The Captaincy Dilemma
With Eddie ‘Dr Evil’ Jones recently announcing his squad for The Rugby Championship, he also announced the Captaincy for Wallabies. In an interesting move, Eddie Jones has announced co-captains in James Slipper and Michael Hooper to share the big “C” for the Rugby Championship. Whether this is for the World Cup as well is unknown.
“We want to do things differently. We want to change the Wallabies,” Jones said.
“The combination of Slips and Hoops together gives us a very strong apex to the leadership and
underneath that there’s a group of players that are going to be really important to support them. But I think the character and style between Hoops and Slips, and you don’t get two more experienced players in the world of Test rugby, so that’s a big advantage for us. And you can see by the squad that we’ve got a good core of experienced players but we’ve also got some young players coming through that are going to push the barrel.” “Last Wednesday I went out and spent the day at Sydney Swans with John Longmire and they’ve got a tradition of having co-captaincy and had up to eight captains, they’ve had three captains,” said Jones. “I wanted to delve down into the advantages and disadvantages. I think with Slips and Hoops, we cover the range of the squad.”
“We want to do things differently but better. And one of the things about any great team is that the head’s experienced, and we want to experience up there,” said Jones. “If you’ve played 120 Tests, or you’ve captained your country for 65 Tests, you’ve seen it all. You get an idea of what you should do and we don’t want to lose that. That’s what great teams are about.”
This move has certainly created a fair amount of discussion amongst the pundits. Most of my rugby friends certainly were sharing their ‘two cents’ worth over Sunday afternoon, and I know here at rugbydownunder.com we have all had few eyebrows raised. Except for Yowie, who doesn’t really have eyebrows! But, that is another story altogether. This prompted me to write this article, and get some points out there to trigger a discussion amongst us Rugby Lovers as to how we see the Cadbury Gold’s captaincy scenario.
There’s certainly a number of discussion points and views related to this decision! Instead of being the ‘Brisneyland Local’ of old and coming in off the long run up, I am going to attempt to have a more nuanced / balanced (well as balanced as I can ever be) discussion about what is a very emotional topic for most of us. So! Here goes!
Who are the Real Choices?
James Slipper – As the other Co-captain, and the last serving Wallabies captain, Jimmy Slips is one of the obvious choices. A consistent starter, a wise old head, a good communicator with his team and the ‘referumps’. Slips has been a solid performer, and with his ability to play both sides of the scrum has a versatility to the side beyond his experience and leadership. The only downside to Jimmy is the fact that he will probably only be a 50 minute player. Therefore, there needs to be a strong Vice Captain on the paddock. Of note Eddie hasn’t announced any VC’s, although there is a lot of discussion of a leadership group.
Samu Kerevi – Samu is the only guaranteed first pick out of the whole Wallabies squad. And is central to Eddies plan, and forms a great combination with Quade Cooper who is more than likely going to be the 10. A calm, ‘lead by example’ kind of guy, with Queensland Reds captaincy experience already under his belt. The big Fijian from Viseisei, is a fan favourite and a man that the squad will follow Into battle. A solid 80 minute player, until the injury sustained in his stint in the sevens at the recent Olympics, Samu if fit will be a key player in the squad and a great captaincy candidate.
Allan Alaalatoa – Good old 7 A’s! The ACT Brumbies skipper, and who has skippered the Wallabies already for one test, is another solid choice. Quiet, effective and well-respected player and sturdy Captain. Well known to the Brumbies squad members’ but also comfortable with the broader Wallabies squad. The only issue with 7 A’s is that he is like Slips, a 50 min player. However, the question must be asked, if Tupou is fit will 7 A’s be the first pick for tight head. Nic ‘The Lip’ White – Whitey is more than likely to be the first pick for scrum half. A solid player, and well respected amongst the team, except when playing against him! Nic will be subbed off during the game so the VC question remains for him as well. The Lips only detriment would probably be his relationship with the Whistle Blowers. Nic can sometimes be a yappy little 9, and especially at the ‘referumps’ when things aren’t going his teams way.
