Wallabies 2024

[Rugby King]

Agreed.

It's like a company hiring a new director and not inviting them to the partners retreat! You're paying top dollar for the services, make sure you get the monies worth. Or find out early that they're not performing and see what you can do...

He shouldn’t be there at all

 

[stillmissit]

This was always close to the biggest problem with installing him when McLennan did. The timing meant that it was out of cycle and the talent pool of coaches who would be either available or willing to join would be minimal.

You could make a reasonable argument that Eddie Jones was set up to fail but in order to do that you'd need to believe that Eddie Jones didn't want to put himself in the position exactly when he did.

My overarching take is that the hubris of both Jones and McLennan meant that they both ignored all the obvious warning signs and history as to why what they were doing wouldn't work and did it anyway.

The sliding doors moment is what would have happened to all the relevant parties if we'd just stuck with Rennie to the RWC, appointed Eddie Jones after the World Cup giving him a normal hiring cycle to put his coaching team together and then essentially what was the start of Joe Schmidt's tenure was the start of Eddie Jones'.

I think it's very difficult to argue that we would have been in a worse state when we played our first test for 2024 if Rennie had remained coach throughout 2023. I'm not saying our test/RWC results would have been better but surely we'd have avoided several self-inflicted wounds.

Interesting and then he went and put together a team that ignored several players with decent experience levels, ignoring all advice that the RWC requires a good level of experience to have some success. This was just a cash grab on Eddie's part whilst always meaning to go to Japan.

 

[Dctarget]

Waratahs and Brumbies players will gather in Canberra on Monday for a pre-tour camp with Joe Schmidt. Some notable players are Tane Edmed, Lalakai Foketi, Ryan Longeran, Billy Pollard and Sua'ali'i. A similar camp will happen in Brisbane for Reds and Force players later in the week.

 

[rugbyAU]

 

[stillmissit]

Waratahs and Brumbies players will gather in Canberra on Monday for a pre-tour camp with Joe Schmidt. Some notable players are Tane Edmed, Lalakai Foketi, Ryan Longeran, Billy Pollard and Sua'ali'i. A similar camp will happen in Brisbane for Reds and Force players later in the week.

I'd imagine a few supporters will go along just to have a look at Sua'ali'i.

 

[Slim 293]

Waratahs and Brumbies players will gather in Canberra on Monday for a pre-tour camp with Joe Schmidt. Some notable players are Tane Edmed, Lalakai Foketi, Ryan Longeran, Billy Pollard and Sua'ali'i. A similar camp will happen in Brisbane for Reds and Force players later in the week.

To me, that sounds like the beginning of an Australia A contingent...

I just read the Oz story - they're just the new additions along with the Waratahs and Brumbies' Wallabies from the recent squad.

 

[Tomthumb]

Interesting and then he went and put together a team that ignored several players with decent experience levels, ignoring all advice that the RWC requires a good level of experience to have some success. This was just a cash grab on Eddie's part whilst always meaning to go to Japan.

Don't agree with this at all. If this was his intention he would have just kept the status quo and made his life a hell of a lot easier

He was right in thinking we needed to develop the new players, but he gambled and it backfired on him in a major way. I think people let their personal feelings dictate how they view him. He was just as if not more successful as an international coach in Europe as Joe Schmidt was, yet he is viewed as a failure and Schmidt a coaching genius

 

[Tomthumb]

Skelton has reported he’s keen for the EOYT and has talked to Schmidt

Only makes sense if he's 100% committed

 

[stillmissit]

Don't agree with this at all. If this was his intention he would have just kept the status quo and made his life a hell of a lot easier

He was right in thinking we needed to develop the new players, but he gambled and it backfired on him in a major way. I think people let their personal feelings dictate how they view him. He was just as if not more successful as an international coach in Europe as Joe Schmidt was, yet he is viewed as a failure and Schmidt a coaching genius

Well, I am glad we are shot of the bastard. I knew a couple of guys in Eddie V1 and the stories were not good or harmonious. I think England suited him as they are not like Aussies, they do what they are told. That worked well until what they were being told turned into crap. He had a very solid basis to work from that Lancaster built but took the bullet for WC failure and Eddie took those guys and was successful.
Schmidt has not inherited a talented group with powerful forwards as a basis to build on, I think he is starting from scratch almost with many of the guys lacking basic passing and tackling skills. No comparison to Eddie and England.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Only makes sense if he's 100% committed

He'll be available for England, Scotland and Wales - La Rochelle has a bye for the first two games, and the Ireland game is outside the window

Take what we can get in advance of the Lions tour

 

[Tomthumb]

Well, I am glad we are shot of the bastard. I knew a couple of guys in Eddie V1 and the stories were not good or harmonious. I think England suited him as they are not like Aussies, they do what they are told. That worked well until what they were being told turned into crap. He had a very solid basis to work from that Lancaster built but took the bullet for WC failure and Eddie took those guys and was successful.
Schmidt has not inherited a talented group with powerful forwards as a basis to build on, I think he is starting from scratch almost with many of the guys lacking basic passing and tackling skills. No comparison to Eddie and England.

