Denial is not just a river in Egypt
By · CommentsLeave it to The Dom Post’s Toby Robson to be the level headed voice of sanity for both the All Blacks and the media.
The most worrying aspect of the All Blacks in the wake of the Durban debacle is the chorus of denial coming out of the camp.Richie McCaw and Graham Henry think the game plan was fine? Steve Hansen doesn’t want to call in a specialist to help with the lineouts? Wayne Smith believes long kicks are a waste of time?
Publicly the coaches are putting on a brave face, privately I’m hoping they are taking a good look at themselves and what they can do to improve. Then again, this is the same group who couldn’t figure out what went wrong against France in 2007.
It has the same delusional tone as comments this season on the form of wing Joe Rokocoko and the “international class” of first-five Stephen Donald.
Simply put Rokocoko has to go. Coach Henry threw Liam Messam under the bus for making some errors against Italy and needs to do the same thing to Joe. Stephen Donald is rapidly running out of chances to prove he is anything but a good Super 14 level first five. Personally I think the NZRU brought back the wrong player when they got Luke McAlister back, they should have got Nick Evans.
The All Blacks need to swallow their pride and admit they got it wrong in South Africa.
If it looks like a dog and sounds like a dog, it probably is a dog and the All Blacks’ tactics in Durban were definitely of the four-legged variety.
Ouch! But right on the button.
To invest in trying to score tries from 70 metres out at test level is suicide. Henry says his side created several try-scoring opportunities. He’s right, but he misses the point.
Those opportunities were low percentage ones because they were launched from so deep. Rugby is a game of territory because it’s easier to score points when you are in the opposition’s half. To deny such tenets of the game is dangerous.
By contrast, the Springboks’ game plan was simple, get territory and kick penalty goals, which won them the game.
Previous All Black teams have sought a perfect game where the ball is kept in hand, pressure applied and tries scored. This side has not earned the right to chase such lofty ambitions, yet. Without Dan Carter there are no players of Christian Cullen’s ilk among the current crop yet, although Sitiveni Sivivatu has rare class.
Looking up and down the current 15, there are few who could be considered game breakers in the mould of Carter or Cullen. Perhaps Ma’a Nonu, but he needs good ball inside him and good wingers to finish his breaks, something he isn’t getting right now.
But to simply paw over the All Blacks’ twin losses will achieve little. There is no shame in losing to a South African side at the top of its game.
Exactly, learn from your mistakes.
However, the All Blacks must address their shortcomings before facing the Wallabies in Sydney, and there are three major areas.
The first is the lack of a credible kicking game, their game plan is an admission of that shortfall. It is easy to fix.
Hansen says rushing Carter back would be “panicky”. The truth is it is essential.
Donald has his strengths, but his kicking game is neither long enough nor accurate enough for test rugby. If Carter’s not ready Luke McAlister’s bigger, more accurate boot should be given the nod.
There is of course the worry that McAlister may not be able to run the back line as well as Donald, but on recent outing it’s a punt that the coaches should look to take.
Second, McCaw needs help at the breakdown. The All Blacks were outgunned by the Springboks’ physicality at the tackle and need to beef up their presence over the ball.
They have struggled with the new rule that allows players to hold on to the ball at the breakdown. Pesky opponents are proving difficult to legally remove. McCaw gets his hands on the pill, but too often the cavalry is too late to capitalise.
He’s unlikely to get a look-in but Karl Lowe’s huge match for Hawke’s Bay on Saturday provided further evidence of his destructive power and ability to steal turnovers.
Yes and no. Yes McCaw needs help at the breakdown but Lowe is not the answer. I think Toby’s pro Hurricanes streak may be showing through here, personally I think Adam Thomson would be a better choice at number six to help McCaw and So’oialo at the breakdown.
The third big issue is the lineout. The obsession with winning ball at the back of the lineout needs to stop. If the All Blacks cannot back themselves to win ball at the front or middle then they have the wrong locks.
Against arguably the best lineout in the world they struggled, but they have struggled all year regardless of opposition. There’s nothing wrong with the lock pairing, what is needed is better tactics and someone who can throw accurately. It also highlights what we lost when Carl Hayman went overseas as lifters are equally important in the modern game.
Rokocoko’s chances on the wing must have run out. Wellington’s Hosea Gear or Cory Jane are the obvious options.
Can’t argue with that, I thought Jane was unlucky to miss out after getting almost no ball against Australia.
The question now is whether the All Blacks will see their problems in time to address them. Perhaps the long flight back from the republic will clear their thinking.
But one wonders if they need an outside voice? Sometimes it is hard to see clearly when you are so close to your subject.
I vote yes! The coaching staff have been together for six years now and seem to have either run out of ideas or lost perspective entirely.
