Looking at last weekend, all the following happened either in the Reds half or in mid-field, when we had the ball and thus on attack. Three poor line-out throws, three passes that went nowhere near the recipient, two perfectly good passes that were dropped cold and a penalty kick that failed to find touch. None of these occurred under pressure. That's nine occasions when on attack we've basically said to the Reds 'you guys will get tired with too much tackling, here have the ball back!'
This is not a lack of basic skills, these players could perform all these skills in the U13's, it's a lack of concentration. People talk about intensity as continued running and tackling hard, but it's also about maintaining peak concentration whenever the ball's in play, even when you are tired. Is that hard? yes, of course it is, but so is any profession at the elite level. It is what these guys, having been selected to play at the elite level, are expected to do.
Rant over.