There is a distinct chance the Wallabies could return home winless
The great John Lennon once said, “Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones.”
It appears that Dave Rennie has got the right friend in recently appointed assistant Laurie Fisher who stated about the Wallabies’ loss to Argentina in San Juan, “I saw one clip from that game and said ‘This can’t be us. If that’s us, we may as well not go to the World Cup’. We’ve got nothing. That’s my starting point.”
Anyone who has ever sat in a shed as a player, or carried the coaching clipboard will tell you, that is a fair old tune-up.
As the Wallabies prepare for their five-test tour of Europe the question is, what does success look like after the final whistle blows at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff Wales on the 27th of November after such as assessment?
If the barometer for success is simply a win/loss ratio, three or more wins should do it, according to Rugby Australia’s Andy Marinos. Well Andy, you and my fellow Wallaby fans should brace themselves for an unsuccessful tour as there is a distinct chance the Wallabies could return home winless.
Let that sink in. Winless.
Let’s be brutally honest – the Wallabies play under Dave Rennie has too often lacked the mindset, skillset and structure to seriously be considered the powerhouse in world rugby they aspire to be.
Dave Rennie’s sides have not toured particularly well thus far. A winless northern tour at the end of 2021 and a single away victory against Argentina in this year’s Rugby Championship is evidence of such.
And now an understrength Wallabies look to take on the might of European rugby in their own backyard – a daunting challenge for Coach Rennie and his staff to say the least.
Dave Rennie’s Wallabies coaching career is safe until 2023 and so it should be. When appointed as national coach, Australian rugby was in a parlous state. In his tenure, the affable New Zealander has ensured that the Wallabies are largely a side void of off-field controversy, something a number of his predecessors have not enjoyed. A side that certainly appears to have discovered its soul, character and connection to Australia’s lands and its people.
Furthermore, he has provided an opportunity to once-errant stars as such his care and compassion for his side have paid dividends. It is understood he is well liked and respected by his team. As such his team has defeated sides such as the All Blacks, Springboks, English and French – all serious contenders for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
All sounds good but such victories are coupled with some grotesque defeats along the way, where the Wallabies appeared to play well short of their ability or with a lack of awareness of what the privilege and responsibilities are that goes along with being a Wallaby.
His side at times has been embarrassing as they have been defeated more so by effort than skill or simply beaten up physically.
For Rennie to hush his detractors he must ensure that whatever the score lines may be at the end of this tour, how his side applies themselves speaks louder. There must be complete effort and dedication to not be second best in the confrontational aspects of the game. Any repeat of flaccid performances such as the Wallabies were in Brisbane against the English, or the Pumas in San Juan will only vindicate and embolden his detractors.
Australians by nature are not short on confidence and neither are the Wallabies. But overconfidence with a lack of reality only leads to a state of delusion. The Wallabies should not delude themselves that they currently possess the consistent mindset required to climb the top of the rugby tree. Perhaps this has been Dave Rennie’s greatest failure thus far, or perhaps I should re-phrase that as his greatest work on moving forward – mental toughness. Being mentally tougher than the opponent. Being the last man standing.
What frustrates me is that his side has shown, at times, they have what it takes. 14-man victories over France and England and a near victory of Wales in Cardiff are evidence his side can galvanize whilst under pressure and perform. Yet these are balanced out where inexplicably a mental malaise overcomes the Australians.
Assistant Laurie Fisher spoke of what he wants from this tour, “this tour is all about really, really developing our basics, valuing our basics and bedding all that down. Ground zero. We’re going to get that right and we’re going grow from there.”
Excellent. But identifying that the Wallabies need to get the basics right, itself is all but an admission that the basics in the Australian game were lacking or were not a required standard under the Rennie tenure before Fisher’s inclusion. Dave Rennie must own that.
There will be mistakes made on the tour by the Wallabies, but as long as the Wallabies play through them and play on, the Australians may yet discover the mindset required to climb rugby’s Everest.
With the inclusion of the no-nonsense straight-talking Fisher, Dave Rennie may have found the Lennon to his McCartney and together they may yet get the Wallabies into tune.
The Australian rugby public expects despite the adversity they face.
As John Lennon also said, “I’m an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I’ll bring you something out of it.”
As should Dave Rennie of these touring Wallabies. The answer is clear, “coach – give us something to be proud of and that is success enough for now.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments