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Dwyer’s View: Reds Survive Ordeal by Fire to Qualify

Bob Dwyer July 15, 2012 18

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The Queensland Reds have had a tough season, but they have come out the other end and live to fight another day. Injuries, suspension and a difficult-to-understand form slump in the first half of the competition, when they won only one game from six, combined to put them in an almost impossible position on the table.

To stay in the race to finish in the top six teams, almost certainly requiring them to win the Aussie franchise, they had to win their last six matches. That they were able to do this speaks volumes for the full squad, both on-field and off-field members, and for both their ability and character.

I am always midful of the response of an American football coach, when questioned about the actual value of a coach:

You can’t win without good players, but you can lose with them. This is where the coach comes in.

Well, the Reds certainly have many good players, indeed some great – Genia, Cooper, Ioane, for example – and win both with, and sometimes without them, they did. So full marks to the coaching staff.

Good coaches continue to develop throughout their careers, and understand that they must do so. Good coaches invest time, effort and often money in their personal development. There is always plenty of opportunity to observe, experience, listen, evaluate all that happens around you – within and outside the team environment. As is often mentioned, you can learn plenty from your mistakes.

In fact, it is by stretching your boundaries – being prepared to have a go – that one develops. Mistakes will certainly occur – I actually think that some mistakes are in fact a measure of one’s courage and determination to improve. So congratulations to Ewen McKenzie, Jim McKay and their staff on a great effort to date. There’s more needed in the coming week – weeks, hopefully – but a major ordeal has been successfully completed.

I haven’t always been full of compliments for all that Ewen has done as a coach, but it is clear that he has continued to develop and improve. Tactically, he has always been very sound, but, early in his career, he was a bit too safety-first and phlegmatic, even perhaps cynical, for my liking – almost opposed to the Aussie ‘‘ave a go, yer mug’ mentality.

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POSTED IN » ACT Brumbies, Queensland Reds, Super Rugby
About the author: Bob Dwyer View all posts by
If you don't know Bob Dwyer is the world cup winning coach of the 1991 Wallabies, then give yourself an uppercut. He did a load in between, but he now runs Bob Dwyer's Rugby Workshops, which you can read more about on his site.

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Discussion »

  • Colin

    Hopefully Cooper doesn’t get cited, wouldn’t be the same without him and his flare.

    Reds are looking good with not too many injuries, James the only major setback.

    Go the Reds!! It’s your time..again!

  • jay-c

    kinda funny how every warratah season in the last few years came to a point where they had “a mathematical chance” and “had to win “the next *** games”…
    well the reds actually did it> well done to em!
    jeesh i worry bout their scrum thou-

  • Queenslander

    Not a great fan of Coopers but he was excellent last night as was Genia and Higginbottom. On your coaching comment Bob where do you stand on a foreigner coaching the Wallabies and doing very poorly

    • D

      I think Bob made his feelings known a few months ago concerning Dingo.

      He wanted to take what was left over from Robbie’s 22 man squad, train them for a week and he’d play the Wallaby team and win.

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s what’s coming to mind. I wish they’d taken to the idea.

  • ooaahh

    that’s the first game in my life I wanted the reds to beat the tahs. Hopefully ushers in the same clear out the reds needed in head office and also gives an Aussie team a better chance in the finals. Let’s face it the reds could give this a shake. The brums would have been passengers.

    • jimmy

      Mate I was having the same feelings on Saturday. I’m a Tahs fan all the way but for them to take the Reds out of the finals would have been a disaster.

      Well done Reds, and in particular Ewen. What a difference a good coach and board make to a team.

  • http://BigFella Big Fella

    What a masterclass from Genia.
    His leadership at important times was crucial and he’s reading the play miles ahead of others on the field.
    I thought NSW tried hard as individuals, but collectively they were clueless on how to build momentum. Yet again their option taking was very poor.

    • murph

      I thought Genia was great in the 2nd half but the first half he was really frustrating to watch. He was way too slow at the back of the ruck and alot of his passes were to flat and late to the guys at first receiver. There were at least to situations where a brilliant attacking opportunity was blown due to slow recycling.