Quade ‘QC 2.0’ Cooper – The re-emergence of the most talented 10 Australia has had since Stephen Larkham has been great for the man himself and for Aus Rugby. The new Quade is a maestro and backfield general, capable of manoeuvring the team in time and space. The players know his tactical nouse, and with Kerevi and Icky Sticky outside of him, I see the Wobs going forward . The risks that exist with QC are his possibility of injury, and that Eddie will undoubtedly rest him at some stage during the tournament to preserve him for the world cup. He will also likely rest him in the Georgia game and run Carter Gordon.
Michael ‘Sk8ter Boy’ Hooper – Well there isn’t a lot that hasn’t been said about Hoops. His stat’s as Captain of the Tah’s and Wob’s in recent times makes for sad reading. Whilst admired highly by the squad and all previous coaches, Hoops hasn’t had a good 2023, and it is clear to a majority of fans that he is struggling with form and his top inch this year. All this leads to a general discussion about who is the best candidate, or combination of candidates for the Wobs ‘Big C’. Does the co-captaincy model work? Recently in the AFL we are seeing a lot of co- captaincy across their clubs. The Australian cricket team has stuck with a singular captain, albeit different for each version of the game (test vs one day vs 20/20).
As an ex-Army type, I am not really a fan of co-captaincy. All militaries around the world have learnt that when the shooting starts, there needs to be one voice and one voice only issuing the orders. There is an old saying that goes along the lines of …….”unless the C2 (command and control) is clear things will go all hosed up when the shooting starts”. Anything else creates confusion, and confusion creates chaos. The results of which are never good. However, Rugby and warfare are not similar. I have done both (rugby not at the professional level), and they are not the same. There are common elements, but despite what many verbally effluent type journalists state, it is not a ‘war-zone’ out there.
A majority of previous readers will know I am not the biggest Hooper fan. Leading into the TRC and RWC I am a big proponent of ‘we need a different person and different approach’. Because the last number of years hasn’t worked well for us, and as the old saying goes ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result”.
So what do we need? Well for starters good relationships with the whistle blowers. Hoops never got the nuance of managing match officials, and especially in the RWC we will need to be smart. Speaking of being smart, we need to play smart. We take the 3 points when they are on offer, not blindly going for the corner for a line out and attempted try, only to cough the pill up and come away empty handed. There are times to go for the sideline, and times to take the 3. We need a Captain who knows the difference.
We also need a Captain who will keep the discipline tight. Aussie teams were clearly the most penalised teams in the SRP. Cheeses and vinos a plenty, in fact more cheese than then Brisney’s ‘charcuterie’ platter I would say. Discipline has been well below par in all of the Australian Super Rugby Pacific teams as well. Australia it seems has a discipline problem, and my beloved reds are at the front of that lot. We need a Captain that can lead by example, and can keep the team tight, when the pressure is on to avoid stupid penalties and cards, when they are least needed.
With Eddie’s announcement of Hoops as Co-captain it means that Hoops is more than odds on favourite to be the starting 7. Which is an interesting point, as Hooper was out ‘started’ by Fraser McReight in almost every single stat for the SRP. So why? I was watching the Stan talk shows the other night, and balance of the back row was a big topic. The Wallabies are famous for years for having out of balance back rows, all to squeeze in players that apparently needed to be in the squad so were shoehorned in.
It is now crunch time for Eddie Jones and the boys of gold, and they have 4 games of the TRC to get their proverbial in one sock! The Wob’s need a leader that will stand up and be counted, not when things are going well, but when things have gone to complete custard. Be smart and direct the team to play what’s in front of them and not doggedly stick to a game plan that is failing.
All I know is that Hoops wouldn’t be in my starting squad let alone captain.
What are your thoughts on the captaincy?
