Ewen McKenzie: Wallaby Coach

[Gagger]

I think it's 70-80% mental with the Wobs at the moment - confidence in themselves and the team is totally fucking shot and with it the belief and hunger to win.

The problem is there's no simple training ground run that fixes it. I think this is what's got Link stymied.

 

[RoffsChoice]

We'll at least beat Italy, maybe.

This is one of those times where we want a sports psychologist.

 

[I like to watch]

I see the junior AB's have one.
They are obviously believers in the value of the role.

 

[Gagger]

I see the junior AB's have one.
They are obviously believers in the value of the role.

The senior ABs have had one since the turn of the century

 

[Richo]

I think it's 70-80% mental with the Wobs at the moment - confidence in themselves and the team is totally fucking shot and with it the belief and hunger to win.

The problem is there's no simple training ground run that fixes it. I think this is what's got Link stymied.

You could be onto something there, Gaggs. Do you think this is a leadership issue? Do senior players need to step up?

If this were the NFL, you'd be reading about players only meetings and all kinds of get-our-shit-in-order efforts. We don't seem to hear about that stuff, although it might well be happening.

 

[vidiot]

I think it's 70-80% mental with the Wobs at the moment - confidence in themselves and the team is totally fucking shot and with it the belief and hunger to win.

The problem is there's no simple training ground run that fixes it. I think this is what's got Link stymied.

If Link can pick a core of young players and keep putting them on the paddock with a structure they can grow into, eventually they will graft wins against top tier opponents and build into a champion team.

As it stands it is a pretty young side. The experienced players you would expect to get them across the line are either in indifferent to poor form (Cooper, Genia, Moore, Alexander, Horwill, Douglas, Simmons, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)) or injured (Pocock, Higgers, Palu, etc, etc).

Both of those groups will be better with time.

Cooper... I have this impression he is getting better.

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Moore, Genia, Horwill and Douglas all look like they need a break after the super rugby/Lions/TRC emotional roller coaster.

Simmons will stop being picked, at least till he stops playing like a 15 yr old who put his head in his first scrum.

The injured players will come back.

And there is a lot of young talent around with a look into the RWC.

 

[Gagger]

You could be onto something there, Gaggs. Do you think this is a leadership issue? Do senior players need to step up?

If this were the NFL, you'd be reading about players only meetings and all kinds of get-our-shit-in-order efforts. We don't seem to hear about that stuff, although it might well be happening.

Hard to know from the couch, but I've heard a story of there being some rampant egos in the camp, and not just from the amigo types, but those who are usually good blokes - seems there's something just about the Wallabies and the culture that's developed there.

How has it developed into that? Well take the number of times you're aware that a certain amigo who's in hot water has been part of an incident involving the police in the last three years - double it, then double it again and then add 50% of that on top - as I understand that's closer to the alleged real number. And he was still playing for Deans.

Throw into the mix that they stuffed THE most important rugby event they could be part of for 12 years just a couple of months ago and I think you've got a mental mess that has no quick fix

 

[mark_s]

Throw into the mix that they stuffed THE most important rugby event they could be part of for 12 years just a couple of months ago and I think you've got a mental mess that has no quick fix

Have we started on the slow fix yet?

 

[Dam0]

Hard to know from the couch, but I've heard a story of there being some rampant egos in the camp, and not just from the amigo types, but those who are usually good blokes - seems there's something just about the Wallabies and the culture that's developed there.

How has it developed into that? Well take the number of times you're aware that a certain amigo who's in hot water has been part of an incident involving the police in the last three years - double it, then double it again and then add 50% of that on top - as I understand that's closer to the alleged real number. And he was still playing for Deans.

Throw into the mix that they stuffed THE most important rugby event they could be part of for 12 years just a couple of months ago and I think you've got a mental mess that has no quick fix

Nick Far Jones was on RadioSport saying something similar this morning, but he said he couldn't reveal the story yet.

I guess I will just have to wait for an unethical journalist to leak it - shouldn't be too long.

 

[A mutterer]

After reading link's comments in the Australian I'm a bit annoyed. While his point about our sluggishness and laziness off the ball are correct, we're not winning contact on the ball.

We seem to be stuck in a pattern of always focussing on one new area of improvement for each game. Is this fractured approach to achieving performance gains actually having the desired effect?

