Yup – I agree
1 I think Australia’s problems are systematic too.
2 The media & fans are a too optimistic/unforgiving/reactionary
3 It’s not something a Head Coach can fix

However, I disagree that
4 There are people smart enough in the aRU to fix it
As
5 There’s a $20M a year shortfall in the ARU budgets
6 and it’ll get worse if they p!ss the Lions off any more than they did over £, opposition & schedule
But
7 If everyone got up off their @rse to help, the recovery prog would go a lot quicker

“fernando marzano” – that’s a mate up name, isn’t it?
You’re a sheep-farmer from Southland, aren’t you?
The “in my opinion Robbie D. did a pretty good job” is a dead give away.

Now then girls.
Funny as this is, it’s going nowhere.
Whereas ADC has some valid points
– Deans has win f.all
Mike’s subtext is that Deans has done some good work.
You’re both right.
RWCs, Grand Slams, RCs – these are all hard targets, are pretty difficult and should be cherised if/when achieved.
If everyone managed to accomplish these, then they would be devalued.
As for The Bledisloe, the ABs have been pretty hard to beat of late.

Are you a Kiwi?

Sorry.
One of the chaps who works for me just called me a “c*nt”
I’ll have to take that “I’m a decent bloke” bit back.
Drat! There goes my salary hike.
Hold the ARU.

I like to think that I’m a very decent bloke who takes a great interest in the game at grassroots level.
And I CANNOT be criticised for lack of effort or lack of enthusiasm
But I don’t see the ARU offering me the job.

Deans, however, had other, very considerable, coaching skills.

I think he just got a lot of xenophobic Aussie backs up.
When the going gets tough, blame the foreigner.
If it’s not Deans it’ll be “foreign-born” players that are at fault.

AS fara as I can gather, Deans was relentlessly pursued by the ARU to take the job.
This probably means there wera few cycles of:
ARU – “go on, mate, do the job, we’ll offer you more money.”
Deans – “no. Sod off”
which would invariably lead to the salary escalation.

Every coach apart from Rod McQueen is below average for AUS in the pro era. Fact.
Greg Smith 1996–1997 19 12 0 7 63.16%
Rod Macqueen 1997–2001 43 34 1 8 79.07%
Eddie Jones 2001–2005 57 33 1 23 57.89%
John Connolly 2006–2007 22 13 1 8 59.09%
Robbie Deans 2008 – 2013 75 44 2 29 58.67%
Ewen McKenzie 2013 – Pre 2 0 0 2 0.00%
Total 218 136 5 77 63.53%

So they’re all sh!t.
Apart from Rod.
McKenzie is worst of all.

The big concept for Australia to get their heads round is that the Wallabies are not currently below par, but that they were punching well above their weight when winning 2 RWCs.
The first should have been England’s, but they were talked out of their dominant 10-man game and goaded into flipping it out the line by Campese, there to be gleefully taken apart by the Aussies. Nice one. Australia were probably the most exciting team in the competition, though.
In 99, Australia ran out big winners against the French. They had done themselves in with a monumental effort against NZ in the greatest-game-ever-played semi-final. And Australia’s 35 points owed more to their goal-kicking and game-management than any free-flowing malarkey.
Still, two wins is good. Especially good is 2 wins from 4 RWCs.
But before that era Australia were the warm-up act for the Lions on their way to NZ. And after that, Australia went back to their natural niche as a mid-ranking/2nd tier rugby-playing country.
Good results occasionally, bad results occasionally. Good first XV, little depth.
Deans record without NZ is awesome. Even with them in the count, that’s pretty good.
That’s fantastic versus the Boks, Wales & England. Pretty good against Ireland, too. Losing to Scotland & Samoa isn’t so bad either – these teams aren’t mugs.
Get real.

It’s a tough job picking a back row.
What was clear from the B&I Lions tour, was that it wasn’t about picking a 6,7 & 8. It was about the blend between them.
Here’s what Gatland had to try to meld together, in terms of players and qualities:
Warburton – leadership, jackalling, clearout, gets turnovers, carries well
Tipuric- very fast to breakdowns
Falatau – great catcher, agile in tight spaces, soft hands
O’Brien – muscular ball-carrier, makes hard yards, tackles well
Lydiate – makes tackles, counter-rucks
Tom Croft – jumps lineouts, fast, seagulls
etc

I’m not saying this to pump up the Lions loose.
Just pointing out that the back row have to get it all done between them – make the breakdowns, run the carries, hit the tackles, support, jump in the lineouts.
If Hooper is only marking McCaw on half of what McCaw does, then somebody else has to be picking up the other half of the work.
His effectiveness is married to the effectiveness of the whole loose forward set.

“when a team sacks a coach midseason suddenly they string an unexpected win or two together under the new boss before returning to mediocrity – it’s as if with the old boss gone all their excuses for failure are gone and they decide – briefly, to have a real dig.”
That’s a myth, according to the stats.
You tend to notice that if it happens, but don’t notice if it doesn’t. There’s media attention if the new coach changes the team’s fortunes, less if it’s business as usual.
That said, I think players tend to try hard to impress the new guy:
those uncapped players see it as their chance
the veterans think they’ll have to redo all the hard work to reach the top
recovering athletes see that they’ll best be getting their recovery plans in place
It must be invigorating, even if it isn’t instant.

