RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
Perhaps there is School 3 - the fence sitters ;-).
LOCKED: Time to Sack Deans?
- Thread starter Gnostic
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Perhaps there is School 3 - the fence sitters ;-).
RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
HaHa! Scarf: What about: School 1: RKCs (Radicals Kill Coaches) and School 2: the SQFs (Status Quo Fanboys) and School 3: ASGs (Always Sore Gonads). (You as Moderator need to sort this naming out asap.)
Joe Blow
John Hipwell (52)
WE are not what you think we are, we are golden, we are golden.”
While listening to the refrain of the hit song by British singer-songwriter Miko I was reminded of the men in gold, the Wallabies.
When New Zealander Robbie Deans, the most successful coach in Super rugby history, was appointed coach in 2008 there was an expectation that the team national would enjoy a golden era.
Instead, the Wallabies seem to have lost some of their shine after supposedly unimpressive performances in the in bound Tests against England and Ireland.
But it would be a great mistake to think Deans is not developing a Wallabies team capable of a gold-medal performance in the World Cup in New Zealand next year.
The Wallabies are in much better shape than some would have us believe and they are very well positioned for a good showing at the World Cup.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
.End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Those who expected Deans to work wonders overnight simply did not appreciate the enormity of the task in front of him.
While Deans' Crusaders won five Super rugby titles from 2000 to 2008, some Australian coaches attempted to implement many of his ideas about counter-attack and support play in their own teams, but would often run into resistance from players who were set in their ways.
Yet, of the playing group Deans inherited in 2008 only a few had experienced any real success and none had played in successful teams over a sustained period.
In other words, the habit of losing had replaced the habit of winning, which had marked the Wallabies during the highly successful Rod Macqueen era.
Deans introduced seven uncapped players in his first Wallabies squad in June 2008 and he has continued to shape and re-shape the team ever since like a sculptor trying to design the perfect figure.
If current uncapped squad members Scott Higginbotham, Rob Simmons, Anthony Fainga'a and Ben McCalman get onto the field, Deans will have introduced 27 players to Test rugby in three seasons.
There are only seven survivors from the Wallabies' 2007 World Cup squad - Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Mark Chisholm, Rocky Elsom, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Stephen Moore and Nathan Sharpe - in the 2010 Tri Nations squad, although number eight Wycliff Palu is injured.
And it is a reasonable assumption that not all of these players will make it to New Zealand next year.
The long list of injuries the Wallabies have endured this year will be a blessing in disguise because it has helped to develop the Wallabies' depth.
Deans was criticised for playing rookie frontrowers Ben Daley, Salesi Ma'afu and James Slipper against England and Ireland, but the Wallabies will reap the benefits of this youth policy next year.
Instead of the band-aid solution of recalling veteran props Al Baxter and Matt Dunning, Deans opted for surgery without an anesthetic. No pain, no gain.
In his mind's eye, Deans can envisage the team he is trying to create and he has just enough time to do it.
That's not to suggest that Deans has not made progress in his first two and a half years.
The Wallabies' wonderful win against Wales in Cardiff last November is the template for the future direction of the team.
Much has been made of Deans' winning only 18 of 32 Tests.
When ARU chief executive John O'Neill appointed Deans he said he looked forward to the Wallabies achieving an 80 per cent winning record, which not even Macqueen quite managed.
At the start of this year's Tri-Nations O'Neill revised that target to 70 to 75 per cent.
Those who criticise Deans' record fail to take into account the fact that the beginning of his tenure coincided with the expansion of the Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup.
If Deans' predecessors John Connolly, Eddie Jones and even Macqueen had had to play the All Blacks four times and the Springboks three times respectively instead of twice, you could almost guarantee their records would have been worse.
Notwithstanding, the Wallabies' upset 21-20 loss to England in Sydney last month, Deans' record against every nation other than the All Blacks is very good.
The Wallabies' one from eight record against the All Blacks is unacceptable, but they have won three of six against the Springboks, who have won four of their past eight matches with New Zealand.
If the past two and a half years have shown us anything, it is that the Wallabies have as good a chance as anyone of winning the 2011 World Cup if they can field their strongest team and sufficient depth to still give it a good shake even if they sustain injuries.
The Wallabies have a lot of things going for them.
In blindside flanker Rocky Elsom the Wallabies have a captain who is fast developing into one of the great leaders of world rugby.
The uncompromising Elsom will not allow anything to get in the way of the Wallabies' succeeding.
