I watch too much rugby. And not just Australian, but a lot from other Southern Hemisphere countries and Europe too. And the Australian way of playing rugby, from the grassroots level up, is obsolete.
We have had a series of legendary, and accomplished coaches (Robbie Deans, Ewen McKenzie, Michael Cheika, Dave Rennie and now Eddie Jones). None have rebuilt the Wallabies to our expectations, and if anything, the fundamental parts of the game have become worse (discipline especially).
As much as I think Rugby Australia have ruined the game in Australia, I do not believe they have had a big role in the demise of the Wallabies. As blasphemous as it is to say, I think the fans bear some responsibility for that.
There are 6sixkey attributes to success in rugby, itself an increasingly strategic sport. Work ethic/rate, athleticism, size, strategy, skill and rugby union intelligence. We are top 3 in the world on all of the first 3 in my view.
Strategy ain’t too bad either, because of a long line of great coaches in charge (although I didn’t love every year of Cheika). Skill could be better in some areas, but a lot of things like passing, offloading, lineout jumping, scrummaging technique, we are world class. And we have intelligent players who can and do produce moments of magic, but we are intelligent, not rugby union intelligent.
A few examples…
When you watch a Super Rugby game in Australia, players are frequently booed for kicking the ball. Kids at grassroots level are taught to play running rugby and ignore kicking. Yet, kicking is the means of gaining territory and getting in good positions to play running rugby. The most entertaining teams on the planet right now are very good kickers. This is no coincidence. Scoring from within your own half through a zero kicking strategy has worked, never? This attitude towards kicking is not reflected elsewhere in the world to anywhere near the same extent and this manifests itself as all the kicking duels the wallabies lose. Our kicking is not a big threat and so opposition teams can have more plays in the defensive line against us.
Perhaps a consequence of rugby league’s influence in Australia, Australians are the tier 1 fanbase with the most resistance to new foul play laws. All well and good to protest if this is the hill you want to die on but we sure haven’t adapted to the new rules. But if there is a culture, from grassroots to super rugby, of letting these things slide, then the Wallabies will suffer.
Speaking of rugby league, our players are fantastic at the more rugby league-esque aspects of the game. The hard running, hard hitting, offloading. We’ve got that in spades. Our weaknesses seem to be in discipline not just in giving away penalties, but also in more technical parts of the game like ruck entry technique, organised pods, you know, the less flashy things.
Australian teams do very little, sometimes none of the shithousery things that win you rugby games at this level – like dragging a defender a bit towards you to give more space to compete at the breakdown, a little bit of obstruction for a kick chase or knowing which rucks to attack. We play like a rugby league team playing rugby union. This worked great in the early days of professionalism, but in 2023 it is so unbelievably obsolete it’s insane.
The idea that our players lack size (we have been one of the biggest teams on the planet, perhaps the biggest this year) is ludicrous to me.
Our players who play for other nations are not exactly terrible either. Mack Hansen is a world beater, Sione Tuipulotu is a guaranteed starter for the best ever Scotland side, Tyrel Lomax is starting for the All Blacks. None did much in Australian Super Rugby.
The idea that our players lack athleticism is also ludicrous. Who are these rugby league athletes who are SO MUCH BETTER that our meek and mild Wallabies will be out of their places when they come? The differences in athleticism at the top level is minimal, it has plateaued in recent years.
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
In terms of size and athleticism, the Wallabies are better than Ireland (the world number 1). I’d wager if you were an alien and all you knew about was the size and athleticism of the various rugby teams around the planet, you’d take Australia to win the World Cup. We need a lot more than that though.
When I watch the team as well, the strategy and work rate of the boys seems pretty spot on. But we always do dumb things. Scapegoats are fun and all but it’s pretty much across the entire team, it’s not a couple of players with screws loose. In a rugby landscape where intelligence is increasingly required, we are being left behind, and a top-down approach will take a long time. Eddie Jones is the rugby coach with the greatest number of incredible achievements in rugby history. Many would say he’s the greatest coach ever. If he can’t work magic on these boys, I’m not sure who can.
