Honest Assessment of Richard Graham's Coaching Ability

I was disappointed with RG's first season. He seemed tactically inept.

The strategy against the Brumbies was a bit disappointing. Why import a massive Fijian flyer and not involve him in the teams attack?

His game plan in 2011 to bore the Tahs into error was disturbing...and rugby was the loser

Does anybody have any opinion on his ability as a coach?

I thought the wallaby backs were ordinary when he was the national attack coach

I have been thinking about this alot.

Towards the end of last year when we ran the ball more we were winning games or at least being entertaining. It's really pissing me off to see us kick the ball especially when we are in the opponents 50.

I don't want to read into the brumbies game to much but I think against the reds it will be much of the same. I understand you need to change things from opponent to opponent but I would be happier to see us loose and run the ball. If I think about games against the crusaders in the past when we run the ball we usually come close and have won one. But maybe that's because you would be mad to kick the ball to there back 3 all the time.

This thread will get more interesting as the season goes on.


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I will admit to having some concerns. The pack have worked well since he's arrived, including a marked improvement in scrummaging. How much is him and how much is others I don't know, but the thing that really concerns me (and I've said it a number of times) is our lack of imagination in attack. Last year the game plan seemed to be to throw the ball to JOC and hope he did something spectacular. You can't do that in Super rugby and expect success.

I'm hoping that this season the realisation dawns on the team and the coaching staff that the real strength is out wide and that the imperative should be to get the ball in the hands of those fast strong blokes as rapidly and efficiently as possible.

They did find it very hard to shift the ball maybe Stannard was too flat?


Http://www.youtube.com/shiggins316

True and it's fair to say that we are a squad in transition. Transition to where exactly is the question right now. In the days when we had great backs (JOC, Gits, Mitchell, Shep on top of his game) we had a relatively weak pack. Now it's the other way round. This is why I am in favour of taking some talented youngsters and giving them an extended run.

Id like to see the Force back line running better angles. Very 1 dimensional in attack. Some cut out passes perhaps, switch the play..anything. I wonder if it's just the game plan RG employs or is the team not talented enough to run more sophisticated plays?Still too early to make a call this season but as mentioned above sometimes the Forces best games were when they were out of contention and just played care free and ran the ball.

You might not have noticed, but his strategy against the Brumbies was working beautifully. This comes down to a question of what we hold Graham responsible for. The plan to go through the Brumbies forward pack with short passing from the ruck and bodies in motion was producing dozens of half-breaks and forward momentum. The reason it didn't come to points more frequently was because rusty Wallabies like Pocock and Sharpe were dropping ball in contact. That will subside with match practice.

As for the wallaby backs when he was skills coach: we scored about four tries a game in 2010. You work it out.

The Force's best games were also when Willie Ripia was playing #12. I don't think we should hold it against Graham that he's been reduced to one playmaker again, through no fault of his own. Rory Sidey is not a second five-eighth. Hopefully we see Ben Seymour develop, or a better candidate drafted in within the next month.

Is there anyone in the Japan Leauge that we think the force could sign the help fix there 10 troubles? As i think it raps up in the next couple of weeks.

I understand he is playing his best scrum half at flyhalf and starting his second scrum half. BUT really he has a whole squad, he has what he has recruited, the game was one dimensional. And the force backrow didn't dominate against a new pack. I think his game plan was “give ithe ball to a Wallaby” so it stayed in the forwards or “give it to Stannard to kick the ball away…”the result is it didn't work . If White had kicked better they wouldn't have even got a bonus point.

This could be his last year at the Force…

Highly unlikely you'd find a good flyhalf without a contract for 2012 anywhere. Quade Cooper is their man for 2013 if they can raise enough third party cash.

Careful muddy the same could be said for the Force i stannard had kicked better you woundnt have got the points. A few going wide and one hitting the post.

The poor bastard got burned over the Ripea incident. His backline vision would have hit a big hurdle when that incident happened. I wouldn't be too critical of Woody just yet.

I spoke to him after the game and he genuine in his disappointment over the 10 minute period after half time when they let in 2 tries. The Brumbies had 2 visits to the 22 for 2 tries in that period, probably the half.

Both backlines were every inexperienced wider than fly half and team combinations will take time. If you look at the trials the Brumbies had a stable lineup throughout, whereas the Force did not and that match was the first for some of their players.

finally a brumbies fan who speaks the truth with out all the chest beating and verbal diarrhea.


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The glaring failure of RG that I can see so far is his recruitment. Even with a fit Ripia, the Force's bacline is/was decidedly pedestrian this year. And he can't claim much credit for the pack as it was essentially assembled and stable before he took the reins (though he appears to be a reasonable judge of props :\ ).

Considering we are most likely going to be fighting with the Ponies for the wooden spoon, looking at the two back lines I would much prefer the ponies young guys. Coleman, McCabe, Lilo and Toomua are real chances to be long term Wallabies if they develop to their potential. The Force do not have a player in their backline yet who could claim the same.

Shep is too old/injured, Cummins is not consistent enough, Turner is too injured, Stannard is playing in a position he will most never likely get an oppourtunity to represent the Wallabies at and the rest need to show a lot more.

Better angles? How about ANY angles? The only effort to move defenders around was Chucky running across field, looking for a runner. And there rarely was one.

No verbal diarrhoea in the written word, it’s a blog site Gaffa...
Graham just didn't have his squad ready last week.