At the top level of sport there is no room for bloody- mindedness or blind loyalty.
In the short term it will mean a long and frustrating Tri- Nations and, more concerning, in the long term will damage New Zealand’s hopes of winning the 2011 World Cup.
That World Cup is only two years away and I don’t yet see anyone putting up their hands to plug those problem areas. What is needed now is a good hard look at the players and coaches, get rid of those who are coasting by on reputation and replace them with those who are showing potential. Sure some of them, such as Gear or Lowe, who might now be ready yet but surely they can’t do much worse than what we saw on Sunday morning.
Hinton’s list of endangered All Blacks
By · CommentsMarc Hinton over at Rugby Heaven has a very interesting article in which he lists the All Blacks who he believes are in danger of losing their spots after their disastrous tour of South Africa.
If Graham Henry is to retain any credibility in the wake of arguably the worst back-to-back All Black performances in the professional era, then the coach has to bring out the selection axe ahead of Bledisloe II in Sydney.It’s as simple as that.
Henry has a fortnight to ponder personnel changes ahead of the Wallabies rematch, but make them he must as he searches for his team’s missing mojo. To prevaricate now will see the coach lose the last vestiges of support he has from a wavering public.
Actually I’m not sure if Henry has any support left outside of the cheerleaders who would support the All Blacks even after a loss to Pakistan.
The coach simply can’t afford not to react to the South African shambles. It wasn’t that the All Blacks lost those twin matches in the Republic, but how they lost them. Between the schoolboy errors, the braindead rugby and the complete absence of poise under pressure, the once-mighty New Zealanders resembled a rugby version of Michael Campbell.
This is a particularly salient point, we can handle All Black losses but when the manner of those losses is so dreadful, that’s when the New Zealand rugby public gets upset.
Where had their game gone? Had aliens invaded their bodies too?
As good a theory as any.
So, accepting that Henry has to make some changes as he searches for a spark to reignite his side’s season, the question is where do they come?
Wing Joe Rokocoko surely tops the endangered All Blacks list after a performance which confirms his complete lack of form, but he’s got some company.
I think everybody’s figured this out by now. So you can be almost certain Rokocoko will be in the team to take on the Wallabies.
Henry and his lieutenants must also be taking a pretty close look at hooker, loose forward, halfback and first five, while tighthead prop will also come under the microscope when a fit-again Neemia Tialata comes back into the mix.
There are issues at all these positions, so far Donald seems to be the best of a bad bunch at first five, Andrew Hore seems to be the only option at hooker after the injuries to Keven Mealamu and Corey Flynn, while I remain unconvinced that Jerome Kaino is the answer on the side of the scrum.
First things first. Rokocoko must go. That surely is a no-brainer.
Yeah but who said the coaching staff have a brain between them. It’s been obvious that Rokocoko has not been up to it for a while now and they’ve continued to pick him.
In should come Hosea Gear, who deserves his chance, though some consideration could also be given to Cory Jane who didn’t exactly disgrace himself against the Wallabies in Auckland. Lelia Masaga would be a left-field callup if it was decided to go the Extreme Makeover route.
They couldn’t do much worse. In fact I think Jane was remarkably unlucky to be dropped after the Wallabies game.
Halfback has also become a conundrum. Supposedly the All Blacks were spoiled for choice there with their three-headed monster.
Instead they now have three No 9s simply struggling for form, with no one appearing too happy either with their lot, the game plan or what the heck they’re supposed to deliver out there on the field.
Brendon Leonard is out of sorts, and his sporadic opportunities are not allowing him to build form. Jimmy Cowan appeared baffled by his instructions last weekend, and may also be struggling to accept a role that’s been whittled down to 40-45 minutes.
And Piri Weepu, the supposed impact man off the bench, has looked out of sorts in that role the last fortnight.
Exactly, the half back wine has turned into vinegar and we’re all stuck drinking it.
What to do then? They could start Weepu and give him his chance, but that would involve a major back-flip in thinking which is something these coaches are reluctant to do. How often have you heard them admit they’ve got something wrong?
They couldn’t admit they got it wrong against France in 2007, they’re not going to start now.
First five must come into the equation, if only because you have a player of Dan Carter’s class hovering on the fringes now.
My initial thoughts prior to the Durban disaster were that Donald should be left to carry on his progress in the test arena and Carter given more time to rebuild his fitness and confidence in the provincial game.
But the weekend has changed my thinking. Donald continues to look so uncertain at times in his backline direction, that Carter must now be all but a certainty to return.
Carter needs at least one if not two more Air New Zealand Cup outings before he could be considered for the call up, and he’s going to get those against Auckland and Waikato in the next couple of weeks. Then the selectors will need to reassess the situation.
