The Wallabies started the year positively with a win over Ireland in the first test in June, but since then it’s been all downhill, and now 2018 is in the balance.
A few more losses and 2018 will be chalked up as a failure.
The major thing holding back the Wallabies is the indiscipline that creeps into all aspects of their game. Indiscipline effects not only their attack and defence but also the way they’re perceived by others in the rugby world.
The Wallabies attack has been riddled with errors. They have had several try-scoring opportunities but have lacked the discipline and class to finish them. Whether it be a dropped ball, pushed pass or a case of white line fever, the Wallabies have found a way to stuff it up.
This has been the major difference between the Wallabies and All Blacks. The Kiwis’ ability to score every time the opportunity arises is incredible. Of the ten chances they have, they will score eight, whereas the Aussies may get five on a good day.
The key to the All Blacks’ finishing ability is their speed. When a turnover occurs their skill to spread the ball through forwards and backs alike is crazy. Time and time again Brodie Retallick and co have stripped the ball, and within two passes the ball is in the hands of the All Black danger men and away.
They also have pure leg speed in their backline, unlike the Australians. When Beauden Barrett or Waisake Naholo makes a break they can go all the way, but when Bernard Foley or Kurtley Beale do the same they can be easily caught in the backfield.
(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
The indiscipline of the Wallabies creeps into their defence as well. Early in both Bledisloe Cup games this year they have looked good. They were coming up together and hitting the All Blacks on or behind the gain line, but as the game went on, they slipped off.
Saturday night was especially bad, with the Wallabies making 120 tackles and missing 42. That meant that one in every four tackles was missed.
Part of the problem here is some of the Wallabies forwards constantly looking to put a big shot on and stamp their dominance on the game. This leads to missed tackles, with players bouncing out of tackles and still posing a threat. The Wallabies forwards should take a leaf out of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock’s book and be dominant through their work rate and countless involvements in the game.
The Aussie defence is also incredibly slow to react to turnovers. When the turnover occurs they are slow to set up, leading to mismatches in the line and a disjointed defensive line. This has been exploited several times by the All Blacks and will continue to be utilised by the top teams in the international scene.
Finally, the Wallabies’ indiscipline effects how others see and prepare for them. This was seen in the lead up to both Bledisloe matches, with the All Blacks sending countless barbs Australia’s way knowing that it would affect them and the way they played.
(Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
It seems the Aussies also have a horrible relationship with every referee around the world. This poor relationship is the fault of their poor behaviour and attitude towards referees. The captain is meant to try to win the referee over by being respectful and smart in how they talk to them. Unfortunately the Wallabies have struggled with this for a while, with Stephan Moore, David Pocock and Michael Hooper all being poor in this aspect of their game.
The Australians also love to complain to the referee, the main offender being David Pocock, who loves to prod or complain to the referee. This was seen countless times on Saturday night. Although you may see his complaints as reasonable, they should not come from him; they should come through the captain.
The rest of the side isn’t blameless, though. They seem to struggle to listen to the referee early and gauging what they can get away with. We saw this on Saturday, with Wayne Barnes being strict on players being taken out off the ball or past the ruck.
At one point Barnes spoke to Hooper about it, yet in the very next passage of play Adam Coleman was penalised for driving an All Blacks player well past the ball and ruck. These little things all build up and work against the Wallabies
The final aspect of how the Wallabies are seen is through the media. Here they lack again, and Saturday night was another prime example. In the press conference after the game Michael Cheika didn’t come out saying the usual, “Credit to the All Blacks, they were better than us tonight”. Instead he came out firing, blasting just about everyone in the room for asking reasonable questions about his future in the job.
This blow-up from Cheika seems to happen every time they lose and it paints a really bad picture of a team that is ill-disciplined from the top and can’t handle the pressure of test match rugby.
thebleedingobvious
Roar Rookie
I agree with those who say the WB's arn't fit enough. Both games they fell away in the second half circa last 20 mins, guys like Genia and Hodge looked too gassed trying to get across and stop AB scores i noticed. It also helped AB's, those hard fought local derbies and games late in playoffs. plus Nic Gill seems to be doing a great job, maybe the fittest team around. So who's conditioning the WB's? They fall away and get vulnerable to pace especially late in match. That said, i thought Hooper made more sense in analysis in the post match interview than Cheika? I just don't think Cheika is good enough, McKenzie was better, never give in to player power. It's a big ask facing AB's 3 x a season, doesn't help Cheika record or WB confidence but he should have got further in establishing that WB way that he talked about and don't see he's establishing a discernible, consistent style of play, rather just responding to AB's way. This is an excellent AB team, fabulous when they have their A team forward pack all fit but WB's are pretty much interchangeable with everyone ranked 2 - 7 , they could be a fairly consistent 2 ranking like in the past, with more astute coaching, like in the past. Maybe they have to look overseas for coach after WC cause i don't think Larkham has done enough to show he can be a good international coach after Cheks and too risky to try him to find out. Let him prove himself somewhere first or be outstanding somewhere, like Deans for crusaders. Didn't see that at Brumbies, mostly Jake White';s doing back then
One Eye
Roar Rookie
I think the issue is not so much how long does turn over ball last but where are they when they are set - invariably inside their 22 and no team converts pressure to points quite like the ABs and they have the ability to flick a switch unlike anyone else.
