Captain Obvious is back in town!!!
Connolly shuffles deck again
Greg Growden in Edinburgh Chief rugby correspondent
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Wallabies coach John Connolly has conceded he is at a loss to explain the team's fragile mental state and is dejected that the Australian attack has failed to make considerable improvement in five months.
In the aftermath of a dreadful loss to Ireland and a poor performance against Italy, Connolly admitted the selectors' back-line tinkering may have been a failure.
"We have shuffled the deckchairs around a lot and maybe what we had back in June is the best we have," he said. "You have heard me say, time and time again, how we are so loose on the field. We have to tighten our game up, as we make so many silly mistakes at the wrong time.
"I don't know whether it is a culture thing or what. We talk the talk at times, but I think we can toughen ourselves up a bit. We really have to toughen up on the field. We can play so well at times - such as when we were running into the wind against Ireland. But when we have the wind we play poorly. Is it a mental thing? I can't work it out.
"And against Wales, we played some of the best football you could see, but on the other side of the coin, we played some poor footy as well. That's been happening all year with this team."
So disjointed are the Wallabies that Western Force centre Scott Staniforth, discarded several years ago by NSW and Australia, is suddenly the favourite to be inside-centre against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday. The Wallabies' back line is in such a state of flux that the Test selectors now believe they have to bring in a solid, level-headed player such as Staniforth to improve the on-field intelligence.
For Staniforth, this move is a justified elevation, after he was beckoned back from England following two seasons with the London Irish club to play for the new Australian Super 14 franchise. The former Waratahs utility was a success for the Force, scoring nine tries in this year's Super 14 to win their player-of-the-year award.
Also in contention for the midfield spot is Morgan Turinui, who was a Wallabies vice-captain when Eddie Jones was in charge, but lately was well down the list of centres, even playing on the wing in the European tour opener against Ospreys.
After the original midweek pairing of Gene Fairbanks and Adam Ashley-Cooper struggled in that game, the Wallabies turned to Turinui and Staniforth to save the day against Ireland A in Limerick last week.
The selectors are deliberating between Staniforth and Turinui to take over the Test No.12 jersey, after the attack lost its way against Italy and Ireland. Connolly believes Staniforth's cool head and professional approach could restore stability.
Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock is expected to be moved back to outside-centre, while Lote Tuqiri is set to return to the wing. Mark Gerrard is likely to hold on to his wing spot.
"We tried the Mortlock-Tuqiri idea in tough conditions," Connolly said. "We probably think that Lote is a stop-gap in that area. To get the best out of Mortlock and Tuqiri, probably the right positions for them are 13 and 14."
Stephen Larkham, if he recovers from a head knock, will stay at five-eighth, primarily because of concerns among selectors that Mat Rogers continues to make blunders that result in turnovers at important times. Connolly is unimpressed that in all three Tests on tour, Rogers has tried chip kicks at inopportune times, which have ruined good lead-up work by the Wallabies.
There will also be several changes in the pack, with Stephen Moore and Benn Robinson likely to start in the front row, at hooker and loose-head prop. Concerns about Mark Chisholm's work-rate in the second row have improved Al Campbell's chances of gaining a start, while David Lyons continues to put pressure on Wycliff Palu at No.8.
