Athilnaur
Arch Winning (36)
- Agree utterly mediocre.Whatever else can be deduced from this utterly mediocre display by our national team, there surely can be no debate about the following:
- the 2011 Wallabies coaches have had many, many months to meticulously research and plan for Samoa's likely capability and obvious physicality at the breakdown and how this Samoan team would likely handle the breakdown;
- the Wallabies coaches have had many undisturbed weeks to work with the non-Reds likely Wallabies to conduct preparatory technical and tactical sessions regarding enhanced breakdown performance (if 'scrum camps' were able to be held, so could 'forwards' breakdown camps'), and then there was over a week of intensive training of all Wallabies squad members to further perfect this work;
- throughout the majority of the S15, all of the Tahs, Reds and Force showed they possessed generally high-quality forwards packs capable of excellence in ruck and counter ruck work vs the best S15 oppositions
Inescapable Conclusion: at the very least, the Wallabies' forwards coaching capability is manifestly incompetent, poorly prepared, ill-focussed, and generally far beneath the required Test, 3N and BC standards.
Recommended Action: facing a RWC, 3N and BC, Jim Williams should tomorrow be summarily dismissed and Foley and/or one of Links' relevant specialist support coaches be immediately retained to take over all Wallaby squad forwards-related coaching
- Pretty sure the Samoa game was relatively recent plan. No excuse for underestimating their professional skillset tho.
- There are school kids who probably know more about forwards dark arts than me, but my concern wasn't skillsets, it was the forward's commitment as a group. At least half of them were intimidated out of the game. As you later point out these guys are from teams who have shown good forward skills, well, outside of scrummaging at least, and here scrums were actually, to my poor eye at least, an area of opportunity for them.
I am a rocky fan but admit to concern he didn't take the boys aside and give em a chopper pep talk of hardentehfcukup.
Re coaching. Robbie is a fan of "play what's in front of you.". Well today it was 15 big Samoans who mixed a bit of luck, with a lot of professional skill, pride and commitment. Their halfs were good, and Williams excellent. Tuilagi too. I don't know what Robbie said at halftime, but to be honest I doubt it mattered. The role giteau should have played wasn't, and it took Genia to fix it. By then it was wet, the Samoans were doing every delay tactic they knew, and they won a great game.
For myself I'll wait till November to judge the coaching, but anything to stiffen the guys up some would be timely I reckon. If that's Foley, great. Personally I opt for all of them having to endure 10 mins of cold stares to the eyes from Sharpe and Elsom.
Except McCabe. He stood up today, and it was noticed, and not just here, mark my words.