The Waratahs had the right idea following their worst-ever season in 2012 by appointing a new chairman Roger Davis, and a new coach in Michael Cheika.
The buck stops at the top and the chairman and coach in rugby are the pivotal posts.
In the Australia cricket team, it’s the team’s high performance manager Pat Howard, the chairman of selectors John Inverarity, and coach Mickey Arthur.
In the last month especially Howard, Inverarity, and Arthur have all fallen way short of the mark when all the problems in the side have surfaced.
They are the pivotal posts and the buck stops with the trio.
Time for Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland to step in and clean the three out before the damage is permanent.
It all revolves around culture in both sports.
For the greater part of 100 years, NSW rugby was the benchmark. But not in the last decade.
Apart from odd moments of grandeur, the Waratahs have been an embarrassment, despite being chockers with Wallabies.
Davis and Cheika have a huge job ahead of them. Already the culture problem still exists with bad losses to the Reds and Brumbies, and falling over the line against the Rebels.
Cheika intends to make seven changes for the clash with the Cheetahs in Sydney, two forced with injuries to Wycliff Palu – again – and Tatafu Polota-Nau – again.
He’s searching for the culture answers, and prepared to make changes to find it no matter who the players are in status.
But are Howard, Inverarity, and Arthur searching for the cricket answers, other than covering their respective butts?
No.
How former Wallaby Howard was appointed to the new position of team performance boss is beyond comprehension.
He let himself down badly yesterday when he admitted he only knew Shane Watson “reasonable well”, or reasonably well to be more correct.
If the performance manager doesn’t know every Test and fringe player like the back of his hand, how on earth can he be their mentor?
Inverarity has been a bitter disappointment from the get-go. His explanations as to why certain players have been picked, and why others haven’t have been childish.
He looks as though he’s back at Hale School in Perth where he was headmaster for 14 years, addressing an assembly.
Everything he says is so earnest, so worthy. Hardly in keeping with international cricket and the players can be forgiven for not trusting his judgement.
As for South African Arthur, he’s a great front-runner when the team is winning, but he’s shown in India the players are totally to blame for two floggings, with nothing wrong with his coaching.
Coach Rod Macqueen and skipper John Eales proved what a winning culture was all about when they won the 1999 Rugby World Cup, regained the Bledisloe, and beat the Lions.
Richie Benaud started the cricket culture in the early 60s with the first time tie at the Gabba against the Windies, and from then on.
Every wicket taking was met with team celebrations, the culture was set.
More importantly, Benaud was the boss. He set the high standards, and everyone else followed automatically.
There have been various changes since then, Bobby Simpson and Bill Lawry were two very different captains, but Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Mark Taylor all had the same strong ideals as Benaud, and it worked.
Standards slipped under Ricky Ponting, but he had so many great players under his wing and had the room to make mistakes – and get away with it.
As a captain Michael Clarke doesn’t have the liberty of making such mistakes, and while he isn’t blameless he’s the only world-class cricketer in the side.
That’s why he needs the likes of Howard, Inverarity, and Arthur to be far better than they have been in the past.
That’s why James Sutherland must step in and right the wrongs.
Or forget the Ashes.
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