Oh no.
Stuart Lancaster IS massively competent.
He realised he’d need a test team with 600+ caps to compete at the RWC.
So, youth in, blooded, tested & mentored at the start of the 4-year cycle.
Personal Improvemnt Plans in place, Game Plan maturing. Fixtire list meticulously planned.
No stone left unturned, no detail too small for attention.
AND he coaches his kid’s U11s

Your paranoid rant fails to include
– the IRB conspiracy against Horwill
– the Kiwi plot to put a mole in the ARU
– the Illuminati pulling all the strings

Get real – the players are pants. Especially the scrum

The Nightmare Scenario is that, under pressure to sell more tickets, the RWC Committee move the Wales game to the Millennium.
Roof on. full noise, scary.

Game Plan Overview v Lions, Test 3
Zoning: Own 22: Green, Their 22: Red; (Within 5m: Deep Red); in-between: Orange

Without Ball
All Zones
Try to disrupt Lions scrum by wheel;
Contest LO throws beyond 2
don’t over-commit to rucks, support push at mauls; get 12-men across defensive line

With Ball
if in our own Green Zone – kick for touch; discretional option on run
Green-Orange -; kick back or run back high ball; optional kick for wingers
Orange-Red thru Red – ruck upfield, controlled by Scrum-half
kick penalties for LO rather than 3 points
(amended in 2nd half to “take 3 pts”)
Red – ruck into Deep Red
Deep Red – fling it out till gap appears

That’s not far away

‘Great players in the team make the coach great’
That’s not true, either.
Great coaches might make players better, which in turn makes the coach looks good in return.
They might not. The players might not be ‘receptive’ to that coach.
Some coaches may be great under particular circumstances – loads of youngsters, at home games, loads of support for him & his team, unlimited cash etc
Great players may not succeed either. Look at NZ’s consistent failure despite their unquestionable skills. That didn’t make anyone look good.

It’s all tiny margins.
What if Beale hadn’t slipped? Halfpenny had given his kick a bit more oomph? Wilkinson had missed his drop-goal?
The TMO had called that pass forward? That elbow in? That foot in touch?
Folau’s hamstring, O’Driscoll had been on instead of Davies, Genia hadn’t knocked on, Campo had just kicked the f. ball etc

Oh come on – “How is it that armchair commentators that sneak in their rugby fix in between work meetings and lunch times have more foresight than those paid handsomely to do that job time and time again ?”
Right, I predict….
1 McKenzie will be sacked eventually
2 Pulver will be sacked eventually
3 Aus will not win this year’s 4N
4 nor the 2015 RWC
Doddle.

Furthermore, Roar pundits
1 will continue to lambast the ARU
2 and the Wallabies
3 will continue to harang referees, especially after the fact, despite the Coach getting a pre-match briefing on how he’ll ref the game
4 will continue to face off Queensland and NSW for no real reason at all

Cheika who has a 3 year plan for the Tahs is on track?
Was that
1 – Don’t qualify for the Post-season, finish behind the Reds & the Brumbies?
2 – Finish in bottom half of Super XV
3 – lose 1 in 12 year chance to Touring Team

That’s not too challenging, is it?

Yes, that was before the match.
The Europeans want the scrum looked at to make it more of a fair pushing contest.
Australians want it as less of a pushing contest, more of a means to deliver the ball to the team putting in.
If Poite had “form”, by the way, how come the Wallabies didn’t know about it?

Well, he must be right, then.
See Gatland’s rant on RWC 2007
and that documentary on RWC final 2011.
Was there a Southern Hemisphere Ref on, too?
Or just a bloke?

Re “penalied to yellow”, since we’re bandying Laws about:
10.3 REPEATED INFRINGEMENTS
(a) Repeatedly offending. A player must not repeatedly infringe any Law. Repeated infringement is a matter of fact. The question of whether or not the player intended to infringe is irrelevant.
Sanction: Penalty kick
A player penalised for repeated infringements must be cautioned and temporarily suspended.

(b) Repeated infringements by the team. When different players of the same team repeatedly
commit the same offence, the referee must decide whether or not this amounts to repeated
infringement. If it does, the referee gives a general warning to the team and if they then
repeat the offence, the referee cautions and temporarily suspends the guilty player(s). If a
player of that same team then repeats the offence the referee sends off the guilty player(s).
Sanction: Penalty kick

Well done, ref

That’ll be the same NZ Press who were giving it the “Henry must go” hate-campaign of 2007 only to be up his bottom in 2011.
They’re the Press, ffs.
Have a look at David Lord’s articles here? No bandwaggon not worth a-jumping on. More positions than the kama sutra.

