Wallabies have a drinking problem?

[Train Without a Station]

Train- a simple like of your comment wasn't enough. Agree with every point you make.

The amount of people stuck in the amateur days is alarming. Even more so when most of those are the same ones to complain about our lack of results. Ignorance was their excuse in the 80s. What excuse is there in this current Sports Science age?

 

[Sandpit Fan]

I get what ur saying i just feel the waters are abit murky.

Its not like there was 2 maybe 3 players out on the piss there were 15 players involved so from the outside looking in it seems there was a misunderstanding of what was expected.

Are these players paying the price for past players indiscretions?

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I think there's some truth in that, for sure.

 

[Slim 293]

Better teams tend to have self imposed booze bans...........

It's a damn shame that it's got to a point where the Wobs are not disciplined enough that the coach has to force it upon them.........

 

[Brumby Runner]

From the G&GR tweets:

Sanctioning of Fards a little different as they found him naked, covered in blood waving a revolver and a bottle of Ouzo

As I said some time ago, Ray Donovan?

 

[Muglair]

Sorry to butt in page 8 with only a scant reading of the prior posts.

After enduring two years of this campaign for the coaching job I am less than impressed with this latest attempt as I have made every attempt to eat humble pie over improvements in the last 6 weeks.

However we are all missing some points here. Given the number of confused players it would appear to me that there is at least some confusion over the change in Tuesday night routine.

If there was a clear curfew in place how did 50% of the touring party get it wrong?

If the culture is so bad that strong action is required why was there a change in practice without any precautions in place to prevent it turning to custard?

Who is responsible for the culture being so bad? McKenzie has been in charge for a while and is certainly responsible for setting the standards on this tour.

If we need to establish principles I would have thought the time for action was Wednesday before the Ireland test. They all live in the same hotel, why was it so difficult to sort this out?

Waiting until next week when we play a weaker team is possibly the most piss weak thing I have seen in over 45 years of following the Wallabies.

I passionately support the Wallabies and was outraged by the undermining of the team by the sycophantic supporters of McKenzie. As I write these same fuckwits are now starting to tie this "problem" back to Deans. I just cannot believe I am going to write this; but I hope Scotland beat us on the weekend. The weak and gutless people running this game in this country need an urgent wake up call.

If I am wrong then no doubt the Wallabies will regroup, win the next 2 games and go on to bigger and better things in 2014.

If not then where will this end up?

 

[GaffaCHinO]

Sorry to butt in page 8 with only a scant reading of the prior posts.

After enduring two years of this campaign for the coaching job I am less than impressed with this latest attempt as I have made every attempt to eat humble pie over improvements in the last 6 weeks.

However we are all missing some points here. Given the number of confused players it would appear to me that there is at least some confusion over the change in Tuesday night routine.

If there was a clear curfew in place how did 50% of the touring party get it wrong?

If the culture is so bad that strong action is required why was there a change in practice without any precautions in place to prevent it turning to custard?

Who is responsible for the culture being so bad? McKenzie has been in charge for a while and is certainly responsible for setting the standards on this tour.

If we need to establish principles I would have thought the time for action was Wednesday before the Ireland test. They all live in the same hotel, why was it so difficult to sort this out?

Waiting until next week when we play a weaker team is possibly the most piss weak thing I have seen in over 45 years of following the Wallabies.

I passionately support the Wallabies and was outraged by the undermining of the team by the sycophantic supporters of McKenzie. As I write these same fuckwits are now starting to tie this "problem" back to Deans. I just cannot believe I am going to write this; but I hope Scotland beat us on the weekend. The weak and gutless people running this game in this country need an urgent wake up call.

If I am wrong then no doubt the Wallabies will regroup, win the next 2 games and go on to bigger and better things in 2014.

If not then where will this end up?

I agree with what you have said above all bar the part about us losing to scotland i never want the wobs to lose and will never root for them to lose.

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[Muglair]

I agree with what you have said above all bar the part about us losing to scotland i never want the wobs to lose and will never root for them to lose.

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I assume I will get over it in the next couple of days (still getting over last year's loss), but mightily pissed off.

