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Wallabies 2023

dillyboy

Nev Cottrell (35)
I think Eddie's worst picks have been in the coaching ranks - there's been way too much turnover with the assistants, and having two ex-leaguies isn't helping - we need Rugby not NRL coaches.
In Eddie's defence there Rennie's assistants had either left before Rennie or chose to not stick around for Eddie & due to the WC there was fuck all available.

I'd hope they're all on 1 year contracts and we're looking for upgrades across the board next year.....
 

John S

Chilla Wilson (44)
In Eddie's defence there Rennie's assistants had either left before Rennie or chose to not stick around for Eddie & due to the WC there was fuck all available.

I'd hope they're all on 1 year contracts and we're looking for upgrades across the board next year.....
Yeah, I want to give him benefit of the doubt, but I reckon if he really wanted he could have brought in some of the Aussie Super Rugby coaches as assistants for the RWC. Might have disrupted some pre-season stuff for the franchises but there's some upside there I reckon.
 

Tomikin

Simon Poidevin (60)
In Eddie's defence there Rennie's assistants had either left before Rennie or chose to not stick around for Eddie & due to the WC there was fuck all available.

I'd hope they're all on 1 year contracts and we're looking for upgrades across the board next year.....
He canned Laurie Fisher as defense coach... He told him he was not needed, but Fishers game plan of having a crack at the breakdown isn't how Eddie wants to play, so I can see why...
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
He canned Laurie Fisher as defence coach..
Good because he was shit.

McKellar was the biggest loss, our maul was doing something under him and now it's useless.

Fuck all the leaguies off, it's clear they don't have a natural enough understanding of rugby to be useful. Would any of them know/understand that any of their tactics they try to implement might fuck our breakdown? I doubt it.
 

Tomthumb

Colin Windon (37)
He canned Laurie Fisher as defense coach... He told him he was not needed, but Fishers game plan of having a crack at the breakdown isn't how Eddie wants to play, so I can see why...
To be fair our defence was hardly rock solid under him

at a certain point it’s about the players just as much as any defensive system. We miss far too many tackles, and don’t really have many players that take pride in defence

Wales are dross, but those lad bar up far more than we do
 

Rebel man

Jim Lenehan (48)
Sentence 1 - I'd bet good money that is factually wrong
Sentence 2 - Conceptually that's bullshit.

His only mandate would have been to improve the wallabies results. He's taken the route of going way early with the younger generation which is his prerogative as the man in the chair, but he has risked taking massive body blows to the Wallabies 2023 RWC performance and the confidence of these young players. Now was not as good a time as any to make wholesale changes. Incremental changes to the team based of a combination of form, experience, injury, moving OS with the renovation complete by mid 2024 would have been a better approach.

FWIW I would have left out Uelese, Arnold, Kemeny, Donaldson, Jorgensen, Perese and included Mafi, Neville, M Hooper, Cooper, Hodge and Ikitau (if fit or a chance of being so for the play offs). You can argue all you want about these players not having won much in the gold jersey, but they've all won alot more that those who replaced them. Maybe they're not all starters but it would have strengthened the squad considerably.
Again someone simping over Micheal Hooper who himself admitted wasn’t fit or ready to go.

I don’t agree with many things Ed has done, Richie Arnold and White should both be on the scrap heap.
 

Tomthumb

Colin Windon (37)
Fuck all the leaguies off, it's clear they don't have a natural enough understanding of rugby to be useful
I’d say Andy Farrell has a pretty good understanding of rugby. As does Shaun Edwards. John Muggleton did alright too

I’m sure Hodgson isn’t coaching them to miss tackles
 

HooperPocockSmith

Bill Watson (15)
Hopefully, with the centralised model, RA can prioritise coaches and their development. As it stands, I'm comfortable with Cron, Kiss, and Larkham as Super HCs. I'm undecided on Foote, and I think Coleman was a very poor signing by the Tahs. McKellar needs to be brought back into the fold in some capacity, hopefully as the Wallabies forwards/lineout coach. I'd also be looking at someone like Rob Taylor (Uni/Leicester Tigers/NEC) for an assistant position at one of the franchises.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I’d say Andy Farrell has a pretty good understanding of rugby. As does Shaun Edwards. John Muggleton did alright too

I’m sure Hodgson isn’t coaching them to miss tackles
Andy Farrell played rugby and Shaun Edwards was a club rugby coach for a decade before being an international coach. Not comparable.
 

Ignoto

Greg Davis (50)
He canned Laurie Fisher as defense coach... He told him he was not needed, but Fishers game plan of having a crack at the breakdown isn't how Eddie wants to play, so I can see why...
I've got mixed feelings with Laurie. He's done great things at the Brumbies, but it never seems to translate at a higher level.

The latest Laurie installment showed he can verbalise the issue but either he's instructing the players the wrong way on how to fix it or he can't translate it to the Wallaby players in a way that clicks to them.
 

HooperPocockSmith

Bill Watson (15)
It's quite ridiculous that EJ (Eddie Jones) was allowed to hire a bloke who will be at the Storm next year. What message does that send to up-and-coming coaches?
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
I think Eddie's worst picks have been in the coaching ranks - there's been way too much turnover with the assistants, and having two ex-leaguies isn't helping - we need Rugby not NRL coaches.

They're professional coaches. I don't think they are the issue. They are there to enact the plans Eddie Jones provides for them. I can guarantee they aren't being told to work out a defensive and attacking strategy respectively and enact it. There's absolutely no way they have anywhere near that level of control over what is happening.

A major issue is that they have both arrived very late in the piece which was always going to be the reality whether we axed Rennie or not given his assistant coaches had walked out the door.

It's quite ridiculous that EJ (Eddie Jones) (Eddie Jones) was allowed to hire a bloke who will be at the Storm next year. What message does that send to up-and-coming coaches?

It's a temporary appointment for this year only. He needed to work with people that were available. It would have been crazy to hire someone long term from a very small talent pool.
I've got mixed feelings with Laurie. He's done great things at the Brumbies, but it never seems to translate at a higher level.

My take on Laurie Fisher is that he does very well when he's got complete control over what he's doing but doesn't work so well when he's a cog in the machine and is tasked with enacting someone else's plan.

It would seem that at Super Rugby level his head coach has been far happier giving him complete control over his area of expertise.
 

HooperPocockSmith

Bill Watson (15)
I've got mixed feelings with Laurie. He's done great things at the Brumbies, but it never seems to translate at a higher level.

The latest Laurie installment showed he can verbalise the issue but either he's instructing the players the wrong way on how to fix it or he can't translate it to the Wallaby players in a way that clicks to them.
I think his coaching style is probably better suited to developing players over a longer period i.e. perfect for academy players or over multiple preseasons. It takes a different coach to effect change during short camps and less contact hours.
 

Tomthumb

Colin Windon (37)
Even if we had the best game plan in the world, does anyone trust that our players would actually execute it effectively?
 
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