World Cup-winning Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer is confident an ARU summit to address the dire performances of Australia’s five Super Rugby teams will bring “immediate benefits”.
Dwyer has welcomed the governing body’s invitation to sit in on the summit after last month calling for ARU chief Bill Pulver and his entire board to stand down following Australia’s worst start to a Super Rugby season in the competition’s 21-year history.
In a candid interview with AAP, he also urged the ARU to pour more money into grassroots development and coaching education.
It seems Pulver and co are listening, having first pledged to redirect savings from cutting one Australian franchise – said to be $6 million annually – into grassroots rugby and creating better development pathways for officials and coaches.
Now the game’s heavy hitters have turned to Dwyer and legendary coaching director Dick Marks to be involved in the looming summit to try to rectify Australia’s on-field woes.
The Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Western Force and Melbourne Rebels have lost a combined 23 matches in a row against New Zealand opposition, including 17 straight this year, and appear headed for a humiliating season-long trans-Tasman whitewash.
But with eight trans-Tasman fixtures remaining either side of a three-week break in the competition for the June Tests, there’s still time to stem the bleeding.
Marks, instrumental in developing some of Australia’s greatest coaches – including Dwyer – in the 1970s and 80s, will sit down with Dwyer and coaching personnel from the five states and the Wallabies to thrash out a plan to improve performances.
“The (ARU’s) high performance unit are certainly moving on that and that’s great,” Dwyer said on Wednesday.
“That’s appropriate and that’s where it should be focused.”
High performance director Ben Whitaker believes many of Australia’s can be addressed “quickly”.
While Dywer doesn’t necessarily believe a total quick fix is realistic, the 1991 World Cup-winning mentor says disgruntled fans can expect improvements sooner rather than later.
“The first step in the right direction is a good one. It’s a good move,” Dwyer said.
“I’m sure it will bring short-term benefits and bring massive long-term benefits.
“Some people want to look at short-term solutions – and they can deliver short-term benefits, but they never deliver long-term benefits.
“But the reverse is that long-term solutions deliver immediate short-term benefits, and I mean immediate. In one week.”
Gary
Guest
Dick Marks was at the head of Australian Coaching Developments in the 70's and here he is , 40 years later having to do the heavy lifting again ? Does anyone else see a problem with this ? It's farcical .
levelheaded
Guest
I remember my father saying to me, be careful meeting people you admire - they may well let you down. Wow, Dwyer is one of them.Too opinionated, living in the past, negative, thinks he is both a super coach and administrator....This looks like a PR stunt and an attempt to keep him quiet. He like others, Poidevin, NFJ enjoy basking in the glory of the past and seem to be experts at everything. I don't see these guys dragging us out of the mess, they want power and self promotion.
oldman emu
Guest
Frank, In my rugby experience 1984 - 2003 - 6 years of schoolboy rugby, All senior rugby was in either 1st or 2nd grade - 5 years of subbies, 4 years of Shute Shield Rugby and 4 years of NSW Country Rugby ( only one GF win) I had many 100% committed coaches all who gave their time and 100% effort. But the real level of coaching expertise was low. Alec Evans once gave a clinic for 2 hours and that was a revelation to the rest of them. I would say I didn't come across extremely knowledgeable coaches, just awesome and committed rugby people - thus to say one in 19 coaches was a standout in what he taught is a pretty low %.
