The Ewen McKenzie Myth

[SNOB]

They get match fees on top of their salaries!

Then the ARU are bigger fools than I thought. No wonder their pleading poverty all the time.
Start running at as business not an old boys club.

[shasta]

Then the ARU are bigger fools than I thought. No wonder their pleading poverty all the time.
Start running at as business

They have been held to ransome by a bunch of public school prefects masquerading as a players union. They have played the Europe/Japan card for years and successsive ARU boards & CEO's have wilted.
Every other worker under collective bargaining has had to produce improved productivity to gain a pay rise for decades. Time for these blokes to have the same requirement.

[GIGS20]

losingest!
Your a teacher?

You're if you want to get picky.

[GIGS20]

They get match fees on top of their salaries!

And that fact sits at the centre of my solution to the problem. Announce the scrapping of the top up system, do it today, before close of business.

Do not write one more top up contract (yes, even Nick Cummins) and use the money saved to increase the match payments, include a system of bonuses, you know X for a win, Y for a bonus point, Z if you score a try......that sort of stuff. Make it fair for all positions, but make it completely performance based. If you start the match you get a certain amount, after that you have to work for your money.

If you suck, you not only face the shame of sitting in the stands, you end up losing money.

Before anybody bleats that our best players will run off to Europe and Japan, I would direct you to the current performances of our best players (since I have trouble finding where we would improve last nights team) and suggest that it won't be a massive loss.

[chibi]

The Wallabies haven't been able to play natural instinctive rugby for about a decade. We still have a fair amount of gifted players, but we cannot rely on freakish talent alone to pull us out of these situations anymore.

[shasta]

The contracting system is a blight on the game. BUT the biggest blight on the Wallaby game began when coaches like Eddy Jonesand, yes, Rod McQueen, thought that RL style tight 5 players could out-do real forwards at set piece by running the fat boys around.
Only one problem. You need to win the ball to do it.
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[SNOB]

Shasta you have something there. It's ok to have some smallish back rowers but you do need that bulk up front. I think you may have just hit the nail on the head but who's going to listen?
Argies by 6 next week!

[GIGS20]

Argies by 6 next week!

so you're expecting us to lift against Argentina then?

[Ralto]

Pretty ordinary showing by the Wallbies tonight

Discuss...
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Interesting, prior to this match the most common slur was - "here come the Springboks getting penalties and Morne Steyn kicking goals all day, stopping the Wallabies from playing their exciting brand of running rugby".
For those who enjoyed Groundhog Day - Dave Dennis and Sitaleki Timani have been called.

[Cowboy]

thought that RL style tight 5 players could out-do real forwards at set piece by running the fat boys around.
Only one problem. You need to win the ball to do it.
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The real killer of this theory is that our supposedly more mobile pack appears to be no more mobile than anyone else's. We appear to be smaller than the opposition, not as fit as them and not have as much mongrel as them.

We're so screwed.

[chibi]

... the biggest blight on the Wallaby game began when coaches like Eddy Jonesand, yes, Rod McQueen, thought that RL style tight 5 players could out-do real forwards at set piece by running the fat boys around.
Only one problem. You need to win the ball to do it.
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Thank goodness for that! Somebody else has finally noticed this! I've been harping on about this for years! Everybody forgets that Rod's team could play this way because they were well-orchestrated in their phase play and worked quickly and cohesively with multiple ball carrying options running in from all directions. They also KNEW how to fall back onto basic old-school forward play when they needed to, as it was what they were raised to play coming up through the grades. Somehow all this withered away over the last decade, and we're left with one-out hit-ups from a standing start and no real forward play in sight. If teams want to beat us, they just have to kick it to us, stay out of the rucks, keep the defensive line strong across the field and let us run out of ideas in possession. Scotland, Ireland and Samoa did it!

And the backs have no instinct in keeping a movement alive and flowing by backing up, supporting the runner; the runner themselves also WAITING for support or delaying taking the ball into contact to free-up the hands for a pass. Once a Wallaby breaks the line, they go hell-for-leather, no support in sight. No-one looking to link as a unit of backs or forwards. The Wallabies instinctively go to ground and set up rucks. Watch the Argentinians, their forwards work pretty well in the close loose, they're always looking to offload to one another; they're ready to keep a ball-carrier on his feet and drive him on when the situation arises.

This has nothing to do with Connolly, Deans or McKenzie. It does have a bit to do with scrapping our national coaching directives in the late 90's. And it also has a fair bit to do with emulating what was successful at the time, but forgetting the basic skills and sense of rugby which got us to that point in the first place.

[SNOB]

Thank goodness for that! Somebody else has finally noticed this! I've been harping on about this for years! Everybody forgets that Rod's team could play this way because they were well-orchestrated in their phase play and worked quickly and cohesively with multiple options from all directions. They also KNEW how to fall back onto basic old-school forward play when they needed to, as it was what they were raised to play coming up through the grades. Somehow all this withered away over the last decade, and we're left with one-out hit-ups from a standing start and no real forward play in sight. If teams want to beat us, they just have to kick it to us, stay out of the rucks, keep the defensive line strong across the field and let us run out of ideas in possession. Scotland, Ireland and Samoa did it!

And the backs have no instinct in keeping a movement alive and flowing by backing up, supporting the runner; the runner themselves also WAITING for support or delaying taking the ball into contact to free-up the hands for a pass. Once a Wallaby breaks the line, they go hell-for-leather, no support in sight. No-one looking to link as a unit of backs or forwards. The Wallabies instinctively go to ground and set up rucks. Watch the Argentinians, their forwards work pretty well in the close loose, they're always looking to offload to one another; they're ready to keep a ball-carrier on his feet and drive him on when the situation arises.

This has nothing to do with Connolly, Deans or McKenzie. It does have a bit to do with scrapping our national coaching directives in the late 90's. And it also has a fair bit to do with emulating what was successful at the time, but forgetting the basic skills and sense of rugby which got us to that point in the first place.

Agree but you haven't drunk as much red as me and are still alocuant, I'm not. 😀

[chibi]

Ha ha ha! I used to be on the asti spumante, till I couldn't say it anymore then I switched to beer.

[theforceguy]

Maybe Danie Russouw has the answer .....

[jargan83]

I bet Danie Russouw killed that animal with his bare hands!
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