Reds need to follow the game plan, because King Richard is here to stay
WAYNE SMITH THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 28, 2014 12:00AM
BAD enough that the Queensland Reds had to endure a side-by-side comparison with the Hurricanes on Saturday night. Far worse was the back-to-back contrast with the Western Force.
In beating the Bulls in the rain in Perth in the match that directly followed Queensland’s Waterloo-in-Wellington, the Force were everything that the Reds were not — organised, calm, united and proactive. Oh, and they were in front at the back end of proceedings, which meant there was no need to try anything crazy, a need the Reds seem to feel and feed more and more these days.
The wet condition didn’t permit subtlety and the Force don’t do subtlety anyway, so it all worked out for the best. The situation called for grit and determination and directness and the Force, under coach Michael Foley, have those attributes in abundance. And so the unlikeliest juggernaut in Super Rugby not only rumbled on but picked up speed.
More and more the Reds are feeling the pressure of the scoreboard, both of them — the match-day scoreboard and also the wider season scoreboard, on which they now find themselves last in the Australian conference and third-last overall.
That’s pretty much where the Reds were camped between 2004 and 2009, when third-last was their best result. Queensland supporters had thought they’d seen the end of such dark days when their side won the title in 2011 but now, too soon, the Reds are back there again.
They looked chaotic in Wellington, at times little more than a panicky rabble. Every team makes mistakes but the Reds these days compound them, heaping one on top of another until eventually it almost comes as a relief when the opposition scores, if only to put an end to this black comedy of errors.
They don’t look fit, they’re constantly being overrun in the second half and so much pressure is being heaped on Quade Cooper that when he reached into his top hat these days, it’s not a white rabbit he’s likely to pull out but a rancid rat. The magician who four years ago kicked the ball behind his own goalposts to spark an astonishing breakout is now accidentally kicking it dead over his own dead-ball line. Something is seriously amiss.
One glance at my inbox yesterday was all it took to localise who Reds fans are blaming for this mess. “Can we get a coach with a decent record rather than King Dick?” implored one. “It’s time Richard G was called out!” thundered another ... King Dick and Richard G being, of course head coach Richard Graham.
It’s fair to say most Queensland supporters had their doubts about Graham before the season even started. It wasn’t just that they weren’t sure anyone could match the work Ewen McKenzie had done over the previous four seasons. It’s that they weren’t sure Graham should have been the one handed the keys to the red Ferrari in the first place. He’d had more than his share of fender-benders during his time as Force coach and there was nothing in his resume that shouted “pick me!”
But pick him the Queensland Rugby Union did, because they saw in him the makings of an outstanding coach. They still see that, despite the fact his stats as a Super Rugby head coach now read 10 wins from 31. “He’ll be around for a while yet,” QRU chairman Rod McCall vowed yesterday.
The Reds have to start implementing his game plans. Graham’s instructions ahead of Saturday’s match was that the Hurricanes were so dangerous in broken play that any player kicking the ball into touch had to make certain it flew over the sideline hoardings to prevent quick lineout throws. What happened? The Canes took six of them!
A-ha, exclaim Cooper’s critics, he didn’t follow instructions ... see, told you there was a rift. But scratch beneath the surface. The Reds for long periods were trapped deep inside their own territory, defending desperately. So Cooper strives for every centimetre he can gain with his kicks to relieve the pressure. If he follows instructions the Reds are facing yet another defensive lineout 30m from their own line.
This is not to make excuses for Cooper, whose play has deteriorated markedly under the strain of being the only Red capable of sparking anything, but it does illustrate things are never as clear-cut as the quick fixers suggest.
The Reds better brace themselves for heartache because there’s a lot more heading their way. The side is in for an overhaul. McKenzie has all but been canonised at Ballymore but one whispered criticism of him is that he didn’t recruit well to cover holes in the Reds roster.
That’s fairly savage, given that the 2011 Reds side was the youngest ever to win a title, so why wouldn’t he stick with the same players? There’s also the fact that he stepped back from recruitment last year to allow Graham to shape the squad.
There’s no denying the Reds were caught short when the game went big all of a sudden, leaving Queensland with a small back-row equipped to play a brand of rugby that now looks outmoded.
The team that for a brief moment captured the imagination of world rugby is shrinking before our eyes.