Interested to see the digest posted of Link's simple philosophies and rules. If the players did not previously comprehend these simple homilies, then it is no wonder we lost so many games this year. As Jack Gibson used to say "you cannot win with dumb footballers". On the evidence at hand I guess we will continue to lose games after this event.

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Snip

I passionately support the Wallabies and was outraged by the undermining of the team by the sycophantic supporters of McKenzie. As I write these same fuckwits are now starting to tie this "problem" back to Deans. I just cannot believe I am going to write this; but I hope Scotland beat us on the weekend. The weak and gutless people running this game in this country need an urgent wake up call.

If I am wrong then no doubt the Wallabies will regroup, win the next 2 games and go on to bigger and better things in 2014.

If not then where will this end up?

Well, where to start? Going a long way off topic, but anyhow:

Pretty much every poster on this site is a passionate supporter of the Wallabies, funnily enough.

I think most people were more outraged by Deans seemingly rudderless oversight of what used to be a respected side in world rugby. If agitating for a change to McKenzie (or someone/anyone else) makes me a "sycophantic supporter" and a fuckwit, then I'm happy with that description.

If we want to talk about weak and gutless decisions, then lets have a look at RD's actions over Beale & JOC (James O'Connor) during the Lions series. Didn't matter what they did, he wouldn't drop them. 4am burger runs, missing team meetings and buses. The bloke didn't discipline the team, and this is what you see as a result.

I'd point you to Stephen Moore's comments recently where he said in an interview that senior players should have stepped in when the culture began to slide under Deans, and leave it at that.

As for hoping we lose this weekend? Pull your head in.

 

[Slim 293]

Sorry to butt in page 8 with only a scant reading of the prior posts.

.........

If we need to establish principles I would have thought the time for action was Wednesday before the Ireland test. They all live in the same hotel, why was it so difficult to sort this out?

Your scant reading of everything is probably why you have no understanding of the timeline of events in this case and why Wednesday couldn't have possibly have been the time for action.............

Waiting until next week when we play a weaker team is possibly the most piss weak thing I have seen in over 45 years of following the Wallabies.

But is that the biggest use of hyperbole you've used in those 45 years?

I passionately support the Wallabies and was outraged by the undermining of the team by the sycophantic supporters of McKenzie. As I write these same fuckwits are now starting to tie this "problem" back to Deans. I just cannot believe I am going to write this; but I hope Scotland beat us on the weekend. The weak and gutless people running this game in this country need an urgent wake up call.

And then out comes the crazy.........

 

[Richo]

If there was a clear curfew in place how did 50% of the touring party get it wrong?

I actually think this is a pretty good point. And if they were out in 4 groups of 8 or so, how did at least two separate groups get it wrong? That's pretty weird.

I wrote earlier that I liked that Link put his foot down, but that it was odd that -- in the initial reporting -- the players didn't seem to have actually broken clearly articulated rules. When half the squad does it, there might well be an issue with the clarity of the protocols. So hopefully Link has learned some lessons about squad management and team guidelines.

And of course hopefully the players get the message too. Regardless of what rules were in place they should be acting like professionals.

 

[emuarse]

I'm not an alcoholic, I just missed curfew.

Time to get a new watch.

 

[emuarse]

I actually think this is a pretty good point. And if they were out in 4 groups of 8 or so, how did at least two separate groups get it wrong? That's pretty weird.

I wrote earlier that I liked that Link put his foot down, but that it was odd that -- in the initial reporting -- the players didn't seem to have actually broken clearly articulated rules. When half the squad does it, there might well be an issue with the clarity of the protocols. So hopefully Link has learned some lessons about squad management and team guidelines.

And of course hopefully the players get the message too. Regardless of what rules were in place they should be acting like professionals.

When you are part of the squad, with a game on only days away, you don't stay out until after 4AM. Any Wallaby should be able to comprehend that.

 

[TOCC]

Does anyone else feel like the goal post were moved on the players?

There wasnt a curfew no booze ban the night before a free day.

Link didnt like what happened and he put his foot down and now has all these new rules in place addressing behaviour that wasnt really outside the rules yet the players have been punished for it?

