Thats been the problem with the Wallaby management since McKenzie got his marching orders and perhaps even before with Deans in charge. The coaches and selectors (usually one and the same) pick the best player in each position instead of focussing on picking the best team to suit the gameplan. The same thing happens on these message boards every week with people throwing up suggested team selections without any knowledge as to the style of rugby to be played. That’s why the Wallabies lack cohesion and end up playing like a bunch of individuals, each looking to pull off a big play, instead of a team working to improve the percentages. Tests are won at the margins and if a team is going to perform at a consistently high level they need to operate as a well-drilled unit that looks for incremental improvements from one game to the next. The Wallabies can pull off a win against the odds one week but then get pumped the next….this is not going to change by bringing the likes of JOC and White into the squad at this late stage, it’s only going to serve to make matters worse as it creates confusion amongst the current playing group and takes spots away from players that have been working hard for years in Super Rugby who have earned a starting spot. It’s really unfair and counter-intuitive in my view. What happens at the end of the next Super Rugby season and these guys haven’t fulfilled their international potential? They’ll be off to the NH for a lucrative playing contract and young players we should be developing for the future will have been robbed of invaluable World Cup experience. When is RA going to stop going for quick fixes and instead focus on building solid foundations?

Tactical nous and positional awareness aside the Australian forwards lack the strength, physically, desire and abrasiveness at the breakdown to be able to compete at the highest levels of the sport. This was blatantly apparent in the game against the Springboks and will be laid bare again in the upcoming games against the Pumas and All Blacks. The Northern Hemisphere teams have improved markedly in this area whilst the Wallabies have regressed. Games are won or lost by the forwards, everyone knows that, and I just dont see any of the Wallaby forwards being able to dominate against the top teams in the world. The Welsh, English and Irish forward packs are vastly superior to any the Wallabies can field even if all their players were healthy. As are the other teams in the Rugby Champoionship……its going to be a very long 90 days for us die-hard Wallaby fans!

Wow! I am staggered at the amount of commentary on this issue in the space of a little over five and a half hours. This has become a massively divisive issue in which very few positives are emerging. What is a pretty straight forward contract dispute has been politicized, turned into a national debate on sexual orientation and is viewed in many quarters as an attack of freedom of speech and religion? Foxtel’s financial performance has only served to add fuel to an already raging public debate fire. Whilst I am a big believer in everyone having an opportunity to voice their views I think this is an issue that has been given way too much air and as such is taking away from what we should be focusing on and that is the future of rugby in Australia. The incompetence at management level and one player being in a position where they are holding an entire sporting code hostage have taken the sport in Austalia into unchartered territory at a crucial time. I think we need to all do our part and focus on the sport by allowing the legal process to take its course because at this point there is nothing we can do to change history. We have a responsibility as fans to support all the other players that participate at all levels of rugby and not create division over the legal dispute of one player. Its rugby union we are talking about and we need to unite.

Ryan thanks for your provocative article. Whilst I enjoy putting forward suggestions for Wallaby World Cup consideration as much as the next bloke and derive even greater enjoyment from selecting a starting Wallabies 15 this is all fantasy in the absence of set style of play. What is concerning is that the Wallabies coaching staff have not to my knowledge settled on a style of play or playing strategy going into the World Cup. It is only once this is decided that serious consideration can be given to starting spots as players need to be picked, not on form or past performance, but on their ability to execute the agreed strategy. I am thrilled with the Rebels performances this year, but in my view, their flat-pass, attacking style has created uncertainties around how the Wallabies should play. No doubt their style of play is exciting to watch and has delivered in terms of results so far, but I don’t think it will withstand the intensity of the knockout stages of Super Rugby. Case in point, the underperforming Stormers flawlessly executed an aggressive up and in defensive game plan against the Rebels last week which asked a few questions the Melbourne based franchise weren’t able to answer. The teams Australia will potentially come up against in the knockout stages will be employing a similar defensive system and the Wallabies need to be prepared for that as a team and unfortunately, none of the players highlighted, other than maybe McCaffery, is at that level. It will be interesting to see how the Rebels perform this weekend end against a distracted Waratahs outfit. That said Chieka and his coaching team need to define their game strategy and select players on their ability to execute that in games where the outcome is definitive.

