Michael Cheika is running out of time and good will.
» WESTERN FORCE AXED FROM SUPER RUGBY
Australian Rugby supporters, exhausted from being kicked from pillar to post by their own administrators, need a head coach and national team they can believe in.
Winning is a part of restoring that belief. Being competitive is fundamental.
But most important is that the Wallaby set up can’t be seen as hypocritical, out of touch and ‘above the law’.
This is especially the case given the unsavoury circumstances that saw Ewen McKenzie resign from his role and Cheika take it over.
Since then Cheika has often talked, and then talked some more about taking ownership of problems, learning from mistakes and being accountable.
In fact, we hear a heap of clichés and mood music from Cheika but as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
How accountable was Nathan Grey for the woeful Waratahs defence this year? So accountable that it appears to have earnt him a promotion to full-time defence coach of the national side.
Indeed, how accountable are the Waratahs for finishing second last in the Australian Conference? So accountable that they contributed the most players to the Wallaby squad out of any franchise.
What makes that even more bizarre is that we are led to believe that all of the squad, except for poor old Kane Douglas, were selected on form.
To this day, I do not see how it can be that Jack Dempsey, Ned Hanigan and Tom Robertson are anywhere near the Wallaby squad. Putting aside potential which is debateable, their form is not there for either the Wallabies or the Waratahs.
Making Michael Hooper captain is perhaps more astonishing.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
Liam Gill must be sitting in France shaking his head. It undoubtedly helped make Sean McMahon’s decision to leave for Japan easier.
David Pocock, by far the best 7 Australia has got, is probably wondering whether it’s worth coming home from Cambridge to play out of position again at No.8 at the Rugby World Cup.
Not only is Pocock a genuine threat over the ball but he is also articulate, principled and a leader on and off the field. Something Australian Rugby needs desperately right now.
When you think of names like Eales, Smit, Johnson and McCaw, mentioning Pocock alongside them doesn’t seem like much of a stretch.
Hooper failed to provide any real leadership during the Ewen McKenzie fiasco. Enough said on that.
As the Waratahs transitioned to a new coach one has to wonder where Michael Hooper and the leadership group disappeared to on the run to finishing 16th in the overall Super Rugby Standings.
For a team as talented on paper as the Waratahs that is simply inexcusable. Even the Cheetahs and Kings, consigned to the dust bin of Super Rugby history, finished above them.
Hooper has some admirable qualities such as his huge motor and defensive abilities. He could be a superb ‘super sub’. But his leadership hasn’t exactly flourished and he should not be starting as captain or otherwise.
Let’s be clear. The Waratahs recent failures are not all Michael Hooper’s or Nathan Grey’s for that matter. However, both played integral roles in that set up yet seem to have been rewarded with promotions on the national stage.
How exactly does this sit with learning from mistakes, accountability and selection on form?
(AAP Image/SNPA, Ross Setford)
Team ‘identity’ is also something Cheika likes to harp on about. As far as I can tell the idea being that if the team has a clear ‘identity’ then it will be easier to connect with the public.
So let’s put aside team selections, captaincy and back room staff for a moment and talk about the relationship between judgement and ‘identity’.
What message does rushing Beale back into the set up send about ‘identity’? Not a very good one as the Aussie rugby public, particularly the die hards who follow the game through thick and thin have long memories.
Would Beale be getting his third chance with the All Blacks? I doubt it. Their famous personnel policies excluding individuals of irritating character simply wouldn’t allow it. The All Blacks don’t just talk about identity.
Equally concerning is that the Wallabies’ playing style has even less sign of an obvious identity or style on the field than the team does off it.
The performances against Scotland and Italy were absolutely atrocious. Chickens. Heads. Cut off.
There was no sign at all that the Wallabies took their defeat from Scotland and learned from it. If they’d played Scotland again instead of Italy, they would have lost.
Right now Cheika has some credits in the bank from the amazing run at the last World Cup in 2015. But two years on those credits are ever diminishing and I would say running pretty low.
I suspect I am not alone in identifying hypocrisies, inconsistencies and failures in approach committed by Michael Cheika. I also doubt that I am the only one questioning whether he is learning from his mistakes and following his own advice.
Now is the time for less talk and more action from the national coach.
marto
Guest
^^ Opinion null and void as Cooper hasn't been given a decent run at 10 for 7 years.. How bad was Beauy Barrett in the BILS series ??..Horrendous!! Onya bike Brew ...HAHA
PiratesRugby
Guest
I agree with you wre01. If anything, you're a little easy on Chieka. His goose was cooked after we got drubbed by England 0-3 at home. Since then, things for the squad have only gotten worse. Pocock and McMahon have found better things to do. Gill, Cooper and Higgers given the flick. Hanigan and Robertson brought in. Grey made full time defence coach. The squad is weaker. The game plan exposed. Since the tour by the English, the performances have been poor, the results bad. And now Hooper is captain. Anyone want have a bet with me about the result of the first test? Or any test??
Neil
Guest
No, wre01, your article was simply a puerile Tah bash, and for that reason, irrelevant. No doubt it will have found favour with your fellow travelers. Who cares? Not even worth debating.
