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Joined February 2019
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Actually adding a player based comparison. Skelton has demonstrated he is very capable player at club level in Europe. Think of the output his coaches are able to conjur out of him relative to his performances for the wallabies (only maybe till recently). Yes you could argue that he is playing against weaker sides, but more often than not some of his best performances are against teams with world class packs. Again well documented by roar analysis over the years. I’m no rugby analyst but I guess in the words of Homer Simpson, “why doesn’t mine look/play like that?” Im sure there are loads of reasons, but it begs the question why are the decisions and practices around player performance and development not up to world class? And what can be learned from the experience of Ireland? And other nations that have shown improvements including France and Scotland? Because all those nations have been a shambles at one point.
'We feel lied to and taken for fools' - the decisions (and consequences) of 2023 could haunt Australian rugby FOREVER
Great article. I think about this a lot. I just commented on another article comparing the performance and results of Australia relative to Ireland. Without getting into the specifics of a plan that you have highlighted in the article. I just want to say that clearly Ireland have made some strategic decisions regarding high performance to get to where they are now. And with Aussies in key positions!! Crazy. Anyway I feel like you make some great points, and it just reminds me how frustrated I get thinking about the sheer lack of leadership and accountability from the RA board(s) over the years. I don’t want to speak to the merits of Raelenes work, but it seemed like it would take an outsider to actually develop a strategic vision that wasn’t influenced by NSW and QLD views. I just don’t know how it can be achieved in the RA without a wholesale clear out. Start again, or maybe just copy Irelands plan and add some some fins to lower wind resistance and add a racing strip which I feel will be pretty sharp.
'All is not lost' but Rugby Australia needs to change its ways - this is how
The decisions of the RA board will continue to haunt us all if some practical steps are not taken. I don’t want to get into the nitty gritty of what RA need to do, but merely recognize a clear point of comparison. Over the past 8 years, Ireland has demonstrated what can be done at the local, provincial and National level to get world class performances. Much of this has been documented on The Roar, given that so much of it has been done with Aussies in charge. In particular, Dave Nucifora, Andy Friend and Steve Anderson who set up Ireland and Scotlands performance programs. It actually makes me incredibly proud to see them do well. But so confused. Not only because, why haven’t we asked them to help us out, but surely someone at the RA would have asked “Jeez, Ireland and Scotland have improved a fair bit, let’s find out what they have done with their limited resources and similar participation numbers.” I just get so frustrated thinking about the long term impact of RAs lack of strategic vision. Like other nations sat down and thought “how can we be good?” while RA just shot from the hip in their white private school echo chamber.
'We feel lied to and taken for fools' - the decisions (and consequences) of 2023 could haunt Australian rugby FOREVER
What do the players have to do to address their body height going into tackles? Obviously “just” lowering your body height is hard to do in the heat of battle. Similarly, there have been a few other suspect techniques from the WBs. Fainga’a shin height shoulder charges and a few loose shoulders from others, which potentially lack “intent”, but could very easily end with a red card.
Get your questions in for Issue 27 of Coach's Corner
Love seeing people comment about how he’s a legend of the game and people should listen to him. Well times have changed. The smart coaches have realised you need to coach with a bit of empathy and a bit of calmness. Anyone whose spent more than 30 mins reading anything about psychology or even anything about HR, being around someone as mentally unstable as JL sounds like an absolute nightmare. Not at all conducive to creating team comradery let along a decent performance. Long dead is the angry coach.
BRETT GEEVES: 'The day I truly believed Justin Langer was going to kill me'
How about you have to play two years of super rugby the in the 4 years prior to a rugby World Cup. Or like a rolling amount of years. If you’ve played less than 10 games for the wallabies you’ve got to play three. Less than 30 games. You’ve got to play 2. And less than 50 games you’ve got to play 3.
Why changing Giteau Law would be hazardous to Australian rugby
If you want fatigue… STOP THE CLOCK.
'Grossly negligent': Lions legends call for end of finishers and impact subs to make rugby 'safer'
Oh to dream of a world where Liam Gill was given more time at open side flanker.
Would bringing back Wallabies from overseas actually make a difference?
Fantastic to see a bit blocking by the Wallabies (White and Fainga’a blocking Bridge). This has been a regular AB tactic that has been missing from the Wallabies tactical repertoire. This is great tactical nous that only further contributes to Dave Rennie’s overall intelligent strategy (something Wallabies have been devoid of for the past 5-10 years). I recall one of your articles Nick where you talked about how the Chiefs (against the Brumbies) ran their supporting lines to essentially protect the player with the ball. Again a bit of tactical nous now injected into the Wallabies game. Whilst they are small details (or 1%ers) they can go a long way to influencing the result. The ABs have been doing it for years and getting away with it (whether it is legal or not).