And who ever thinks that there’s no Anti-NZ stance against Deans hasn’t been paying any attention at all. Look at all the replies above.

$1M a year to win the Bledisloe alone looks a bit steep. I’d expect something else for that.

Number 3 in the Rankings seems to be bolstering Australian rugby pride.
Which makes Oz top seeds at the RWC 2015.
3rd last time out at RWC 2011.
Not last in the RC/4N.
>50% success rate.
Beat 6N Champs 8-in-a-row.
Not a bad Autumn Tour 2012.

With the pile of nonsense Australia has as players and the lack of coaching infrastructure in place, then that’s not too shabby.
However, if it was Deans job to put in place “coaching infrastructure” then it looks like a fail.
Anyone know what Deans job description was? Where did his salary figure come from?

What about McKenzie – what’s his remit?
If it’s the same old “Give it a go, Bruce, fair dinkum” then the wrong perosn has been sacked. Look higher up the chain.

Go on then, all you Deans-haters. Write your success criteria now and see how Link measures up to it.

I’m backing “mania” on this one.
If he thought he’d ‘dived’ then that interpretation could have been taken by the ref.

My view on Test 3 was that Poite was good, consitent and fair. He warned Australia what he was going to do, if they infringed again.
Rather than “decide who was going to be held responsible before it occurred”, the ref had a look then decided who was actually responsible afterwards.
In the previous tests, the refereeing was more bewildering.
E.g. Test 2 might be worth a little look, Mr Mccourt.
Australia, at various times: “hit” early (nothing in the rules to allow a “hit” btw), pushed early, engaged at a slightly off angle, had their THP waving his arm in the air at one stage stopping the Lions Vunipola from pushing, pulled down in the bind etc.
Also, losing out to Adam Jones is no disgrace – he’s awesome, has great strength and meticulous technique.
In Test #1, he ‘rolled’ the Wallaby loosehead with his shoulder, forcing him to go down and winning a penalty. Sneaky – yes. Cheating – probably. Effective – certainly.
I think that Australia realised they’d be up against it in the scrums and drilled their pack to avoid a pushing contest, mostly by wheeling or pulling. They managed this until Test #3, when they lost.
“Poite’s rulings are difficult to comprehend, except on the basis of what he is known for – deciding that one side is the villain and thereafter handing out penalties against that side every time a scrum goes down. Its just amateurish rot, and certainly not a basis for making long-term decisions about Australian scrummaging.”
Really? Having a go at your perception of the ref’s prejudice by displaying your own, Mike, won’t make Wallaby scrummaging any better. If Poite is known for that, then who knows that? Why don’t you write in to the IRB and tell them?

Have a look over at
www.greenandgoldrugby.com/analysis-wallabies-scrum-battle-v-lions-part-2/
where this sort of thing is analysed, rather than ranted at.
If you want more ranting about ref’s decisions, then check out Spiro’s article on the ref’s decisions.

I’ll take your bet, Andre.
I’ll give you better odds than you’ll get at The Bookies, too.

Above, there’s a lot I agree with:
“Roarer” – “mistakes = losses at test level”. Australia make too many of them
Felix – “You need a powerhouse tight 5 to win anything,nevermind a WC,Props,Flankers & your locks lack brutal aggreession”
Not necessarily. If the ball gets out of the scrum quickly, SH-style, then you might get away with it. Kinda like the Wallabies got away with it in the first 2 test v BIL. SH-refs like a fast scrum – ball in (to the second-row); a wee wheel, ball-out. NH teams like a contest at the scrum (as long as it looks like they’re going to win it). Push, shove, dominate – easy. Australia can’t afford to get caught in a power game, as they’ll lose. They’re no mugs, but over a tournament, someone will find them out. And there’s 2 group games, quarter, semi and final to win for a RWC.

And I lot I don’t:
mania – “too much worrying about not losing instead of getting out there to win”; setting up defence is an integral part of winning. I agree that all rugby should be Super XV Rugby – fast, running excitement – but it isn’t. Unless they change the RWC to a League, 4-try bonuses etc, then that won’t be happening.Even the Super XV play-offs are so different from the regular season, because it’s knock-out.
Andre – ” the calibre of players we had,”. Australia have very few class acts. Pocock certainly, Genia certainly. Who else? Horwill is really good. Some of the other back-row boys have their day. Folau looks great, but he’s green in RU and was kept pretty quiet in Lions Test #2.
Many people, here and elsewhere – The Lions were not poor. Not a lot of clean line breaks, true, but they were a class act. Gatland’s problem was in pussyfooting about, trying to find “the blend”. Power, aggression and brutality in the forwards won through. Backed up by quick opportunistic backs and game management. And if you think that’s easy to come by, go on then, do it.

