While the knives are out for Wallaby coach Michael Cheika and his Manly rugby league counterpart Trent Barrett, they aren’t the ones missing the tackles and playing well below par.
The same can’t be said for Wallaby captain Michel Hooper, nor his Manly counterpart Daly Cherry-Evans.
At the weekend, Hooper oversaw one of Australian rugby’s most diabolical performances, down 54-6 with 30 minutes to go against the All Blacks.
That the men in black took the foot off the pedal, and the Wallabies decided to make some passes stick, meant the final scoreline was 54-34.
A major embarrassment.
A week ago, Manly had a top-four finish in their sights for the finals, but they let a 20-6 halftime lead against the Tigers slip, ending in a 30-26 defeat.
Yesterday, Manly obviously thought they just had to turn up to beat the Bulldogs, the worst attacking team in the NRL.
Against all predictions, the Bulldogs led 12-10 at the break, the first time in 24 rounds they had managed ten points by halftime.
But the Dogs barked louder in the second session, scoring 18 points, with Manly only adding to their ten with a converted try in the final seconds.
Both the Wallabies and Manly played with an arrogance rarely seen in both teams. The captains did nothing, repeat nothing, to correct the faults.
As a result, both teams copped a hiding.
As a strong defender of Cheika as Wallaby coach for two reasons – he’s the best man for the job and there’s no replacement in sight – he has blinkers on when it comes to the captaincy.
Hooper captained the Waratahs to four wins from 15 games in the Super Rugby tournament, ‘boasting’ a win ratio of 26.67 per cent.
Riveting.
You would think Cheika would take note of that pathetic stat, but no, he appointed Hooper the Wallabies’ captain.
Saturday night’s horrendous loss was Hooper’s 10th in 16 Tests – a success rate of 37.5 per cent.
As for the Wallabies’ performances since the 2015 Rugby World Cup final, when the men on gold were ranked number two in the world, they have won just eight of 19 international – a success rate of 42.1 per cent.
And where are the Wallabies in the world rankings? Fifth, and falling.
Let’s see what Michael Cheika does for the second Bledisloe-Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
The same question must be applied to Manly.
For the last three halves, Manly has been an embarrassment and bitter disappointment to their fans.
They lett a 20-6 lead go begging against the Tigers, and yesterday let the worst attacking team in the NRL in for six tries.
How on earth could that happen?
Very easily.
For the entire game, Manly were on their heels with the Bulldogs in possession, gift-wrapping a minimum 10 to 15 metres with every play the ball.
And what did Cherry-Evans do to correct the glaring fault? Nothing. Zip, zero, zilch.
And there was Barrett in the coaching box grimacing at every play.
And what did he tell his team at the break?
Up the energy and enthusiasm.
It was not forthcoming.
Now Manly is eighth on the ladder and no certainty to be in the finals.
They play the Warriors away, a danger game, and the Panthers at home, even more dangerous.
And when the Wallabies cop another rugby lesson in Dunedin, Hooper will still be captain.
And when the Warriors beat Manly, Cherry-Evans will still be captain.
Both Michael Cheika and Trent Barrett need to correct the glaring wrongs or eventually pay the ultimate penalty.
BrainsTrust
Guest
Hooper I think is not too smart and is too soft on the others, however in a good team he would have no problem being captain. Its not relevant what happens at the breakdown if the defence is so weak the opposition will score before one had the chance to turn over the ball. If the coach has no problem with all the shirkers and in the team and you need another style of captain to make them do the job then the question comes back why have the coach.
Charlie Turner
Guest
Hodgo's the best captain the Wallabies never had.
Tom G
Guest
Not sure what purpose this 'article' serves other than raise a non issue in two codes. If the captaincy were the main issue in either it could be solved immediately. I see no support in this piece to evidence that this would be the case. Many are climbing the hard road back to being a force and the Wallabies poor form affairs the AB's pre dates Hooper leaving school!
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
On Barnes' Hot Mike to Hooper: "That's pretty dishonest" This is not a relationship that will get you on the good side of the 50-50 calls.
milan
Guest
Well seen as he has captained the force once, that changes everything.lLets make him wallabies captain. Cmon Piru
Ex force fan
Guest
His is not a Tah and does not have the support of the playing group that picked the coach
PiratesRugby
Guest
David, Pocock is the best choice. If he starts at 7 where he is the best in the world, he commands the respect of players, opposition and refs. He's being undermined by Cheika by being played out of position. Obviously I agree with you about Hooper. Coleman is too young. He's just got a handful of tests. If he can stand playing under Hooper (Cheika will never back down) and copping at least two more years of defeats while maintaining his own form, then he would be a good choice. I used to like Higginbotham as a captain , when I saw what he did for the Rebels. He often led the stats. The players and fans loved him. And he seemed very easy in his manner with refs. The Rebels had some great wins under his leadership and have suffered since he left. I'd love to know what it is that national coaches dislike about him.
