I'm not changing my signature, just the meaning. I was right all along that we have the cattle to win, but we just needed to compete at the breakdown. The Wallabies are building ominously. Maybe Robbie is a misunderstood genious after all. But what does he say to them at half time? "Respect the black jersey"? "give up now, you can't win"? They need to get Phil Waugh in there and yell at them solidly for 10 minutes.
My RD progress assessment post Saturday:
- first, one game may or may not be the beginning of the right, positive trend, but the trend needs to be well-formed before that's clear. The win last Saturday was excellent (more below), but there have been far too many false dawns before this and optimistic claims that upward curves were starting when they weren't.
- second, the Test win on Saturday passed exceptionally well my 'best test of a Wallaby upward trend'; namely to win against a team playing excellently for most of the match (irrespective of which team that is). That is what this was, and what we have achieved very little of in the RD era (hence we have often flattered to deceive). This win was way more impressive and potentially milestone-making than HKG, a game I still consider of tentative improvement marker value only (which was confirmed v Samoa and v ABs in Auckland). This game was no dead rubber on neutral soil with Carter off and Donald making major blunders. This was full-on ABs, with even many specially rested top players coming back, etc. The key marker as Scarfie says was the very impressive Wallaby forwards success in dominance in 1H combined with the sustained mental strength and clear S&C fitness to recover from AB dominance/recovery/score catch-up in 3Q and for the Wallabies to dominate and win the crucial 4Q. This match-winning combination -
versus an excellent AB team playing very well overall - is almost a first in the RD era (and ditto the post 2003 Wallaby era come to that). Highly impressive, it spoke its own name. Just wonderful to see so many of the Suncorp crowd staying to await the players' laps post game and standing, clapping them, and the standing ovations at half-time.
- third, IMO the 'better late than never' RD changes to the team - forced and unforced - wrt Horwill as Captain, A Fainga'a in, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to wing, Vickerman in, Samo starting, Elsom mentally unchained, etc, were key to this win. Deans is to be credited for shocking me with the consumption of a highly potent anti-stubborness drug and returning a more flexible, creative coach than he's been in a quite a time (good, full bench use another big benefit of this drug). (The huge irony of the moment being of course that, with the exception of Genia, the hyped young Xs are not having a great Tests-of-2011 at all. The Horwills, Vickermans, Samos, Moores, etc, even Rocky, are delivering more in clumps of impressive skill and intensity as this season progresses than most of the Xs.)
- four, back to the forwards. It's clear from multiple accounts that (in addition to his own high ambition) Nucifora was principally brought into the Wallaby fold to compensate for Williams' years-long and obvious failure as Forwards coach. Whatever Nuci has done, it's miles better than what went before, and, paradoxically, it's almost as if our forwards are at last achieving higher standards of consistent play than our backs - how very rarely can that be said of Wallaby land! Credit to RD for (tentatively) fixing the forwards situation, again, much better late than not.
- five, both Link and RD are both criticisable for not putting in place the combination of sports psychology and continuous kicking coaching skills essential to make QC (Quade Cooper) a high 70s%/low 80s% kicker. He has not improved in 24 months, and if anything is getting marginally worse. The very last failure on Saturday could easily have been a game-loser. His chronic bad hook can be fixed I reckon, and, just as Scotty has astutely noted, I also reckon he gets anxious when in non-instinctive 'still' moments at the tee, and this also can likely be fixed with the right professional help.
- six, what is it with the Wallabies that they NEVER can ensure all aspects of play be optimal for even a consistent 20 mins? How, after weeks of training and calls practice and 4 locks and loads of coaches, and with Moore a good line out thrower, could the line out be as hopelessly poor was it was for much of Saturday? Could have easily gifted ABs tries as such consistent errors have in the past. This orchestra never manages (as yet) to be able to play out a complete symphony; if it's a wonderful night for violins, the brass must be off-key, and then it can reverse just as easily and unpredictably. The talent of enough sections masks the absence of all.
- seven, what I and others yearn for is for these types of victories not having to be preceded by disasters (Samoa) and 'lessons learned the hard way, and now we understand what we're doing wrong' BC-losing kicks up the arse a la Auckland. Can we have some results like this that do not require large sequences of masochistic conduct resulting in angry headlines and 'going up the learning curve'. It's surely time FFS to grow up both team and coaches and prepare effectively for what almost anyone could predict will be the challenges of each team we face - we've been facing most of them for years.
Summary: in year 4 of 4, RD is showing commendable new attributes, making some v good decisions, and improving his management of the team and the team. More to go though, much more to prove. But now IMO we have a rational basis for hope, based upon the coupling of the SA win and this last one.
