Wallabies: The Last 10 Minutes

[Scrubber2050]

How do we fix, the last 10 minutes?

Too often we are leading at the 60-70 minute mark and end up losing. It just shits me to bits !!!!!

Is it fitness, is it lack of captaincy, lack of gameplan, lack of execution, is it our bench?. Should Australia advocate changing the rules to allow for 70 minute games?

IMO when the some of the subs come on, the Wallabies lose some intensity. The replacements of Slipper (in particular) and Kepu seem to actually have an adverse effect on the team. To me it is a shame that those 2 blokes have to be replaced but I suppose it has to be. I don't think that backs replacements seem to be as responsibe as some of our forwards.

Maybe in those last few hectic minutes one of our players should have gone down "injured" (like in the old days) to give themselves a bit of a breather and an opportunity for the captain t6o have a pow-wow about starategy, before that final onslaught.

Thoughts ?????

 

[Train Without a Station]

The quality of the subs. Plain and simple.

How many would actually make a fully fit team?

Possibly Alexander and Cooper.

 

[oztimmay]

Subs, and learning to keep our shit together in the last 10. That directly comes back to on-field leadership (skipper, VCs and anyone who has been around long enough to know better).

 

[TahDan]

Subs only partly explain Saturday night. It was the last 3 minutes that killed it for mine. As soon as our forwards started bashing it up one out, I knew we'd lose. But that's not about fitness, it's about mentality and maturity. If our boys had more self belief they'd have stuck to Link's plan and kept trying to test the Kiwi defence like they had all night. Instead they stupidly tried to wind down the clock against the best team in the world. It was so stupid it was infuriating.

 

[fatprop]

This is all I saw

mentally they weren't up to it, highlighted by White's horrendous kick

with Horwill, Alexander, Robinson & Hogson on, there was enough games under their respective belts to get it done

 

[Chris McCracken]

The problems started earlier than the last 10. It started happening at around 55 minutes. While it's not the only issue, I believe the bench strategy was completely incorrect. I've got some good data and I'm working on an article ATM.

Quality of the bench is an issue, too. But I think there is less one can do about that.

 

[Aussie D]

What got me was when we were trying to wind down the clock the forwards were going into the AB defence practically vertically - I was thinking at the time drop your shoulder FFS and drive your legs. Basic shit. When White decided to box kick I knew we would lose, up until that point I thought we would hold on for the victory.

 

[gatesy]

How do we fix, the last 10 minutes?

Too often we are leading at the 60-70 minute mark and end up losing. It just shits me to bits !!!!!

Is it fitness, is it lack of captaincy, lack of gameplan, lack of execution, is it our bench?. Should Australia advocate changing the rules to allow for 70 minute games?

IMO when the some of the subs come on, the Wallabies lose some intensity. The replacements of Slipper (in particular) and Kepu seem to actually have an adverse effect on the team. To me it is a shame that those 2 blokes have to be replaced but I suppose it has to be. I don't think that backs replacements seem to be as responsibe as some of our forwards.

Maybe in those last few hectic minutes one of our players should have gone down "injured" (like in the old days) to give themselves a bit of a breather and an opportunity for the captain t6o have a pow-wow about starategy, before that final onslaught.

Thoughts ?????

Absolutely agree with that. White kicked with 1 minute and 13 seconds to go.
A good slow grind up the middle with ball in hand might have seen us win, not by 6, but 9, because the AB's just might have committed an error in trying to force the turnover.

We didn't play percentage Rugby - when you have the initiative you don't give it away lightly.

When I saw that kick go up, all I could think was that we were about to witness a car crash in slow motion.....

 

[TheBigDog]

The comment above about the Wallabies changing their play style to wind down the clock is the one which sticks out to me.

How many times have you seen teams lose close games (not just the Wallabies but across all rugby codes) when they have a lead, get scared against an opposition whom they know are good and suddenly go into a shell, only to be run over the top of.

The first 60mins of Saturday nights game was some of the best rugby the Wallabies have produced in 24 months. The formula was working. It seemed to be that the lack of mental drive and a self belief that 'we can win this' started to creep in and suddenly the game became more about survival rather than playing rugby. Its the nature of this current Wallbies squad, they are happy to beat their chests and meet teams physically but they lost a mental edge to close the game out.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Bench is an obvious answer but I suppose that if the bench are the next best that are available, we are stuck with that. Maybe some players like Keps and Slipper stay on until they are absolutely too fucked to take another step. Bit unfair on them as players but I wanna fucking win.

We probably from time to time been fairly critical of the timing of replacements but when there is such an obvious difference then don't replace until they are crawling. White for Phipps was also an good example. Different with Hodgo - he always has a real dig

 

[Train Without a Station]

Problem is that when teams have beaten us, they're bench has lifted the intensity.

Keeping blokes on until they are beyond buggered isn't the solution.