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
Ooops! Sydney didn't go on a 14-game winning steak because they played a draw with New Zealand in 1980, in the All Blacks first tour match. What they did do was go on a 14-game "undefeated" streak! #PeterCrittle #Charlie #ClassicWallaby #ShouldHaveVotedForJohnConnollyIn1995
Frank O'Keeffe
Guest
R... J... P... Marks.... Is there a more underrated contributor to Australian rugby than he? Peter Crittle is underrated - he coached Sydney to a 14-game winning streak in 1980-1981 before they succumbed to Queensland in 1981 (then arguably the best provincial side in the world). Thanks to Crittle's influence, the Sydney side was strong and because Sydney were strong, NSW were strong, and in 1980 they finally beat Queensland 35-20 (with Mark Ella scoring two tries) - their first victory over the Banana-Benders since the famous 42-4 Queensland destruction in 1975. Crittle didn't want to run against his good mate, Bob Templeton, for the Australian coaching job after the failed 1981/82 tour to the UK - a great shame! Jake Howard is underrated - the son-in-law of Cyril Towers who coached Australia's forwards in the late 80s and early 90s. Watching old matches, it's incredible how competitive the Australian forwards were. Alec Evans is underrated. One of Alan Jones' great strengths was his ability to find under-utilised Australian talent. Sterling Mortlock attributes a lot of Evans' tutelage. But no... Dick Marks is the most under-appreciated person in Australian rugby, and when he contributes, great things happen. It's time for Dick Marks to do what he did in the early 70s in helping raise the standards of Australian rugby. R.J.P. MARKS!!!
Jock Cornet
Guest
How's qld and the rebels going you goose. TWAS at least I've been involved unlike some ARU rich nerd who just watches on fox. Keep the status quo TWAS what a joke.
Bfc
Guest
Much has been made of the appointment of Mick Byrne as the "Skills Coach" and his former role with the NZRU, but fundamentally is it not too late for players to be acquiring "skills" once they have become professionals? How can players react instinctively in a positive manner if they don't have the skills ingrained at an earlier age. Seems to me that if players lack the basic functional game skills by the time they are playing Senior rugby, then it is perhaps too late. The glaring example is Izzy's poor kicking...he had two years of specialised AFL coaching, but still can't kick as they could not overcome his lack of the basic kicking skills. Skills acquisitive should occur in the Juniors phase... For comparison...in football/soccer, the National Football Curriculum states (granted not every club follows...) "U10-U13: Skill Acquisition Phase: Learning the functional game skills".
Bfc
Guest
Beat me to it...!
Machooka
Roar Guru
Jock... rock... and bottom. Interesting.
Train Without A Station
Guest
My money is him being a miserable old goose he goes down to Woolhara Oval every second week to relive the glory days.
Train Without A Station
Guest
Yeah I remember everybody said that about the Reds when Barnes left and McKenzie was appointed for the 2010 season. Good call at the time...
Jock Cornet
Guest
Geoff you don't realise the dire predicament we are in. There will be some small immediate benefits but Australia is stuffed this year and for a few more years . It is at rock bottom.
DaveR
Guest
Bob Dwyer is a charitable man, of course its right to try and address the Aus SR performances by sitting down at a coaching summit with SR and Wallaby coaches. After all, abysmal coaching is part of the current issue. When Aus SR teams regularly miss first tackles, that is coaching, pure and simple. But with Pulver recently saying he is the right man to lead the ARU at the height of the SR destabilisation, he's barking up the wrong tree. Pulver and the ARU board's time is over, and they must be swept out to allow a new direction. Maybe at the end of the summit Bob could ask the assembled luminaries who there thinks they should keep their job? If all the hands go up, Bob you know the magnitude of the problem.
sheek
Roar Guru
Haha Geoff, i don't see Jock like that. He is just a naughty boy looking to see how many rises he can get out of rugby folk taking their discussions too seriously. He's like a naughty kid on a merry-go-round holding several cartons of eggs. Every time he comes around to the same spot, he chucks an egg at a random person. He's managed to get under TWAS's skin which I think is an extraordinary achievement.
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Piru - That's gold
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
piru
Roar Rookie
Yeah mate, but this one effects the Waratahs don't forget
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Piru - Before the meeting even takes place just calling one is positive. A meeting's more than they gave us!!
piru
Roar Rookie
Meetings! The practical alternative to work!
Armchair Sportsfan
Guest
ahhhhhh..of course....organise a meeting...that will solve all aussie rugby's woes.... I'm not knocking the initiative, i think it makes a lot of sense, but implying that we'll see immediate benefits from a couple of hours around a table is just laughable...