Ultimately, Michael Cheika is to blame

Not 1973. SA toured NZ in 1981. NZ Cavaliers toured SA in 1985. England also toured around then. So in 1991 SA had been out for 5 or 10 years depending.

Agree somewhat but I feel Cheika is sorely let down by the backs coach. Obviously Cheika has enormous power and accountability but there are other highly paid permanent coaches in the Wallaby set up who are not delivering value. Backs seem disjointed at times and one wonders if Folau has the skill to make that non pass to Foley. I can’t recall seeing HIN pass left to right at pace. And don’t forget Phipps inabilities around kicking. Where is the coaching???

100%............does that sound tongue in cheek enough??

Sorry Waxhead... you seem to think the same as MC. There is great talent for the WBs to select from. You simply can't and shouldn't have players out of position at the top level and expect them to perform. You immediately amplify any mismatches. Similarly don't throw young potentials in the very deep end to drown, then discard. Similarly how many players of the match over last couple years didn't get a game the following week? This is all madness! There's plenty of talent being horribly managed... by a coach who says he's a good manager... according to MC it's the player's fault that his tactics don't work. More poor management ... and denial. And of course the players will come out and say how good a coach he is... he's soul selector and has even demonstrated good players can get discarded at his whim! Although MC's passion is to be admired and it helps, passion is not enough to be a paid professional coach of the professional national team.... this ain't weekend amateur rugby. MC and his assistants have a job to do.... they are demonstratably failing. I feel really sorry for the players, including those who perhaps shouldn't be there, especially those being played in the wrong positions with the wrong tactics! Not their fault. The WBs can and should be more consistantly competitive ... that's all the supporters want in the first instance. A plea to MC from a passionate supporter... if you are going to stay, be honest (to yourself, the fans and supporters) and review your ideas... and seriously consider a change of approach for the better! Now.... please!! Show us you're a good coach. Give the players a break and the right direction. It's a huge multi-faceted job being coach. You have to manage the supporters and keep them on side too. Admit when things don't work and give us hope you are working on it. CARN MC! CARN the WBs!!!

No RA like wasting money!!

London Waratah, need to go back a little bit more than 1991. The Bokkies had not played serious international rugby for some 15 to 18 years; since 1973 if I am correct. Apartheid was discontinued in 1990/91 and the Boks were not a good team. Go back to the period when the ABs and the Springboks usually were playing for the No. 1 posiiton in World Rugby. The Springboks regularly beat the ABs and the Wallabies hardly ever registered a win against the Bok or the ABs. And if SA ever get their political issues together and the South Africans can get their rugby players fully immersed without politics and racial quotas, then - IMHO, we may again see the ABs and Springboks fighting out for the No. 1 and No.2 posiitons in World Rugby. I am not talking 1990 onwards.

" Well Tusor – what if there are no players in Australia that can do the required job? I don’t think there are and haven’t been for 15 years. " waxhead. Hooper must be good enough he is getting 6 million dollars.

Yeah it not like Hooper would say . " Hey Cheiks for the betterment of this faltering team i should be on the bench or dropped entirely and Poey should start at 7 and be captain too as he is the best and most respected player we have "

Then the choreographer needs to revisit, his chorus line selections and then you just might, get the break you desire.........it is one or the other cause atm, the current persuasion just isn't working.....is it???

Could not agree more! This has to be the biggest issue surely - selection of players first to suit! Combinations as well, get the basics right - play your best 7 at 7 ffs. The ABs for all their hype and I am a fan pick players who A do their core role well and B are team players. You may be the best but if you don’t fit the team.....

Cliff, when we won our first WC, The Boks said "You're not World Champions until you've beaten The Bok". Bok was smashed by Wallaby the following year in SA and they were still in apartheid. We can all hypothesise (eg if Aus had no AFL, League or soccer like NZ and SA).

It is a combination of all those factors. By the same logic RA don’t have the structure and pathways to develop good players, they also don’t have it in place to develop good coaches. The difference is though, the coach can be from any where, and arguably some one from outside the system may have a clean and unsullied view of players and clubs. Changing coaches is a much easier lever to pull to get a change in results than a few positional changes under the same underperforming coach.