 

[Gagger]

Have we started on the slow fix yet?

I was talking to someone just yesterday about this. When you're in a form slump as a batsman, sometime the more you try, the worse it gets. Until one day you just middle a shot - most likely against poor oppo. It reminds you of what you can do, and how you can do it. Then you middle another, and another. Your innings start to build even against the better bowlers.

The Wallabies need to middle a shot and it kinda doesn't matter against who. The problem is they've been playing the best 3 teams in the world and then a composite team of the best in the UK.

They may just need to put a couple of tries on someone in a first half and get a good win to have the belief and rhythm come back. However - in the modern game, that's not so easy

 

[Richo]

Hard to know from the couch, but I've heard a story of there being some rampant egos in the camp, and not just from the amigo types, but those who are usually good blokes - seems there's something just about the Wallabies and the culture that's developed there.

How has it developed into that? Well take the number of times you're aware that a certain amigo who's in hot water has been part of an incident involving the police in the last three years - double it, then double it again and then add 50% of that on top - as I understand that's closer to the alleged real number. And he was still playing for Deans.

Throw into the mix that they stuffed THE most important rugby event they could be part of for 12 years just a couple of months ago and I think you've got a mental mess that has no quick fix

It really does sound like the playing group needs to take this into their own hands and decide to make changes. Right now, the culture sounds fairly, ummm, toxic.

 

[Brumby Runner]

After reading link's comments in the Australian I'm a bit annoyed. While his point about our sluggishness and laziness off the ball are correct, we're not winning contact on the ball.

We seem to be stuck in a pattern of always focussing on one new area of improvement for each game. Is this fractured approach to achieving performance gains actually having the desired effect?

It's actually counter-productive. They concentrate on one new area where their performance was below par and go backwards somewhere else.

 

[A mutterer]

This was definitely a feature of the deans era - looks like last link has fallen into the same trap.

 

[fatprop]

I do get frustrated by these comments that Link's problem is his assistant coaches.

On the coaches, well one coach ...

McKenzie said he was happy with Blades's work.
''Bladesy's a really good coach, I back him on that,'' he said. ''I put my two cents in but we don't tread on each other's toes, we've got the same philosophy around scrummaging. If I was worried about it I would do something different, but I'm not.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/mckenzie-crouches-drives-to-defend-pack-20131005-2v0rt.html#ixzz2gt09Kfhu​

On the others, I am pretty sure that shit like split kick-offs which ended up with our backs mauling against Bok forwards wasn't an assistant coach call, and it wouldn't have been the assistant coaches call to persevere with it either.

 

[RoffsChoice]

12 tries in 6 games, only one of which where the game plan worked.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Meyer has basically turned the Saffers around in two years, with tons of promise of a peak for RWC15.

There doesn't seem to have been all that many changes to his front line players (someone will prove me wrong).

2014 is the year for Link to "Do a Meyer" - same cattle, different result.

 

[Muglair]

They may just need to put a couple of tries on someone in a first half and get a good win to have the belief and rhythm come back. However - in the modern game, that's not so easy

Easier than we all thought. Under all the circumstances a great win in Argentina especially given their performances against SA and NZ at home. The hows and whys of such a comprehensive win must surely keep us occupied for a couple of days.

Still do not understand the mysterious complexities of the new game plan but noted that the winning plan seemed to be elements of not kicking the ball away, pushing in the scrums, not dropping the ball so much, getting over the game line etc Lets hope it is a turning point but I am looking forward to testing the progress in Dunedin.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Definitely a step in the right direction this morning. The real question now is can Link ensure we keep moving forward on the EOYT or will we do the usual of going backwards again?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

There will be observers in the NH who will be salivating at the prospect of taking on the Wobs scrum in the wet and cold on the Spring Tour (their Autumn).

Time for the piggies to put down about 10000 scrums, and read some of the advice from Bruce Ross and Scott Allen on biomechanics and body position. There are enough ball runners in the undernourished wearing double digits on their back to allow the rugby players to spend some time on the meat and two veg part of their game.

Interesting to see that Topo Rodriguez's book "The Art of Scrummaging" got a full page ad in the Schoolboys Tri-Nations Programme.