Wallabies vs Scotland - 5 June 2012

[Bruce Ross]

Lacking a bit of clarity around our direction

Robbie's presser was a classic of the genre:

We learnt that we weren't all on one page. We lacked a bit of clarity around our direction in terms of just banking games like that. I guess it's not in our DNA, aah, but that's an art that we've got to develop.

Iain Payten* of the esteemed Daily Telegraph interpreted that as meaning: "It's not in our DNA (to play in the wet) but it's an art we have to develop." Hmm, not quite how I read it but I bow to Iain's superior intellect.

I'm an aficionado of Iain's work as there are too few real wordsmiths among Australian sporting journalists. Thus this little gem:

"A scrum after the siren collapsed in the Aussie half, and referee Jaco Peyper penalised Ben Alexander."

You don't rush a sentence like that. It needs time to savour.

*Disclosure. Iain was kind enough to write a reference for me last week.
.

 

[fatprop]

If we had won, even badly, and two players had improved their reputation there wouldn't have been any moaning.

The ARU aren't gods, they can't change the weather

The game? well on a decent night, the rugby would have been a bit better.

I think the game was good for us, better sides would have got through that game. They would have overcome.

Quite a few players showed bloody little; Timani, Slipper, Dennis, Alexander & Higgenbotham were bloody average.

Palmer put in pretty well, Moore, Sharpe and Pocock met their expectations.

Iaone was the only threat on the field

 

[barbarian]

Lacking a bit of clarity around our direction

Robbie's presser was a classic of the genre:

Iain Payten* of the esteemed Daily Telegraph interpreted that as meaning: "It's not in our DNA (to play in the wet) but it's an art we have to develop." Hmm, not quite how I read it but I bow to Iain's superior intellect.

I'm an aficionado of Iain's work as there are too few real wordsmiths among Australian sporting journalists. Thus this little gem:

"A scrum after the siren collapsed in the Aussie half, and referee Jaco Peyper penalised Ben Alexander."

You don't rush a sentence like that. It needs time to savour.

*Disclosure. Iain was kind enough to write a reference for me last week.
.

Bruce I'll bite.

Have you ever tried to write an article during a rugby game, with a deadline to publish just after the final whistle is blown? Keep in mind that you still have to be watching the game as you write, and chances are you are in a cramped press box with members of the crowd regularly banging on the windows.

For fuck's sake cut the bloke some slack that his work isn't up to your lofty grammatical standards.

In a more considered opinion piece I agree that poor grammar and spelling is not really acceptable. But in a lightning review intended to be the first thing up after the game? There are always going to be a few rushed sentences and patchy grammar.

And I suspect you know that but decided to stick the boot in anyway.
.

 

[boyo]

Why should Bruce cut him some slack after the very same bloke called Bruce a moron?

 

[Richard D. James]

So I was watching on a shitty, choppy stream. Did Ben Alexander come on as a straight swap at tighthead?

I'm hoping Deans and the rest of the coaches will finally concede he's not a tighthead and you can't just chuck someone in a position they haven't played for a year....

I thought Palmer was great, maybe there are some tackle stats that will show he wasn't effective in the tight, but I almost don't care when our scrum was as solid as it was with him on the field.

I think it's clear we have two good tightheads, Palmer and Kepu. The rest are looseheads.

 

[barbarian]

Why should Bruce cut him some slack after the very same bloke called Bruce a moron?

I think everybody should cut everybody slack. Payten shouldn't have called Bruce a moron. Bruce shouldn't launch needless attacks on Payten. I concede both had rational reasons that drew them to make such statements. But nothing is advanced by this at all. No-one wins.
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[mudskipper]

It was just like watching the Waratahs.......

 

[waratahjesus]

Barbs - are you employed by the Tele?

 

[barbarian]

No

 

[mark_s]

Nice write up from Paul Cully over at the Roar. here are the closing paragraphs which sum it up nicely for me:

As for the weather, it is a global game played in winter.
Besides, Australia had coped admirably in the opening 40.