Good article, Wal, ana essential part of the funereal closure process.
Deans big mistake was to take job in the first place. Not only was he a freigner, he was a Kiwi to boot. And an AB ,,,,
Poor sod couldn’t win.

Strange that, if Australia had won Test 3, Gatland would have his head on a pike. The press hated him for half a week with a vengence after the O’Driscoll dropping. All the vitriol, xenophobia and abuse he received via the papers, TV and social media would have paled into insignificance compared to what would have happened had they lost.

Regardless of how well they play, how well the grass roots are tended and how well the system works,
if a team isn’t winning then the Coach has no chance.

Never mind Cooper, Ewen McKenzie has been left the gift of Folau.
If he’s in the team, the opposition will be worried, regardless of who the rest of the team are.

It’s because Deans is a Pantomime Villain.
Easy target.
He’s foreign, prominent and can’t answer back.

At this point, McKenzie hasn’t lost a game.

I have no problem with Deans record.
(I didn’t think he was that bad a coach.
I think it’s a bad idea to get rid of him this close to RWC 2015.
I think coaches should be appointed on a 4-year RWC cycle.
That said, I think the ARU should be doing a proper job of the succession and not just having “Buggins Turn”
And no, I’m not saying McKenzie is Buggins. I like him, too. Best of luck Ewen.)
I think Jones was OK too & he’s putting his experience to good use in Japan. Japan are good. Ask Wales.
Jones came 2nd and Deans 3rd in RWCs. I think that’s further up than Australia will be finishing for a while.

I’m not a big fan of success % or IRB Rankings as a measure of how well a coach does.
I think success % is meaningless. Context is all.
IRB Rankings are only used once every four years to select seeds for the RWC.
And I don’t think that form should be going back too far, especially internationally.
Why does it matter that FRance won/lost by 1/21 points 3 years ago?

Yeah, sort yourself out John.
“We’re doomed”
Nah, not really if the ARU get it sorted out now.
There’s a vast trenche of Lions cash about, not to mention all that good feeling.
Get it moving in Development now – schools, clubs, coaching etc
There may not be the same bounty ever again
I suspect Australia will be giving it a go at the upcoming League World Cup, so better get in before than grabs the public attention.

The Olympics is quite big most places, mate – you still in the huff at the lack of 2012 medals?
And 7s is in the Commonwealth games, too.
NZ are World Champs, so I’m sure they’ll be looking for the trifecta.
In fact, 7’s is huge all over.
Loads of countries have XVs under development –
Japan will be Top 10 soon
USA & Canada are very serious about it and are starting to snaffle reject talent from the NFL
Spain, Georgia, Romania will be coming to get you too, as will the Brazilians
Not to mention the continuing improvement among The Islands & Argentina.

Roarers, don’t be fooled if you think Pulver will be doing anything
1 Radical
2 That the press are unlikely to back
3 That the fans are unlikely to back

Here’s some very recent examples:
A Jul 3, 2013 – BILL Pulver has slammed the International Rugby Board for its unacceptable handling of the appeal against Wallabies captain James Horwill …
Note that this is after it’s all over. Won’t catch Bill sticking his neck out.

B http://www.planetrugby.com/lions/story/0,25883,3551_8812911,00.html
Pulver won’t rush Deans decision
08th July 2013 06:12
Pardon? “Your job’s safe, Robbie, I just met Ewen 6 months ago for a coffee”

C http://www.sportinglife.com/rugby-union/news/article/504/8803894/aru-float-southern-lions-idea
ARU float ‘Southern Lions’ idea
July 3 2013, 15:25 BST
Yeah, yeah, Bill – put your money where your mouth is.

And therein lies the rub.
I can’t see Bill putting any cash into grass roots/liaison/training camps/scouts/coaches.
I can see Bill glad-handing about the world networking with the other Blazers, spouting forth, taking credit for things which have already succeeded and cold-shouldering underfunded failures.

Ben Mowen
Date of birth – 1 December 1984 (age 28)
Height – 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight – 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
Mowen was one of the standouts from the series for me.
Along with Moore & Horwill, I thought he gave it his all and on occasion, his efforts had obvious rewards.
(as against the hard work forwards often put in and no one notices, cos they did score a try)
I think anyone else will be hard pushed to get that shirt off him.

Scott Fardy
Date of birth 5 July 1984 (age 29)
Height – 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight – 113 kg (17 st 11 lb)
I like Fardy. As is said above he’s clever and keen. I reckon that’s the sort of bloke that’s needed.
And I thought he was smaller than the 6’6″ Wiki-p has him down for.
I also thought he was younger, but at 29 I fear he has missed the boat.

Scott Higginbotham
Date of birth – 5 September 1986 (age 26)
Height – 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight – 110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
I like him too, but I reckon he’w behind Mowen now. Still he’s got a few years in the hole, so I can’t see him not making a squad, where he can show his mettle.

