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Wayne Smith | October 05, 2009
Article from: The Australian
IRISH coach Declan Kidney, sweating profusely under a hot Brisbane sun late last week, was given the chance to take at least some of the heat out of one of Brian O'Driscoll's more incendiary statements.
Kidney was taken back to the Heineken Cup final in May and O'Driscoll's extraordinary claim in the immediate aftermath of Leinster becoming champion of Europe at the expense of Leicester.
"Rocky Elsom is the best rugby player in the world," O'Driscoll boomed when interviewed after the match.
So, Kidney was asked, was O'Driscoll talking in the emotion of the moment? Was what he said about Elsom a throwaway compliment not to be taken seriously?
"No," replied the Six Nations-winning Irish coach. "In fairness to Brian, he doesn't do things like that. That's the standing he would keep Rocky in."
Whether O'Driscoll would say the same thing now is debatable. Certainly it would be difficult to make a "world's best" case for any Australian after the Wallabies lost five of their six Tri-Nations matches, not when the credentials of Fourie du Preez, Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Victor Matfield and even - yes, I hate myself for even mentioning him - Bakkies Botha are being kicked around.
What's important is not where exactly Elsom rates in the pecking order of the world's rugby elite. What's important is that he still retains those ferocious qualities that prompted O'Driscoll - himself a player whose name would require consideration any time rugby's finest are debated - to make that memorable statement in the first place.
No player enjoys losing but some cope with it better than others. Elsom isn't one of them. He hates losing. He hates hearing excuses for losing. He hates hearing that others are making excuses for losing. But, unlike some players who only rage against defeat after the event, Elsom rages at it while it's still merely an annoying possibility, while there is still time to do something about it. And at that point he applies his head as well as his heart.
When Australia coach Robbie Deans castigates players for "rolling over" at the death and capitulating to the All Blacks in Wellington a fortnight ago, rest assured he does not have Elsom in mind.
What perhaps he does have Elsom in mind for, however, is the Wallabies captaincy. Admittedly for this to happen, the aggressive blindside flanker would have to leapfrog not one but two skippers in long-time incumbent Stirling Mortlock and his part-time deputy George Smith. But Deans is clearly of a mind to shake the Wallabies out of their complacency and where better to start than at the top?
It would be interesting to know whether Mortlock's recent reconnaissance trip to Japan during his injury-enforced layoff was made entirely of his own volition or after being tipped off by someone in authority that perhaps he should start thinking seriously about his plans for life after Test rugby.
It's doubtful that it was the latter because, frankly, Australian rugby doesn't have the depth of talent to callously burn a player of Mortlock's ability. He might not be quite the match-winner he was a year or two ago, and he might have offended some ARU heavyweights with his leadership style but he remains a formidable player.
If it was Mortlock's own decision to check out what might be available in Japan, then it sends out the unmistakable signal that he is now starting to doubt whether he can maintain his form, fitness and enthusiasm for another two years until the World Cup.
Certainly it would be a significant event if Mortlock, now that he is back fit, was passed over for the captaincy on the end-of-season tour. But it wouldn't be quite the momentous upheaval some might think.
Australians get a bit romantic about the Wallabies captaincy and most people, asked to name how many men have skippered the side over the quarter-century since Andrew Slack led the 1984 team to Grand Slam glory, would probably recall only half a dozen - Nick Farr-Jones, Michael Lynagh, John Eales, George Gregan, Mortlock and Smith.
In fact, unless I have forgotten someone else, there has been an entire team of captains, plus one reserve, 16 in all, since Slack in 1984 - Steve Williams, Simon Poidevin, David Codey, Phil Kearns, Rod McCall, Tim Horan, David Wilson, Jason Little, Nathan Sharpe and Phil Waugh being the others. Indeed, in one stretch during the late 1980s, Australia used five different captains in successive Tests.
Given that Smith is the 75th player to lead the Wallabies in a Test and that Wellington brought up Australia's 500th international, the average life span of an Australian captain is less than seven Tests. The defining characteristic of the position is not longevity but change.
Significantly too, Farr-Jones played on under Kearns after relinquishing the captaincy, as did Gregan. So there would be some meaningful precedents to invoke if Mortlock is to be relieved of the captaincy armband for the tour but still selected as a player.
In that event, it is unlikely Smith's caretaker role would become a full-time job. He might be one of the world's great backrowers but he is a reluctant captain and it was painfully clear in Wellington that half a dozen All Blacks had more sway over referee Craig Joubert than he did.
Matt Giteau? Maybe. But this has been his least dominant season in the Test arena since the 2003 World Cup and he already has enough on his plate handling the playmaking and goalkicking duties.
Berrick Barnes? He has provided real generalship at key moments this year but he is only 23 and his chance will come.
Stephen Moore? One of the most respected members of the squad but he is, inconveniently, not a member of the starting XV right at this moment and whatever else the captain must be, he must be a certain selection.
Hopefully if a change is made, the decision is Deans's entirely. The Wallabies don't need change for the sake of a honeymoon period, where all criticism is suspended.
But indications are that Elsom's time has arrived. Whether he is still the best player in the world isn't important. What counts is what he would bring to the job. And right at this moment, the Wallabies could use a skipper who loathes losing.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
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Originally Posted by travelling_gerry
