Tuesday’s Rugby News has Simmons seizing his chance, the Waratahs with a new sort of coach, absent ABs, and Cameron Clyne facing the committee.
[one_half last=”no”]
Simmons Seizes Second
Rob Simmons was told thanks but no thanks by the Reds at the end of the season, and as such he pondered what to do next – stay in Australia or go chase the megabucks? Being left out during the whole June series wouldn’t have been very good either.
Like a Deus Ex Machina, Michael Cheika swooped in, gave him a spot in the Wallabies squad and, ever since the Dunedin Bledisloe (4 tests ago), he’s been in the Wallabies squad. He’s telling rugby.com.au it’s cos of hard yakka.
“That (return) might have been the result of the hard work before that,” Simmons said.
“A big moment for me. The mindset I took into that was trying to get some consistency here and do what you can. It’s not as though you just lose how to play footy overnight so it’s just doing the good things more consistently and we knew that.
“There’s still more work to do but it’s good to be able to be back on the field.”
Simmons, however, admits he doesn’t know what’s quite happened to him in these past few months to make him feel like he’s been playing to his potential. Is it because he has new glasses? He probably misses his old glasses, but that can’t be it…oh, wait, does it have anything to do with being coached by a good coach?
“I don’t know how to explain it, it’s just good to be back out there playing and to be given the opportunity to be able to represent my country and be able to improve,” Simmons said.
It’s definitely the good coach thing.
[/one_half][one_half last=”yes”]
Waratahs Mind Coach
The Waratahs have employed a mind coach to help them get over their crab juice 2017 season, an idea Daryl Gibson probably came across after watching that Metallica documentary where they get bring in a team psychologist.
Jed Holloway, who’s one of the few Waratahs who weren’t called up to the Wallabies, has told Rugby News all about it.
“Individually and as a team, we weren’t good enough this year and there is no point shying away from that but I think we’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and our group as a result,” Holloway said.
“With respect to our fans, we can’t afford to have another year like that in 2018 and we’ve addressed that already. The coaches have added some fresh faces to the squad and the coaching staff and that’s already had a really positive impact.
“[The mind coach has] worked a lot with us on our mental preparation for games and for me, that’s been something I think I’ve struggled with.
“For instance, I tend to overthink things a lot and when I was coming back from my hamstring injury earlier this year, at times subconsciously I was probably thinking more about my leg than what was going on on the field and if you’re doing that in Super Rugby, you’re going to go missing for periods of the game, which isn’t good enough.”
The Greater Sydney Rams captain admits that the psychologist has really helped him get his thinking straight, something which should help Holloway belt the living daylights out of blokes next year.
“It makes you realise how much power the mind has over the body and if you can get on top of that, you’ve won half the battle. If your mind is telling you to do something, you’re body typically follows and I think that really helped me in those first few NRC games this year,” Holloway added.
“You’ve probably heard it elsewhere, but I really can’t wait for 2018. We’ve been working with the mind coach, then all the non-Wallabies have been training together in what we’re calling the transformation group and competing at everything we do, every day.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling at the Waratahs at the moment to be honest.”
As long as the 2018 Waratahs season isn’t to music what the St. Anger album was, it’ll be ok folks.
[/one_half][one_half last=”no”]
ABs All Out
The All Blacks will be missing two of their locks on Saturday. Brodie Retallick won’t be there, as he’s staying with his family after the loss of his unborn child. But in happier news, Luke Romano won’t be in Brisbane because of the birth of his son. Romano will be replaced by Patrick Tuipolotu.
Also not there will be Nehe Milner-Skudder, who’s been ruled for the season with injury. Beauden Barrett might not be there too, not because he’s been yellow carded for a cynical penalty for the nth time this year, but because his noggin took a knock in Cape Town. In his, or NMS’, or their case (the rugby.com.au article doesn’t really say), is Crusaders flyhalf Richie Mo’unga.
[/one_half][one_half last=”yes”]
Force & Friends
The Force thing is still going on, unresolved, with ARU chairman Cameron Clyne facing the Senate inquiry last night.
Clyne climbed down from his ivory tower in Mosman or Rose Bay or Asgard or where it is he lives, to say hey hello to the Canberra-based inquiry for the first time. CEO Bill Pulver, former COO Rob Clarke and former Force GM Mark Sinderberry have already all faced the music.
**EDIT – actually here are some words:
“The only number provided ahead of the meeting, was, ‘We actually don’t know but based on the (discussions), it’s going to be well north of $100 million’, because you’re dealing with an inferior competition, higher travel costs and compensation from potentially every other team,” said Clyne of the Adelaide meeting with Twiggy.
“We went into that meeting saying, ‘if there is a substantial offer, we’ll listen to it’. It clearly wouldn’t have met the costs.” Ok, so the ARU either were being misleading or $50m wasn’t enough to save undo Super (again).
Clyne added that the package from the Victorians was superior to the money offered from the West – something hamstrung by Twiggy’s offer to fund the Australian Rugby Foundation, which is a grassroots charity thing – and that there hadn’t been colluding to dump the Force from day dot.
“Management are constantly making a series of recommendations, as you’d expect,” he said. “The board’s always asking them to explore strategic options around how to improve the game.
“Certainly, there was no decision made by the board to go from five to four until April 2017.”
You can find the footage of Clyne talking to the inquiry here – just be warned that the hold music hasn’t been updated since at least 1997, and the action starts at 19:09 ish. If the music really gets to you, just listen to this instead.
[/one_half]