  • Ath

    Nice post Bob. Would be keen to hear your views on the performance of the Rebels v Stormers.

  • johnny-boy

    Yeah nice summary Bob. I swear the making of McKenzie was his time in France where he discovered the joie de vivre. The Reds spanked the Chiefs with Lucas at 10 earlier in the season. No reason they can’t do it again. That is, IF they get past the Shorks, which is a very major hurdle that will take maximum concentration and committment. It will be worth it as the Chiefs, as predicted, are falling apart now the Chiefs players have realised they have been betrayed by SBW and their coaches, who were obviously in on it.
    SBW arrogantly pushing Don Shipperleys face in to the dirt in that previous game is karma just simmering away waiting to bite SBW on the a….. and I hope the Reds get a chance to put a blow torch under it.
    I’d have said S. Fainga was falling behind James Hansen earlier in the year but boy he’s not giving up his spot easy. AWH is just a pleasure to watch operate but Ben Daley …..dear oh dear, he’s got to stop hunching his back immediately on scrum engagement. Maybe he’s doing too many shrugs and not enough bench presses and he’s got too much upper back muscle that restricts him straightening his back and looking forward, instead of worm watching. He towelled Dan Palmer (supposedly Australia’s best scrummager) in a previous game this year with a dead straight back, to the point Palmer started throwing handbags. Daley’s got it in him to be great but he refuses to give himself a chance. He seems to have a fear of, or is embarassed by succeeding too far.

    • Matt

      Maybe a bit hard on the Chiefs there. Like the Brumbies and Hurricanes they have outperformed expectations and coaches Rennie and Smith deserve alot of credit. Don’t think they have the quality (with some notable exceptions like Cruden) to progress through to the final and win. Nothing is impossible and they do have a ton of firepower in the backline, if they can get the ball!

      Nice job by the Reds, and good to see a team with momentum in the finals.

      A few have mentioned a rematch of last year’s final, but not sure the Crusaders are playing anything like last year’s side. Unless Carter, McCaw and Read fire, they play like a mid-table team.

  • jimmy

    Ewen HAS to be the Wallabies coach next year. This is just getting stupid. Who is running the ARU?? My guess is that it’s the same guys that allow the Tahs to go along as they are and to pick players like Dean Mumm ahead of the Timani boys. FFS it was bad enough picking him over the last few years but to do it over the last few games of a season that is already gone when he is keeping the “future” players out of the team (who are better than him anyway) was criminal.

  • Robson

    “You can’t win without good players, but you can lose with them. This is where the coach comes in”.

    A golden line of pure wisdom in that quote and one which should be recited a thousand times by…..every aspiring coach and one national coach in particular.

  • Kiap

    “a difficult to understand form slump in the first half of the competition, when they won only one from six games”

    actually one from five games: LLLW-L (Rd4 to Rd9)

  • Aussie D

    Form slump? Thought it was more a case of ‘injury crisis’ with from memory their first four fly-halves out of action as well as the centre combination at one stage. Let’s see Cooper was still injured from the world cup, Harris then Lucas then Lance, they promoted younf Sam Lane from Brisbane club (IIRC) and he duly went down and finally they selected another club flyhalf whose name escapes me. Also around this time Ant Faingaa, Tapuai had injuries and Ioane was suspended. Or has my slipping memory got the time frames wrong?

  • Jimbo81

    The Reds and McKenzie would beat the Wallaby team selected today, with Deans. It would not be pretty and may get to 50-nil.

    Maybe QLD needs to donate some more players to the other struggling provinces again. This is getting embarrassing!

    Also – can Barnes harden the F’K up!?!

  • Graeme

    Jimbo,

    I’m sure most Ozzies would not agree with you regarding Barnes. He’s about as hard and fearless as you’ll get out there. With multiple concussions and possible neurological issues as a result. I’d rather see him soften up and come off the field more often than spend the rest of his life unable to remember his name.

    • mark conley

      Well said Graeme.

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