There was drama during the week in the Rugby Word Cup including set play, but some items were not set pieces.
A tale of two coaches
It was the best of times and the worst of times at Twickenham for two coaches on the weekend: it depended which coach they were.
They had different tales.
Stuart Lancaster, the England coach, had little hands-on coaching experience before joining the national set-up. Michael Cheika, the Australian coach, got Leinster to win the Heineken Cup, and the Waratahs to win Super Rugby—both for the first time.
Lancaster reportedly has a style that is not hands-on anyway; Cheika is always at the coal-face.
Lancaster had been in the England system for seven years and head coach for nearly four. Cheika, not a establishment man, had been the Wallabies’ head coach for less than 12 months, and much of that part-time.
Lancaster had the financial and other resources of the (England) Rugby Union; Cheika, the fumes of an ARU oily rag.
Matt Giteau – was allowed back in the Wallabies
Lancaster chose not to make a case for backrower Steffon Armitage, European Player of the Year (and the nearest England had to a David Pocock), because he plays his club rugby in France. Cheika had his fingerprints all over the recall of Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell and Kane Douglas.
Lancaster seemed not to have a four-year plan to evolve the type of rugby England needed to win the 2015 Rugby World Cup—or if he did, not enough time to find the right players for what plan he had. His team did not make the finals; Cheika got it as right as he could in the time he had, and his team progressed to the pointy end of the competition.
These remarks are not designed to rubbish Stuart Lancaster, a decent fellow, nor to suggest Michael Cheika is the Messiah.
The Unions have something to do with it and the England mob have to come up with answers, assuming they know the right questions.
The Australian Rugby Union has been pilloried in Green and Gold Rugby a few times, not least in our forums, but they deserve some credit for the success of our national team in their results to date this year.
Some RWC myth busters
Aussies can’t scrum
Apart from some early pushing, and a slip by Sio, the Aussie scrum against England at Twickenham gave its finest performance against a top nation that I can remember in the professional era.
A signal that things had changed came early but it was demonstrated best in the 48th minute they got a “numbers” free kick at a lineout 25 metres from the England line. Back in the day they might have taken the tap-and-go option, but they took a scrum and forced the Pommie forwards to run backwards in it. Penalty goal Foley and 20-3.
And when reserve props James Slipper and Greg Holmes came off the bench, the Aussie scrum was just as potent against the England reserve props.
You could see an improvement already in the Sydney test against the All Blacks in August. The affable scrum doctor, Mario Ledesma, obviously had a lot to do with the better basics and tactics, but the emergence of LHP Scott Sio and the strength and straight pushing of THP Sekope Kepu were key.
Adam Ashley-Cooper doesn’t pass
Well, not always, especially when his right-handed fend can be brought to bear instead, but he needed a good left arm to repel boarders at the end of the game; so he passed the ball right on the money to Matt Giteau and the Wallabies ended up winning by 20.
Bigger is better
Wales have the biggest scrum in the RWC at 940 kgs but it didn’t help them to get scrum dominance against the lighter England and Fiji packs.
Though they won both games they were second-best in that department.
Let’s hope that another myth—“the Aussies are inconsistent”—is busted also.
Nigel Owens – short-priced favourite
Referees’ ratings
Who have their noses in front to referee the RWC final, assuming that everybody will be eligible—as they probably won’t be?
1. Nigel Owens (Wales) is the short-price favourite. He’s fussy and pedantic but when he talks, the players listen—and so do the TMOs. Some of his comments at the RWC have been hilarious; so let’s hope he gets the gig to say things like this.
Scotland v Springboks, Leicester City Stadium – Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg goes up to catch a high ball and gets clattered. The poor lamb does a dive like a soccer player (it’s mainly a football ground, after all, and Owens knows it).
“I was looking at it, he was committed in the air; there was nothing wrong with it. If you want to do that again come back in two weeks but not today – watch it.”
2. Wayne Barnes (England) – Consistently high standard and is showing a good sense of materiality.
3. Romain Poite (France) – Had a good match England v Australia and went through a paradigm shift about the Aussie scrum. He should have carded Michael Hooper and Sam Burgess, but didn’t miss a lot else. The problem for Poite and the French referees is that English is their second language and they have trouble communicating with the TMOs as both speakers and listeners.
4. Glen Jackson – Is a roughie and unlikely to get the gig in his first RWC, if he is eligible, but is in good form. The only error I can recall is one as an Assistant Referee when he should have allowed play to continue, but he raised his flag.
5. Jaco Peyper and Craig Joubert – Peyper is the most improved referee in the last couple of years and got the opening gig of England v Fiji but he stuffed up his big chance with his use of the TMO. Joubert seems a shadow of himself these days.
TMO – George Ayoub will be short-priced but let’s hope that he isn’t eligible.
David Pocock – in great form so far
Best Players
It’s hard to judge the best players in a tournament when the pool games haven’t finished yet and the Kiwis have played only one decent team, and not well when they did.
But these are not set pieces; so why not? Here’s three standouts.
1. David Pocock (Australia) – The Aussies’ best player in the 2011 RWC is the form player of the tournament in 2015, so far. Even in his trying years of injury many of us said he should be the first one picked in the Wallabies for this tournament if he could prove he was healthy and had games under his belt. More than any other Wallaby he was a World Cup player and to date he has proved us right.
2. Wesley Fofana (France) – the dancing yet tough centre would make a good skier because his fine balance allows him to react to the shocks inflicted by defenders and finish a move, or to start a new one, mid-stream. He has befuddled many would-be tacklers in the tournament and one looks forward to seeing more of the same.
3. Lood de Jager (South Africa) – is going through a purple patch. Virtually unknown, even in South Africa, before the 2013 season, the galloping giraffe scored one of the best tries from a second-rower in the tournament. Not the most athletic of locks he is at least using his bulk in productive ways and could have a big future as a Springbok second rower on the tight head side of the scrum.
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