Lastly comes the loose forward mix. Richie McCaw is safe, that’s a given, even if he was outplayed by Boks comer Heinrich Brussow at the weekend.
But his mates are not so assured in an area where the All Blacks badly need some impact. Rodney So’oialo has been struggling at No 8 and consideration must be given to starting Kieran Read there.
And as solid as Jerome Kaino has been on defence at blindside, a fit-again Adam Thomson would surely offer much more attacking spark in his best position against the Wallabies.
Looks like I’m not alone in my thinking here. Kieran Read will make an excellent number eight, doing the hard grafting work that Reuben Thorne used to do, allowing flashy players like McCaw and Thomson to do what they do best. I actually think this couple be a formidable loose forward trio if they ever get the chance to take the field.
MARC HINTON’S ALL BLACKS SQUAD: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Hosea Gear, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma’a Nonu, 11 Sititveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Piri Weepu; 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Aled de Malmanche, Neemia Tialata, Jason Eaton, Rodney So’oialo, Jimmy Cowan, Luke McAlister, Cory Jane.
Glad to see someone putting their neck out and picking a team. It’s hard to argue with any of the selection there really, although I would swap Jane and Gear simply because I think Jane offers more under the high ball, an area we a sadly lacking, and provides a second option for kicking from the back, assuming the All Blacks take up kicking to relieve pressure again.
The fallout from the All Blacks loss continues
By · CommentsAfter another lacklustre All Black performance on Sunday morning, the opinion pages of the major papers and radio talkback have been running hot. Once you get past the “we never used to lose” rhetoric and the calls for the sacking of Graham Henry there are some people out there with some very good points.
Marc Hinton at Rugby Heaven was particularly harsh
This was so bad it was almost embarrassing. We awaited the All Black response in Durban this morning, but instead all we got was more of the same muddling mess that has marked their last fortnight in South Africa.If ever there was a vivid example of a team badly out of form and confidence it was the 80 abysmal minutes put in by Graham Henry’s All Blacks at Durban’s King’s Park this morning.
They gifted this win to a very, very good Springboks side that needs no such favours. Too many mistakes; too many bad decisions; too much indiscipline.
All Blacks fans must have been tearing their hair out watching this. Where were the promised improvements? Where was the response from Bloemfontein’s disappointment a week earlier?
Instead it was just more of the same old rubbish.
Indeed, it looked like a continuation of the Bloemfontein outing.
David Leggat at the NZ Herald laments the perceived lack of effort and accuracy:
It wasn’t so long ago that the All Blacks were a byword for rugby efficiency.
They might not necessarily have been the most scintillating team in the international game, did not routinely produce the eye-catching sort of rugby to make the soul soar or lift the fans out of their seats.
But they didn’t lose often, mistakes could be counted on one hand and they possessed huge mental resilience, which could get them out of the occasional jam. Home or away, they were the most daunting proposition in the game.
The days of near total dominance are long gone. But even so, it is legitimate to question when the last time was that a full-strength All Black team produced rugby of the dire quality of Durban yesterday.
Duncan Johnstone points out that the All Blacks need a major salvage operation in the next few games if they are to defend their Tri-Nations crown.
The All Blacks’ ears will be burning on their long flight back from a disastrous two weeks in South Africa.The public and the media finally appear unanimous – that was a very ordinary All Blacks effort overnight in Durban. It was astonishingly inept in so many ways.
In fact for most of the match Graham Henry’s team hardly resembled an All Blacks team. It was the most un-All Blacks like performance since Henry’s 2004 side copped consecutive and comprehensive losses in Australia and South Africa.
There’s something of a theme to these articles, that this recent All Black team aren’t actually playing like All Black team should.
Daniel Gilhooly comments about how the All Blacks poor discipline has cost them in their last two outing and how they seem to get on the wrong side of the referee.
The All Blacks endured an uncomfortable relationship with Welsh referee Nigel Owens but can only blame themselves for not capitalising on a numerical advantage during yesterday’s 31-19 test rugby loss to South Africa.
For the second successive test, the All Blacks paid dearly for indiscipline.
They were caned 13-7 by Owens in the penalty count, which follows the 12-7 tally against them when Ireland’s Alain Rolland controlled last week’s test in Bloemfontein.
Northern Hemisphere rugby writer Peter Bills points out that even though there are positive signs from Dan Carter, it will take more than his return to right the good ship All Blacks
If New Zealanders believe a single lifeboat named The Daniel W. Carter can rescue their floundering All Blacks ship, then they need to think again.
Not even Carter with a magic wand could transform this shambles of a side into a coherent force. Some major surgery and a significant rethink will clearly be required to do that.
