Rugby: It's time for Australian rugby to harden up right across the board
Rugby: It's time for Australian rugby to harden up right across the board
As I left ANZ Stadium on Saturday night a supporter spotted me and called out: "Don't be too hard on the Wallabies." Sorry, but the Wallabies deserve to be strongly criticised for losing to a poor England side that showed more passion and intent than the home side that allowed itself to be dragged down to mediocrity.
From the first lineout Lewis Moody belted Quade Cooper a fraction of a second after he had passed the ball. England identified that Cooper is the inspiration of the Wallabies attack. Get to him, unsettle him, and the Wallabies pose few dangers in attack. To his credit, Will Genia held on to the next ball from the lineout. And Cooper still played well under the intense pressure. Matt Giteau's try, after the Digby Ioane break-out following a super- slick Cooper pass, was one of the great tries the Wallabies have scored.
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Towards the end of the Test, though, Cooper, who was under continual pressure, resorted more and more to kicking. These tactics played into the hands of England by slowing down the pace of play. The flow of play was further restrained with the England trainers in their blue jerseys flooding on to the field whenever their players needed a rest.
In the first half of their Test against Wales at Carisbrook, the All Blacks got stuck in the same sort of attritional slow game as the Wallabies against England. But they lifted the tempo of their play in the second half with quick tap penalties and running the ball from inside their 22. Towards the end of the match the huge Welsh pack was gasping for air as the All Blacks ran through and around them to the try line.
Since Robbie Deans became coach of the Wallabies only 10 players from the 2007 World Cup squad have survived at the top level. This turnover of players has unearthed several backs who will be Wallabies greats. But not one forward so far (perhaps Benn Robinson) looks like emulating, say, John Eales, who was in the winning 1991 and 1999 World Cup teams. By way of comparison, the All Blacks on Saturday featured in their pack three young forwards who will be great players - Ben Franks, Sam Whitelock and Victor Vito.
England V Australia Hospitality
Australian coaches of youngsters tend to put their most athletic players in the centres. In New Zealand, the tendency is to play them in the forwards. There is also the factor, in my opinion, that youngsters in Australia do not play enough hard rugby. A GPS player might play fewer than 10 hard games a season. And leading schools like St Joseph's don't play annual matches against interstate rivals.
On Saturday, the Wallabies must restore their flair and passion to defeat Ireland, a team with more attack and pace than England. In the long term, to prevent more disasters, there needs to be a massive restructuring of the Australian rugby system, from the academies, schoolboy, club rugby and Super rugby.Corporate Hospitality Group offers England V Australia hospitality with the best prices. England V Australia hospitality packages for Autumn Internationals.
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