Front Row – I think they’re alright, the Bens.
I think, also, that they’re smart cookies, experienced and clever enough, mostly, to know when to push, wheel, swing, go down/up etc. I don’t think they’d be winning a straight scrum contest.
Moore throws the ball into the LO straight & accurately – if you think that’s easy, have a look at some of the Lions games. Poor Rory Best. He gets about the park a bit, too. I have no idea what his shove is like at the scrum, or how his technique rates. But I reckon that he & the Bens must blend well. The Corbisiero/Hibbard/Jones front row would scare all countries, regardless of any tosh talked hereabouts.
But, as the Lions showed, you need a second front row on the bench and a third front row in the shed, just in case. There’s plenty blokes out there, wanting a game. But lets say McKenzie only has a pool of the First XV Front Rows from each of the 5 Super Rugby clubs. I’m sure he knows them all. Get them on the power-shakes and steak sandwiches, have a few Scrum Camps across the holidays and get them all up to speed. Measure them at Scrum Camp 1 and then at Scrum Camp 2, measure them again. Or get the club doctors to do it. See who’s serious about it. Faster, Higher, Stronger.
The Lions Hibbard was young, carefree & overweight until Scott Johnson had a pop at him at his club. He woke up, knuckled down and there he is – hard as nails and on the world stage. Still with a bad hairdresser habit, though.

“Matching up against McCaw will be the toughest assignment, Lentjes has encountered”
I think things are slacking off in the local Canterbury Leagues.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/rugby/8898578/Students-big-assignment-You-re-marking-McCaw
“He wouldn’t have got a game back in my day”

Anyway, you guys are putting the wrong spin on it all.
What James Lentjes should be saying is
“I’m so good, they’ve had to bring McCaw in to mark me”

Even in his own day, Colin Meads was considered a thug.
I suspect if he’d been a bare-knuckle boxer Colin Meads would have been considered a thug.
What a player.

Further to the above, I don’t think cash has ever come into it for McCaw.
I’m sure he’s doing alright for it, but I doubt if he ever gave it a second thought.
Playing the game for the glory, the fern and for playing the game’s sake.

Soccer, Rugby, League & Aussie Rules all can be fast and exciting.
Soccer/Football is
easy & cheap to play – just get a ball, any size
easy to understand – get read the rules in a lunchbreak
and very communal – suitable to play with 1 to 100
Easy to see why it’s the world’s #1 game.

Rugby (Union) is largely class-ridden in huge chunks of it’s small playing base.
England has it’s rugby-heart in the private schools and the clubs who fit. The private schools play their own rules rather than the RFUs guidelines. Clubs who aren’t in with the chaps (e.g. recent harsh treatment of London Welsh) are treated really badly. The Big Clubs complain that they can’t compete with the French clubs, as they have a higher salary cap.
Scotland favours it’s Edinburgh privately educated core rather than the working class core in the Borders or the bigger football-mad currently more successful city of Glasgow.
Australia has it’s base in the private schools too
(In Wales it’s a grass-roots game, but the clubs are at the WRU’s throats because of money.
Ireland, contrarily has a thriving game, for reasons I don’t quite get.)

If Rugby is to go anywhere, it has to get rid of its elitism. But it’s bound by the fact that you need loads of people and kit to play. Hence, it’s a struggle to get other/outsider countries/clubs to play.

7s is thriving, probably as you only need half the people and a ball to play. No ridiculous arcane rules manual. No dark-arts scrummaging.
The success of countries like Kenya and USA here illustrate this. Developing-World Kenya can get a team of fit athletes on the parks around a world circuit to play. USA can fill Vegas Stadia for its annual tournament because it’s a simple game to watch and learn. Inspirational. (NZ still win, like, but ….)

If Rugby can’t tap in to the 7s and Lions success, then I don’t know what it’s waiting for.
What’s the ARU plan for all the money its just got from the Lions?

The Big Eight, The Islands

I agree about the First Test bludgeoning and that ref Pollock was a farce.
Someone mentioned the SH tendency of refs giving penalties alternatively to each team, rather than trying to figure out what was wrong.
I think he apologised to BOD, too, after the game for giving dodgy pens against him at the breakdown, ironically here for “not supporting his own weight”
Ref’s have to learn too, I suppose.

Got Wallabies to RWC Final 2003, wins over Ireland, Scotland and NZ. Drew with England over 80 mins in the final.
I’d put that higher than %wins. Still, if that’s what you want, why not play little teams like Georgia, China or Brazil more often?

Or IRB Ranking. Why not rate the Wallabies by IRB Ranking? How relevant is that? Still 3rd after the Lions defeat

It’s all a bit parochial, isn’t?
Did anyone look further afield?
Scott Johnson from Scotland?
Eddie J back from Japan for another stint?
International experience to hit the ground running.

God is ultimately doomed to be breaking up the side at the Apocalypse.
The Wallabies fans demand more than that.
Why can’t we get players like those Four Horsemen on our side?