Thanks Dean.
“Pocock Out” was one of the personnel headlines that cranked up the BIL confidence a notch or two.
While not a headline, the underlying “Cooper Dropped” was a filip for the BIL. Seeing the result of Genia’s quick tap in Test 1 and how Cooper used the fast take to move the Reds around versus the Lions – well, what a prospect that would have been for the Lions defence to figure out. And when the Wallaby scrum was in its darkest hour, where do you go to for front-foot ball? Quick Quade and the Unpredctables. Might have got beat 0-3, like, but it would have scared the Lions.
For the Wallbies,
“Horwill a Saint”, “Smith is Back” and “O’Driscoll Dropped” must have been the biggest help.
But “Pocock Returns” will put 10,000 on the gate and 10 points on the board when it happens.

Top work, KiwiDave.
Good analysis.

The stand-out game here is the Stormers v The Bulls.
The Stormers have won their last four, hosting the Bulls, who have won their last nine.
Yeah, the Bulls had a wobbly one last week, but they still won.
If they win @ Stormers and get to stay at home all playoffs, then you could put your mortgage on them.
Home advantage (or non long-range travel) is huge for these guys
As Felix says “their tight 5 are a juggernaut”. That’s what you want in the play-offs. See what the BIL did to the Wallabies recently with their power.
The Crusaders give it a flip, Cooper’s Reds could have a go – but only if they get quality ball.
Biggest danger to the Bulls I see is the Brumbies – won their last 3, beat the BIL. They’ve got the hard discipline & mantal edge needed to win one-off post-season games. The big doubt for them is – can they re-start after their lay-off?

Nice one.
What the front row needs is 218kg of hooker-prop.
Yeah yeah – I know & you know for “Morrison” I meant “Moore”

Let’s all wish Mr McKenzie all the luck in the world.
There’s a whole lot of assumption in here about players, fans and officials:

“Nick Phipps, Pat McCabe, Rob Horne, Berrick, Ben McCalman and Wyclif Pal have all played their last game for the wallabies”
Maybe some of them, but I doubt if none of this lot will ever play again.

“Quade Cooper is in the team again.”
Not necessarily. Plenty other blokes out there without Quade’s ‘baggage’. No one quite as scary as him, though.

“the majority of fans will cut McKenzie plenty of slack just as long as he is able to show that his team do have a game plan ”
You must be joking. A bad 4N and the knives will be out. Deans had a game plan. What’s needed is top players, more commitment and better execution. Best of luck. What the fans want is wins. Not rugby, not skills but wins. Look at all the nonsense on here about winning %.

“McKenzie will do well with our scrum, and having an ex-prop as coach is a great move.”
Maybe. But being an ex-prop doesn’t mean he’ll do well with the scrum at all. Chances are, as Head Coach he’ll get a bloke in to look at it.

“He will understand that the forwards are the engine room, which many Australian fans don’t seem to comprehend.”
After that 3rd Lions Test, if there’s anyone left in Australia who doesn’t understand that forwards win matches then they need to change their guide dog. You have to hope that if McKenzie or Deans or any other Australian coach ever-ever-ever doesn’t understand that the forwards are the engine room, then the ARU might pick that up at the interview stage.

“Deans has been an unmitigated failure at $ 1,000,000 ”
Would he have been a success at half that? At $100,000? Salary has nothing to do with it.

“Senior players and influential ARU figures were particularly unhappy with how star backs James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale have continued to misbehave off the field.”
F. them. Have they nothing better to do? Again, how “unhappy” were they when the Wallabies levelled to 1-1. And then got unhappy enough again at 1-2 to fire Deans? I don’t think so.

That was 15 years ago, Nick
Not been done in under 4 years in the 21st Century.
Australia will struggle to get out of the group at RWC 2015.
Be best to expect a run at 2019 for McKenzie.

that’s a good idea that. Scrum or tap.
That’s get rid of a lot of nonsense in the scrum.
You’ld still get “monster” packs for domination on their own ball, but you’ld be half-way there.