What I struggle with is that players who have moved offshore (Genia, AAC, Cooper. Toomua) or who have had time off (Hunt, Cooper) can come back and compete for positions within SR teams and potentially the Wallabies. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of all of these players and have an enormous amount of respect for their commitment to conditioning and competitiveness. My concern around this that no new talent has been discovered to fill those positions which begs the question of whether or not the standard of SR in Australia has deteriorated since the last World Cup. The AB’s have found another gear that no team, other than maybe Ireland or the Boks, can match on a given day. With the termination of the Western Force, overseas player migration and a lack of developmental resources, SR in Australia is a vastly inferior product from what it was when the Waratahs won the title in 2014. The rugby talent pool in Australia pretty shallow and has not been helped by mismanagement at the SANZAR and RA levels. By bringing these players back into the mix RA deprive young, up and coming talent of valuable game time and experience which is critical for build future development. Its an act of desperation that is short-sighted and damaging. These are deep-seated issued that unless addressed will see Australian teams continue to struggle at the SR level. What is the long term vision for rugby in Australia?

Spiro thanks for the summary. In watching the interview with Chieka a few things I noticed. Cheika hates being questioned by anyone let alone rugby panelists. He is literally bristling at every question regardless of how nuanced it is. This panel did a better job than others in the past in trying to get to the truth but it was hard work and I for one was waiting for Cheika to show his disdain…..he held his cool though. This is a result of his arrogance and knowing he holds all the cards regardless of the changes RA have tried to implement. He’s going to do what he wants and there is nothing anyone can do about it until after the World Cup. Two, as a coach he has been caught out tactically, more often than not, in the last 18 months and in recognizing this when questioned he uses vagueness and ambiguity to hide his shortcomings. He clearly has no plan in terms of team culture, playing philosophy, structure and player selection and is going to wing it as he has done in the past. He is a good motivator but I think the players, not to mention the long-suffering rugby public, have long grown tired of his antics in this regard. Just like a drug addict, increasingly higher doses have less and less of an effect. The players are less inclined to respond positively to this coaching style. It might work every now and again as it did on the second half of the game in Argentia in the Rugby Championship last year but I just can’t see it being effective during multiple games in the World Cup. When one looks at the other international coaches you can clearly see they take much more of an intellectual approach in motivating their charges and modern players respond accordingly. It’s hard to believe that 160 days out from the World Cup there is no substantive plan that can be articulated, sad state of affairs and reflection on the management at RA.

Cotteral has been an unheralded player at the Force and the Rebels. He just quietly goes about his business. For my two cents worth, he should be starting for the Wallabies at 6 or 8. Luke Shaw also had an impressive game. Rebels looking the business seven weeks in.

What is painfully obvious is that Cheika and his coaching team are tactically inept and the team selection for the game against England proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. I have been supportive of Cheika and the team up until very recently but their recent performances has given me pause. The fact the Wallabies have been able to win the odd game here and there since the World Cup is due to individual athletic talent and the odd bit of luck. Chieka thrives on the emotion of the moment but clearly that method of inspiring and motivating players has worn thin and without any tactical nous in the coaching group or amongst the players, especially from our captain, the Wallabies chances of putting a winning run together in the near term seems unlikely at best. Cheika’s stubborn streak is only serving to compound the issues as he looks to double down on what is quite obviously a flawed strategy.

His team selection for the England games lays bear the distinct lack of tactical thought process in the group. Where is Toupo? Why is Cotteral not getting a start at 8? Come 60 minutes and you know full well that Jones is going to roll out the big guns like Hughes and Tuilagi who are going to have a field day against their opposites. Not to mention the fact there isn’t one impact player on the Wallaby bench. Its going to make for a grim post match press conference for Hooper and Cheika.

If Raelene Castle and her team where doing their job properly they should be in discussions with Joe Schmidt about potentially taking over management of the Wallaby’s after next years World Cup. Jake White is a solid option but he may have a little too much history with RA which didn’t end well. Joe Schmidt is probably the best coach in the world and is coming off contract with Ireland in the near future. No doubt he is being considered for the All Black job but that will depend on whether or not Hansen renews. Warren Gatland should also come under consideration.