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To be brutally honest, the Wallabies aren't brutally honest.
Not with themselves, they're not.
At every turn, when things have not gone quite right or, as more regularly happens, when they go spectacularly wrong, the Wallabies and their coach Robbie Deans have been quick to ignore the blatantly obvious shortcomings and have latched instead on to obscure positives.
The Wallabies are trounced five tries to one by the Springboks at Pretoria and the message of the day is how brilliantly Kurtley Beale played at five-eighth.
The All Blacks blitz them 22-0 in Auckland but how well did Sitaleki Timani play! The Wallabies' scrum breaks even against New Zealand in Brisbane and cathedral bells peal throughout the land. At last, Australia's set-piece bogey has been laid to rest. Never mind the fact that the All Blacks have a dozen other ways of skinning a wallaby. The scrum is only one of them.
Clued up on what is the official line, the apologists and sycophants have gone to work to spread the comforting message that all is well with and within the Wallabies.
If there is a problem, they contend, it is with unpatriotic unbelievers like me who keep finding fault.
And speaking of fault, every fault line in Australia's game finally gave way in Paris. Hairline cracks became yawning gaps under the enormous pressure brought to bear by a French side that last played in June and had less than two weeks' preparation to bring half a dozen new or newish players up to speed.
Australia, by the by, played seven Tests while France was in recess, although it's a fair bet that this massive advantage will now be portrayed as a negative . . . weary Wallabies v fresh French, that type of thing.
The self-deception has to end. Deans may have become in this match the most-capped Wallabies coach but at the same time he also became -- again -- the least successful Wallabies coach of the professional era, his winning percentage dipping to 57.4 per cent, below that of Eddie Jones. What he has the Wallabies doing, or rather not doing, manifestly isn't working.
He has them playing with no pattern. He has them playing with no deception, no second wave of attack, no variation, no flair and no evident skill.
Arguably the most damning match statistic of all was that Australia's ruck-and-maul count was almost double that of France's, 121 to 69. Where Les Bleus creatively sought to use the ball to create two-on-ones, the Wallabies ponderously kept punching it up into the thick of the French defence, the pick-and-drive virtually their only attacking ploy.
At least the Wallabies were keeping the ball in hand, or rather they were until Berrick Barnes was pitched into the fray and mindlessly booted it away a couple of times. It took the French scrum only a dozen minutes to deliver a dividend.
Spurning the easy three points on offer when his side was awarded a penalty close to the Australian line, French skipper Pascal Pape elected to take a scrum instead and had his boldness rewarded with a stroll-in-the-park blindside try by number eight Louis Picamoles.
Yes, Australia flanker Dave Dennis illegally was held back but if he doesn't know better than to keep out of reach of the grappling hooks in that position, he shouldn't be wearing a 6 on his back.
Interestingly, Australia eight minutes later received a penalty in the corresponding position at the other end of the field and never considered backing their scrum the way the French had.
Nathan Sharpe was content to take the three points on offer. So much for Australia's faith in its dramatically improved set piece.
But it would have been the penalty try France earned through its superior set piece in the 64th minute that would really have had the English forwards smacking their lips in anticipation of this weekend's Cook Cup scrum-a-thon at Twickenham.
What was especially scary was how France destroyed its opponents with its second-string front row.
When tighthead Nicolas Mas was withdrawn from the contest on the hour, having made life a misery for Benn Robinson and James Slipper, French coach Philippe Saint-Andre placed his trust in the entire Clermont front row and it did not disappoint him.
Under pressure on their own line, the Wallabies attempted to collapse the scrum but astonishingly the French front-rowers lifted them up so that they could continue to drive forward.
Inevitably, the Wallabies' pack splintered, allowing flanker Yannick Nyanga to pick up and dive over but of course by that stage referee Nigel Owens was already standing between the posts signalling a penalty try.
For the second Test in succession, the Wallabies did not score a try.
The closest they came was in an ugly scrabble right on the French line when Adam Ashley-Cooper advanced the ball 10cm but could not get it down in the tackle of rival halfback Morgan Parra.
The art of scoring tries has all but been lost on these Wallabies. That was the fourth time in 12 Tests this year they have gone tryless and overall they are averaging precisely one try per Test in 2012.
Arguably the return of Digby Ioane, David Pocock, Ben Alexander and Timani against England will provide some stiffening.
But no one was lamenting their absence before the Paris Test and all four of them have been involved in some forgettable Wallabies performances this season. It would be wise to maintain a sense of perspective.
Seemingly, there is a diminishing appetite for entrusting the Wallabies to Ewen McKenzie. The Reds coach has made the appalling mistake of being on the scene so long he has lost his novelty appeal. Yes, he coached Queensland to the 2011 Super Rugby title but what has he done lately?
Besides, he unwisely used Will Genia as a stop-gap five-eighth at one point this year when Queensland was down to its fifth-choice playmaker, so clearly he is a hopeless selector as well.
