one question which hasnt occurred to me until now
has robbie deans been hamstrung by the same issues that link faced at the tahs?
if so, can any coach save the wallabies or is it structural change that is needed?
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one question which hasnt occurred to me until now
has robbie deans been hamstrung by the same issues that link faced at the tahs?
if so, can any coach save the wallabies or is it structural change that is needed?
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In my view, yes he has been hamstrung! I've had that convo with Bison several times.
I personally don't think Deans is the real problem. I think it's the structure and 'puppeteering' environment that is the problem. I don't believe that Deans can have gone from such success at S15 level to such failure at international level without there having been some other influence at play.
I know I will be accused of being jaundiced, biased and possibly naive, but I honestly believe that the heart of the problem is that Deans is required to comply with a selection policy that does not have 'whoever is in the best form' as its cornerstone.
Unless the environment at the national level changes, I don't think any coach will truly succeed.
Ok remove Sharpie and Pocock from the team list of pretty much any test in the last three years and you'll be close!
Vuna?
On 2012 S15 form none of these should have been selected:
Robinson, TPN, Dennis, Palu, Cooper, Barnes, AAC, Vuna, Beale, Timani, Mitchell.
Given his entire career Timani has surprisingly done ok.
AAC and Barnes have slowly come ok (no more than that).
Dennis shown nothing. Robinson a frak king disgrace. TPN is one tackle short of serious head injury, line outs a shambles. Palu permanently injured, never match fit.
Copper, Mitchell and Beale rushed back from injury with no matches to get fit.
I agree with Alison, Deans has been lumped with that lot. I desperately hope Foley was as well, given the weird lackluster Tahs season, when he was unable to say they were hopeless and kept selecting them.
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stuff deans. he was known for not taking any shit. he should have been the one to tell the ARU
"you made me coach. you need to trust me to make the decisions i see fit for the team"
he obviously hasnt done as we havent seen the ruthless streak the 'saders developed. so he is as much the problem as everyone else
I agree with that as well. And there's the rub. Why the frak Deans has bent over and taken it up the date. For a normal person that's hard, but that stubborn proud Cantabrian? His almost immaculate record is becoming ruined. The Crusaders is the anomaly, not internationals. People are already saying he inherited a team, and who could fail with all them ABs etc etc. They are now bringing up the 2003, and Cullen Mehrtens etc as if it's all Deans fault.
I just cannot fathom the depth of the problem - and same with Foley. Really if the system was dysfunctional he should have kicked up a stink or resigned. That Tahs debacle will always be his fault, and if the Force wallows his reputation is also sunk
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The issue of picking players not in form can come down to the contracting system.
To pay a group of 30 players top ups based on past form is a bad way to go about things. Deans is then forced to play them no matter what form they are in because the aru have already payed them.
In form playerd not signed with a top up will always miss out when up against a signed player.
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Interesting post on G&GR re Nasser's role in Quadegate
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/opi...ers-puppeteer/
It's the root cause, IMO. I've always said that. You need every player busting a gut get into a gold jersey, which I'm sure they all do initially. Then keep them in that frame of mind by
paying very good Test Match payments backed up by even higher cumulative win bonuses.
Give all the rest of the pot to the franchises to contract players as best they can.
The system designed to keep the best @ home has backfired and produced too many brats anc too many in a comfort zone.
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I've been beating that drum for a while now I agree with you Bison that it's unusual Deans hasn't kicked up a stink re team selection tampering, but I think he's to proud to do that. By the way, he cut his teeth on NPC rugby before taking over the Crusaders, turning Canterbury from a nothing into a dominate side. Granted, his success hasn't been at international level though.
More than happy for him to get the chop, but we've all said it - change needs to start at the top - O'Neill and Nucifora having to go.
I agree, I don't think Deans is the primary reason why the Wallabies are struggling, but he is one of a number of factors that are responsible for their poor performance. I see the main issue is lack of depth. We simply don't have enough players in the country who are of international standard. NZ have probably 40+ guys that would not look out of place in an All Blacks Jersey, we have 18, maybe 20 at a push. Additionally the few world class players we do have (Cooper, Beale, JOC) seem to be injury prone and lacking in maturity with numerous off-field incidents that can only have an adverse effect on theirs and the teams performance. That said, watching the Wallabies play in the last 18 months, it's apparent that Deans is not getting the most of his players, he is solely responsible for their game plan and when it's evident that the game plan is poor and ineffective and he shows no obvious signs of changing it, then he has to go.
I still pay the blame for lack of depth at the feet of the coach. Surely a nations head coach must have that as one of his responsibilities and he has either dropped the ball or failed to get nuciforas useless fingers out of a pie which he has no capability in.
However, I am open to the possibility that he's been kicking up his stink in the boardroom and getting nowhere against an implacable bunch of ivy league tosspots.
But if he's been kicking up a stink and got nowhere why the hell has he staid here and had his reputation ruined! It appears to me that he's rolled over like a little dingo puppy to have his belly rubbed.
I thought he was the saviour of Au rugby but wasn't I wrong.