I have no issues with rules and when someone breaks them they face the punishment but i do have an issue with thinks like "there was no curfew or drinking ban but hthe players should know better"

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No, I'd call it common sense...
Common sense would tell a professional rugby player not to go out drinking all night in the days before a test match.(even if they think several beers isn't intoxicated)

I'd be worried if the Wallabies had to set rules telling players not to do this, it would wreak of micromanaging, the players are all old enough and smart enough to know what is right and wrong, remember how JOC (James O'Connor) and KB (Kurtley Beale) were slammed for their 2am burger run in the week before a test match? The players witnessed these events, they can't claim ignorance.

 

[Train Without a Station]

I really fail to understand the issue. Link gave them a bit of trust, with the talked about expectation that guys would have one or two drinks at dinner and be back to the hotel by midnight.

Even if this was not articulated to the players, how difficult would it be for a professional athlete to come to their own conclusion that this is best for their own preparation? If it was one young player you could possibly think they were just naïve. There's a lot of senior players who had been in the system and a professional environment for up to decade. They were fully aware what they were doing wasn't the absolute best preparation they could be having for a game, and chose to do it anyway.

I'm just a club toiler who likes smashing some weights. Without reading any reports and research I can physically feel the link between alcohol consumption and an affected recovery after around 6-8 beers and waking up without a hangover. These guys obviously by this stage of their careers would have had their own experience of the same.

Perhaps a little harsh, but I would rather cop a loss this weekend, in the aim of setting a better culture which will lead to a better team environment down the track and ultimately better results.

For anybody describing it as an easy game, have a look at our past record against Scotland. I'm pretty certain after the results against SA and NZ, Link would want to be breaking as many of these Wallaby hoodoos against bogie teams as possible to show his superiority over Deans any way he can.

This is a elite sport tour. Link ain't running a Contiki tour....

 

[Scrubber2050]

it will now be interesting to see if the team factionalises (is that a word0. Somebody is a dibber dobber and I know it will not be at least 15 of the boys.

who was it ???????

 

[qaz]

I have had a think about this situation and how Link has played it.

A lot of people are saying the players were hard done by because there were no set rules about curfews etc.
I think Link has deliberately not given them any set rules as they are all (highly paid) professionals and he would want them to have the common sense and maturity to dictate their own set of standards. Having Link stand in front of the group telling them "be home by 12, have no more than 2 beers, being polite and respectful to the public" etc is not the way to build culture and a set of standards in a group - culture that has evidently been seriously lacking for years. The whole group has to have buy in, own it and drive it.

I also think Link wouldn't have been too upset that this situation has occurred. Unfortunately for the players involved, they may be the scapegoats on this occasion, but Link has put a line in the sand and now everyone has clear expectations about what is expected from them and that they cant get away with anything less than a professional approach at all times.

The way i see it - a bit of short term pain for long term gain.

 

[A mutterer]

it was definitely fortuitous event for link to bring out his big stamp and ink pad and go to town on the team.

no reason this should happen again, but i suspect someone may cop some tackling which for no apparent reason will be a bit harder than usual.

 

[redstragic]

it will now be interesting to see if the team factionalises (is that a word0. Somebody is a dibber dobber and I know it will not be at least 15 of the boys.

who was it ???????

I have been thinking about this. Who says a player dobbed? There are heaps of support staff that are part of the Wallabies tour and would just as likely dine and drink with the players.

Link said he got wind of it and confronted some players and they were forthcoming with fessing up.

 

[Scrubber2050]

I have been thinking about this. Who says a player dobbed? There are heaps of support staff that are part of the Wallabies tour and would just as likely dine and drink with the players.

Link said he got wind of it and confronted some players and they were forthcoming with fessing up.

No doubt in the fullness of time or sooner - players will find out just who the culprit was - whether it was a player, the captain, or support staff. Hopefully it was a support staff dibber dobber and not a player. I think that would be extremely detrimental to the team "culture"

 

[Penguin]

I get what ur saying i just feel the waters are abit murky.

Its not like there was 2 maybe 3 players out on the piss there were 15 players involved so from the outside looking in it seems there was a misunderstanding of what was expected.

Are these players paying the price for past players indiscretions?

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It seems crystal clear to this mug punter sitting at home in Brisbane so I can't see how there can be any doubt in the players minds whatsoever.