enough highly structured players, and it's not effective against classy opposition. It needs really good lineout players, and we don't have any. It wouldn't matter if we had 4 Summons style players, they aren't good enough at this level. We also only have about 1 field position kicker in the whole country. Cheika needs to go back to the style hw is good at. This means some big brutal forwards, a short lineout where we compete aggressively, and a player like Beale. Without Beale it will be hard, but Cooper can get things started. I want Cheika to be Cheika, not Larkham