People said in Perth that the bench was put on too late. Then on the Gold Coast they got more of a run and they had minimal impact, showing that perhaps we get it right in Perth.

If the quality is not there, you are not going to lift the intensity. Use them astutely as you like, it won't matter.

 

[Scrubber2050]

SOLUTION: ITS SO SIMPLE

We just have to be ahead by 30 points at the 70 minute mark

Then we'll fuck 'em by 2

 

[Quick Hands]

The quality of the subs. Plain and simple.

How many would actually make a fully fit team?

Possibly Alexander and Cooper.

And Cooper didn't get on

 

[Train Without a Station]

Yes but as I noted in the match thread, Cooper was well underdone, and was essentially last flyhalf standing. Hegarty injured, To'omua injured, Beale suspended, Eberson South African. It was either select an underdone but experience Cooper as an injury replacement or an underdone and inexperienced Godwin as an injury replacement.

 

[Scrubber2050]

At the late stage of the game it would have been unfair to the team to wack on QC (Quade Cooper) (not that way, thank you very much). Bloke can be a champ or chump and i did not warrant the risk was worth it (at that stage)

 

[Quick Hands]

At the late stage of the game it would have been unfair to the team to wack on QC (Quade Cooper) (not that way, thank you very much). Bloke can be a champ or chump and i did not warrant the risk was worth it (at that stage)

So why pick him in the first place? Very rare for us to win big against the ABs so we were either going to be right in a close one or miles behind.

 

[Brumbieman]

We lost that by trying to just grind it out of our FUCKEN 22!


Idiotic.up to put


White had exactly the right idea, but it shouldn't have come to him. Foley should have called for that at any point in the 5 mins or so we spent dicking around in our 22. After Tomane took that hit up to set us up just inside the 22, with a great angle to clear from, it needed to be secured at the ruck and then given to Foley, Cooper, Lealiifano, fucken ANYONE, to kick it as deep into the AB half and close to the corner as possible.

A solid line of 10 blokes chasing hard, with 5 back to receive the kick/second line of defence.

Chase it, tackle them back on halfway or futher, and then treat the halfway line like the try line.

Instead, there was panic, and White said fuck it, i'll do it. Shit execution (no blockers at the ruck?!) and there we go.


Good thing we don't have a divided camp, we have a united team who are keen to listen to Link and let him teach that composure over the next year or so, and have a really good tour of europe.


Oh..

 

[Bairdy]

I think Fekitoa's post match comments were quite telling, and highlighted the difference between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

He basically said that when they were 10 points down, McCaw kept telling them to focus on their job/roles, and "don't play 'catch-up footy'".

We need the coaches to instill in the players the mindset they keep executing the basics and playing the gameplan until the 81st minute. Playing anything other than our game - 'catch-up' rugby or 'playing-not-to-lose rugby' - is fraught with disaster.

The bench didn't help either. We had the experience required to close out the game, in guys like Robinson, Alexander, Horwill, and Hodgson, but again our bench proved they could find another way to lose a game in the last 20.

We either need to persist with these guys or create competition & depth. But I will say it is an indictment on us that our most capped props are Robinson and Alexander. Every time we pack a scrum with Alexander at tighthead, I have an aneurysm. We need another viable backup to Kepu.

 

[Mullos]

I guess i shouldn't be surprised that my totally innocuous joke about the AB's and Di was deleted as this place has a rep on the biggest board on the net, Planet Rugby, for being humourless, at least the mods. Precious souls here.

 

[Muglair]

Link's game plan. I watched the game and recognised it from previous games this season, although not Wallaby ones. I just failed completely to understand Link's explanation of the game plan although it was pretty clear we were doing well sticking to it until for some reason the team fucked it up by not changing the game plan to something else. Reminds me of the Cape Town game. We were doing well until the team fucked up.

Cape Town is an interesting point in time where suddenly the bench is the problem. We had the game in hand with the Boks failing to challenge us in the first 50 odd minutes and it was a shame we kept just kicking the ball back to them for another run or 30. I think we should have probably had the game in hand a bit more by 60 minutes. That Boks bench is pretty tough if you only ask them to play 20 minutes.

There is a possibility we are not fit enough across the provinces. I thought the backline looked shagged and maybe we should have had the fresh backs on. My recollection is that Tomane made a good catch and ran a great line back to the centre for a clearing kick (disclaimer this is not my area of expertise) but seemed to run into a couple of big Kiwis while upright and turned it over. We did get it back but even a good box kick seems a bad option to me.

Question to backs: Why does Aaron Smith appear to take the ball from lineouts or rucks pretty much the same way and then decides to kick, run or pass? I swear that I can pick on TV from the other side of the world when our halfbacks are going to box kick before they even get the ball. Why are we surprised they end up under so much pressure from professional rugby players standing metres away?