Quade Cooper may well be the most dominant playmaker at the World Cup with his unique skills, forming an outstanding halves combination with Will Genia.
At full strength, the Wallabies will boast a forward pack that can compete in the scrum, lineout and breakdown with any team in the world and backs with the skill and pace to make full use of the ball.
Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer believes a team needs five players who are the best in their positions to win a World Cup. In Elsom, Cooper, Genia, loosehead prop Benn Robinson and fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper the Wallabies are approaching this ideal. You can add David Pocock too as All Black captain Richie McCaw no longer plays like a true openside flanker.
And in charge of it all the Wallabies have a coach who knows how to win, particularly on New Zealand soil.
The careless whispers about Deans being sacked if the Wallabies do not achieve satisfactory results in the Tri Nations have been refuted by no less a figure than grand slam winning captain Andrew Slack, who claimed it would be “madness” to do so.
It does not really matter what is written and said about the Wallabies as long as they maintain their self-belief.
Remember the refrain, we are golden, we are golden.
While listening to the refrain of the hit song by British singer-songwriter Miko I was reminded of the men in gold, the Wallabies.
When New Zealander Robbie Deans, the most successful coach in Super rugby history, was appointed coach in 2008 there was an expectation that the team national would enjoy a golden era.
Instead, the Wallabies seem to have lost some of their shine after supposedly unimpressive performances in the in bound Tests against England and Ireland.
But it would be a great mistake to think Deans is not developing a Wallabies team capable of a gold-medal performance in the World Cup in New Zealand next year.
The Wallabies are in much better shape than some would have us believe and they are very well positioned for a good showing at the World Cup.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
.End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Those who expected Deans to work wonders overnight simply did not appreciate the enormity of the task in front of him.
While Deans' Crusaders won five Super rugby titles from 2000 to 2008, some Australian coaches attempted to implement many of his ideas about counter-attack and support play in their own teams, but would often run into resistance from players who were set in their ways.
Yet, of the playing group Deans inherited in 2008 only a few had experienced any real success and none had played in successful teams over a sustained period.
In other words, the habit of losing had replaced the habit of winning, which had marked the Wallabies during the highly successful Rod Macqueen era.
Deans introduced seven uncapped players in his first Wallabies squad in June 2008 and he has continued to shape and re-shape the team ever since like a sculptor trying to design the perfect figure.
If current uncapped squad members Scott Higginbotham, Rob Simmons, Anthony Fainga'a and Ben McCalman get onto the field, Deans will have introduced 27 players to Test rugby in three seasons.
There are only seven survivors from the Wallabies' 2007 World Cup squad - Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Mark Chisholm, Rocky Elsom, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Stephen Moore and Nathan Sharpe - in the 2010 Tri Nations squad, although number eight Wycliff Palu is injured.
And it is a reasonable assumption that not all of these players will make it to New Zealand next year.
The long list of injuries the Wallabies have endured this year will be a blessing in disguise because it has helped to develop the Wallabies' depth.
Deans was criticised for playing rookie frontrowers Ben Daley, Salesi Ma'afu and James Slipper against England and Ireland, but the Wallabies will reap the benefits of this youth policy next year.
Instead of the band-aid solution of recalling veteran props Al Baxter and Matt Dunning, Deans opted for surgery without an anesthetic. No pain, no gain.
In his mind's eye, Deans can envisage the team he is trying to create and he has just enough time to do it.
That's not to suggest that Deans has not made progress in his first two and a half years.
The Wallabies' wonderful win against Wales in Cardiff last November is the template for the future direction of the team.
Much has been made of Deans' winning only 18 of 32 Tests.
When ARU chief executive John O'Neill appointed Deans he said he looked forward to the Wallabies achieving an 80 per cent winning record, which not even Macqueen quite managed.
At the start of this year's Tri-Nations O'Neill revised that target to 70 to 75 per cent.
Those who criticise Deans' record fail to take into account the fact that the beginning of his tenure coincided with the expansion of the Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup.
If Deans' predecessors John Connolly, Eddie Jones and even Macqueen had had to play the All Blacks four times and the Springboks three times respectively instead of twice, you could almost guarantee their records would have been worse.
Notwithstanding, the Wallabies' upset 21-20 loss to England in Sydney last month, Deans' record against every nation other than the All Blacks is very good.
The Wallabies' one from eight record against the All Blacks is unacceptable, but they have won three of six against the Springboks, who have won four of their past eight matches with New Zealand.
