The more I hear and see from Michael Cheika, the less enchanted I become. It appears to me the Wallabies do not have a coach.
Instead, they have a motivator. Cheika said over the weekend that the Wallabies could beat the All Blacks this year. On the evidence of the last three Wallaby Tests his assertion is risible.
If more proof was needed, just watch a replay of the Lions’ game last night.
What coach in his right mind decides two days before a Test match to play a fullback at inside centre? That is what Cheika did before the Fiji game when he named Karmichael Hunt at 12. Does a coach worth his salt not tell his attacking coach about it and discuss it with him? By all reports Stephen Larkham found out after Karmichael did. I hope the reports are wrong but am assured they are not.
As it happens, Karmichael has made a fist of it (more strength to his arm) however that is despite the coach not because of him. That positional switch should have been months in the planning with the assistance of Queensland, not on a whim before game day.
Cheika cannot settle on his Test line-up. To name but a few, why on earth would you change captains in mid Test series? Who is our best front row? Who is our best number 8? You would never guess from either their selection or performance. The selection panel resembles more a revolving door than a group of men of conviction. It would appear Cheika is neither a good coach nor a good selector.
And as for showing loyalty to Bill Pulver (his statement after the Scottish debacle), what drivel. That man and the various members of the board over a long period have proved to be incompetents. There were a lot of German officers after World War II who came to the swift conclusion that blind loyalty was not all it was made out to be.
Cheika’s loyalty should be to the game, not any individual. Having said that, I have no doubt he is loyal to the game but to suggest he should be loyal to Pulver as well reeks of sycophancy.
(AAP Image/ David Rowland)
Why is our national coach saying that our players are not fit enough? How can that be? Rugby is all that they do. Do the franchises not arrange for proper training for their players? Clearly that cannot be Michael’s fault.
However what is his fault is that he did not ascertain the lack of fitness in time to do something about it. He had an ability to bring his considerable influence to bear during the course of the season to ensure those failings were spotted and rectified.
All one need do is look at his reactions in the coaches box to see he is not up to it. He reacts like a biased fan, not a rational, thoughtful coach. A classic example was on Saturday night when the Wallaby scrum was penalised.
In the coaches box, he ranted that the ref was wrong. Even Greg Martin, perennial one-eyed commentator that he is, accepted that the decision was fair. Passion is god but it only gets you so far. The proper approach is to calmly make note and remedy the fault during the game.
In short, it would seem that Cheika has been asleep at the wheel as much as the ARU have been. He did a great job motivating the players at the last Rugby World Cup. A good motivator can do that during the course of a short tournament.
He clearly did well for New South Wales when they won the Super Rugby title. So he must have some talent. I’m not sure he is showing much of it at the moment.
Glider
Roar Rookie
agree 100% - go back to a proper trial system - the Rugby Version of the State of Origin was originally NSW Rugby Blues v QLD Rugby Red and then an Open Trial against Combined Country or something like that. Many of the current players wont give their left nut for the Jersey, the Pride, The History - just in it for the money and the profile of their personal brand. For interest have a look at the 15 guiding principles that the ALL Blacks use - No6 is a good one - No d-heads - Whanau First. Attitude First then Talent, Humble - any of the all blacks will sweep out the sheds after a game etc etc etc.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
There is, we just aren't looking/nurturing the talent. Instead of paying ringers we should be taking a hit and blooding local talent. Jackson-Hope and Mack Mason would be a start.
Die hard
Roar Rookie
Thanks Rebellion. Nothing like imitation to flatter.
Glider
Roar Rookie
And if he was a motivator as stated and as others have said then the team would really come out with a head of steam like a good State of Origin Team ready to tear the opposition apart - but thats not happening either. I dont understand the smugness or arrogance perhaps in not asking for help from Meninga and Co about translating some of that SOO passion to the test arena . We certainly dont seem to play with that kind of passion at the moment. Others have mentioned fitness - why now is it an issue?? Never really been a problem before or identified as one. Good players / serious players playing first grade and rep footy will always do their own fitness work as well. The other thing i hear is that Wallaby camp is like a summer holiday & the ARU pay for surfboards and recreational toys to be taken to camp - when the only thing they should be concentrating on is winning rugby. As 137 odd other comments all pretty much agree and land on the same thing - you have to say again somethings wrong and someone needs to step in urgently and check the progress or whats going to change. Im just waiting for the age old excuse - we are actually building to the next RWC. What should really happen - no bonus payments until we start winning major Test Matches and that would All Blacks First - then England or Sth Africa.
