AndyS, The way I see it is the team bonding thing. Letting people know they are in the reconning and make those not selected a little more uncomfortable. The feeling of being in the special groups is really special and goes a long way to figuring out the pecking orders. Also, don’t think for a moment it’s a junket and complacency statement. Rennie is way too clever for that. He will be having chats, patting backs, and eyeballing players. Players will be checking each other out and the serious business of making the next group is now seriously on! SRP coaches will be lov’n this! No extra motivation is necessary come coaching sessions.

NB you scare me! Talking positives about our Tahs! Woah please stop……

It was just one win. You know the Tahs moto, “TO STEAL DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY!”

I fear slipping back to the optimism only to be smashed into a million pieces when the Kiwis come across the ditch.

On a serious front, we saw lots of classic DC setup, last weekend and Drua didn’t leave enough out on the paddock to win, but the Tahs played better than I have seen for more than a while…..

M, Onboard with your understanding. Unfortunately, the GMG at that level is a living organic document, and they don’t appear to debate this openly so we as the public get to call them to account. KB should have only been a scrum as lost forward in the tackle. The Welsh incident was just a straight penalty. How wrong can a level 3 ref get it? About that much. As for the SA TMO Marius, He had a howler against us the week before and we get an apology but still get him the next week with over 50 others to choose from. It’s broken!

Clash, a Roar Pro! and you think the big Val’s tackle was OK! You remind me of Dad’s and Coaches trying to defend letting the kids play on after a head knock! Nah! they would be fine, its builds character! If you love the game then make it safe so it can continue to be played. At the elite level, the standards MUST be higher so the park footy stays safe and everyone can go to school and work on Monday. But do I think the game was well officiated? No not in the slightest. These level 3 refs have clearly forgotten the principles of the laws and the purpose of this law was to discourage people from preventing continual competition for the ball. KB’s was accidental and the Geeks will argue a scrum was the correct answer as the ball was lost forward in the tackling process. The other was a clear penalty. Cards in both circumstances fail to meet the threshold. The TMO with a newish international ref had a howler! Both will earn shorter careers at this level.

This geek gets you. England is in a fine place going into the rwc. Eddie is doing better with your guys than he did with us. Is it us or you? NOW THERE IS AN ARTICLE FOR NICK!

Tom G, your point is noted but ignored! It’s what we do…. “anybody but England!””

Nic, What I perceive is that the Wallabies are still playing like young rugby boys, flamboyant, high risk with silver bullet answers to win games. I battled with this in club rugby. Rugby needs to be built on the battle of attrition. Good teams are good teams and you just don’t put 50 points on England or any other 6 Nation team. You have to have the contest first to win the game. That contest requires accuracy in phase play, brutality, patience, and a willingness to graft into a position where an attack can be mounted. Broken play counter-attack footy is something the AB’s do better than anybody, but they also do the other stuff well. Perhaps not well enough against Ireland who took that game plan I subscribe to as the ethos of the game and beat the AB’s. The Wallabies need to learn this. It’s what Rennie wants as well, I can see it in his team when they do it. What I can’t answer is why don’t our players embrace this?

Nick, Glad to see you got your inner Rassie going on. As a player ref coach hack. I was at odds with more than the usual number of calls in this game. Our brand of footy is very different from European styles and we never adapt well. But more importantly, we should be much better at it than we are. While Hoops handled this better than he ever has, the team never appeared to understand any of the actual game nuances of competing with the opposition rather than allowing the ref to influence the game out. That alone cost us the game! But we also made so many dumb decisions and poor skill applications to add more petrol to our losing cause. Hunter is just not at the level we need in a 12. He has a distance to go and would be better outside the playing group with a focus on what he must do to improve. 12’s need to think. Not to play schoolboy high-risk style footy. I guess what I did like was our locks and 6. They were solid and after a game together the D will be so much better. Let’s move Parese into 12, keep Lenny at 13, Wright was ok Kellaway also. Fill the gap of JP with a more resilient winger. 9 & 10 were just flat. KB was tradesmen-like but far from special. In short, Rennie has plenty of headaches especially if Nella can’t front up. Like I have said before who would want Rennies job? A strong showing against the POMS is needed to keep up the optimism.

Stin,
on board with this. HP makes poor decisions in an attack that is so hard to fix. Perese could well play to a DR doctrine.

Credit to the Yanks! They get the best bits of Rugby – Respect!

GP, The old familiar story, scrappy games make good teams look crap. That was us! Standouts were Macca who came off the bench and nailed his job at lineout and maul. I had no indication of his scrum push but I think he may be a bolter if he can keep the throws up to the mark. Hunter showed that he should have stayed home and watched reruns of kicks in general play mistakes and how that ruins rugby careers. Seriously a grubber in the first half with a 2 man overlap and try line in sight! Urrrgh! Packs at scrum time OK, Lineouts? Well, the old saying “couldn’t hit the ground with a rock” could be a motto! Backs well White – struggled with Japanese speed and willingness to never stop. Quade – Missed his mate Kerevi who makes each other look good. A little too much razzle-dazzle creeping in which says Quade of old has dropped in for a beer! Hunter – I am not sure he is a long-term prospect, back to the coaches I guess. Lenny – Is putting the name above the door of 13! He is so inform! Wright – did himself well. Kellaway – I expect the EOYT to be playing 15 unless they pick up the phone for Issie! which is as realistic as calling back KB! Finishers! Samu (1) Macca (2) Swain (3) Tate (4) JOC (5) Bell (6) AAA ( was he on the paddock?)

