If watching the Wallabies labour through another Test loss is difficult, what’s harder is knowing that the World Cup seems to gift impunity to those steering the sinking ship.
It’s a notion I’ve always struggled with: that a coach can enjoy a strong degree of protection from accountability – and the sack – by dropping the “we’re building towards the World Cup” line or “everything is geared towards the World Cup”.
Of course the four-year World Cup cycle offers a chance for young players to be introduced at Test level and exposed to different opponents and conditions. But in Australia it seems coaches are afforded too much leniency in the intervening years in their quest to snare the holy grail of the World Cup.
It’s as simple as this: too much weight is given to winning a World Cup and not enough to success in the interim.
The balance is out of whack. Fans are demanding – they want results now. Call it a short-term mindset without giving enough credence to the long game, but the reality is that a barren spell in between World Cups shouldn’t give the coaching staff immunity.
Wallabies fans are rightly filthy when a 3-0 home series loss to England is followed by further home losses to Scotland, Ireland and Argentina – amongst a stack of All Blacks slaughters and European failures – and they’re told to look at the bigger picture of the World Cup.
Australia haven’t played well since the World Cup (AFP PHOTO / MARTIN BUREAU)
The demand for results and improvement should be most stark a year or so out from the World Cup, when those green shoots should’ve started to mature into something more significant and meaningful. And yet here we are, a year out from next year’s World Cup in Japan and the Wallabies are in disarray.
Under Michael Cheika, the Wallabies have won three of their last 13 Tests and 16 out of 40 Tests since the 2015 World Cup final.
Yet only yesterday, Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle said Cheika was safe from the axe despite admitting “universal frustration” at the team’s poor record.
They are coming off a dismal, tryless 9-6 defeat to Wales and preparing to this weekend face Italy. They haven’t lost to the Italians in 17 Tests but the Wallabies are looking as vulnerable as ever.
Who has come through and made an impression since the last World Cup? Dane Haylett-Petty is one. Samu Kerevi has shown glimpses that he can cut it with the best centres but injuries have been costly.
No one between No.6 to No.12 has stepped up. There are new faces in the front five but none have consistently stood out at Test level.
How much lower do the Wallabies need to plunge before changes are made to the coaching staff?
Do Rugby Australia believe someone’s going to spread some magical dust around and the Wallabies will rocket into World Cup contention?
Cheika might not be the one to go, but at least one of defence coach Nathan Grey, forwards coach Simon Raiwalui or backs coach Stephen Larkham needs to be moved on.
The Wallabies aren’t progressing and the coaching dynamic needs to change. They can’t spark them up. You can slice and dice it whatever way you like but the Wallabies aren’t responding.
Stability in any organisation is important, but that shouldn’t be blindly followed if there aren’t any signs of progress and success.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika (Photo by Jason O’Brien/Getty Images)
If Cricket Australia were accused of creating a culture of “winning without counting the costs” then Rugby Australia are in danger of procrastinating without counting the costs.
The costs are stark.
There’s the risk that even more Wallabies fans will be alienated if there’s no reason to believe Rugby Australia are going to search for some inspiration in the form of a new coaching structure.
There are some world-class players in the Wallabies squad but they’re not lighting it up. The Wallabies were dire against Wales – they were continually far too deep in attack and then went side to side without punching a hole in the Welsh defence. And when they played direct, often they were outmuscled and held up with the ball.
“All I can do is get the guys improving on the things we didn’t do well today,” Cheika said after Australia’s most-recent loss in Cardiff.
It seems like these lines have been rolled out in familiar fashion following another Test loss over the past few years. Fans have lost patience.
In fact, if Rugby Australia had taken notice of public opinion polls like the LNP and Labor parties, then Cheika might’ve got the flick a while ago.
Following the strategies of Australia’s major political parties mightn’t be advisable but being aware of public perception is important.
It might work for Michael Phelps to clock off and party in between the four-year cycle of the Olympics and then come back primed to chase more gold medals. But Wallabies fans demand a decent level of success every year, even if the Bledisloe Cup is elusive.
The World Cup cycle gives a chance to refresh and develop the squad, but it can’t be viewed as giving the coaches carte blanche to get bashed and bullied for three-and-a-half years.
There need to be positive signs, or someone else needs to have a go even if World Cup kick-off is less than 12 months away.
Cliff Bishkek
Roar Rookie
Bamboo, "if that was to occur?" - should be restated "when that will occur".
Rob Illidge
Guest
Won’t watch them anymore. Given up. They are terrible. Agreed if can’t sack head coach at a minimum forwards & defence must go.
ChipandChagger
Roar Rookie
Very true. The blaise attitude of “she’ll be right” after all these ‘firsts’ under the Cheika has just been swept under the carpet. Loss to Scotland. Loss to Tonga. Home series whitewash to England. Loss to Argentina. Lowest IRB World Ranking ever. Where is the accountability for this performance! OFF WITH HIS HEAD.
PHIL Jackson
Guest
Wallabies coaches don't have immunity. It is simply that they are clearly the best coaches at the time of their initial selection. The problem is that RA don't have a national coaching academy in place like they did in the early nineties. If a coach loses the plot it can be fixed by someone from the same litter. If an army section loses their machine gunner he is replaced by someone who has trained the same way as the soldier he is replacing. Freelance coaches are a bad idea.
Waxhead
Guest
I made typo above. I meant new coaching staff starting 1 Jan 2019 would be ok imo. No coach should have immunity 12 months out from RWC. Especially not one with the worst record of past 30 yrs.
Horseflesh
Guest
Leave the corporate governance fluff out! You must work in communications. No, don't tell me. Its HR.