Waxhead
Guest
Well I agree with all except the comments about Pocock. I thought he's been asking questions rather than complaining. And he was a great Wallaby captain when given the chance 4 yrs ago. Hooper is a proven poor captain for both Tahs & Wallabies imo.
AJ
Guest
I certainly agree on lack of speed. You only have to watch the little screen on the right to see that. And some of tries are just a stroll over....club rugby standard.
Laurence King
Roar Rookie
I think we have one in Europe don't we.
Tooly
Roar Rookie
Very true . While our blokes are pulling ugly faces and lining up late cheap shots Pocock is playing the ABs by himself.
JP
Guest
Foley is the main problem we are impotent on attack. He cant stay ,and Genia is more valuable than him.
Ralph
Roar Guru
Modern rugby is such a complex balance. What is really at question is, does Pooper bring enough upside to outweigh the downside? Australia play so much structure that it makes those few players who can provide 'spark' really valuable. That's why so much attacking play is run off Beale and Folau, because they create something from what is in front of them. Especially Beale. Beale needs to play at 12 so he gets that little more space to move. What would be interesting to me would be to have an accurate kicking nine so you had more creativity either side of Foley.
Laurence King
Roar Rookie
Thank you Ralph. So in short, fix the defence and only one half of the Pooper is required, allowing a bigger body that hopefully will assist in the lineout, scrum and greater impact at the gainline. Maybe we could see what a Higginbottom or Timu could do. So we have a 10 and a 12 with defensive issues who are picked with the idea that they can set up more tries than they allow which may work with lesser teams than the ABs. Another thing is that we have probably the premier aerialist in world rugby and we don't have a 10 who can't take advantage of this. I mean, if Folau was playing for Ireland, opposing teams would be having nightmares.
HiKa
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the article, Blaise. [Brush up on "affect" versus "effect": there were some "e"s that should have have been "a"s. Otherwise, I like your writing. :) ]
Jacko
Guest
hansen says 3 trys were from set piece play which is very good but as others have said the Turnover trys didnt happen with the BB 2nd try being the only one directly from turnover...the othe 2 were turnover to get the ball but multible phases later as mentioned
Ralph
Roar Guru
Seems to me like you're seeing plenty there Laurence. That short passing is very important because it mentally represents the desire to use the ball to create space rather than the idea of using a very large man to "bend the line" (as they call it here in Aussie). And you are right that playing two open sides is a defensive play because a big part of the open side role itself is to help the backline defence. More focused on actual tackling than stealing the ball, as you make many more tackles than you do steals. If you miss a steal, no big deal, if you miss a tackle - not good. If you can buy one and get one free, then merry Christmas you!
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
ildisciplined coach = ildisciplined players
Rugnut
Guest
If you listen to MC and MH, turnover ball lasts forever and that's how the ABs scored 5 of their 6 tries. It's a red herring. Just shows the WBs inability to adapt, even after a number of phases. Nathan Grey needs a defense coach.
Laurence King
Roar Rookie
Being a long-time fan but never a player, many of the subtleties are not readily apparent to me while watching a game and I'm grateful for the explanations on this site. Would I be correct in saying that the Pooper is primarily (or at least when playing the All Blacks) a defensive practice to both slow down the ABs ball and compensate for the deficiencies of some of our back line. It seemed to me in Saturday's game that the ABs had a very simple way of dealing with the Pooper and that was; hit Pocock hard and often whenever he got involved and they also were able to take advantage of Hooper's running up out of the line because our other players weren't closing the gap behind him. This led to at least one try. The ABs use of short passes between the forwards to nullify the attempted big hits by our players opened us up on a number of occasions. Also, the because the ABs are pretty much all good defenders they always were in the best positions to take advantage of turn-over ball.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Yeah she was and maybe their friendship is over.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Hooper didn't even rush up on BB... he rushed up two men in the middle... It was silly, and completely unwarranted. For a captain to do that... Just shows no leadership whatsoever.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
One off players rushing up to make the 'big hit' and shut the play down, can be great, but it's a low percentage, and when you do it against a #10 like BB, who isn't just the play maker, but an extremely dangerous strike weapon also, you are asking for trouble. Too many Heroes, not enough soldiers. Or, another way, the Crusaders (and Canterbury mantra) for decades, a Champion team will always beat a team of Champions.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Keep Foley? You will have no changes to the issues then... He is a poor 5/8, with poor results, and few skills required. Look, the issues are all staring us in the face... and it is across the board... it is the one percenters. Good players recognize them as important... Chasing kicks etc. Staying in a line... look at Barrett's third try. The individual one. Hooper rushes up about 10 metres in front of the next man... There is no need for it. IF the line was kept solid, it can adjust... if the line is broken, there is no adjustment. That is inexcusable at this level, and for the captain to be doing it? Even worse.
Ralph
Roar Guru
At the risk of brushing Australian fur the wrong way; discipline has been a problem with the WB's for some years now. To me there seems a semi regular pattern, where their pack gets 'bullied' at some point, which creates calls for more mongrel. Larger forwards are brought in and a great focus on aggression ensues. What never seems to get through is that aggression without accuracy is just a large penalty count against you.