Not trying to be controversial, but what are your thoughts on Joe Moody’s shirt pull on James Slipper in the build up to Aaron Smith’s try? IMO that is something that should be called, as there is pretty clear intent to influence a player who could impact the play (albeit minimal chance of Slipper impacting the play). But then again for some it could be thrown in the tactical nous category 😂
How Dave Rennie’s Wallabies moved on from Cheika-ball at the Cake Tin
From a psychological perspective, the cognitive load on refs to get these decisions/’interpretation’ right on the basis of limited inputs, making a call after two seconds creates some touch and go rulings which you have clearly stated.
In my opinion refs should focus only on those infringements that have a significant impact on the flow of the attacking team or those that significantly impact on the defensives teams ability to steal the ball . The emphasis of the rules should benefit the attacking team, and turnovers only awarded where there is a clear holding the ball (e.g. 3 seconds) or a serious infringment. Although this sounds like League favouring the attacking team, it would actually make it very clear when the rules are applied rather than having different levels of pedantic refereeing (and players like Pocock would finally be rewarded). And those decisions should be made at the end of the ruck rather than as the ruck is formed. In my opinion the examples you provide of two holding ball penalties awarded to the Chiefs and the one against the Blues should have been play on (and no one would have noticed).
I actually feel like Mugato in Zoolander, thinking everyone is taking crazy pills, thinking that reffing the ruck to the letter of the law is good for spectators. Doesn’t anyone notice the dramatic impact of penaltieis on the flow of the game. I often find myself turning to other sports where although penalties are awarded there is no where near the same impact on flow. Taking me to my second rule change (that I’ve never seen considered), why not stop the clock when the ball is out or not in play like in AFL? We as consumers would finally get 80 minutes of action rather than 30-40mins (which is actually ridiculous relative to AFL/NRL). I love scrums and lineouts , but why not make more time for running rugby. Also scrum resets wouldn’t be an issue the clock if its only restarted when it comes out from underneath the 8’s feet. Similarly stop the clock for kicks.
What Super Rugby Aotearoa's law changes mean in the battle for global rugby supremacy
I was envisaging they would have a timekeeper like in the afl that stops the clock when the whistle is blown (eg when the ball goes out). Then restarting when the ball is thrown in. And therefore the clock is running only when the ball was in play. Therefore a fully 80mins of play.
Early days, but some of these NRC Law Variations have merit
Has any thought been given to stopping the clock at scrum and lineout time. This wouldn’t require any major laws and have two key advantages:
1. More entertainment: actual game time viewing for spectators would increase. I think the average game time for most games is anywhere between 40-50 mins. In addition, as defenses tire there is more likely to be more tries. Added bonus: longer game means more commerical opportunities.
2. Less injuries: Players have to be fitter, and more likely less bulky. I imagine this would potentially result in less injuries, as impacts wouldn’t be as big.
I know the first criticism would be that props and second rowers would be driven out of the game, but I think they would adjust to the rules and would make for a better game for spectators, administrators and players.
Early days, but some of these NRC Law Variations have merit
If they or the team cope any stick from the English crowd, it would be quite easy to remind them that they have a player in their team that almost killed a bloke.
I’m having a really mugatu moment here trying to comprehend how ball tampering is anywhere the equivalent of almost killing a bloke.
A golden opportunity: Don't pick Smith and Warner
Great article. I appreciate the constant consternations of roar writers to figure how to improve the game. I think it is a particularly Australian phenomenon given the fact rugby competes with the high scoring NRL and AFL. I’m not saying they are comparable, but the constant complaint of these other codes is that rugby is overly complicated and there aren’t enough tries. I have bemoaned for years on this website that there are two simple changes required. Change the point system and you change the incentive to score more points. Two points for a penalty makes try scoring more attractive, but doesn’t mess too much with the fundamentals of the game. I always find it weird that you could score an unconverted try and still be behind if the opposition kick two penalties from half way. Second and touched on in the comments, increase fatigue by stopping the clock when ball is out or not in play like the afl. Again not changing the fundamentals but it would mean players would have to be smaller and fitter to get through the game. Smaller players will hopefully reduce the severity of injuries and make it a faster game. Anyway I’ll be back here in 6 months to say the same thing again. Also stop the clock, more entertainment.
WR's mooted law changes are great - but show there's a hell of a lot wrong with rugby in 2024, and that sucks