wally
Guest
Great piece and this is precisely the phrase i've been using over the last 2yrs. Quite simply he has to loosen the reigns on the coaching bit (tactics AND selections) because he just isn't good enough. He came in with a plan of how to the wallabiles wlil play the game (the same way as NSW played in his successful super rugby season) and subsequently nothing has changed... well nothing at camp wallaby has changed... the rest of the world has improved at rugby but it would seem that is only a trivial fact at camp wallaby because "if we play our game to our best ability, no one will beat us". Talented young players are lost to Australia (Gill/Toomua) or disillusioned, while Fans are leaving by the droves. Coincidentally, no one has been given a proper chance to challenge Foley and Hooper in the 10 and 7 positions, nor Izzy at 15. though Izzy has probably been the main reason teams put up less bombs against Australia than they used to.
Bakkies
Guest
Gary Flowers was the ARU CEO when the Force was brought in. A fourth side was needed but not a fifth (player base and finances not there). Had the fourth team come in on O'Neill's watch guaranteed it would have been in Melbourne regardless of how poorly prepared they were (AAMI Park wasn't guaranteed in 2005 when the bids were up).
Bakkies
Guest
'I watch players like Peter O’Mahony and it doesn’t matter if its Ireland, The Lions or Munster,' Exactly blokes like O'Mahony, O'Connell bleed and fight for the jersey. They don't give in. Aus Rugby used to have players like that.
Bakkies
Guest
To be an effective test scrum coach you need the players that are capable of playing to that level. There aren't enough around in Australia and you need more front rowers than ever
Bakkies
Guest
Would require a pay out unless there is a performance clause written in the contract
Bakkies
Guest
'i think if Beale had been available v England in 2016 Aus would have won' They would have run over him
Bakkies
Guest
Cheika is a change coach. People were starting to wear thin of him at Leinster despite good results. Schmidt came in at the right tim.e A fall out with Cheika is the main reason why Knox isn't coaching at the pro level
Bakkies
Guest
On top of that players like Brock James and Paul Warwick spent their best years overseas. Yes James played Super Rugby but they were for poor teams. Had he been at the Brumbies after he got out of the 20s Aus Rugby may have got something out of him. Zack Holmes is joining Toulouse another player who left at a young age
Bakkies
Guest
Timbo the problem is that there is no one else. There's at least 3 ineligible foreign flyhalfs playing Super Rugby in Australia
Bakkies
Guest
Does Larkham even know who is on the bench the day before the game? Cheika certainly doesn't
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
All good points, but what about the exodus overseas adding insult to injury? There are at least 2 competitive SR teams worth over there right now. We have the same problem in universities. We train some of the finest brains in the world only to have them headhunted overseas. It used to be called Brain Drain. If we had a vibrant, NRL style local domestic competition with players getting fat salaries, the problem would solve itself. The kid is in his basement practicing on his electric guitar so he can play to a packed stadium. Only a select few are learning the violin on the off chance they are chosen to get paid a pittance to play in front of a few thousand people.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Gray, Expand your search to players that weren't picked and you might get a different picture. Include players that have gone overseas because they weren't getting selected. Imagine you are David Pocock and in stead of playing your regular 7 position, you are re-trained to play a role that you are physically not built for and are suffering significant injuries every 3 or 4 games. I bet Higgers is thumbing though Japanese and European offers spread out on his coffee table right now. MacMahon probably hasn't signed his Japanese contract yet because he can't decide what upholstery he wants in his private jet.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Hooper, Cooper, Foley, Folau and now Beal. Let's drop Hunt and add 1 more player with gaps in their defense. The Kiwis and Boks will think it is Christmas dinner and they are serving Swiss cheese as an entree.
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
Gray, Start Hodge. Not only to you get a pretty good Fullback/Centre you also put fear in to the opposition forwards infringing anywhere near their own half
Marto
Guest
TRUTH ..Time to go Cheika, but how can we get rid of him ?. .He has more power than the ARU..He is the ARU isn't he??
Link
Guest
Add Brett Johnstone ( One wallaby test) Peter Ryan ( Broncos ) Both Downlands same year first XV..