Time is on Australia's side, if only players would listen

Time is on Australia's side, if only players would listen






Bret Harris | July 05, 2008


WHEN the Wallabies travel from their Brisbane hotel to Suncorp Stadium this evening coach Robbie Deans should put the Rolling Stones' Start Me Up on the CD player on the bus.

It would serve as a reminder for the players to use their starter plays in the second Test against France to maintain their structure in attack.

In the first 30 minutes of the Test in Sydney last Saturday the Wallabies' attack was shambolic.

In a burst of over-exuberance the Wallabies tried to score from each and every touch of the ball with the inevitable result that they became disorganised.

To be sure, they did not help their cause with some erratic passing, but that was a symptom of trying to do too much too soon.

There were glimpses of brilliance, but nothing came off.

The aim of a starter play - a sequence of planned phases - is to get a team in a position to attack.

The tactic is very common. Every team from the Melbourne Storm in the NRL to Super 14 champions, the Crusaders, uses it.

It would be naive to think the Wallabies do not have starter plays. Of course, they do.

Deans is a master of the starter play, which in no way contradicts his edict to the players to play what is in front of them. Quite the opposite.

Starter plays simply begin the process of manipulating the defence, which Deans knows how to do better than most.

If a player sees a chance during the course of a starter play, he has to take it rather than slavishly following the intended sequence.

The reason that starter plays were not evident in the opening stanza of the first French Test was because some players have taken Deans' instructions too literally.
It seems some players believe they have a licence to do whatever they want whenever they want, which is a misinterpretation of Deans' message.

Playing what is in front of you does not mean throwing the ball around willy nilly in the hope of making a break and scoring a try.

This is an abuse of the freedom Deans has given the players.

In fact, it is the very opposite of playing what is in front of you because you have decided on a course of action regardless of the circumstances.

There is no doubt that Deans promotes an attacking mind-set, but this does not mean he wants the players to run the ball all the time from every position on the field.

Deans-coached teams such as the Crusaders played the percentages as much, if not more, than any other side.

It is just that Deans has a different view of what constitutes a high and low percentage play to a lot of other coaches and players.

A high percentage play is being prepared to take advantage of an opportunity when it arises, while a low percentage play is bypassing an opportunity because you are afraid to make a mistake.

The biggest mistake you make in life and rugby is not taking your opportunities.
The Crusaders were never a run-the-ball at all costs team under Deans.

You can be assured that if the circumstances dictated that the ball be booted into touch from inside the 22, then Deans would expect it to go out.

Equally, if there was an opportunity to counter-attack, then that is what Deans would expect the team to do.

The most pleasing thing about the Wallabies' performance against France in Sydney was that they did not need a half-time pep talk from Deans to change their tactics, although no doubt messages were transferred to the field from the coaches box.

The Wallabies started the Sydney game by playing expansively as they had done in their win against Ireland in Melbourne.

But the French wingers used the old-fashioned shadow tackle out wide to prevent the ball being transferred to the flanks and herd the Wallabies back into the midfield.

Towards the end of the first half Wallabies captain and outside centre Stirling Mortlock led from the front by playing a more simple and direct game, which got the Australians over the advantage line.

Even though it was not fancy, Mortlock was actually playing what was in front of him, which was what Deans wanted.

And the Wallabies got into position to attack.

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