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EVEN as the Wallabies are setting themselves to open a new era tonight against Ireland in Melbourne, the bony hand of the old era has reached out and claimed one last victim, with captain Stirling Mortlock surrendering the goalkicking duties to Matt Giteau.
It's not what many might think, that Mortlock is belatedly paying the price for his last-gasp, long-range penalty goal attempt against England. The agonisingly narrow miss that sent John Connolly's Wallabies crashing out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage last October. But that's not to say the ghost of Marseille's Stade Velodrome hasn't tapped Mortlock on the shoulder.
The singular failure of Mortlock's captaincy at the World Cup was his inability to communicate to his forwards the urgency of countering England's tactic of flooding the breakdown and brutally driving the few Australians contesting there off the ball.
Ultimately it cost the Wallabies the match and a very real shot at a third Webb Ellis Trophy. And one of the reasons was that when the best opportunities presented themselves for Mortlock to call his troops together to lay down the law, he was instead lining up a shot at goal.
rest of article here......
hmmmm
BOKKE“Let me put it this way, A Springbok team contains Afrikaners, Englishmen, coloureds and blacks. It has parochial foes in Bulls, Sharks, Stormers, Cheetahs and Lions. It is a recipe for war! Yet in all the years of John Smit’s captaincy, there has never been one unhappy customer, not one voice of rebellion against his leadership. He is the glue that holds the Springboks together. The man is a legend!”- Jake White
Mortlock you are a champ, and i hope your decision is a good one![]()
Be There. Be Heard. Be The Force Behind The Force