None of the [Australian] names mentioned above stand accused as individuals. From the sheer weight of errors it is clear this was a collective malfunction: a folly agreed to by the ARU, implemented (you sense with misgivings) by the coach and carried out by the players with deteriorating belief as the game wore on.

Congratulations to Scotland.

They are traditionally allocated the role of fighters, but the battle of the brain belonged to them as well. Australia were outwitted by the selection of dual opensides John Barclay and Ross Rennie.

For Australia, only misery.

Forget about the Wales series. Each Test should carry its own value. This is what abject failure looks like, pure and simple. Now the fans who pay the wages wait to see what accountability looks like.

http://www.theroar.com.au/2012/06/06/wallabies-show-collective-failure-looks-like/

 

[Godfrey]

I thought Fainga'a was pretty good defensively in this game... if you're looking for positives.

 

[BPC]

Robbie: We lacked a bit of clarity ...

So, he is saying that because of the poor weather, the players couldn't see what was in front of them? Explains it all really.

 

[daz]

I'm trying not to blame Deans and the team for this embarassment. I do think the ARU put the coaches and the squad in a tough position and as has been stated by others (notably barbarian), this really was a lose-lose scenario.

That said, we should be rolling lower teams like Scotland every day of the week, regardless of the conditions or constraints.


So then, I should let Robbie know where he stands with me.

Are we still on a building phase? I'm no expert, but we are in year 5 of the RD plan; are we building a team from birth?

I was a noted and vocal supporter of Deans leading up to the 2011 RWC. That was what he said was the end-game, so I gave him that rope and stayed the course in the face of mounting criticism (you all know who you are!).

At what point do I expect results? Good question.

Well, I'm nearly 5 years older now and I still have very little to show for my patience and support, except for the fact that we have given a Gold jersey to every second kid who plays the game in Oz. We have a sum total of 1 x 3N trophy in 2011, won in part due to the other teams not really turning up.

We have assorted international test trophy's, which really mean SFA, and like last night they too are slowly being returned to sender.

I hung my hat on the fact that, well, at least we are still ranked #2. That peg is now a bit rusty and to be honest it shows how little else of substance there was/is.

I am in danger of turning into a man scorned. Robbie, I'll support you without rhyme or reason and with no strings attached, but cross the line and I'll come roaring back the other way.

If you are wondering where that line is, look down. The Wales series is your last chance saloon, my Kiwi friend. After that, the line will be behind you, unlike my support. I'll cross the floor and vote with RedsHappy.....

/enddramaqueenrant

 

[ChargerWA]

I'm trying to think when AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) last made a difference.

France at home. EOYT 2010.

 

[Lee Grant]

It was just like watching the Waratahs...

Already been said but it wasn't rocket science was it skipper? Many of us must have been thinking the same thing.

 

[ten four]

following on from the waratah`s theme, considering their s.15 form there did seem to be a lot of them selected .

 

[barbarian]

There were only 3 Tahs playing last night.

 

[daz]

There were only 3 Tahs playing last night.

Why let the truth get in the way of a good story, baa-baa? Perception is reality for some folks.

 

[Grandmaster Flash]

France at home. EOYT 2010.

He also played very well on the wing against the ABs in Brisbane last year.

 

[Bardon]

As a neutral I thought Aus didn't do that badly last night. The last 20 of the first half was excellent and they did very well to go in only 6-3 down against such a strong wind. Then in the 2nd half they started very well on got on level terms pretty early.

But from there they never took advantage of their field position. Pocock seemed to be suffering from white line fever as evidenced by his refusal to take kickable pens. This mistake contributed to the loss in two ways. 1st the obvious one that points on the board would have probably seen the score 12-6 or at worst 9-6 in the closing minutes. This would have meant the best Scotland could get was a draw unless they went for a very unlikely try.