Take a look at Ireland. They are undoubtedly the best team in the world currently. But their players are smaller and less athletic than ours. But my god are they smart. Across the board they are disciplined at every single facet of the game. They give away basically zero silly penalties. High tackles only happen when a player dips. The team is not super physical in defence but have set up a defensive system that is designed to essentially have back up tacklers every time someone misses a tackle, and it’s executed to perfection. No silly offloads. Pods and ruck entries are sublime.
It’s all so pristine and focused on team success. They work as a unit, unlike the Wallabies reliance on individual brilliance. Ireland is the antithesis of Australian rugby, and a lot of other international teams are heading that way. Every other team is improving their rugby IQ at a rate of knots, and we are still focused on whether or not our players hit hard enough. It won’t matter.
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Player empowerment is only an issue if the players have, for lack of a better phrase, bad attitudes. The All Blacks used to be famous for the 'No Dickheads' policy (they've had a few players with talent bad work ethics for a while and that has been part of the current problem). It was either 'Fit in or leave'. Australia doesn't have this luxury. As rugby is a small sport in youth grades. Any player with real talent will more than likely get a 'pass' for bad behaviour; whether that discipline related, or not wanting to learn/do the more boring aspects of the game. Australia having five Super Rugby teams has only locked this problem in all the way up to the second tier. If they struggle to get 30 quality players in each of the five franchises. How can a coach justify dropping a player, with obvious talent, who won't listen
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Player empowerment is only an issue if the players have, for lack of a better phrase, bad attitudes. The All Blacks used to be famous for the 'No Dickheads' policy (they've had a few players with talent bad work ethics for a while and that has been part of the current problem). It was either 'Fit in or leave'. Australia doesn't have this luxury. As rugby is a small sport in youth grades. Any player with real talent will more than likely get a 'pass' for bad behaviour; whether that discipline related, or not wanting to learn/do the more boring aspects of the game. Australia having five Super Rugby teams has only locked this problem in all the way up to the second tier. If they struggle to get 30 quality players in each of the five franchises. How can a coach justify dropping a player, with obvious talent, who won't listen?
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Player empowerment is only an issue if the players have, for lack of a better phrase, bad attitudes. The All Blacks used to be famous for the 'No Dickheads' policy (they've had a few players with talent bad work ethics for a while and that has been part of the current problem). It was either 'Fit in or leave'. Australia doesn't have this luxury. As rugby is a small sport in youth grades. Any player with real talent will more than likely get a 'pass' for bad behavior; whether that bad behavior discipline related, or not wanting to learn/do the more boring aspects of the game. Australia having five Super Rugby teams has only locked this problem in all the way up to the second tier. If they struggle to get 30 quality players in each of the five franchises. How can a coach justify dropping a player, with obvious talent, who won't listen?
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Player empowerment is only an issue if the players have, for lack of a better phrase, bad attitudes. The All Blacks used to be famous for the 'No Dickheads' policy (they've had a few players with talent bad work ethics for a while and that has been part of the current problem). It was either 'Fit in or F**k Off'. Australia doesn't have this luxury. As rugby is a small sport in youth grades. Any player with real talent will more than likely get a 'pass' for bad behavior; whether that bad behavior discipline related, or not wanting to learn/do the more boring aspects of the game. Australia having five Super Rugby teams has only locked this problem in all the way up to the second tier. If they struggle to get 30 quality players in each of the five franchises. How can a coach justify dropping a player, with obvious talent, who won't listen?
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Player empowerment is only an issue if the players have, for lack of a better phrase, bad attitudes. The All Blacks used to be famous for the 'No Dickheads' policy (they've had a few players with talent bad work ethics for a while and that has been part of the current problem). It was either 'Fit in or Fu*k Off'. Australia doesn't have this luxury. As rugby is a small sport in youth grades. Any player with real talent will more than likely get a 'pass' for bad behavior; whether that bad behavior discipline related, or not wanting to learn/do the more boring aspects of the game. Australia having five Super Rugby teams has only locked this problem in all the way up to the second tier. If they struggle to get 30 quality players in each of the five franchises. How can a coach justify dropping a player, with obvious talent, who won't listen?