Fionn
Guest
Ugh, pathetic. He may not have been the world's best 8, but he was very underrated, and he was the leader that Australian rugby needed since Gregan retired.
cuw
Guest
"I hate referees referring to players by their first name." and players doing same to the ref. 3rd BIL test - "Romain , Romain , the Law says ..." :) coming from cricket , i prefer the term "sir" - though it is old fashioned colonialism.
Bakkies
Guest
http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/wallabies-backrower-ben-mowen-considering-walking-out-on-australian-rugby-over-pay-dispute/news-story/fdefba42c1903a84d48fa090b6eaca52
Fionn
Guest
Had he signed a renewal with the Brumbies, Bakkies? All I know is that the ARU wouldn't pay a top up and so he went overseas, having to look after his family first and foremost.
Crocodile
Guest
I don't really know since i don't know the coach. My suspicion is that he is defending in the backs by order of the coach because of the defensive weaknesses there.
Craig
Guest
Bit of a cheap shot. Hooper may not be the biggest 7 in the business but I defy you to find one that consistently fronts up, works his guts out for 80 minutes, makes more breaks, etc. I'll agree he's not (yet) captain material for a number of reasons but a failure to lead by example in effort is not one of them.
Bakkies
Guest
Mowen signed a contract renewal with the Brumbies but the ARU wouldn't come to an agreement. I hate referees referring to players by their first name.
Nabley
Guest
Not often I agree with David but this time I do. I was struck during the Test as to Hoopers body language, especially at the momenets he had to make decisions. BL is normally a dead give away to how a person is going. The unfortunate thing was, it reminded me of his body language during the Tahs defeat by the Force. Hooper himself is an outstanding player but he is not a captain!
DLKN
Guest
I yearn for the Michael Hooper who first came to national prominence when he was at the Brumbies. Maybe it was the George Smith factor, but I recall Hooper back then being a 7 in the classic style - pace, accuracy and a genuine threat at the breakdown. Clearly, he was / is capable of playing that role. Has that been coached / game-planned out of him, or is it a case of his high all-round skill level as a rugby player being irresistible to coaches who feel the need to employ him as a jack-of-all-trades? These days, Hooper reminds me of the way in which an English commentator described the skillset of former NZ cricket allrounder, Bob Cunis. He said that Cunis was like his surname - neither one thing nor the other... Imagine having the old Hoops sharing the 80 minutes with another classic 7 (come home, Liam!, bring back Hodgo!), in much the same way as Smith and David Wilson once provided a relentless threat to oppositions, usually with Smith as the finisher. Then we could pick a proper 6 and 8, and actually field a balanced backrow instead of the recent "less than the sum of its parts" combinations.
Brendon
Guest
Can someone explain this "the AB took the foot off the pedal". Are you saying the all black replacements in the 2nd half didn't try? Or that our bench is more or less equal to the AB bench and our starting XV is just waaaaaay waaaaaay behind the the New Zealand starting XV?
Mike Dugg
Guest
If I was a Wallaby selector, Hooper would be on the bench at best. He's tries hard and has a big heart, but having him at 7 and as captain is a detriment to the Aussie side. Hooper gets rag dolled constantly and rarely pilfers. As captain, he is soft and not at all assertive. Wallabies need a captain as clever as someone like Cam Smith in league who is a skilled politician with the refs. Out of the current team, only Coleman is captaincy material. A shame Folau does is so laid back and quiet, he'd make a good captain if he really asserted himself considering his experience.
Stuart Neil Bywater
Guest
The silly penalty that Hooper gave at the ruck in the eighth minute changed the tone of the game. Until then the WBs had applied sufficient pressure on the AB to cause them to give two penalties close to their line.
David Lord
Expert
Not so DLKN. if Michael Cheika doesn't dump Michael Hooper as captain and make radical selection changes, he will fall on his own sword. Cheika has vision, it's overtime he used it to bring back the Wallaby tradition of taking on the world's best, and beating them, Being flogged by cricket scores is not the Australian way, and if the Socceroos don't qualify for the World Cup, they will cop the same derision the Wallabies are copping now. Both teams are not pulling their weight, nor earning the big bucks.