I agree Eddie was a failure, but you're proving my point by downplaying Eddie's previous success and defending Schmidt's losing

 

[Tomthumb]

He'll be available for England, Scotland and Wales - La Rochelle has a bye for the first two games, and the Ireland game is outside the window

Take what we can get in advance of the Lions tour

I'm with Michael Hooper, player coming in need to be ready to commit 100% or it's pointless

Letting him walk in whenever he's not too busy playing club rugby isn't a great way to go about things

 

[stillmissit]

I agree Eddie was a failure, but you're proving my point by downplaying Eddie's previous success and defending Schmidt's losing

Can't see that at all.
I think it's bizarre of you to be writing Schmidt off in his first year as coach. This Wallaby team have had almost 20 years of an unbroken slide down the ladder.

 

[stillmissit]

Only makes sense if he's 100% committed

I think he is committed but the reality of club rugby in Europe is a difficult thing that NH teams have to deal with. I agree, if he can't play all games leave him out.

 

[Strewthcobber]

I can't think of anything the BIL's coach would like more than us not even trying to integrate Skelton into the team.

 

[stillmissit]

I can't think of anything the BIL's coach would like more than us not even trying to integrate Skelton into the team.

Somewhat agree with the thinking but how many games can he play prior to BIL tour? The Wallabies are changing (not as fast as I hoped) and if he ain't there but gets 3 games in this tour and ??? games next year it is a question Schmidt will be pondering and putting to the coaching team.
PS I imaging they will also be considering how he would have gone v Ireland on the EOYT.

 

[Braveheart81]

I agree, if he can't play all games leave him out.

It's a rare event for any player to play every test in the season.

In my view we need to bring in more overseas players on a revolving basis so we increase the pool of players we are utilizing.

Make it the norm that every squad has half a dozen foreign based players and we rotate through a group of players we think can add value.

It has been brutally clear that we lack players with a reasonable amount of experience. He have several players with huge amounts of experience (that are on the way out or potentially should already be moved on from) and a lot of players with little or no test experience and not a huge amount in between.

 

[Tomthumb]

Can't see that at all.
I think it's bizarre of you to be writing Schmidt off in his first year as coach. This Wallaby team have had almost 20 years of an unbroken slide down the ladder.

I'm not writing anyone off, I just don't think he's beyond criticism

I don't know about you, but I roll my eyes when I hear the words "green shoots" and "improvements" after a 20 point loss to a team we almost beat the week before

 

[stillmissit]

It's a rare event for any player to play every test in the season.

In my view we need to bring in more overseas players on a revolving basis so we increase the pool of players we are utilizing.

Make it the norm that every squad has half a dozen foreign based players and we rotate through a group of players we think can add value.

It has been brutally clear that we lack players with a reasonable amount of experience. He have several players with huge amounts of experience (that are on the way out or potentially should already be moved on from) and a lot of players with little or no test experience and not a huge amount in between.

Don't disagree with this BUT we have the Giteau Law and a general lack of interest in turning Australia into another South Africa in terms of Wallabies, which I think is a bit pigheaded but here we are. SA has been smart in terms of the playing structures they play so that OS players can come in already understanding what is required. We have OS players coming in needing to learn our current systems and plays, I wish it wasn't so but that is reality for you.

 

[Tomthumb]

It's a rare event for any player to play every test in the season.

In my view we need to bring in more overseas players on a revolving basis so we increase the pool of players we are utilizing.

Make it the norm that every squad has half a dozen foreign based players and we rotate through a group of players we think can add value.

It has been brutally clear that we lack players with a reasonable amount of experience. He have several players with huge amounts of experience (that are on the way out or potentially should already be moved on from) and a lot of players with little or no test experience and not a huge amount in between.

I agree in principle, but it depends on his and other players attitude towards playing for their country. Maybe I'm just clouded by his seeming negativity to being named captain of his country but I'm not certain how desperate he is to win for his country. And that matters