GusTee
Roar Pro
“Yet, kicking is the means of gaining territory and getting in good positions to play running rugby.” But aimless tit-for-tat kicking gets you nowhere – the kind where Aus kicks and hopes and prays something positive will happen: Maybe a knock-on, hopefully a forward pass, perhaps a touch liner that provides a line-out that adds a few metres etc. But mostly there is no real chase or apparent plan behind the kick. This allows the opponent to reload and “play (the) running rugby” Aus were supposed to: Especially in the last 10 minutes of the game. Look at the aggressive chases that the AB and Bok support players throw at their teams’ long distance kicks. Until Aus kicks with the actual intent to gobble up territory, regain the ball and run the ball into the scoring zone, then what is the real point of kicking?
jcmasher
Roar Rookie
I’m not sure I agree that Australian players are top in Work ethic/rate. From what I’ve seen they seem to only do enough to ensure they stay in their well paid jobs. If they really did have a good work ethic then I think we’d see these professional players working hard to reduce their clear deficiencies in skills that they all lack. There are far too many players who get to Super level without being able to pass both ways, kick accurately, throw the ball straight, tackle effectively and make good decisions under pressure. Absolutely there is a lack of rugby intelligence, but considering there isn’t a lot from the coaches all the way from school level through the club and into the Super teams, this isn’t surprising. Most Australian coaches seem to be big on motivation but poor on skills, tactics and leadership and this flows into the players.
cs
Roar Guru
Maybe last year.
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Robbie Deans had 6 years. He had a lot of opportunity. He just knew who buttered his bread and was happy to go along with being told who to select.
4 of 6
Roar Rookie
I hope there is a bridge ahead !
savant
Roar Rookie
Nice provocation, Avid. Agree and disagree on many points but great to ponder and discuss. I think we are a pretty dumb rugby nation in terms of all the little things. You’ve only got to watch the all blacks to see what we’re missing. Ruck work, ball slowing, interfering, hyper awareness, intensity, etc the list goes on. I also don’t think we play like rugby league players playing union. The league game is genuinely professional. From the way the players train to the way they are coached to the scrutiny applied by analysts in the media, the access they get. League is an open conversation they are a part of. Union is a closed shop, shamateurism by comparison. Critics are shut out of access to to players and inside stories. The broadcaster is a part of the cabal. Its amateurville. Love your points about team play. We have picked the best athletes now for years instead of the best team players. That’s what happens when all the players come out of private schools where they are told they are wonderful into pathways that accentuate X factor play. Not a lot of incentive there to do the unglamorous stuff like secure the ruck, make your tackles, create space for others etc.
Passit2me
Roar Rookie
Discipline, like other facets, comes through a concerted effort to create that culture of deep rooted expectation. We don’t have a deep rooted belief that we are actually good enough to be world champions. The default, if you deeply believe you are second rate, is to do dumb things that second rate teams do. This is what we see from the Wallabies. I mean honestly, how many times have we seen the Wallabies shoot themselves in the foot while on the precipice of winning a game. Teams who truly, honestly, know they are excellent, don’t do dumb things. That is basic psychology. If you deeply believe you are actually first rate, then you take a first rate approach and quickly learn to do first rate things. Fundamentally, it’s actually very simple and true and a self fulfilling prophesy. The proof is in the pudding as they say and cannot be denied, no matter what lines of “trained hard”, “prepared well”, are trotted out time and time again at interviews after yet another embarrassing performance. We are without a doubt, the most slowly evolving team in tier 1 rugby, we are just not learning and it’s not because our players are dumb. Politics, self interest, a fear of having feathers ruffled, and all the ways these negative attributes filter their way down throughout the system via “relationships”, will stagnate any and all development faster than anything else. Until that changes, you can totally forget about the Wallabies becoming a consistent force in world rugby ever again.