If the past two and a half years have shown us anything, it is that the Wallabies have as good a chance as anyone of winning the 2011 World Cup if they can field their strongest team and sufficient depth to still give it a good shake even if they sustain injuries.
The Wallabies have a lot of things going for them.
In blindside flanker Rocky Elsom the Wallabies have a captain who is fast developing into one of the great leaders of world rugby.
The uncompromising Elsom will not allow anything to get in the way of the Wallabies' succeeding.
Quade Cooper may well be the most dominant playmaker at the World Cup with his unique skills, forming an outstanding halves combination with Will Genia.
At full strength, the Wallabies will boast a forward pack that can compete in the scrum, lineout and breakdown with any team in the world and backs with the skill and pace to make full use of the ball.
Former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer believes a team needs five players who are the best in their positions to win a World Cup. In Elsom, Cooper, Genia, loosehead prop Benn Robinson and fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper the Wallabies are approaching this ideal. You can add David Pocock too as All Black captain Richie McCaw no longer plays like a true openside flanker.
And in charge of it all the Wallabies have a coach who knows how to win, particularly on New Zealand soil.
The careless whispers about Deans being sacked if the Wallabies do not achieve satisfactory results in the Tri Nations have been refuted by no less a figure than grand slam winning captain Andrew Slack, who claimed it would be “madness” to do so.
It does not really matter what is written and said about the Wallabies as long as they maintain their self-belief.
Remember the refrain, we are golden, we are golden.
Article in the Australian.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ust-be-applauded/story-e6frg7o6-1225896084310
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ust-be-applauded/story-e6frg7o6-1225896084310
D
daz
Guest
We may have to start taking names for posterity....
Langthorne
Phil Hardcastle (33)
I thought it was you, moonlighting incognito.
Langthorne
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Joe Blow
John Hipwell (52)
Article in todays Australian
DPK
Peter Sullivan (51)
Lost to Scotland? England at home?
Has he only beaten NZ once and SA twice in his tenure? I can only remember Brisbane last year beating the Boks, his first game against NZ and beating the Boks once in SA.
RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
Ditto. But I soon became convinced it must in fact be an ARU Media Release that had mistakenly arrived at GAGR unfiltered (perhaps following RugbyReg's visit there this week), by some kind of electronic tag error.
It perfectly contains the entire ARU catalogue of 'morale raising strategies in the face of poor outcomes' that this erstwhile body has been relentlessly pumping out in the last few months. Long on a kind of romantic rugby patriotism rooted in the mists of time, a iitany of loosely worked excuses and vacuous explanations, few hard facts, reconstructed statistics (take the AB losses out) encouraging a far more positive rate of achievement than otherwise thought possible, multiple hard to disprove arguments, visions of future potential (but with undefined hard outcomes and lacking precise targets). And, of course, the piece could not be considered a bona fide act of updated ARU faith without the inevitable reference to the only goal that really ever mattered, the RWC.
But my personal favourite from this blancmange of happy phrases was this:
"In blindside flanker Rocky Elsom the Wallabies have a captain who is fast developing into one of the great leaders of world rugby."
We all like Rocky and wish him well, but there is not at this time a scintilla of evidence to support this glorious claim. Rather, Rocky is struggling to get back to his Irish form.
Then I looked again. Oh no! It's Bret Harris! Well known rugby journalist! Phew. Not to worry, I was right all along.
waratahjesus
Greg Davis (50)
so im listening to the radio in the car this morning, doing some channel flicking and come across Greg Martin on MMM, being interviewd by a rugby league show but still talking about rugby, so they ask him if deans is the right person to be coaching the wallabies, "absolutely" he replies, then goes on to ad that the problem with australian players is there inconsistant unlike kiwis, "one week there amazing the next week you ask yourself what the hell is going on", so Greg Martin thinks deans is the right coach and identifies what the problem with the wallabies is from his point of view. So he then goes on to ad that Robbie deans "doesnt know what to do about it, he has just thrown his hands up cos he doesnt have the answers".
this is the problem i have with pro deans people, he has basically said deans is the best coach but we dont have the players to win. If he is such a great coach then why cant he pick an F'n team and coach them to be better than what they are? or has coaching changed in the last five minutes?
this is the problem i have with pro deans people, he has basically said deans is the best coach but we dont have the players to win. If he is such a great coach then why cant he pick an F'n team and coach them to be better than what they are? or has coaching changed in the last five minutes?
What's this got to do with England?
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