Ruckin' Oaf
Guest
That's it, the bar is so low at the moment that if they finish within 20 points of the AB's it's going to be considered a good result.
wre01
Roar Guru
slacker Aaron Smith got caught in an airport toilet with a consenting woman. Stupid thing to do but I'd argue that was far less an offence than Kurtly's rap sheet. Also, Smith was excluded for a test (or two) and by all accounts tearfully apologised to his team for letting the All Black family down. As far as I can tell, Beale has never shown much genuine contrition for anything he has done, almost as bad as JOC. That is a key issue I have with him but one Cheika seems to not worry much about. "I care about good rugby players, thats all my job requires" etc.
wre01
Roar Guru
Damo. Ask yourself this. What coach, in any Aussie sport, could survive a 3nil home series loss against England? Imagine if the Ashes are lost 3-1 or 4-1 or 5nil. The coach, captain and probably key players would all be under severe pressure to quit. That is before the loss to Scotland and the 'almost loss' to Italy. Cheika has had a soft ride from the media, ARU and public so far.
wre01
Roar Guru
Thanks Daveski Selection is a huge issue and an area where I think Cheika doesn't always follow his own advice. The fact is that the Waratahs finished 2nd last in the Aussie conference. At times this year, they seemed totally rudderless and almost to give up when the going got tough. Their skills also often let them down. The same could be said for all Aussie sides but the Waratahs were particularly bad (as their final table position showed). I focussed on the Waratahs, not to 'Tah Bash' but because of that.
lassitude
Guest
no they're not
Phantom
Roar Rookie
Why are you so concerned about a kiwi born coach when you select so many kiwi born players
System of a Downey Jr
Roar Rookie
I can't see any set of circumstances in which Cheika loses his job before 2019 bar one - The only exception is if the Wallabies lose every single game in the season. But without that happening Cheika can oversee just 4 wins from 11 games and he will still keep the job. Those four wins can be two victories over Argentina, one over Japan and one over either Wales or Scotland. Cheika is also benefiting from low expectations so a solitary win over the Boks and of course a victory over the ABs will reinvigorate belief. There is no replacement local coach on the horizon and no starch visible from the ARU to make a tough decision before 2019 WC.
Citizen
Guest
The Wallabies could dramatically improve their results overnight by bringing in Jake White as coach and adopting a more Brumbies-like game plan. But the number one priority of the Wallabies is to try and play rugby union as rugby league, not to win games, so this will not happen.
Bakkies
Guest
'Put him at 12 and leave him there the rewards' Rewards for the opposition. In the interest of fairness Coetzee didn't select his best line breaking centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg to run through Beale's turnstile defence.
Ruckin' Oaf
Guest
Hey Neil, I hope so - the Reds could use him because Smith can't stay young forever (or maybe he can I dunno :) ) But under the current set up would he be doing anything but warming the bench for the Wallabies? As a best case. Since day one any good Australian rugby player could make more money doing something else, be it league before professionalism or going to the UK / Europe. One of the big factors for staying was the chance to play for the Wallabies, the chance to represent your country. The highest honour a rugby player can achieve. If you take away the chance of national selection what else is there but to chase the money for the limited time your career allows. Matt Giteau might be a prime example of that.
Bakkies
Guest
The SMH have been broadcasting that not an Aussie line since Deans got the job and used it again him when things weren't working in camp and on the pitch. 'Get a life d-bag.' Speak for yourself. Very rich to be saying that when you have been arguing like an obnoxious child.
Neil
Guest
The point is moot, Ruckin. Gill wasn't the best 7 at the time. Third or perhaps fourth, and he was smart enough to know it. He was contracted to a crappy franchise, with a coach that was always on the slippery slope, He didn't chase the money, but realized he was young enough to increase his skills in the NH. I am pretty sure he will be back and soon.
Adsa
Guest
Well I am still me just to clarify who I am!
timber
Guest
It's also junk logic to claim that the best test players will come from the best Super teams. Look at All Blacks representation, the Crusaders only won the comp this year, a first for 9 years but they've consistently contributed the most ABs in the last decade. Meanwhile, the Chiefs and Highlanders have had relatively small number of ABs despite being more successful than Crusaders in recent past years.
Crash Ball2
Guest
Thanks eJ. Though, if Aussie Eddie Jones has proven anything, a new coach with new vision and a fresh approach certainly can transform largely the same group of players. Cheika himself proved it with the Tahs. McKenzie with Reds. Competitive men of ambition will always keep their options open. Kiwi coaches will know that the ultimate gig they covet can only go to a select few and when faced with high profile alternatives, one never knows. It's impossible to tar an entire nation's sporting coaches with the same brush. A change of bureaucracy - as has started overnight, might also free the shackles from other previously unlikely historic options. At this stage, many aren't necessarily even looking for the Wallabies to be instant world beaters. Just: better and more justifiably selected and more able to accomodate strategic change.
Ruckin' Oaf
Guest
Why should Gill have stayed ? IF he had and was the best number 7 in the country by a mile why do you think it would make any difference to selection ?
Fionn
Guest
Well said, Piru.