An old second rower mate of mine commented to me recently that last year Nic Stirzaker could pass off the ground from either hand without lifting the ball or taking a step, and yet this year the Rebels halfback can’t. How is that possible my mate asked?

Any player can pick up bad habits, but what leaves them there is lazy coaching – not taking the trouble to address the faults and ensure they’re seen to. This has been a trend in world rugby of late, although less so in New Zealand because their coaches address the problems and correct players.

Against the Sharks Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale frequently stopped to pass the ball. As soon as they stop, their opportunity to draw a defender is now diminished. That means there is now more defence on the players they’re meant to be passing to.

Also, this may sound simple but it’s important; if the player with the ball is running forward and the receiver is also running forward, the ball travels forward at approximately the same speed as they are. This makes the ball much, much easier to catch and pass, quickly.

I’ve said for a while now that Will Genia is playing badly – and he still is. People say that I’m biased and rabidly anti-Will or anti-Red, but the accuracy in what I’ve said is there to see.

Will Genia is potentially a fantastically good player – of that there is no doubt. In some roles he’s even still playing well. But in his half back role he is playing poorly. He lifts the ball up, he backs away from the forwards, does a skip step, has a back-swing on his pass and then lets the ball go.

That’s just not good enough. It diminishes any opportunity any one outside of him might have, because he takes space away from them and directs defenders towards them.

All these players have excellent qualities, but if they don’t put these qualities into their play, then their impact is lessened. A great player has to play no worse than very well, otherwise the team performance is lessened – and it’s up to the coaching staff to ensure it happens.

It’s not difficult to ensure that Will Genia passes the ball properly every time.  It’s not difficult to ensure Foley and Beale don’t stop running when they pass the ball (Quade Cooper seems to have been getting out of the habit of late). So to me, therein lies a huge problem for the Australian franchises.

If we compare these inside backs with Matt Toomua – he accelerates when he takes the ball and he passes the ball fluently while on the run, he keeps his run moving after he passes the ball (to draw defenders) and he then goes on to support the ball carriers. His performances in his role are light years ahead of the others. If I were picking the national team tomorrow, I’d pick Matt Toomua at fly-half immediately. If we look at Toomua (and also Pat McCabe) we can see coaches doing their job.

If our Super teams’ performances are to be maximized then the coaching staffs have to insist on role accuracy. Why I liked the Wallaby performances against Ireland and Wales late on last year’s tour were because we saw people playing their roles accurately. We saw the scrumhalves doing their role and the fly halves the same. That then gave the centres opportunities because they were getting one on one situations. We also saw second touches and wingers or fullbacks coming into the line to further stress defences.

But unless we have the fundamentals of our game right, this can’t happen.

Everybody knows it all starts with the forward pack; that’s because the quality of the ball we get is fundamental to what we do next. But equally what the halves do is fundamental to what we do after that. That’s what makes Rugby such a great game. It’s perhaps a complex game, but you can analyse it down into it’s component parts that are actually very simple and if we do these things well, the game goes well. It looks terrific.

We say when we see someone move the ball quickly and smoothly through his hands to create an overlap that they’re “fantastic hands”, but that is extremely simple – the under thirteens could do it as a piece of cake! If you work hard to do it accurately, and constantly refine the technique – it’s almost impossible not to do it.

All the fundamentals of their game were good for the Waratahs in the first two weeks of the competition.  We talked about the Waratahs attacking line; when they’re all running at the opposition they ask questions. But in the last two games its become a Waratahs zig-zag. How can you possibly be a decoy when you’re standing in front of the ball? We’ve got aimless players loitering and getting in the way – the only person stopping you getting back in position is yourself.

What started off as very encouraging in the Australian teams has started to go pot again. We can only say that the Rebels and Force are coming up with encouraging performances.

Good performers

As to who’s playing well…..

Luke Jones continues to put his hand up for inclusion in to the Wallabies squad. Last year I thought he showed real promise, maybe at six until he matured. He certainly is now making a fist of it. He’s what we really need as a tight forward; he’s is big and strong, fit lean and an honest toiler. I always say that Rob Simmons is a toiler too, but he’s not the athlete Jones is. Jones offers himself up for work consistently. It’s not odd that he’s involved with every third play, or even every second.

Compare him to Horwill. In his hit ups on the weekend (against good opposition I’ll admit) James was stopped dead, whereas Jones through leg drive powered on for three, four or five metres extra in the tackle.

Nick Phipps has also improved – last year you could see the odd pass in which he would miss everybody and even go into touch. But the pass has become better. He’s got pace, courage and he’s a good defender  – not scared of much at all. And now with an improved pass he’s worth considering.

I think we may need to look at Rod Davies more. He needs opportunity and space on the pitch – he can make the opposition pay.

Sam Carter continues to develop – he may still have a way to go but he’s made a giant leap. Last year he wasn’t making impression with ball or in the tackle, but this year he is.

Referees

I recently saw Jaco Peyper ref three games in a row where he totally ruined the first two. I know referees don’t personally knock on, forward pass or feed scrums incorrectly  – that’s not their fault – but I do expect them to get rules right.

A few games ago he gave a penalty in the wrong place – 5m out from touch versus 15m. These are just things you have to get right. Were referees in the ‘old days’ eye sight that much better than it is now? I don’t remember them missing these simple howlers, or wondering if they had to go back two rucks at every try.

And then we had a touch judge on the weekend recommending a yellow card against Dave Dennis for doing nothing! He moved a player with his hand 10-15cms. He didn’t strike anyone and due to this lunacy the Waratahs are down a player in a critical position of the match.

This was after  the lobsided penalty count against Queensland last weekend in Joburg; that sort of penalty count is just not possible in a game of Super Rugby. If one team is offending so consistently throughout a game, I just can’t see how they can be playing at all.

I cannot abide with “we interpret that rule differently” as well. Just do what it says in the book. It’s clear.

It’s also clear that referee performances are looking decidedly ordinary.