Rod McQueen couldn't coach

[Dan54]

Interesting to hear Pat Howard at a Queensland Rugby Club lunch today say the reason for the supposed player power at Brumbies was because when they started Rod McQueen was their coach, and he was a great businessman, but didn't know a lot abouit coaching. He obviously knew how to delegate!!!

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I have heard similar before

 

[waratahjesus]

I went to a talk Rod gave many years ago where he talked of running a team more like English football where responsibility was shared, encouraged and rewarded while he managed the overall effect. He basically said he was like the CEO of a board with his coaches and players answerable to him.

It's basically the same thing people now are trying to throw at him in some way.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

It worked

 

[Bowside]

It worked because he built a good culture and surrounded himself with quality people. Having a good head coach is not good enough you need good coaches at every level of the organisation so that the players have total faith in what they are doing and as such will commit to it more.

Every successful sporting program I have ever been apart of had this in common. And every shithouse sporting program I have ever been apart of was lacking it.

 

[twenty seven]

It worked because he built a good culture and surrounded himself with quality people. Having a good head coach is not good enough you need good coaches at every level of the organisation so that the players have total faith in what they are doing and as such will commit to it more.

Every successful sporting program I have ever been apart of had this in common. And every shithouse sporting program I have ever been apart of was lacking it.

Certainly worked in '99' for him. Shithouse part was what happened in theWorld Cup last year!

 

[Bowside]

Certainly worked in '99' for him. Shithouse part was what happened in theWorld Cup last year!

The world cup was a real disappointment. I didn't expect us to win but the way the whole tournament panned out was certainly not a true reflection of the Australian teams talent and potential.

 

[Ilie Tabua's Shadow]

I'd like Australia to have a lot more coaches who can't supposedly coach if our teams get the career results that Rod has enjoyed at international, interstate and provincial level.

 

[Riptide]

McQueen was far removed from the dirt and grind of the Rebels last year. He is a big picture guy who surrounds himself with a good management team. It's akin to Woodward of England, and as far removed from the likes of Henry, Deans, Link, Gatland etc. as you can get.

It's great when things are going well (and credit should be given when things are going well) but the ship is slow to turn when off course or the officers quarters are too far removed when some of the ship-mates aren't too thrilled with their quarters and curfew. Up in the officers mess, the captain might just be out of touch.

His absence will have no bearing on the Rebels performance this year.

His decision to bring Muggleton over to coach league defensive structures to the Wallabies gave them an edge and won them a World Cup.

 

[kiap]

Woodward+Macqueen have half of all world cups in the pro era. The 'management' approach can work and obviously does work.

Not sure whether Deans is the all-encompassing technical coach either. He delegates, on forwards coaching expertise especially, and not always successfully for that matter.

For the Rebels, Macqueen (correctly spelt) was nominally the manager/coach but really he was more of a figurehead. He'd been out of the game too long.

 

[twenty seven]

Macqueen was a thinker and planner. He looked ahead to who we were playing and their strengths and weaknesses and then matched it with our strengths and weaknesses to play the 'better' game.
We came home with Bill because of great planning and great use of people in positions who could get the job done. I watched a lot of the training they did before the cup and it was clinical and well run. Very professional.
Plus he seem to give the players space to have their families and kept their feet firmly on the ground. They were very kept close to the grass roots and what got them to where they were. You don't see enough of that now. I still feel that some don't respect the green and gold and that the are playing for their country and the kids and not just themselves. Now I will get down of my box!

 

[spooony]

He was as dull as ditchwater

 

[louie]

Stay on your box twenty seven... you speak the truth. Little shits like JOC (James O'Connor) and QC (Quade Cooper) trying to as much money as they can to play for their country is disgraceful.

 

[Orange Peeler]

Why is former Melbourne Rebels Forwards coach Mark Blakewell coaching Easts in Sydney.

 

[spooony]

I don't think Clive Woodward was that great. He just had the luxury of time on his side to build a team even if they were losing in the beginning. If I am not mistaken Macqueen started out the same and lost to Argentina. I might be wrong so pleae tell if it is not so. Macqueen had time to build a team and won the WC. White also had time to build a team and we were playing like crap in the beginning but he won the WC. Even though he was a boring *insert dirty word here* in the final almost making a meal of it by trying to be too conservative. So it shows when you give them time to build a team they normally end in success.

 

[Bruce Ross]

spooony, who would have thought that John O'Neill would find his kindred spirit in the Republic? The sentiment, "when you give them time to build a team they normally end in success" could have been a pronouncement from our glorious leader himself.

When he announced last August that Robbie Deans had been given a lifetime contract to coach the Wallabies, I posted the following (with a little linguistic help from the estimable Jnor):

Given our record against the All Blacks, Deans securing a contract extension reminds me of the tenor making his debut at La Scala. After he sang an aria the audience rose as one and roared: "Ancora! Ancora!" So he sang it again. Once more the audience demanded an encore, so he sang yet again. After the fourth time he pleaded: "Per favore non ancora."

A gruff Italian voice rang out from the balcony: "Bastardo, continui a cantare e finisci quando cantare correttamente." (You bastard, you keep singing until you get it right.)

 

[Inside Shoulder]

It's great when things are going well (and credit should be given when things are going well) but the ship is slow to turn when off course or the officers quarters are too far removed when some of the ship-mates aren't too thrilled with their quarters and curfew. Up in the officers mess, the captain might just be out of touch.

His decision to bring Muggleton over to coach league defensive structures to the Wallabies gave them an edge and won them a World Cup.

I think he had been too long out of the day-to-day game by the time he went to the Rebels: he went to the Brums at the very start of the professional era after having had a very successful stint at NSW in the amateur era. he was able to take a lot of disgruntled former NSWelshmen and it suited that background to have an "us against the world mentality". By the time he went to the Rebels the game had been professional for 15 years and everyone knew a lot more about how things work in the pro environment.

While he deserves credit for getting Muggleton (werent they surf boat rowing mates?) it is not to be forgotten that prior to 1995 Muggleton, or his like, would never have been allowed near the Wallabies because he had played the game they play for money.

 

[rugbyisfun]

No mention of Macqueens great manager John 'schooners' McKay in this thread. plenty has been written in player bio and auto bios about how much of a impact he had on the player group

 

[spooony]

He was lucky to have a guy like John Eales as captain plus he had great hair.

 

[Ruggo]

What I find interesting is that Geoff Miller was the forwards coach. He must have been alright. He had a tough time with the reds but I think that may have been a result of the turmoil the franchise was in at the time.