I am not going to defend Robbie, in no way at all. Some of his selections, squad and team, and his use of the bench baffles the mind. But you can't really blame him totally for the players not showing up. My manager is a complete clusterfuck but I still show up to work everyday and do a damn good job. I know I'm not putting my body on the line, but that is their chosen career path.
Mr T: I have something of a problem with this. I would not if (a) other high-ranked national teams in this WC were just as inconsistent by this stage and/or (b) if say the 2011 S15 Aus teams were consistently guilty of 'not showing up' meaning that this is some sort of proven generic Australian rugby attribute.
But just look at the application that Wales showed today for most of 80 v Samoa, and same for Samoa too. Look at the lower-ranked USA's excellent application and their own breed of intensity for their games. Then look at, for example, the Reds and Force throughout the S15 2011; these two Aus teams had very different strengths and weaknesses but jeez they applied themselves well for most of their, what, 15-18 games played nearly every week for months on end. It's not as though consistency of intensity and application by a group of well-paid professional players is proven to be some kind of esoteric coaching mystery that only very few have ever or will ever master in the dark arts of rugby.
If certain players will not consistently play their hearts out for their national teams, they should simply not be there and better to rebuild with ones that would. But IMO that's not the issue with top Aus players in 2011, or these Wallabies particularly. I believe this aspect of the Wallabies' problems lie with a coaching style, culture and structure that is not properly suited to skills development in depth, nor to the right type of psychological confidence-building and motivation. (And this has nothing to do with team rev-ups and sheds yelling.) That's why IMO the Wallabies have only the capacity to 'turn up' after they sort of humiliate themselves with poor losses, etc - that almost negative motivation comes from a kind of raw pride and survival response, not from a team culture that has motivation and intensity built into it.