Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Wallabies must drop obsession with peaking once every four years

  1. #1
    Legend Contributor blueandblack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    6,087
    vCash
    8896664

    Wallabies must drop obsession with peaking once every four years

    Adam Freier October 23, 2011

    'Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!" That's what you all heard from Eden Park last Sunday, and even on Friday night. But what I heard was thousands of TVs across Australia turning off, for another four more years.

    Now every nation bar the victor tonight will look to make wholesale changes, give youth a run, and try, test and pass new combinations. Heads will roll. Welcome to the matrix of rugby - the life in between the World Cups. My issue with losing at the tournament is the notion that we now have four more years to work towards winning the next one. That needs to change.

    Internationally, there is no appetite to be the best-ranked nation. Who even takes notice of the IRB world rankings? They're not celebrated or rejoiced in. This is a problem, and a reason the Wallabies will come home baked in bronze. I sense dissatisfaction with the Wallabies' performance among the Australian rugby public and I witnessed it in the papers and first-hand as a punter. The reality is, we didn't enter the World Cup as the best team in the world, so it should be no shock we don't leave as the best.
    Advertisement: Story continues below

    Usain Bolt doesn't run second and third and drop a few races before he takes gold at the Olympics. He wins consistently. He takes down rivals on any stage. The Olympics is just a magnified platform to show the world he is the best. That's what makes him a champion.

    The Australian rugby team needs to adopt that mentality. I think the result wouldn't be a surprise. The World Cup is certainly the showpiece event, but we put way too much emphasis on it to produce a world champion side and don't focus on the games in between. This creates a cycle of depleted teams on trial for a four-year formula.

    We rest players, we groom players, we send squads with a ''development focus''. When did a Test not carry the weight of a nation? If we start to prevent nations from touring with second-string sides or issuing 14 doctor's certificates at a SANZAR conference the week before the Tri Nations of a World Cup year, then we can seriously consider a ranking system that accurately portrays the world's best.

    We need to bring in an accurate ranking system. The current IRB model is flawed. As it stands, if France beat the All Blacks by 15 in the final they will be the No.1 nation. What? Didn't they lose to Tonga and get pasted by New Zealand in the pool games? If Wales had beaten Australia by 15 points, they would have been second in the IRB rankings - which is fair - but they didn't and now find themselves ranked eighth, behind Argentina. If this World Cup finishes with Wales the eighth-best team in the world and France first, then not only will I eat my words, I'll eat my laptop!

    In the meantime, if we look at the measures of who is world champion, it has nothing to do with rankings - it's about beating the best. And in rugby that means beating the All Blacks.

    The Wallabies must win at all costs, win everything. Don't field a second-string side against Samoa, or Scotland. March into every battle with the view of being the best team on the planet. Then you hit a World Cup, like Usain, like the All Blacks, and prove you are the best.

    So the question is being asked: is this golden crop of Wallabies the real deal or fool's gold. Make no mistake, the Wallabies are a talented young group who can achieve great things. But a World Cup is the last thing they should be looking at. Try this: 10 wins in a row against the best in the world. That's what New Zealand did to us, that's what we should be aiming to do to them. Beating them twice in our past four clashes is a start, but that needs to change now - not in "four more years".

    Reduce the importance of the World Cup as a gauge of international status and you will see rugby grow. Bringing international fixtures back to what they truly are - Test matches. New Zealand will win this World Cup, not only because they are the best team in the tournament, but because they have been the best team over the past four years. That's why they will win and that's what makes them champions.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    "12 Years a Supporter" starring the #SeaOfBlue

  2. #2
    Champion oxleymoron's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Wise man from the east
    Posts
    1,911
    vCash
    5194000
    Agree with the dwarf on this one. I'm disappointed every time the wallabies lose a test match.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  3. #3
    Immortal Contributor
    Moderator
    Burgs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Country WA
    Posts
    22,644
    vCash
    336000
    Not saying I don't agree, but he might have missed the point of the "Four more years" chant...

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    "Bloody oath we did!"

    Nathan Sharpe, Legend.

  4. #4
    Legend Contributor
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    5,259
    vCash
    5100000
    I'd settle for even peaking every four years. Wallabies development feels like an Escher staircase.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  5. #5
    Legend Contributor slomo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    yanchep...
    Posts
    5,367
    vCash
    190000
    It's a good point, since deans took over we were always informed were building towards the world cup, the day after our loss to the all blicks we were informed, it's a young squad things are looking good for the next world cup in 4 years.....

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  6. #6
    Legend Contributor blueandblack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    6,087
    vCash
    8896664
    Can we instead peak every year (at Bledisloe Cup time)?

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    "12 Years a Supporter" starring the #SeaOfBlue

  7. #7
    Immortal Contributor jono's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    10,554
    vCash
    5000000
    Or - I know this is Going to sound crazy, BUT; can we have a team that is consistently great?
    Posted via Mobile Device

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

Similar Threads

  1. Semi- Final Match Preview: Wallabies vs All Blacks
    By James in forum Front Page News
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 17-10-11, 06:55
  2. 2010 Wallabies Squad Announced
    By Darren in forum Wallabies
    Replies: 35
    Last Post: 30-05-10, 10:18
  3. Replies: 17
    Last Post: 05-02-10, 12:38
  4. Replies: 12
    Last Post: 13-10-09, 12:53
  5. Replies: 32
    Last Post: 27-07-08, 12:42

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •