Rocky road ahead for Rocky...........

[Slim 293]

None of our other potential 6s have shown to be better than a fully fit Elsom...

The Oz chimes in...

Australia cannot win the World Cup without Rocky Elsom
Bret Harris From: The Australian August 13

ROCKY Elsom has received heavy criticism following the Wallabies' loss to the All Blacks in Auckland last Saturday.

Some argued Elsom should not only be stripped of the captaincy but be dropped from the team.

As one of the greatest Wallabies of his generation, Elsom is held to high standards.

But there is a perception he did not work hard enough in Auckland, which is demonstrably wrong. Elsom, who is his own worst critic, would be the first to admit that he was not at his best against the All Blacks, but how on earth could anyone have expected him to be.

After recovering from hamstring and ankle syndesmosis injuries, Elsom is effectively in pre-season mode. If you forget about his sole game for the Brumbies against Western Force in the Super Rugby season, Elsom has played just three matches, which all happened to be Tests, against Samoa, South Africa and New Zealand.

And yet his performance against the All Blacks was actually quite solid.

If you use match statistics as a guide _ and yes, stats can be misleading _ Elsom had a very high work-rate in the Auckland Test.

To be sure, Elsom uncharacteristically missed a few tackles, which is probably the main reason he has copped so much flak.

But Elsom (12) was second only to secondrower James Horwill (16) in ball carries; second only (30) to openside flanker David Pocock (41) in breakdown involvements and was one of five forwards to reach double figures in tackles.

Pocock topped the tackle count with 16, while hooker Stephen Moore made 11 and number eight Ben McCalman, Horwill and Elsom effected 10 each.

Significantly, Elsom led the way in dominant tackles with four. His total involvements measured at 52, were second only to Pocock with 63.

Given that Elsom also scored one of the Wallabies' two tries, it was not a bad effort from someone who supposedly did not play well.

Another reason Elsom attracts heat is because of his "seagulling" on the wings.

Seagulling is an old-fashioned expression which describes a lazy forward bludging out wide.

It has virtually no relevance to the way Elsom plays the game.

In rugby league parlance, Elsom is an "edge/middle" player, which means he has the athleticism and speed to play out wide and the size and strength to play in tight. One of Elsom's strengths is his ability to read the play and to anticipate where he needs to be on the field in attack and defence.

To describe this as "seagulling" is idiocy. Elsom went close to scoring early in the first half against the All Blacks when he received a pass on the left wing and then scored towards the end of the game after taking a pass on the right wing. Yet he still recorded the second-highest involvement rate (0.65) behind Poccok (0.79) among players in the starting line-up.

Coach Robbie Deans has taken a calculated risk Elsom will be at his best _ or at least near it _ when it matters most, in the knockout stages of the World Cup in October. But Deans has little choice. He would be acutely aware the Wallabies cannot win the World Cup without Elsom at his best.

 

[RedsHappy]

None of our other potential 6s have shown to be better than a fully fit Elsom...The Oz chimes in...

1. Don't you mean 'the cringe-making sycophantic Elsom biographer desperate to sell his hagiography of Elsom pre RWC' chimes in.

2. Aren't those 'involvement rate' stats in the penultimate paragraph lifted straight from Scott Allen/GAGR without the decency of proper attribution?

 

[Bruce Ross]

1. Don't you mean 'the cringe-making sycophantic Elsom biographer desperate to sell his hagiography of Elsom pre RWC' chimes in.

2. Aren't those 'involvement rate' stats in the penultimate paragraph lifted straight from Scott Allen/GAGR without the decency of proper attribution?

Excellent slipper work, RH.

 

[fatprop]

How would we know? Depite being perpetually underdone he has a mortgage on the 6 jersey. Higgers given the chance might blow him out of the water.

I agree Rocky has a history of doing well, but where the fuck is the reward for form?

Rocky is simply more viable in test match rugby, he plays closer to the ball and gets the hard work done. The reality for a test 6 is that those functions don't equate to a highlight real.

To me Rocky is closer to the perfect 6 (a Richard Hill) than anyone else we have.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Agreed FP. Higgers seems more like a classical ball running eight than a blindside to me. I'm perfectly happy for him to play there tonight.

 

[Gnostic]

Rocky is simply more viable in test match rugby, he plays closer to the ball and gets the hard work done. The reality for a test 6 is that those functions don't equate to a highlight real.

To me Rocky is closer to the perfect 6 (a Richard Hill) than anyone else we have.

If you are after a Richard Hill type then IMO it isn't Elsom it would be Horwill and I don't see Higginbum as an 8 at all. IMO Deans has set him up to fail playing him in a spot he didn't play much for the Reds at test level against a very good pack (once Spies and Smit are subbed).

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Horwill isn't a six, he's an excellent tighthead lock, and he and Hill are nothing alike IMHO.

 

[Cutter]

He was much better tonight. Still not great though. Higginbotham was muscular but he's not an 8. Samo was better when he came on.

 

[Garryowen]

Thought Elsom was very good tonight, although faded towards the end of the match. Match fitness still clearly an issue, but one which should rectify itself with continued game time.

 

[wobbly]

He confirmed his place in the side and in his 4th or 5th game of the season is coming into the form we expect. Will have to lift another notch against ABs in Briz. Can't help but think relinquishing captaincy would be the best thing for him and the Wobs. Horwill is already leading by example and Genia is calling the shots.

 

[wamberal]

Elsom will be the captain for the World Cup, and he showed last night that he is still our best number 6. His referee management needs some work, however.

 

[overschoolrugby]

Elsom made a lot of critics who called not only for him to be replaced as captain but dropped from the team altogether look like idiots. Will get better with more matches.

 

[RugbyReg]

Elsom made a lot of critics who called not only for him to be replaced as captain but dropped from the team altogether look like idiots. Will get better with more matches.

don't think he made them look like idiots at all. I believe most criticism was fairly justified. He played very well last night for sure, the challenge is to back in up v the All Blacks and then carry it on all the way until the RWC final.

 

[Swarley]

Rocky's not putting enough pressure on the refs. Last night he only approached Bryce a few times, and each time it was a soft whining complaint, then he'd march back to the team with a frowny face. Needs to negotiate and stick them to the wood a bit more. Apart from that, played pretty well.

 

[matty_k]

Rocky needs to go to the Gregan school of ref talk.

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Elsom will be the captain for the World Cup, and he showed last night that he is still our best number 6. His referee management needs some work, however.

When he is talking to referees, I always get the impression of a schoolkid who feels he has been hard done by, having a moan to the teacher. He could take a few pointers from Horwill and McCaw.

 

[Swarley]

When he is talking to referees, I always get the impression of a schoolkid who feels he has been hard done by, having a moan to the teacher. He could take a few pointers from Horwill and McCaw.

The way he was effortlessly dismissed by Lawrence worries me. It looked like he wasn't even listening to what he said.

 

[matty_k]

Part of the problem with Elsom (just watched it on the replay) and his complaints is that he is out of breath when making the complaint. If you are huffing and puffing and drinking some water it really takes the authority out of it. I'm not sure how to fix this. Aside from making Horwill captain. We all know how lazy locks are.

 

[vidiot]

I thought he made his point reasonably well, he was just talking to the wrong ref. Not his fault. Still can't believe he got called for a dangerous tackle early on - it was a good one. Chances are McCabe will get an enforced break for the tackle just afterwards.

 

[Stickybeak]

When he is talking to referees, I always get the impression of a schoolkid who feels he has been hard done by, having a moan to the teacher. He could take a few pointers from Horwill and McCaw.

And the master - Eales. I dont think its necessarily a difficult technique to master and i think it involves a very specific approach.

You go up to the ref (I noticed Lawrence using first names last night - they can cut that out for starters) and you ask him a very pointed and specific question: "Sir, that ruck on the 22 did you think Botha made every effort to roll away after the tackle?". doesnt sound like a whinge then and chances are the ref wont really know but he'll know next time.

I can't think of a specific Eales example but in the 99 RWC final he gave that most dismissive of refs, Andre Watson, pause by asking him a fantastic question that utterly stumped him...

When Elsom was worried QC (Quade Cooper) had buggered up the grounding of the ball he should have asked Lawrence if he thought QC (Quade Cooper) had been taken out by Fourie - at least doing that makes Lawrence cast his mind back to the incident - unless he thinks rocky is a joke in which case he will ignore him no matter what.