Waxhead, it is not the Ranking I am concerned with. If SA ever returned to their level prior to Apartheid Ban, then we would in all probability never get above No. 3. But we are some 3 going on 4 years after the 2015 RWC - final by a fluke of poor umpiring - and nothing of note has happened or improvement made. There are players around that can replace and be looked at. But they have not been identified by Cheika or trialled by Cheika. Why is Phipps still looked at in preference of Powell and the other "name escapes me" - given more opportunity? Why is Folau considered for FB when the majority of Rugby supporters and coaches recognise that he is a winger only? Is their a Coach out there willing to Coach the Wallabies under a dysfunctional Rugby Administration with poor grassroots development? Not likely. But changes can be made - a selection committee to start with. Cheika gets one vote!! Your last sentence is one that has been stated by many and no changes occurring.

Tusor says "If the players are not doing their job either because they won’t or can’t, it’s the job of the coach to identify it and replace them. This is something that the coach must do." Well Tusor - what if there are no players in Australia that can do the required job? I don't think there are and haven't been for 15 years. I'm no Cheika fan but we should be fair and reasonable. It's been obvious for 15 yrs now Aust does not have good enough players or coaches or a system that can deliver them. It's a combination of all 3 factors feeding into other. Players, coaches come and go and it's a very similar outcome by years end. Criticise the coach all you want but their has to be a demonstrably better replacement available. Same thing applies to players also. While I don't agree with about 10% of Cheika's selections he's got those mostly right imo. Even though Phipps, Simmons, Hanigan, Robertson etc are unworthy duds Aust would be still ranked out of top 3 with better replacements. The issues are clearly are combination of inadequate coaching, player depth and a non optimal system

And in another article today the "Crowd Roar Guru" says, "Roll the Dice on Larkham for the 2019 World Cup". Give us a break. Larkham is 50% of the problem. He is meant to deliver tactical nous and rugby nous and attacking options to the backline. He has not and cannot. His coaching stint at the Brumbies as a abject failure. Please, oh please, Larkham is not a Coach. He has proved he is not a Coach. But my concern is that after 2019, Larkham's Father through his contacts will get Larkham the job. And then we will be in worse strife than we are now.

As the old saying goes, the buck stops here and here being the coach. Because his career depends on winning, he wants to pick the team he thinks can win not necessarily the best team. The starting point is to take selections away from the coach and see if this will create an improvement. This way, Cheika only has to worry about coaching and nothing else (oh and get rid of Grey, we Waratahs supporters were pleased to see him go pity it was to the Wallabies).

Cheika will decide when he leaves. Whose next , Graham, Larkham, Link, Thorn, Lancaster or Jones . Give us all a break. Look at the Sr results.

Short, sweet and to the point. Simples really......if you can't dance at the big show either change the chorus line or, get another choreographer.

" I like the analogy. Yeah, me too.Nice piece. If the Oboe isn't cutting it or the horn section runs amok....it's up to the conductor to sort it out. Now if the Opera Company decide they are happy with their big-name Maestro but the audiences vote with their feet then you have a mess on your hands.

Repeating myself...all starts with selections for mine. Chieka team selections are bizarre. He has no respect for the body types or basic skills required in individual positions. He selects best individual 23 players available (some would argue) then composes a squad from this group. Unfortunately that means we have 3-4 wingers, 2-3 No. 7s, 3 x locks one playing at 6, 2 x 10’s neither of whom can defend the 10/12 channel, 15 playing wing, 11/14 who can’t kick playing 15, a 7 playing at 8 and a slow 11/14 playing at 13 (injury forced selection). Is it any wonder the squad balance is off. Basic skills gaps and mismatches all over the park. Transitions are appalling as the team skampers about into their attack or defensive alignments. Wingers running in field to defend 10/12 channel, 10/12 running back and out of the way on defence, a generalist at 13. You get the picture. Wrong skills and body types all over the park is it any wonder the set piece regularly goes to shit and the opposition exploit the gaps and weaknesses everywhere. Pick a traditional squad of the best avail specialists in every position. Darwinian Rugby evolution has created the tall 4/5’s, big bopper 8, fast 11/14s, 15s that can kick and all defending and attacking pretty much in their own channels. Coaches that ignores this will eventually succumb to the other Darwinian law, coaches are responsible for results, particularly when you are the chief selector and coach.