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Parenting. You can subscribe to the new-age ‘let’s talk about it’ approach with cries of ‘timeout’ and ‘two days with no screens’ echoing around the house.
Alternatively, you can prefer the old-school ‘kids should be seen but not heard’ approach, often comprising some variant of ‘you have until the count of three to get to your room or your bottom will be too sore to sit for a week’ being the house motto.
Or, like most of us, you can fumble your way somewhere between the two with oftentimes a bewildering lack of success no matter which path you take.
From an admittedly distant perspective, it would appear that the unflappable Dave Rennie has subscribed to the new-age parenting ethos and garnered a wonderful connection with his charges. It is obvious he cares for them and they him. There is no doubt that this team shows more grit and character than the Wallabies of the previous decade or so. So a number of runs on the board for the hug-it-out crew. Maybe even a gritty 50 off 200 balls but not that elusive ton we are so desperately seeking in the style of Steve Waugh off the final ball of the day at the SCG way back in 2003.
However, when we look at the nine Test matches we have lost this year, five of them have been by less than a score. This in itself is a change from the past, but in every single one of them extremely poor discipline was the most influential contributor to the loss, closely followed by poor execution of a couple of basic tasks. Yes, this even includes Mathieu Raynal and his French kiss. We know this because after each match Dave Rennie and the skipper on the day tell us in interviews.
So while the connection Rennie has developed with his players has unearthed some great characteristics not recently associated with the gold jersey, we are still displaying that quintessential Wallabies trait of the last ten years or so.
Why are we continuing to do the same thing and selecting the same players when we unsurprisingly get the same rubbish results in terms of discipline and basic execution?
On the subject of discipline, I read with dismay that prior to the Ireland Test match the team had had a “robust review” of ‘DAPs’. In case you missed it, it’s the new Wallabies catchphrase for ‘dumb-arse penalties’. I am sure you need no reminding that the Irish Test was Test match 13 for the year.
Now, I say ‘dismay’ because to this point we have not heard about DAPs. This means that either they as a unit have not previously reviewed these DAPs before this Test or – far more likely – they have reviewed them so often that they now have a pet name for them. Neither option is particularly mollifying given the year we have had.
Given it is impossible to believe that the coaching staff have not discussed this with the players until now, I am left to make the conclusion that they have discussed it so much and in such a way that has resulted in the assigning of a pet name to them, DAPs.
I am sure most parenting experts would advise against the use of pet names when tough discussions that have tangible ramifications are being had. Clear, concise messaging regarding the expected behaviour and clear concise messaging about the consequence of not adhering to expectations would be the expectation. Any part of this discourse that lightens the mood or creates a sense of fun would quite obviously confuse the message and distort any sense of urgency around changing the behaviour. I mean, if the coach and senior players say, ‘Hey guys, enough with the DAPs”, I am not sure it is going to land with the impact one would want.
On the subject of executing the basics, I still find it baffling that we can have international players who cannot throw a lineout straight or find touch when kicking a penalty or throw a left-right pass, when all these things are the core role of their position. These instances are not isolated. I would suggest at a minimum we do not throw a straight lineout twice a game and fail to find touch at least once in far more games than we don’t.
(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Furthermore, I question why players who prove that they consistently fail at this core aspect of their core job continue to be picked for the team with no evidence that the behaviour has been corrected. This would not happen in schoolboy rugby, so how does it happen in internationals?
Okay, it’s easy enough for me to lob grenades from the safety of the soap box but harder to offer any solutions I hear you say. Well, here is a very simple, quick and easy-to-execute idea, although it may be painful initially.
Implement consequences.
Instead of having a fireside ‘robust review’ of DAPs, make examples of players who commit these ridiculous errors. Send them home in disgrace, preferably with no dinner. Tell them they will not play for the Wallabies again until they can prove they have removed those ridiculous decisions from their game.
We are not talking about line-ball penalties where we are competing hard for the ball – they are 50-50 and are absolutely part of the game; we are talking about the fourth neck roll barely three minutes after the referee has warned both teams the next one goes to the bin. We are talking about taking players out off the ball when there is, quite literally, nothing possible to be gained and the only possible choice you leave the referee with is a yellow card. We are talking about contacting a player that is in the air when you had no intention of competing for that ball. We are talking about headbutting another player. We are talking about auditioning for UFC with a perfectly timed jujitsu dive, coming in from the side, at some poor vulnerable bloke’s lower leg. We are talking about horrendous basic tackle techniques where you tackle a guy completely upright and end up with head-to-head contact.
Likewise, for any hooker who cannot throw a lineout straight or kicker who fails to find touch from a penalty, send him back to the third XV. It is what any schoolboy side would do. Until they can prove they can do it correctly 100 times in a row, they will not be in a Wallabies jersey.
(Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
So far Rennie has been quite open to dropping players who are not quite there in terms of their physical development. This has been courageous and at times controversial. So it is clear he does not shy away from hard discussions. But in general these players are not the ones who commit these basic errors. Yet with the exception of James O’Connor – who was quite rightly dropped for not executing basics, like finding touch – he is yet to drop anyone for DAPs or lacking basic execution.
So is this to say he does not actually value those things? Let’s have a look at some of the serial offenders.
Folau Fainga’a: how many DAPs and bad throws to the lineout must we endure from this guy?
Jake Gordon: four DAPs just in the last two weeks. The worst literally cost us the game against Italy, as they scored two tries in the time he was off. Yet he gets selected again against Ireland and gives away another two DAPs. Seriously?
Tom Robertson: one of the tenth most penalised players in Super Rugby carries that form into the Wallabies team.
Darcy Swain: where do we even begin?
Rob Valetini: he’s been our best player of the year but has conceded more head contact penalties and cards than any Wallabies player in the last couple of years simply from his poor upright tackle technique except for maybe Lachie Swinton.
Bernard Foley: he missed touch against Scotland. Luckily they let it bounce and it still went out. He missed a crucial penalty and failed to find touch against France the next week.
So the common theme after the nine Tests we have lost this year has been discipline, and yet here we are at the end of the year and nothing has changed.
Some may argue with merit that we don’t have any suitable options so cannot afford to drop these players. I say that is exactly the sort of thinking we have to get out of, because if we are thinking it, then the players are thinking it too. As such, they know there will be no consequences and therefore have no incentive to change their ways.
I can assure you that we will have plenty of hookers who can throw straight, plenty of No. 10s who can find touch from a penalty kick, heaps No. 9s who can pass and won’t give away four DAPs in two games and a gazillion locks who are not interested in Liverpool kisses or the UFC. Sure, they may not be dazzling, but they won’t cause us to throw our half-full cans of Crazy Ivan at the TV at 2:30am by neck-rolling some poor Irishman for the 14th time in one half.
I don’t know about you, but if timeouts and heart-to-heart talks about DAPs are not getting the behavioural change we need, then perhaps we do need to dust off the wooden spoon. I have a few in my bottom drawer that you can borrow, Dave. Just a thought.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.