The 2nd is that due to Pocock's white line fever his instinct was to keep the ball in the forwards and just continually bash it up. Before the game one area where I thought Scotland might get parity or just edge it was the forwards. So essentially Aus were continually attempting to attack Scotland's at their strongest point. A number of times Higgers took the ball up from the back of rucks or scrums 5 metres out and was stopped instantly. Varying the game and spreading it wide might have still created the try Pocock craved. But if that was to happen the decision wasn't going to come from him.

But he's not the only person on the field who decides where the ball goes. Genia personally had a shocker with his passing and fielding, but also his decision making. Often he was seen hovering at the back of the ruck looking around to see if players were set for a pass or if they wanted to pick and drive. Apart from Pocock and Moore the forwards were slow to move the ball and Scotland was ready for them and dealt with them easily. Anytime Genia decided to pass the ball out to Barnes he didn't do him any favours, the pass for the attempted drop goal being a prime example.

All night Genia seemed happy to follow the lead of the forwards rather than make the decision to vary the game and and switch the point of attack to areas Scotland were sparse in defence. There were plenty of times in the 2nd half when Aus were within 10 metres or less of the line on one side of the pitch and the Scots had 1 guy marking 15-20 metres on the far touchline.

Barnes although he wasn't helped by Genia isn't blameless either. His kicking was poor in the first half when he was putting too much air on the ball. The conditions required grubbers and kicks with low trajectories that would bounce in front of the opposition defenders potentially causing knock ons. In stead he persisted with up and unders that were blown back by the wind. In the 2nd half he didn't have much chance to kick at all, but he should have had a word with Genia about getting the ball to him early on a few occasions so they could test the Scotland backs on defence. Then there were times when there was huge space on the opposite wing that he should have been screaming at Genia to give him the ball so they could spread it and exploit that space.

Then those outside Barnes were pretty quiet also. Why wasn't there anyone shouting about the amount of space available and relaying the message along the backline to Genia to move the ball when it was on.

If you're not going to take the points available from penalties and decide to go for the try instead you need to vary your game to create the space and gaps to make it easier to score the try. Instead to paraphrase sky sports commentary they could have played the game in a small tent and some of the Aus players looked as if they would have preferred that.

In games like this if you don't take your points or you're not not clever enough to engineer the try then invariable the opposition will eventually get a chance at the other end. That came with first the very poor kick from Barnes allowing an easy mark for Scotland to clear the pressure from their own 22. Then the very poor kick from Harris which went out on the full gifted Scotland field position that they never looked likely to get by any other means. Then 3 strong Scotland scrums, with a bit of a break in between to get them into kicking range, later and Scotland have a penalty to win the match.

I feel sorry for the young guys and debutants tonight because I feel they were let down by some of the more senior players. But it will be them who will receive criticism and be tarnished by the display and ultimately find it hard to get back into the starting team in the future. Some of the new guys in the forwards went pretty well, the backs didn't see very much of the ball in the 2nd half. But one telling point was that the only back who went looking for work was Ioane who looked to be Aus' most treating player. Morahan was willing to chase down kicks in the first half but in the 2nd there was little for him to do due to Aus being camped in Scotland's 22 for almost 40 minutes and the points I raised earlier about the ball not being spread.

The scheduling was of the game was a big mistake but one positive was how excited some of the supporters on here who are local to Newcastle were about having a test match, so maybe in the long run that will be the one positive to come out of the game. Some people will say that the poor quality of play or the loss will turn those people off rugby, that will be true in some cases. But those saying it may forget that how they felt at their first test match. The nerves and excitement and the pride as you sing the anthem and then get to cheer on your country with people you know.

Even the sense of disappointment after a loss, when you're there in the flesh to witness it, can grab you. It stirs the emotions and those feelings win or lose show that the supports actually give a damn about the game and the team. Speaking as a rugby supporter I'm happy to welcome any new fans of the game who were there last night and were bitten by the same bug that's got most of us at some point. I'd much prefer to see those new fans than a whole bunch of fair weather fans who would have jumped on board following a massive win for Aus.