System of a Downey Jr
Roar Rookie
I'm of the opinion that the Wallabies will get to a quarter final. And if it's against either Argentina or France they'll have a very good chance of making the semi. Of course any thing is possible and Fiji could roll Australia but I think anything more than a quarter final will be seen as a victory by Cheika. I think the Wallabies have a good run of games - Fiji is a good start because it is the one they must win. they can lose to Wales and stumble through (while resting some of the vital players like Genia and Pocock) Uruguay and Georgia - games that I don't believe even this wallabies team will lose, - and then they'll be facing a quarter final opponent. I've always thought Cheika's strength is getting a team up for a single event like a World Cup. He seems absolutely bereft of ideas when it comes to developing a team over a long period of time.
Redsfan1
Guest
The only contribution I've seen from Kerevi is to run in on every single tiny opposition error or scrum reset to high five everyone like they have won the World Cup. In defence he gets skinned regularly.
ajhreds
Guest
Everything to bring Rugby down in Australia has been perfectly executed. 1, Appointed a CEO from Canterbury Bulldogs RL 2. Have a coach who is pig-headed that cannot admit prejudice, mistakes or learn from them 3. Pick a team of favourites out of position rather than the best player in each position and a capable bench 4. Give long standing over-indulgent contracts to players not the best in their position that offer no incentive to get their. 5. Never put the hand up for losses or owning them and trying something different. 6. Follow everything thing for no or little promotion of the game - that said -given results - probably wise not to 7. Too much emphasis on RWC : Australian Rugby RIP
Armchair Sportsfan
Roar Rookie
"He should have been gone when Castle first took over" Correct, I said this in another thread the other day, but it bears repeating.....things have gotten so bad, and we're so accepting of Wallaby losses that it doesnt even rate a mention that Scotland put 50 points on us last year at Murrayfield. I know Scotland are a much improved side, but in years gone by that would have been a 'Watershed moment' or a 'line in the sand' - (like when people refer to the loss to Tonga in 1973). But now it's largely forgotten about, just blending into the general malaise and decline of a once great side....
Armchair Sportsfan
Roar Rookie
You know the old saying "a coach lives and dies by his results"? No?...neither do Rugby Australia....
JB
Roar Rookie
I totally agree with you - the biggest failure of Cheika's mandate would have been that failure to build depth. When you look a the way the All Blacks develop players, you can see that disasters like Hanigan would not happen. As soon as a guy puts two good performances in a Super Rugby team, he is thrown directly in the Wallaby team. In NZ, that player would be given 10 to 15 minutes to start with for probable the entire season before he can gain more playing time, having assimilated all the play book of the All Blacks (look how it took Liam Squire to be Kaino's replacement). No long term planning has been done - who was going to replace Scott Fardy? No player has been developed in that position. What about the fly half position with an over-reliance on Bernard Foley? What happens if he gets a long term injury next year? Maddocks has the potential to become a great player but he should be slowly introduced in the Wallaby game plan. Yes we always hear that those guys are ready for test rugby. I say no as the All Blacks keep demonstrating it: prepare your players, groom them.
Monsta
Roar Rookie
Honestly, I don't give a hoot about the World Cup. Same as with cricket world cups. They are a bit of a lottery even for the best so I do agree that the interim is vital. I want to be competitive in every test, ffs at least let the opposition know they've played. World Cup ? Meh...
Hanibal
Roar Rookie
It could have been so much worse. Cheika's record this year is 3 from 11 so presumably it's those three wins that have saved his bacon. But have RA bothered to analyse those wins. None of them were convincing and all could have been losses. In the first Irish test they did not select the best team. South Africa absolutely blew it in Brisbane and should have won that game easily. And I'm not convinced about the Wallabies' reported brilliance in the second half at Salta. The Pumas were woeful in that second half, probably the worst 40 minutes they had ever played . In the first half their game was being superbly controlled by the brilliant Nicolas Sanchez but when he went off injured before half-time they lost their way completely. If he had stayed on I think Australia would have lost that game. So Raelene it should really have been 0 from 11. Not much of a "plan" but you are still backing your ma!
The General
Guest
You meant to say Beale and Foley. But all is forgiven.
jack
Roar Rookie
nicely put
Ralph
Roar Guru
I look at it this way. Over the last four years there has been a failure to build depth. That lack of depth and compromise in positions have almost certainly sown the seeds for a poor RWC. Now if we took as our assumption a poor showing at RWC - then why would saddle the next coaching setup with a high profile failure like that? Why not let things run the course and put the blame for failure where it can be buried (Chieka)?
Waxhead
Guest
Yes I agree no coach should not have immunity 12 months out from a RWC. 6 months would be reasonable imo. New coaching staff starting 1 Jan 2018 would be ok imo. Then re-asses again after the RWC for a long term contract. But who should the coaching staff be for 2019 ?
Lachness
Roar Rookie
realist, I agree! Was so glad to hear John Connelly share my sentiments that Kerevi doesn’t have the speed to effectively compete at that level (unless he is fully match for IMO)! Would be better to slot him in at 12 where his speed endurance isn’t shown up..
Lara
Guest
RA management is the question, poor coaches ,no back up plans, just a sit on your hands approach n hope.Cheika n co has dug a hole looking for fools gold, they got dusted at the RWC final in 2015, the coach got an award , the rugby public really got conned n believed the nonsense n even made up their own stories. The polyfiller solutions did their job, but they used to much to hide the huge cracks through bad workmanship n now the sh- t is falling apart......we got a dud n we are stuck with it until 2019 n hopefully we can flick it off.