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Welcome to another sorry Sunday for Wallabies fans after the side slid to an eighth loss in their past ten internationals matches.
Not surprisingly the local press continue to heap pressure onto coach Michael Cheika.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Tom Decent said, “A 23-12 defeat to South Africa that will only give Michael Cheika doubters more ammunition to call for change at the top”.
The Australian‘s Wayne Smith said, “The pressure continues to build on coach Michael Cheika”.
Fox Sports’s Christy Doran said, “Michael Cheika’s job on life support”.
I’m not saying that the buck shouldn’t stop with someone, and the head coach is the most obvious culprit. However, I wonder when or if the quality of the playing group will ever become the focal point of discussion.
(Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
1. The players
How many of our best 30 would make a World XV right now? In fact how would make the second or third World XVs? Not many.
In the cold light of day only David Pocock, Israel Folau and Will Genia would be certain of selection. Pocock would be near impossible to leave out of the first XV, Folau might make the seconds and Genia the thirds.
The Australian rugby public is continually fed calls of how many Wallabies are ‘world class’. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. We do not have a single prop, hooker, lock, blindside flanker, genuine No.8, fly half or outside centre who is world class. As such it is almost unreasonable to expect consistent and prolonged success.
2. The captain
Our Wallabies appear rudderless in terms of on-field leadership and sadly we have few alternatives. Hooper is sitting on a winning percentage record as captain that is now below 40 per cent. The press call for Cheika’s head at every opportunity, but I’ve yet to see a ‘Sack Hooper as captain’ headline.
While Hooper was one of our best on ground in Port Elizabeth, it may be that he needs to be relieved of the captaincy in order to find the form of 2015 that had him a shoo-in for a World XV selection.
Pocock and Genia are the only options, but each has drawbacks. Against the Pumas on the Gold Coast the Wallabies, under Pocock’s watch, lacked the poise and clarity that might otherwise have helped them to claim victory. That same poise and clarity was again missing in Port Elizabeth under Hooper.
Genia hasn’t led the side since 2013 and would need to change his prickly style in order to extract the best from his teammates.
(Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
3. The game plan
The Wallabies appear to have a plan A. I say ‘appear’ because it is clear they don’t have a plan B or a plan C, so one must assume they have a plan A. Sadly, we have stuck to plan A for so long our opposition know what they are going to get from us. They also know we won’t change, either because we can’t or because we are too stubborn and won’t.
If we do have a plan B, it is the captain’s call to make. Unfortunately any such call or any such change is not obvious from a tactical perspective. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Welcome to our plan A.
4. The defence
When was the last time you saw the Wallabies 10-12-13 look up and see the opposition’s 1-2-3? Not very often. However, the reverse situation is where the Wallabies are finding themselves on far too regular a basis. Just last night Handre Pollard took advantage of such a mismatch to set up the try for Faf de Klerk.
Surely Nathan Grey must go. There have been numerous instances this season where we had four defenders on the short side marking two opposition players. Not surprisingly the point of attack is shifted to the open side. See Beauden Barrett’s second try in Wellington for details.
Bob Dwyer pointed out recently that the Wallabies have too many ‘walkers’. If four or five are walking at any point in defence, how are the other ten going to stop 15?
Also, we cannot keep hiding Kurtley Beale or Bernard Foley in defence. Too often either or both are seen hugging the sideline on the short side. Heaven forbid we win a turnover, because when Genia looks up to find Rob Simmons at fly half the opportunity is already lost.
George Gregan has often said that winning is infectious. Sadly, so too is losing. Our Wallabies are forgetting how to win and it is showing. Two insipid second-half performances in the past fortnight attest to that.
Will removing Cheika as coach change things for the better? Maybe. Given that is the only possible response to the question, any discussion of a new coach for the 2019 rugby World Cup is mute.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.