That is laughable Fatprop.
Last week I think it was you who made excuses for Alexander saying he has been depowered since the hit was removed because he is tall. 6'2". Do you realise that Kepu is 6'2" as Jannie Du Plesis. Ben and Owen Franks are both listed at 6'1".
It is primarily about technique and skills development. The fact is Alexander has been let down by Australian Rugby not having any real specialist coaching with this regard. Blades has had what 5 or 6 years to develop those 6 front row options. It is his fault they are not up to standard as much as limitations in Australian players. Many of those he has had to work with in the Wallabies set up have not progressed skill wise and in some cases were discarded totally, like Ma'afu, who became a much better scrummager when he was coached.
I assess Blades performance over his time by looking for consistent improvement in skills execution of individuals. There has been no such improvement and therefore what results do you have to say Blades is executing his tasks effectively? Indeed the Skelton binding issues highlighted against the Wales has been consistent since the French tests in June. That is 5 months ago in which to speak with him and "coach" him to correct the issues. Yes part of that time Skelton is back with the Tahs, but I ask is Blades a full time coach looking at these Wallaby players all the time or just when they are in camp. FFS this is not a new issue, as is Alexander's leg positioning and shoulder height issue. The players have technical issues and as I said above they just have not been addressed.
I was disappointed that Blades was retained and really hoped that Foley would step into the position in addition to his Force duties.
I think you are being a bit harsh on Blades.
I have regularly criticised Kepu and Simmons over the last few seasons. I still don't think both are not top-quality players, but since Blades came on board he has managed to turn Kepu into a prop who can hold his own for 60 minutes, and Simmons into a dominant lineout forward. Both were good for 1-2 silly penalties a game and now they give away hardly any.
Alexander is a shit TH prop with obvious technical issues. He should have been dropped years ago. Very few dispute that.
Alas maybe a new forwards coach is needed.
However, I would go with Nick Styles. He did amazing work with a no name forward pack in the NRC for Brisbane. Their body height and tightness in the scrums+mauls was excellent. Some of that is coaching, some of it is due to the fact that he picked short wide props, and shorter locks with long arms.
It was reminisent of the french tight 5 from 2009-2011 with Mas, Servat, Domingo and Pape. I personally think this is the best model to follow when building a tight 5 because you can pick lighter quicker players and still dominate at scrum time.
I think Foley has demonstrated a poor attitude as a coach in the past, especially in the way he handled the lions tour game last season.
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