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Ever since the Wallabies brought veteran coach Laurie Fisher into camp as an assistant before the win over South Africa in Adelaide, the media covering the team has been clamouring for some time in his presence.
When it happened this week, it was well worth the wait.
Dave Rennie, Dan McKellar, and Scott Wisemantel have done their media minutes over the past six months but none are quite as direct as the straight-talking, deep-thinking ACT Brumbies assistant, who is on his way to his first Spring Tour with the Wallabies.
While Rennie has hammered home his belief that Australia’s discipline isn’t good enough – match scores and penalty counts left us in no doubt anyway – Fisher got straight to the heart of the failings and what needs to change.
He was brought into the fold straight after the embarrassing 48-17 savaging in San Juan by Michael Cheika’s Pumas and was taken aback reviewing the game tape.
“We looked at one clip from the second Argentina Test, which is really just about work rate, about communication – like our hands on knees, like line speed. Edges not pushing edges. Lazy,” Fisher told reporters.
“I saw one clip from that game and said ‘this can’t be us, if that’s us, we may as well not go to the World Cup. We’ve got nothing.’
“That’s my starting point. And we had one moment in the New Zealand game that very much reflected that Argentinian moment. So I showed that again and said ‘listen, boys, unacceptable.’
“It’s easy to just find a couple of things. There are some really good things happening. But in Test rugby, you’ve got to be good all the time. We’ve got to be stronger as a group. And just be candid with each other about being the best we can be.”
Assistant coach Laurie Fisher. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The errors look simple, but Fisher says it’s hard to turn around ill-discipline in a hurry.
There are signs of change, “but as yet not permanency, and that takes time.
“When you’re trying to create an energy or change your habit it doesn’t happen overnight. I understand I’ve got to go back and address it.”
Fisher was brought in to replace defence coach Matt Taylor, who departed after the debacle in Argentina.
He explained his approach this way: “I’m trying to keep things really simple. I’ve got a couple of mantras that I trot out. I’ve got a system in D that’s simple to understand and we’re not trying to change that week to week, we’ve just got to deliver that and deliver it better and better.
“If we stick at it, and believe in it, then we’ll make progress.”
Consistency is his goal and that starts with the basics.
“Your carry, your groundwork, your cleanout, your tackle quality, your catch-pass ability. If you do those things well, you’re going to be consistent,” Fisher said.
“And then you’re going to have moments of execution that are going to be fantastic. But the key to consistency is doing the simple things, the basics of the game well – when you train, when you play, every single time.
“It takes time, across five Super Rugby sides, to build a culture of that. We’ve hammered that hard at the Brumbies for many years. The Brumbies are built on basics. We are fucking built on basics. That’s us we do that well.
“I have a belief that with 10 minutes ago in any game of rugby. If you’ve executed the basics well you’re a chance of winning.”
Fisher was also honest abut the role the coaching staff has played in the break down in consistency.
” I don’t believe we’ve put enough time into that contest part of the game,” Fisher said.
“As coaches, we have to have a good hard look at it and say ‘what is important, how do we allocate our training time? We can be better in that. And we will be – quality drills, demand accuracy, and repetition from players and we’ll make improvements.
“Discipline is an oft-talked-about thing in our game. If you’re good in front-end collisions, if you’re good around the breakdown you’re not giving away penalties. You’re not under pressure.
“If you’re getting in front defensively and not slacking you’re not giving away offside penalties. This tour is all about developing our basics, valuing our basics, and bedding all that down. Ground zero. We’re going to get that right and we’re going grow from there.”
Fisher is 64 and started his coaching career with the Brumbies academy 22 years ago after transition from teaching. There have been stints overseas as a coach with Munster and Gloucester, and two stints as Brumbies head coach.
He might well be the Wallabies coach who got away, and this trip makes up for other times when he nearly joined the national team but for fate to work against him.
“My parents were aging – mum subsequently died but dad’s still going – but I just wasn’t in a position to say to my wife ‘go look after my parents for the next six months while I’m away’.
“Over the course of last 15 years there’s been opportunities but the timing has never been right.”
Did he think his time had passed?
“Oh absolutely. I had no idea. I’m looking right at the back end,” said Fisher. “I might have a year or two years then pull up stumps. So to get this at this stage of a career is like a wonderful, full stop on what will be 25 years in professional rugby.
“First and foremost, I like to bring energy. I like to bring passion and show that it means something with hopefully enough detail it allows us to get to work. If you bring a real passion and desire for winning rugby games to play well, that’s infectious.”
Fisher hasn’t locked in his Wallabies future beyond this tour, but helping drive an Australian team at a World Cup would be a crowning glory.
“That’s probably where we’re heading but there’s nothing agreed or signed off,” said Fisher. “I’m doing the Brumbies in 2023. If something can be worked out, if they want me, I’d love to go to a World Cup. It would be the cherry on top of what’s been a really enjoyable career.”
Before that, it’s a case of packing up the bucket hat and tracksuit and heading over to some old stomping grounds.
“I’m really excited about playing the Irish,” he said. “I spent three years at Munster, so I’ve got a lot of friends over there. We’ve got a head-to-head with Paul O’Connell [Ireland forward coach].
“We talk often about aspects of the game so I look forward to catching up with a lot of Irish friends will be the highlight and obviously have a few cold Guinness.”