No.
If he was being sacked for “losses to Samoa, Scotland and Ireland in the WC” then he’d have been sacked after “losses to Samoa, Scotland and Ireland in the WC”.
He’s being sacked because, in the light of the Lions loss, the ARU are covering their butts.
“Sack him before there’s calls for our heads”

Johnno
you’ve been drinking, haven’t you?
The ABs in rugby are great, with an exceptional record, I agree.
But “the best national sporting team ever on the planet” – perhaps not.
Have a go at a sport everyone plays. Perhaps football.
See various adverts on yube re Brazil.
Or tennis, maybe basketball. What about hockey? etc etc

Of course Deans is under pressure. And rightly so, that’s the job.
I’m well aware Sir Brian Lochore, Kitch Christie & Rod Macqueen did it in less.
That was a long time ago.
Playing for the country was paramount. Which Aussies played in France when Rod MacQ won? How many said “sorry Rod, I’m off to Europe for the money”?
There’s 23 blokes in a side now for one thing.
The attrition rate is enormous.The demands on the body are huge, So depth is vital.
Managing an international team is vastly different from a club team now, or a super-club team. So International experience is vital.
Do you want an entertaining side or a side that wins?
How long does it take to drill a team to play “your way”?
Who are your assistant coaches going to be? Video analysts? Psycho guys? Logistics experts? Improvement pledges? Diet sheets? Conditioning matrices? Time in the cold box.
Planning all these things takes effort, time and practice.
Look at how long it took NZ to get there under Henry. And he had time, experience & nous.
Look at what Lancaster is up to with England.
You can’t just fill up a bus with blokes, empty them onto the park and say “have a go”. The other lot will be doing more than that and will eat you up. Look at the hassle the Lions have in building a team. Talent aplenty, but getting it to mesh….

Presumably, you want the Wallabies to win everything. I’m suggesting that what you really want is to win an RWC. That takes time, skill and dedication, more so now than ever. Sacrifices have to be made.
Take Quade Cooper for example. What a talent. But Deans has figured that he can’t control him enough to be consistent through a campaign. So he’s out of the plan. Entertaining player, but can’t be trusted to keep regimented enough for a tournament.

If the ARU don’t think Deans is up to it, then fair enough. But don’t just ask the next-in-line bloke to have a go. Consider what is wanted of the International side, the skills needed to make it happen, the infrastructure and how long it’s going to take. More than 2 years, I fancy. So the goal is not RWC 2015. Might happen,but I reckon it’d be a fluke.

Oh stop it.
Deans is there until after the 4N when the ARU have a review scheduled.
Even then, it’d be a brave call to switch head-coach more than half-way through the RWC 4-year cycle.
The 3 RWC winning coaches this century were in place long before the big event. These days, nobody can just turn up, grab 15 blokes, trot out and win.
If Deans goes, Australia can give up any chance of RWC 2015. It’s a tough enough group as it is with Wales and England (at home) in it. Wales are superb under Gatland and England continue to build under Lancaster. Putting a new bloke in charge would have to be with the vision to plan for RWC 2019, sacrificing the English World Cup.
Might be a sacrifice worth making, but I doubt it.
The Deans tenure has coincided with a golden era of NZ rugby and a strong Bok team. So the 4N/3N has been an improbable ask.
Australia have fared well recently against the cream of NH rugby, Wales & England, and were a kick away from beating the Lions in Test#1.
Australian Rugby Union has a difficult job competing for and keeping talent. Who could recruit better from League or footie?
The bloke’s developing an extremely skillful backline. He has had to cope with an unfortunate run of injuries to a world-class back row. The core of his squad is there and playing well for him, with guts, heart and a desire to play for Australia.
The first XV plan isn’t far away from success in performance. Depth of squad is the next step.
The ARU have invested 6 years or so in Deans development as an international manager.
Give the guy a break and get Australia’s energy behind him not against him. Let the guy flourish.

Hartley didn’t call referee Barnes a cheat. He called him a f. cheat.
Didn’t wait till later to do it in his book either.
And, according to Barnes, he’d been warned several times before.

Phillips played the 1st Test plague by an old “floating bone” injury in his knee. He’s struggling.
The whole 2nd and back row has been shuffled around to compensate for the lack of O’Connell:
Parling to jump & call the lineouts, Heaslip to do the carrying legwork, Lydiate to play tighter around the breakdowns than Croft.
I suspect POC himself will do the “motivational speech” in the shed before the off.
I don’t think they’ve decided yet who plays on with a broken arm.