The 37-18 thumping Eddie Jones’s England dished out to Michael Cheika’s Wallabies at Twickenham seals a record number of successive wins by England over Australia, another dubious record that Michael Cheika has collected as Wallabies coach since 2016.
This record includes series losses at home to Ireland and England, first losses at home for many decades to Scotland and Argentina, and the end of a decade-long winning streak against Wales.
It has all been capped off with the Wallabies’ lowest ever World Rugby ranking of seventh in the world. Not winning the Bledisloe Cup for a 16th year in a row, no longer seems like the Wallabies’ biggest problem.
Yet Jones came to a passionate defence of Cheika as coach, blaming the Australian rugby administration for the Wallabies’ woes. This follows similar endorsements of Cheika by All Blacks rival Steven Hanson and his former assistant coach, turned Argentina coach, Mario Ledesema.
Surely the chorus of foreign coaches wanting Cheika to stay is the loudest indication that he should go? These blokes want to win the World Cup next year and Jones, Hanson and Ledesema sound to me like they are trying to stack the odds in their favour, by doing everything that they can to ensure that a credible threat from the Wallabies does not eventuate!
Eddie Jones – does he have a secret motive for praising Michael Cheika? (Photo by David Rogers – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
Just how credible a threat the Wallabies really can be under the right coach slipped out during the English commentary of the game at Twickenham. One of the commentators, it may have been Clive Woodward, was carrying on with the sort of mealy-mouthed back-handed complements that the English are best at, that inspire Australians a raging desire to see the Wallabies bash the Poms back into 2015.
The commentary was along the lines of how the Wallabies have always been weak up front, but that they have players of individual brilliance who scoring a try in a flash. The Wallabies duly obliged by having their scrum marched backwards around the field, but having Israel Folau being set up for a couple of great tries.
The Pommy commentary gave insight into the reason why Cheika’s rivals are so keen to see him stay. The Wallabies only need an incremental improvement across the board to rugby basics – set piece, breakdown, defence, discipline, catch and pass, and kicking – before they will be a team that can ruin the World Cup for any of the contenders.
They don’t need to worry as much about training to score tries when they have so many players who naturally find ways do that, they just need to establish the platform for it to happen.
The problem is that Cheika doesn’t seem to have the coaching ability to achieve incremental gains across the board. The lineout has been bad all year and the scrum ok, but at Twickenham the lineout had improved but the scrum was rubbish. T
he defence might be good one game, but the Wallabies keep losing ball at the offensive breakdown. His selections are bizarre. The list goes on.
Former Wallabies commentating have as much, the team addresses one problem and another arises. It suggests that Cheika’s training regime is reactive, going from one band aid fix to another but not enough smart predicting, planning and prioritisation.
Whatever the case Cheika’s methods simply aren’t working, which is undoubtedly why his rivals are keen for him to stay employed.
It is probably too late for any new coach to rework the Wallabies game to make them real World Cup contenders, but given that Cheika doesn’t have a coaching system nailed down, surely a new coach who is focused on the basics couldn’t get them a more respectable result?
An honourable showing might sound like an unambitious objective to Australian rugby fans, but it is important for nobody more than the players.
Israel Folau. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Despite how upset the Wallabies fans are, if the team does badly in 2019, it won’t be the end of the World for fans. The Wallabies will get a new coach, surely Rugby Australia will be forced to have a rethink about how things are done and it is likely that they will improve towards 2023.
However, this will undoubtedly be the only or last occasion that many of the Wallabies players get to play in a World Cup.
Nobody as talented and who works as hard as these blokes do to get into the jumper of a team with the proud tradition of the Wallabies, wants to be remembered as having been a part of one of the worst squads either. But that is the legacy that they are being led towards by Michael Cheika.
That is the saddest part of it all.
Sheikh
Roar Rookie
Maybe Cheika is trying to confuse the opposition into submission!
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Your first comment was the most accurate - you are in the minority thinking cheika is a good coach,
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Even Barnes thought Shoulders Farrells tackle was a Penalty Try and Yellow card, that is how bad the decision was REF..
