Why Randwick is vital to Wallaby success

Gregan played 10 games for Randwick, obviously learnt a lot in that short time.

David, I will dip my cap to you. You definitely write articles that provoke a response. I have said this before and will say it agin, it’s great that anyone can post and the article is treated on its merits and people take the time to think and respond without getting nasty. In saying that, David, when you are writing your articles, and this one in particular, do you actually believe what you are writing or are you stirring the pot for the sake of it. Because if you are stirring the pot to provoke debate then you are very good at it and have my admiration. There is no doubting that Randwick in the past have had a tremendous impact on Australian rugby. And if the wallabies could reproduce the type of rugby played by some of the great sides of randwick past, then that would be great. But unfortunately, you have 4 state sides playing differently styles, coached by different coaches with different beliefs. One club side cannot impact the national side entirely. Because if that is the case, then the comment about both st Josephus schools would be just as applicable and maybe those coaches should get the top gig. Whatever, one thing is for certain, David keep the articles coming because you do provoke a response. One request though, can you possibly write less opinion pieces and actually start writing more stories that you have seen in your travels because that would be be very interesting. Cheers

True, but correlation gives us lots of lucky socks and rituals!

But the basics have changed, front rowers no longer spend their days lying at the bottom of rucks, they are expected to have greater ball handling skills than previous generations of backs, backs are expected to be stronger in the tackle than forwards were. Positional play is totally different. The bench is an integral part of the team, not just injury cover. Being able to catch, pass, support, kick, retain possession and tackle is not enough, and the success of the Galloping Greens relied on a lot more than this.

As an Aucklander, we always said it about Auckland, but that was pre Super Rugby franchises when the regional teams were the top tier. There may have been some modicum of truth in it, it was the amateur era and players had to work, with Auckland having the highest population and jobs market, you would expect a larger talented club player pool for Auckland to draw from. Future, current (when available) and past All Blacks would play for their club. Clubs with All Blacks would attract more talent and the likes Ponsonby, Marist, Suburbs and University would dominate the competitions. But, that was a totally different era, the mentoring provided by the players has been superseded by the NZRU coaching and player development structures. The administration has become professional and the strength of the national team is not dependent on a single school, club, region or SR franchise. Much as I would like the Blues to dominate SR, their strength doesn't determine the All Blacks' strength. Perhaps 'Why Rugby Australia is Vital to Wallabies Success' would be a better focus for an article?

When Auckland are weak, the Wallabies are weak.

Yes. Or no. What would you like the answer to be, and how much will you pay me to come up with it?

I see where you're coming from, but this isn't anywhere near the line. Two that spring to mind are the Retallick dummy on Foley, Genia doesn't even sprint after him. And one of Beaudens trys in Bled 2, he's 15m from the line.

Piru, you don't need to prove your "wrong white crowd" origin by displaying your ignorance of east coast geography.

I only have the Game of Thrones version of Risk

Nudgee won the last two GPS premierships, by that logic we should have won the RC in a canter :-) And I hate the name change from St Josephs College Nudgee. Modern handwaving.

Maybe he is actually realistic and sees no point in chasing someone who is well past him. How many times do you see a defender flop on a player who has grounded the ball? It's minor but it should be stamped out.

Enlightening comment there Kane.

You are right, as confirmed by the coach on TV last night: “ there was no technical input during the half time talk” in Argentina. He further said the players “did it themselves” “they know how to play”. So the sooner the players agree to ignore the mindless and simplistic rantings to “playing the Randwick way”, and play as they know they ought, the sooner success will come their way.

I wonder why Qld had so much success playing against the NSW side full of these unbeatable Randwick players during the late 70s to early 80s era ?

Agree with your comment about basics David (plus I would add kicking to your list), & they are the sort of essentials an international team should have mastered - but are they doing the bread and butter drills in these areas ? (I don't know for certain, but it would seem the darkness are practising these far more or in a better manner). But once these are on a par with other teams (which they should be), it then comes down to rugby intelligence - what tactics are the opposition likely to roll out, & how do we counter them? Are there any standout individuals in the opposition that we need tactics to negate? Is there obvious (or subtle) weaknesses in the opposition that we could exploit? I am only observing from the outside, but Ireland and NZ appear ahead of us there, and Eddie's England (ironically ex-Randwick) was ahead of us two years ago at least. Galling, because in the past rugby intelligence has usually been our strong point.

This is a very compelling argument, Kane ????

Different these days, Aucklanders are making other sides stronger. The next potential 7 due to Canes injury? A Highlander, Dillon Hunt, from Westlake boys in... you guessed it, Auckland.

Same with Auckland since 2003, ABs could have been much stronger.????

It very well might be David, but is it the smartest way in this day and age to get from A to B?