savant
Roar Rookie
Good post Rocky. There’s a lot of delusion out there about our capacity. A lot of basic skills that need to be learned early at school level like offensive breakdown support, catch and pass at speed while committing your opponent, not giving away ego penalties, and understanding kicking are not being taught. There are way too many pathway heroes who have been told they are so great too many times that feel the basics are not for them. The result is lots of players with both skills and instincts gaps. Too many individuals and not enough team players.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Parks was a big help with Connacht too. No one made kicking in windy Galway as effortless as him. He was never going to run it or split the defense with a pass but if there was space behind the defense he made sure the ball was there. We only need look at RM and all his SR wins and yet looked down on to know its not an Oz thing but a SR thing.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
I think if Ireland could only of had the input of Schmidt or Nucifora they may have taken Nucifora. Yes JS did alot of good things but those things were coming. He very must tried to take away players ability to think which is why the Farrell era was hard going at first and players had become to scripted. Oz problem is it is trying to copy NZ with $50-100m less to spend and about half the players. Scotland didn't copy Ireland they did their own thing. Oz needs to do their own thing and stop believing that in order to SRP to work all the teams must have the same setups.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Sione TUIPULOTU was told he was too small for Super Rugby and was let go to Japan, how Oz would love to have him in the Oz squad now. I am sure he is not the only one to be told that which means players are judged on size rather than strengthen.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
But look at Hansen and Sione Tuipulotu. Their final season in SR they started hardly any games. In their first season of URC they played for their test side that November and shone. Players are well able for it but the SR setups are failing the players badly. The more coaches with NH experience the better for Oz as they will make them better on the things they are missing.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
On the Roar POD EJ highlighted that only one OZ SRP team had the basics in set piece and that without it they were going to struggle. He then went on to talk how the more Argentina played like the Jags the better the Jags got in SR but the worse Argentina got in Test rugby. Only need look across the ditch for all the calls for DMac at 10 and how much better he is than RM yet in the big game RM has the playing skills to play Test rugby and play smart while DMac is much more of a runner, I think most fans outside SRP would take RM of DMac or BB any day of the week. At the WC of the 12 refs, 4 (2&2) are from SR, 4 are from the Prem, 2 from the URC, 1 from the T14 and 1 from Georgia. The tests between now and the WC are the only times Oz and NZ will get these refs but all 8 of the other refs have been reffing Champions and Challange Cup games all year, Even Nika Amashukeli reffed games like Leinster v Tigers and Sarcens v Ospreys. SRP is reffed a certain way and when those refs come on the test stage they adjust a little which means even the refs the players are use to are a little different. As Eddie said it is not his job to teach SRP players to do the basics and they should be able to do all everything, but as you point out they can't and its costing them.
Arama
Roar Rookie
Nice article Avid! My five cents, I wonder how much of Dean’s “player-empowerment” style is still impacting the Wallabies? As much as Cheika cops the blame for poor discipline in his teams, I believe it was a “carry-over” from Dean’s reign. The “toxicity” as Quade described it has continued. Players “empowered” but not held accountable. Then when the odd time they have been, the toys have been thrown out of the cot. I have no hard evidence, only my opinion. But, take Kurtley for example. Never ever improved his defence or tactical nous. But, shown undue favouritism while others weren’t. When things aren’t perceived to be “fair”, it can definitely affect the teams “morale”. Not saying the morale is bad now, just a “hang-over” with a few of the players from that generation of players.
Ozrugbynut
Roar Rookie
Interesting article. Though I wouldn't necessarily agree with comparisons about our work rate (a bug bear of mine for quite some time) I think you make a good assertion that we may not be as 100% focussed on aspects like discipline and kicking at the foundational levels of our game. I don't personally believe it would detract from our strengths around running rugby if we were to prioritise other styles in the system and particular more forward-oriented aspects of play re breakdown and set piece much earlier. Theoretically, a harder approach to discipline in the system will benefit in years hence. Who knows, with a more well rounded and less dogmatic approach we might even have teams capable of winning in wet conditions!