Azza
Guest
Totally agree bluff boy
Puff
Guest
In all sincerity as a team we would be ecstatic if we were close to having the depth the A/B’s enjoy. The question is: why at this late stage are we still experimenting in all the critical positions. Foley, Beale, Toomua and Hodge do not complement the 10 position in the modern game and if we desire to again be a force in international rugby having a 10 who can game manage both attack and defense is fundamental. In fact we probably require 3 players. If lounge chair supporters recognized such deficiencies many moons ago, why not the coaching staff. Even more worrying, we are executing a very ill disciplined style of play, that appears to incorporate little innovation or change in recent times and we continue to wheel out the same old dribble. If you study national teams on the move who were previously struggling in the weeds. Ireland under Schmidt, Eddie is still smiling, RassieErasmus has rejuvenated S/A, Scotland have confidence after Argentina. Fiji are now waving the flag, they have all reintroduced pride into their national jersey, employing coaches with vision. What has Cheika achieved this season, apart from the same old rhetoric, a season no senior coach would desire highlighted on their resume.
Gishan De Soyza
Roar Pro
Not sure about winning the World Cup but this team could give it a good crack. 1. S. Sio 2. J. Ulese 3. S. Kepu 4. I. Rodda 5. Adam Coleman 6. J. Dempsy 7. D. Pocock 8. S. Higinbotham 9. W. Genia 10. Q. Cooper 11. T. Banks / J.O.C 12. S. Kervi / M. Toomua 13. T. Kurudrani 14. I. Folau 15. K. Beale 16. B.P.A / T.P.N / F. Fainga / T. Latu 17. A. Alatoa 18. T. Topou 19. L. Tui / R. Arnold / M. Philip 20. M. Hooper 21. J. Gordan 22. M. Toomua / S. Kervi 23. R. Hodge / B. Foley
Nicc
Guest
To see the difference a coach can make, look at Eddie Jones. He took most of Stuart Lancaster's disgraced World Cup team and turned them into winners. And he did it pretty quickly. As a Pom, I am amazed at the incompetance of RA, they will kill the game in Australia unless something is done soon. Old Chinese saying 'A fish rots from the head'.
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
:-)
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
Just a bit of tribalism there old chap ????
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
Thanks
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
As baz said, it isn’t about winning the World Cup, it is about the Wallabies doing as well as they can. At the moment they seriously have to worry about making it past Wales and Fiji in the pools, that is completely unacceptable. Selection wise all they need to do is to choose hookers who can throw straight (Hanson, Paanga-Amosa), a proper sized 6 and 8 (Dempsey, Jones, Nasarini, Higgenbotham and others ), centres who can tackle (Hodge, Kuridrani, Kerevi if he is at 12) and a proper fullback instead of a rugby league winger (Haylet-Petty, Besle, Banks). Then it is a matter of the coach settling of a simple game plan and coaching the basics, set piece, breakdown, kicking and defence. Do that and the Wallabies become much more respectable.
rOGER
Guest
Spot on. Cheika is a failure .He must go NOW.
baz
Guest
Its not a matter of winning, its a matter of acknowledging the coach must go. No matter what the sport, no matter whether it was a WC year or not in 2019 3 seasons of decline bottoming out as it did in 2018 means the coach must go.
baz
Guest
How can the continued switching of players and positions be seen as good coaching? Take Beale-Foley-Toomua throughout this season - no continuity, no plan, completely reactive as in article above? How can the performance going backwards every year for the past 3 years be seen as good coaching? How can the failure to select and trial emerging talent like Tom Banks, instead going for AAC be seen as good coaching? Going into a World Cup year we have no idea if Banks has potential at the international level or not.
buttery
Roar Rookie
Name a team that can win the WC, if you replaced Cheika
steveg
Guest
Many who comment on the need to replace MC go on to lament that its too late to replace him leading into next years RWC RWC 2019 is a lost cause under Cheika, so lets recognise that and begin the transformation of Aussie Rugby now not wait, whilst continuing to regress until next October to start again. New coach, with a new high performance team could use RWC 2019 as a stepping stone forward. at the moment it will only be a new "low tide"marker
JP
Guest
Oopposition coaches must rub their hands together with glee when they are playing the wallabies Coaching staff : " Hey boys Cheika has picked Foley again ! " Players : " hahahahahaha !!!! " Coaching staff : " But guess what, he has him at 12 this time , hahaha " Players : " hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha "
dirtyrottenscoundrel
Guest
OH and the other is where do we find an 8? I haven't seen a genuine one for years.
dirtyrottenscoundrel
Guest
9 (Genia) is not our problem, the depth behind him is. 10 is our problem. Name one 10 in Australia that would make ANY other international team.
AK47
Roar Rookie
I'm in the minority but I do believe he is a good coach. We have a real problem of executing our plays and hanging onto the ball. We're always been slow to get to the breakdown and we haven't had a decent 9 for years. Defensively we miss too many tackles. We are not too far off from the worlds best.