Learning 'how not to lose' will put the Wallabies in a much better place under Dave Rennie
Throughout 2016 and 2017, the All Blacks set out on a demolition path, piling up record winning margins over Australia under Michael Cheika and South Africa under Allister Coetzee in The Rugby Championship.
Were the All Blacks that good, or were the Wallabies and Springboks just that bad? Hansen’s side was no doubt an elite side, but just how big a factor in the lopsided results was the ineptness of the opposition?
That answer was slowly revealed over the second half of the World Cup cycle.
Once Coetzee was removed, the Springboks’ recovery was swift under Erasmus, calling in overseas-based players and building the best defence in the world on the way to a World Cup victory in Japan.
In the first year under Erasmus, the Springboks were competitive in both games against the All Blacks and ended a 10-year winless drought in New Zealand. The next year they secured another commendable result on New Zealand soil, a 16-all draw.
As much as wider off-field issues plague Rugby Australia, based on the on-field performances of the Wallabies, there is no doubt much of the pain experienced over the last few years was self-inflicted by the way they played.
Under new coach Dave Rennie, the Wallabies can quickly become competitive again in the Southern Hemisphere realm where the two superpowers of the game lie.
Rennie doesn’t need complexity to do this – a simplified game plan will immediately make the Wallabies more competitive. Starting with learning ‘how not to lose’ will put the Wallabies in a much better place.
Employing no-frills exit strategies will eliminate many of the costly and critical errors the Wallabies coughed up under Cheika.
The Wallabies simply didn’t understand or adhere to sound situational rugby principles required at the test match level.
The first thing a test side needs to do is figure out how they are going to get out of the highest-pressure zone – their own 22, as swiftly as possible. Then, this strategy needs to be repeated with a 99.9% success rate.
Cheika’s exit plans were fraught with risk and poorly designed. They used multiple phases inside their own 22, increasing the risk of handling errors through poor carries.
They often worked to the middle of the field, reducing the distance that can be made downfield with a wide angle to touch, and left kickers completely unprotected and at risk of being charged.
All the ‘worst case’ scenarios you try to avoid ended up occurring at least once.
From Kurtley Beale getting intercepted on his own goal line in Cape Town in 2018 within the opening minute, to Dane Haylett-Petty getting charged at Twickenham in 2018 handing England a try from the ensuing five metre scrum, there were countless failures to exit that conceded points throughout Cheika’s reign.
Often these times were early in the match, putting the side behind or deeper in a hole from which they would have to play catch-up from.
The All Blacks cashed in on turnover after turnover against the Wallabies to power much of the try-scoring through transition scoring.
Although this has always been a strength of All Blacks rugby, recognising that and respecting that is crucial to avoid feeding the machine.
NZ were averaging a record 5.18 tries a game over the last World Cup cycle against Australia (2016-19), up from the 2.92 achieved during the previous cycle (2012-15).
That’s anywhere between 10 and 14 points per game as extra sauce for New Zealand.
Rassie Erasmus knew he had to turn this tap off. He tightened up the Springboks game plan quick smart to avoid creating tricky transition situations for his side to try and defend.
The All Blacks did score tries in this fashion throughout 2019 against his side, but it wasn’t due to basic, unforced errors from the Springboks.
The Wallabies continuously tried to roll out elaborate attacking plays, which they did not have the cattle to pull off, resulting in dropped balls and easy points.
Trailing by 12-6 with half an hour left in the first 2018 Bledisloe test in Sydney, the Wallabies ran a wide play from their own 40-metre line, dropped the ball, and saw Beauden Barrett hack the ball ahead and score to stretch the lead to 19-6.
In 2016, the Sydney test, already on tenterhooks, is lost in the space of 10 minutes when Jerome Kaino charges down an attempted crossfield kick by Foley from a set-piece and scores. Waisake Naholo scores shortly after from a fast break when a Pocock turnover isn’t secured.
In 2017 you’ll find a sloppy pass from a lineout play from Michael Hooper bounce into the arms of Ryan Crotty who frees Rieko Ioane via an offload, blowing out the score from 12-6 to 19-6.
All in all, the Wallabies’ first-phase attack scored more points for the opposition than for themselves under attack coach Stephen Larkham from 2016-18.
The overall attacking shape and play improved in the condensed season under Shaun Berne last year, whilst bringing in Scott Wisemantel from the England camp holds promise with Rennie himself well adept with the latest innovations.
Rennie’s Chiefs and Glasgow Warriors sides were known for running it out of their 22. When the Wallabies get Rennie’s style of play clicking it will be fascinating to watch. But they must walk before they run and build the necessary chemistry and skill to execute.
If they can’t, they will quickly find out why the All Blacks’ decimated the Wallabies under Cheika.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments