Old adage of Charlie Chaplin applies to Wallabies' new philosophy of attacking rugby

[travelling_gerry]

• Bret Harris
• From: The Australian
• November 11, 2009 1:39PM

THE Wallabies appear to have adopted the Charlie Chaplin philosophy of attacking rugby.


I'm not sure if the Little Tramp knew much about rugby, but he certainly knew a lot about scoring.

Chaplin once said that whenever a man met a woman there was the potential for sex.

If you apply that thinking to rugby, whenever a player has the ball in his hands he has the potential to score.

Of course, you cannot score every time you touch the ball, but you have to be conscious of the potential.

This is a crucial change in mindset that coach Robbie Deans has been trying to instil into the Wallabies since taking over last year.

Deans' Crusaders were renowned for their ability to attack from anywhere on the field if the opportunity arose.

A new attacking mindset was one of the traits Deans was meant to bring to the Wallabies, but it has taken time for old habits to die.

In recent years the Wallabies and Australia's Super rugby teams have focused on getting into position to get into position to score, forgoing potential attacking opportunities along the way.

Make no mistake, Deans can be as pragmatic as any coach of the Wallabies in recent memory and there is an element of percentage rugby in his strategy.

But the key point of difference in the Deans way of playing is the total freedom to identify and capitalise on attacking opportunities no matter where or when they arise.

And if the Wallabies' performance against England at Twickenham last Sunday was any indication, they are starting to get the idea.

While the Wallabies only outscored England two tries to none, they butchered several other try-scoring opportunities, which means they are creating chances, if not always taking them.

In the Tri-Nations tournament the Wallabies were obsessed with playing for field position, over-using the boots of twin playmakers Matt Giteau and Berrick Barnes.

The Wallabies still kicked for the corners at Twickenham, but there was more eagerness to get behind the ball-retriever, support and counter-attack.

There were also glimpses of the Wallabies' intent to attack off turnover ball rather than trying to stabilise a broken play situation with a kick or setting up a maul.

Much of the Wallabies' new attacking spark has been provided by the Queensland connection of halfback Will Genia and centres Quade Cooper and Digby Ioane.

While Luke Burgess is also a running halfback, Genia is better at linking with his supports, especially around the fringes of the ruck.

Instead of swinging the ball from side to side, the Wallabies forwards are running off Genia and making inroads up the middle of the field, which in turn is creating space out wide.

Cooper and Ioane are not going to die wondering. If they see a chance, they take it.

The Wallabies' attack will face the toughest defence in Europe when they take on Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin on Sunday.

The Irish defence is coached by former NSW Waratahs defence coach Les Kiss, who will know most of the Wallabies inside out.

But the Wallabies, particularly the NSW contingent, will have the advantage of knowing the intricacies of the Kiss defensive system.

His rugby league style defence is about stopping the opposition, while Deans' defensive philosophy is about turning defence into attack.

With Europe's best centre combination - Brian O'Discoll and Gordon D'Arcy - in the Irish midfield, the Wallabies will need to defend as well as attack.

But just like Charlie Chaplin, the Wallabies will need to think about scoring all the time.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225796467865

[tragic]

"Chaplin once said that whenever a man met a woman there was the potential for sex."

And that would be the man's opinion only!

... What an odd little article.

[GIGS20]

"Chaplin once said that whenever a man met a woman there was the potential for sex."

And that would be the man's opinion only!

... What an odd little article.

Just goes to show how often potential is unrealised.

[AndyS]

"If you apply that thinking to rugby, whenever a player has the ball in his hands he has the potential to score", but most commonly he just gets nailed?

[tragic]

Just goes to show how often potential is unrealised.

Still not getting the idea of NO potential.

[Burgs]

Still not getting the idea of NO potential.

That means there is a bit of a chance doesn't it?