Harry, Hats off to you for such a strongly researched article. The key to this is the need to update WR traditions and make clearly visible all the different moving parts. The refs always cop a belting but they are never dealt with openly in post-match reviews. Erasmus reacted to a number of poor calls by WR on TMO with some even poorer actions to advantage his own team even down to putting on a waterboy jacket. WR should use this as a chance to draw a straight line in the sand for all to prevent this again. Rassie will get off much to my disappointment.

The different levels I have coached its amazing how some players get lost in the intensity of it all. Especially when I am thinking we will get these guys at 20 left and the grind is going to be tough all afternoon. Then one player just wants the big X factor play to win the game in two minutes the old high risk almost no reward game.

Big A, Sounds like you’re on the board of RA. We only see a certain number of players move overseas. The ones we need for test duties that are over there are even less. McMahon is a good example, a good player for Europe but is he good enough for the Wb’s? Kellaway, Skelton, Arnold & Coleman have all gone over and are possibly now perfect for test duties. I would like to see some of the young players do a season or two over there and then come back. We need to liberate and cultivate players so they become fabulous for Australia. Not control and indenture young men and women, let them learn and be good for us. Don’t panic they will still call Australia home!!!!!!

Hi Nick, Been off to think like a geek and came up with few curlies for you for EOYT.
1) Gits law is diluted now and possibly dissolving over the next two years. The likes of the experienced players versus the young’ns. How do you assess the likes of McMahon’s short-run, experience, and hype when trying to find a spot in the team after last week’s bland performance.
2) Conversely JP a young’n, with special stuff in the tank but still not quite there! Overplayed and missed the impress button.
3) What are the decision criteria a head coach takes onboard when allocating spots in the squad?
4) And who would you put in the squad and why?

FFFFFFFFFF, Onboard with you comment. Willie is not the same player he was as a young man starting out in the Wallabies with foibles of being 150Kg and 17 ft tall. He like Kellaway had issues in their game went away and came back as better people and players. The only guy to appear to have not exploded in the Wb’s is McMahon. He may just need another run or two. I would like him to move in as a backup 7 and leave 6 open for the big dude with the even bigger motor to go off and create havoc with crash ball and demolish 9, 10 12 in D.

TBH, when I look at JP in game mode I see a burning desire to be the guy that wins the game. He still has that “school boy chance your arm” mentality like most young colties wanting to make it big time. Too many people have told him how good he is and that’s not been the best for him. Some extra time in Supers will chill him down a little or better still give him a year or two in France to learn without pressure. He will be a great player for the Wallabies but he needs a little more time to find his elite player mindset.

Busted! As a coach I always wanted the players to play their game not be one of my chess pieces waiting on every instruction on where to move. But on the other hand as a coach, you see the coached structure and often the spine of the team needs some tactics highlighted like keep bombing 14 he is out of position, or your making territory with channel one plays. But as a spectator, I wish that none of that took place so smart footballers could win more games.

WR should question the need for Radios. Outside of carrying coaching instructions (against the law) there is little need for them. That should go for the World Cup. Make the Captains really Captains! Keep Coaches stress’n out in their boxes. 😂

I rate that game as one of the test matches, not to miss. AB’s underpressure is a rare and beautiful thing! I feel that SA is not quite done yet on their cycle, when Kolbe and Du Toit are back in the 1st 15, European teams will get the brunt of it (they have a little something to prove). I also note that Rennie’s game plan is also worthy of studying as he brought them down twice. The Wallabies’ dominance in defense has largely gone unnoticed by the press against SA. Can’t say how invigorated the Geek is with International Rugby atm. McMahon was pretty absent on the field on Saturday. His hype did not deliver. JP also shows he has much to learn about playing within himself. Both will suffer under the squad’s competitive rankings.

Love it, Yes we won, and being a Wallaby fan it’s “pinch yourself’ stuff in getting used to it. But Rennie has higher expectations and we now rely on the press to not get too hooplah so our players remain grounded.

Chris, the cover position for team captain will only be 20 mins at the most when the game is in the bank. We may get the Bargies there this week although I doubt it. So no-ops for the next lot just yet. Playing Japan is a strong potential of a 2o min cameo. It’s always a tough jig covering the captain’s role. Just ask Chris Wittiker good enough but never quite got the chance. The best hope is McMahon cause he covers 6,7&8. McWright I think will be Hooper cover for the RWC needs to get a ride on the EOYT. Depth comes at different rates within the squad. It’s just the rugby way.

perhaps nothing EFF, He is a new bloke, and yet to confirm the decision to include him in the 23. I believe he will get another go and too go out on a limb. If he gets his throw spot on then he will start at RWC. But for now, most of our Hookers need to concentrate on hitting the ground with a rock let alone hit 6 at fast and low or looping over 2 & 4.

Chris, Look again and see what he is doing. Coaches need depth and to blood the next tour’s players without dropping games. Creds to him for this. Certainly no “change nothing and expect changes!” Cheika style. He is piecing together a squad that can go to the Semis in the World Cup. After that, it’s all ice cream.

Stu, no free rides in this squad. Keeping 40 player egos in the same stable is an art form. Rennie is proving to be a master. Noone, no matter how big your PR profile is gets a gold jersey without taking it off the back of someone else. McMahon would know this and look for his time on the field. We have always barked from the sidelines about picking form. Now we have it, ain’t it good! Also, let’s speak loudly about possibles v probables game. Perhaps three or four games each year in the capitals and I would pay $25 to go and see it. But let’s keep it out of the big stadia and reward a grassroots club! #RugbyFamily