Well, that's the level of senseless drivel being peddled in some quarters. And no doubt further fault will be uncovered to support the argument that Deans should remain in place for another year, to give Michael Cheika the chance to bring himself up to speed before taking over as Australia coach.
It is time for the ARU to look long and hard at the present Wallabies structure.
The sycophants can delude themselves if they choose but the British and Irish Lions are heading this way in just seven months and it is time for the ARU to ask the only question that is relevant.
Are the Wallabies working under Deans?
Be brutally honest, now.
For a change I have to agree with Wayne Smith.
May the FORCE be with you!
Same here. We're not the worlds no2 side. And we're about to get found out
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We've just dropped to No. 3, but even that is somewhat flattering on current form!
Heard on the radio this morning that Pocock has picked up another injury (calf strain) and won't be available for the weekend.
Roll on 2013.....
Fancy that, who'd a thunk it.
When will these morons realise that three months out with a major injury does NOT warrant selection for a tour and coming straight into a test match without any match fitness. FFS the Force boys here are bursting a boiler in pre season, conditioning ready for trial matches then friendlies then S15. Not straight into Tests intensity.
The Wallabies are training at the intensity of test matches (I would hope but don't believe for one second), this level of intensity is NOT what a returning player should be exposed to off the bat. FFS send him home to recoup properly, select Gill in his place for a bit of experience. And although Cooper is a moron, he should not have played in the RC. The Reds rushed him back in a last ditch effort trying to make the finals, but that cameo was NOT getting match fit.
The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor
Mass panic
It was a poor perfromance
I'm backing the wallabies to aim up, harden up, man up and belt the poms
There was nothing special about the poms despite a big win over Fiji who were absolute rubbish
That said, Deans has to go
The style of rugby is the worst I can remember
Controversy corner
This guy pulls no punches!!
Apart from extolling QC's virtues, I tend to agree with him
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...114-29bb0.html
We don't have the players at the moment. Simple as that. Forget about the coach. I think he should go, but it's kind of a moot point. He's not going to be able to turn water into icy cold frothy beer, mmm beer.... The team we have at the moment is a 2nd XV with a few players who are really 3rd XV. Phipps isn't of international standard and neither is Harris or McCabe. Sharpie is a legend, but he's well past his best.
The bulk of the side that played France came from S15 teams that finished 11th, 13th & 14th. A total of 10 wins from 48 games. Our scrum is poor and it takes an exceptional side (or a shit opposition) to win with an ailing scrum. Even if our backline was world class we would still struggle. We need a rampaging set of forwards that when they hit it up, they make massive inroads, then quick ball, accurate slick passing onto fast powerful backs. But we don't have any rampaging forwards, they make little ground, the ball is slow, the backs are slow and lack invention. Pick a world XV and realistically how many current Wallabies would make the side? There's a serious dearth of quality players in Australia and until that issue is addressed, the calibre of the coach is pretty much irrelevant.
Last edited by zed; 14-11-12 at 10:46.
I agree...and disagree
There are plenty of examples in sport of all persuasion of coaches getting the best from limited teams, Moyes at Everton being a classic. The problem is Deans is not getting the best from these players, in fact he is making the starting XV and this XV worse than they play in S15.
It is a shambles, primarily because they are all confused. Playing out of position, selections contrary to any perceived plan, not actually having a plan, not using the bench tactically, selecting half fit or injured players. These are all in the realm of Deans and Nucifora.
Lets not forget Deans now has the worst winning percentage of any Wobbly coach spread over the longest tenure. The current situation with injuries is not to blame. Deans and Nucifora are failures with the Wobblies. And after losing to England this weekend we will plummet from 2nd to 5th in the rankings. worse than the 4th he inherited from Knuckles (forget the 5th, that was a technicality).
The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor
IT was s disgrace - DEADSET
Embarrassing - Toilet
This group of Wallabies couldnt harden up with a cup of quick set Concrete - FAST SET
Definately has to go
Nope Coach Smith from the Mid 90's was worse.
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,2...245529,00.htmlignore the blatantly obvious shortcomings and have latched instead on to obscure positives.
Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game Uno.
From the depth of despair comes a self determination
Deans, for all his short comings is not a man who is used to losing
he has a fine rugby pedigree.
This failing is building a steely resolve
He will rise like the phoenix from the ashes........if he admits to some of his blunders
1. Mccabe at 12
2. Phipps anywhere near the team hotel, let alone in the wallaby 9
3. The conservative game plan
England are going to get belted
Now in my moleskin trousers and my Williams boots
Aboard an outlaw as he leaves the chutes
In my goose neck spurs I rake their fiery hide
And the girls all shouting around the ringside
Oh he's the Fulla from Cunnamulla
Yeah he's the Cunnamulla Fulla
Correct