I wonder if it's a 'culture' thing?
Was listening to Brad Thorn the other night and he was talking about the difference in the AB team after the 2009 season and they had a strong core 'leadership group' I suppose with himself, Mils, Carter, McCaw and maybe a few others. He didn't go into details of who was in it but he talked about what a big difference it made and how they were able to have what he called really tough conversations, both from the player's and coach's point-of-view.
I suppose it depends on who's in it and the make-up of your squad in general maybe?!? I dunno but the leadership group thing seemed to really make a massive difference in the ABs according to him.
I think there's a lot to that. Every successful team needs a group of guys who represent the required standard and hold other guys accountable. It's not like we haven't had guys like that in the Wallabies over the years either, but as others have said we've had a generation of young players come through who occasionally forget what those standards are. Guys like Moore, Slipper, To'omua, Fardy, Pocock and McCalman strike me as non-nonsense men of integrity, who get the absolute most out of themselves as players and expect the same of their team mates.
With that said, coach, captain and vice captain are what's required IMHO. You can't have too many voices, but you can have guys who set the right example every day they walk out on to the training paddock or into a game.
