Get your questions in for Coach's Corner issue 2

There’s been a lot of discussion since the start of the season about back line positions for individual players (in particular Petaia, Paisami, Hodge) and what’s best for Australia leading to the next World Cup. After watching some Japanese top league over the past fortnight its reminded me the amount of Australian talent that’s currently overseas, leading to my question... What level of effort should the Australian administration be putting into developing players in specialist positions with a lack of depth, eg the second row and outside centre, vs the effort to be made to get the likes of Skelton, Rodda, Phillip, Kerevi, et al back to super rugby and eligible for the wallabies?

Why Dont ref's penalize at the ruck correctly. We teach kids "airplane taking off" , dont put hands on the ground(not supporting own weight), dont put hands on a player on the ground (not supporting own weight) and also that prevents player rolling away. Watch super rugby and they all grab the player on the ground , penalty? not allowing player to roll away, go over ruck on the bodies, not supporting own weight Want a fast game, stop the grabbing and low head down position and make players "airplane taking off" against the cleaners , would be easier to clean and win ball back , minimise hits to head and concussions if not in "airplane landing" position .(head down) Ruck used to be two players bound over the ball ( now one over ball) , but cleaners never bind and push, they just crash so maybe go back to the BIND and push rather then crash? Used to be 'engage' in scrums and we knew that was unsafe and went to crouch/bind/set Rules already exist to make game faster and safer! Ref's just need to take control, what are they scared of ?

Fail to enter the reds 22 TH.

Agreed, a looong time ago the Referee would have a "be a good boy" chat to the returning player. As player understanding and referee communication has improved this doesn't happen as there is no need for this anymore.

After you discussed Jim McKay at the Reds, how do you see Scott Wisemantel evolving the Wallabies attack this year compared to 2020?

Hi Nick, with the All Blacks dominating rugby for the past 20+ years why haven’t other teams focused on counter attack like they do? I still see oz players reacting with such a lack of urgency when the opportunities are there whereas NZ players know this is the best opportunity to score tries. Any idea Nick why coaches in oz and over the world haven’t focused on this more? I know you have noted before in your article that the 1st phase is the most efficient to score tries and your chance of success diminishes every phase after. Why such an emphasis in oz to “build the phases” ???

Hi Nick, what did the reds do in defence and/or the rebels not do in attack that led to a team and especially backline full of wallabies not crossing the chalk?

Cheers MB I gather free kicks dont count.....i just feel its a 10 min punishment and other sports can bring people on from the sideline without a stoppage in play.....Just make sure he joins back in "onside" and I dont get the issue..... Time for a change in laws around this as to me a 30% increase in punishment is significant and in the 2015 WC it was 12 1/2 mins after Smith was binned that Aus scored a try.....Punishment didnt fit the crime and if that cost a WC win it would be terrible..... Same thing happened in round 1 SRAU too so its common.........

Option B: How were the reds and rebels approaching scrum time? Spider cam revealed a stark contrast in how they were packing, with the reds square and tight and the rebels props setting very wide with much of their weight on the flankers.. This may also align with one of your previous articles re: scrumming and binds. https://twitter.com/rugbycomau/status/1366304824078262273?s=20

How can the Waratahs improve?

Hey Jacko, I think I can answer that one. The scrum was the only "stoppage" there and it occurred b4 the time was up (the resets don't count). PK is still live until it goes into to touch/ through the sticks/dead ball line.

A comparison of the kicking/game management of JOC and the reds vs Toomua and the rebels. Who got the chocolates? Many (including me) thought that Toomua and the rebels played well in this regard, but when you look at the stats, reds dominated territory and rebels only entered the reds 22 once in 80 minutes!?! Can the rebels really have played that well while giving themselves next to no opportunities to score a try...

Why are sin binned players not being allowed back on after serving their punishment. Example Saders player sinbinned at 22.19...time not stopped.......Scrum awarded to Saders at 31.50 flat......Play did not resume until 32.44...time not stopped.....already 10mins and 54sec...Free kick awarded at 33.04 ...time not stopped......Penalty to Highlanders at 34.37....time not stopped.....Player comes back on at 35.22 after penalty taken to go to lineout.... So a player was sent to the bin for 10 mins and ended up serving 13.03.......Thats a 30% addition to his punishment...And this is common not rare. WHY??????? Cant a player just enter from behind play or the goal line? With a Red card being 20 mins in SR will we see a YCed player serve out 20 mins on day?

Nick,how is the decision of taking a kick at penalty goal or going for the potential 7pts arrived at? Captains call. Tactics discussed before the match. Importance of match..final e.t.c Scoreboard. Goal kickers success rate. Time left on the clock. Time wasting. Rocks,paper, scissors?

Apparently Eddie Jones made a comment regarding improving a poor performing team. His philosophy is incremental improvements. I believe the philosophy was to focus on one aspect at a time and incrementally build on the growing skill base. Applying this to the Waratahs, where would one start, and then progress, to get the Waratahs competitive again or even dominate?

@NB - Interested to know your overall thoughts on the first 2 performances of the Waratahs and if they got their recruitment and retentions plans wrong? Personally, I don't think a combined 102 points scored against them in the first 2 rounds is good enough for what is, albeit young and relatively inexperienced, a professional rugby team. Yes they played the 2 teams who many expect to be playing in the AU Super Rugby Final again this year, but for the professional AU team which has the best club rugby nursery to draw from, I have grave concerns for the Waratahs this season as they look to have gone backwards from last year.

Hi Nick, after the first two weeks (and putting any and all backroom stuff out of it) do you see anything in the Waratahs games that suggests Penney's rebuild may reap some (any) fruit earlier than later?

Nick, Thanks for this series. I've seen a lot in the press (again) lately about the maul - mostly against (still). The basis of a lot of this is the 'obstruction' by players at the front end. What's the difference between this as a 'problem' and the protection given to the ball in a ruck which is accepted? Disclosure - ex-prop. And given that more than half a team is made up of forwards - the skills and impact of mauls and maul defence appeal to a considerable number of players and ex-players though not, it seems, to those wanting a product to rival League for one-sized-player-fits-all.

Brilliant!

...comes down wet, comes down dry. Top stuff JD!