Wallabies 2023

[stillmissit]

Laurie Fisher did the media rounds the other day... some choice quotes:

'We are f---ing built on basics': 'Lazy' moments that exposed the Wallabies, and how they can be fixed

Ever since the Wallabies brought veteran coach Laurie Fisher into camp as an assistant before the win over South Africa in Adelaide, the media…

www.theroar.com.au

Slim, if Laurie Fisher can see this after one game what have the other coaches been seeing? Lazy play has been highlighted by several posters here including me, it shows in being slow to the breakdown, kick chase, speed in realignment and supporting a break.
There may be other things but this is what I have been seeing.

 

[stillmissit]

Doesn't give you much confidence when they got a spray after the 2nd Arg Test, bounced back and then reverted to type immediately after. The inability for them to be consistent is so infuriating.

Qwerty, I suspect they think that what they are doing is their best.
There are close to zero players with a winning history who can set the standards. The coaches suspect that if they lose the dressing room they are on their way out. So you have an organisation that cannot set a standard and cannot sack too many for poor performance. I think that is why Rennie seems to be chopping and changing, he is trying to wake the guys up to the reality of not being in the team or the squad.
The problem is we don't have replacement cattle with much more in them, very worrying for a coach. They go well in the first couple of games but soon settle down to the mediocre play of the majority.

 

[swingpass]

That's rough. Is it really deserved?

no, but at the time I thought amusing. I have deleted it.

 

[dru]

no, but at the time I thought amusing. I have deleted it.

Sorry mate, wasn't expecting that, have deleted my comment as well.

 

[Derpus]

Not enough time at training on “contest”???

How the fk are they all getting injured then…

It's probably just luck. Isn't there some shit about a RUPA agreement and a very low maximum amount of full contact training?

 

[MarkJ]

Could training/playing on much wetter grounds over the course of the season than most of the players would have ever experienced possibly have contributed to the number of leg injuries?

 

[Adam84]

It's probably just luck. Isn't there some shit about a RUPA agreement and a very low maximum amount of full contact training?

Unsure if RUPA does but World Rugby announced they were introducing new guidelines back in 2021 which limited the amount of contact training per week due to CTE concerns, unsure whether that has been ratified yet though.

 

[Braveheart81]

Slim, if Laurie Fisher can see this after one game what have the other coaches been seeing? Lazy play has been highlighted by several posters here including me, it shows in being slow to the breakdown, kick chase, speed in realignment and supporting a break.
There may be other things but this is what I have been seeing.

It isn't like he's been able to fix it.

It wasn't exactly a bombshell bit of information.

 

[liquor box]

Slim, if Laurie Fisher can see this after one game what have the other coaches been seeing? Lazy play has been highlighted by several posters here including me, it shows in being slow to the breakdown, kick chase, speed in realignment and supporting a break.
There may be other things but this is what I have been seeing.

It is hard to fix if there are no other options available that can play how you want them to.

I think all rugby supporters can see problems with the team, but without a playing pool containing players who are better than what we have in the Wallabies there is not much we can do.

 

[PhilClinton]

I feel like aspects of his comments could definitely be perceived more as digs at other Australian franchises than constructive ways to solve the Wallabies problems.

Talking about aligning the basics strategy with the 5 Aussie teams, that fact that the Brumbies are built on basics, the Wallabies should be etc.

Not saying he's incorrect, Australian rugby probably doesn't have a core identity at the moment. It's why I like the idea of a national coaching program/panel that disseminates it's philosophy and coaches throughout the Super Rugby franchises, so that the national coach can compare apples with apples in terms of alignment to a gameplan.

 

[Doritos Day]

It has been said multiple times that players have been coming into Wallabies camp underdone (Rennie and co. disappointed by how much time they need to spend on a mini pre-season)

Something is wrong at all levels of S&C, I refuse to chalk it down to "bad luck"

 

[Dctarget]

Wales, France and England have some pretty extensive injury lists too.

 

[wamberal]

Wales, France and England have some pretty extensive injury lists too.

Plus huge depth in the cases of England and France,.

 

[PhilClinton]

It has been said multiple times that players have been coming into Wallabies camp underdone (Rennie and co. disappointed by how much time they need to spend on a mini pre-season)

Something is wrong at all levels of S&C, I refuse to chalk it down to "bad luck"

I don't know how players can come into a Wallaby camp at the end of Super Rugby and be 'underdone'. Sure, there is an increased intensity at test match level, but even the worst trainers have a got a decent base level of fitness after playing an entire season of rugby.

If the 6th grade subbies prop who happens to always have a sore hammy during Tuesday fitness, punches 6 darts before the game and drink 10 beers a night but still manage to play 80mins of rugby a week can do it, I'm not sure how these professionals can go 20 weeks of games and training and still be 'underdone' when they arrive at camp.

 

[stillmissit]

Lbox and BraveH: This is just not true. A coach's job is to get the most out of players and part of that is ensuring they are fit enough to play the game which we all know is a big step up from Super Rugby. If it is not exactly bombshell info, then what the hell are they doing to resolve this obvious problem? I struggle to see any fitness improvement over the time from about a year after Cheika took over.

 

[Braveheart81]

Lbox and BraveH: This is just not true. A coach's job is to get the most out of players and part of that is ensuring they are fit enough to play the game which we all know is a big step up from Super Rugby. If it is not exactly bombshell info, then what the hell are they doing to resolve this obvious problem? I struggle to see any fitness improvement over the time from about a year after Cheika took over.

This is another topic. Fitness has been questioned on a semi regular basis but a lot of Fisher's points were about accuracy and effort. This is something we can do but are wholly inconsistent from match to match.

The Wallabies haven't performed consistently from match to match for more than a decade. The coach who can change that will get the keys to the city.

 

[qwerty51]

Fitness is such a cop-out. Do we ever actually get run over by teams backend of games? We usually lose from the start.

Fitness didn't appear to be an issue in the England series, England were generally ahead all the matches. We came back strongly Test 1. Eng scored 2 late tries but that was more due to the lead and cards.
Argentina loss, dominated from the start, same as SA and the 2nd Bledisloe. In fact, if we had poor fitness we'd wouldn't have come back in Bled #1 or held on against SA first Test.

 

[Braveheart81]

We had a big comeback against England in the second test as well.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yeah I think a feature of the Wallabies this year is that they can run out the full 80. It's the brain explosions that cause them to be chasing the game that have created the problem IMHO.

 

[Lightblue]

I don't know how players can come into a Wallaby camp at the end of Super Rugby and be 'underdone'. Sure, there is an increased intensity at test match level, but even the worst trainers have a got a decent base level of fitness after playing an entire season of rugby.

If the 6th grade subbies prop who happens to always have a sore hammy during Tuesday fitness, punches 6 darts before the game and drink 10 beers a night but still manage to play 80mins of rugby a week can do it, I'm not sure how these professionals can go 20 weeks of games and training and still be 'underdone' when they arrive at camp.

True.. although with all due respect to the 6 th grade subbies prop, I’m sure he’s not setting any land speed records between set pieces, rucks and around the field in general! Pace of the game should be a touch slow I suspect. When I played my one and only game of 6th grade subbies coming from a strong Sydney Club background, I felt like I was a Test player playing against 10 year olds!