The question is, are there other players in New Zealand able to make the step-up to test match rugby? Is what we are seeing pretty much what there is and no more? If so, 2009 looks like turning into Graham Henry’s “annus horribilis”.
Looks like this could be a very long year for Graham Henry and a bumper year for opinion columnists.
Team Bus launching in Wellington this week
By · CommentsI don’t normally publish press releases verbatim on here because I think just copy and pasting a prewritten release is lazy journalism, however there are times when I’m willing to make an exception.The NZRU have put together a pretty darn good looking event to promote the Air New Zealand Cup (God knows it needs it), so I’m willing to help them out with some free advertising. (Although press accreditation at internationals would be nice!)
Loyal Wellington rugby fans have the chance to win free tickets and a free ride on a special Team Bus to watch their team defend the Ranfurly Shield against Otago in week one of the Air New Zealand Cup.
The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) is this week launching the Team Bus competition, an initiative to reward the grass roots supporters of Air New Zealand Cup rugby across New Zealand for their commitment to their local rugby.
“This is a great opportunity for those loyal grass roots rugby fans who want to come out and support their favourite Air New Zealand Cup team,” said NZRU Commercial Manager Paul Dalton.
“We want to recognise and acknowledge those die-hard supporters who, by stubbornly supporting their favourite team, continue to add the kind of colour and vibrance that makes the Air New Zealand Cup such a dynamic and exciting competition.”
Each week of the series, a feature game will be chosen either from nominations by fans in local communities, or from the pool of matches. For the community that is chosen, 100 local fans will get to go to the game for free.
“This really is a hunt for those die-hard fans who would love the chance to win free game tickets, free transport, and have a great time while supporting their provincial team,” says Mr Dalton.
The fans win tickets and travel to the game on the Team Bus, preceded by a pre-game experience with food, fun and fan oriented activities such as face painting, creating signs and decorating the Bus in their team colours.
Successful fans and their families arrive at a local rugby club an hour and a half before the game, where they will be greeted by a local rugby hero who will spend time with them and ride with them to the game on the Team Bus.
A free BBQ at the clubrooms will give the fans energy to scream for their team with entertainment provided by partner radio station Classic Hits.
The Team Bus for the Wellington vs Otago match will leave from Norths Rugby Club at Cannons Creek, Porirua.
To register to be on the Team Bus, or to nominate your community for the Team Bus experience to come to your area, visit the Team Bus web site www.teambus.co.nz
Honestly, they want to give 100 fans from a local rugby club the chance to get along and support their team in the Air New Zealand Cup in the spirit of fun and rugby and I say bloody good on them.
Another referee quits the game
By · CommentsThe NZ Herald is carrying a story from NZPA about a premier grade Malborough referee who has quit the game because of sideline abuse.
Premier grade referee Grant Sinclair said he had had enough of constant criticism from players and coaches, some of which had become personal.
Sinclair told the Marlborough Express newspaper he wasn’t prepared to put up with the grief anymore, giving up his free time to be abused.
This has long been a bug bear of mine on the rugby field. People seem to forget two things on the rugby field, firstly that the referees are human and will make mistakes out there and secondly that referees are volunteers who are giving up their own free time to be out there.
Now I’m all for holding players and officials to account for errors they make out on the field, but shouting abuse from the sideline is not the way to go about it. What happens to a player who makes too many errors? He gets dropped, same thing happens to referees. Matt Goddard was stood down for a week in the Super 14 after displaying some awful man management and is perhaps a better referee for it.
“I don’t think the coaches are playing a big enough role in disciplining their players to respect the referee’s decision,” Sinclair said.
Actually I’ve found the players usually aren’t the worst offenders out there, and referees can deal with players either through the captain or directly. It’s generally parents, supporters and sometime coaches who cause the biggest problems for referees, and their behaviour often incites poor on field behaviour from the players.
The New Zealand Rugby Union said referees citing sideline abuse as their main reason for resigning was a rare event.
Bollocks. From what I’ve learned in my time as a referee abuse is the second most common reason for referees giving up behind petty politics within the referees’ association.
NZRU community and provincial union general manager Brent Anderson said there had been about 50 reported cases of referee abuse this year, below the average of 80 such incidents, from 70,000 games of rugby.
Notice the key word in that quote? That’s because most abuse of referees goes unreported, it’s almost accepted by referees as going with the territory, and I’m not talking about groans of “Aw ref!’ from the sideline.
I once had a parent walk onto the field behind me as I watched a lineout and tell me that a player has to be in front of the number eight’s feet to be offside at a scrum, referring to a penalty I had given about 30 seconds earlier. The parent then walked off the field, leaving me absolutely stunned wondering what had just happened. Is this acceptable behaviour? No! Does this sort of thing happen most weekends, yes.
And for the record, the player was a mile offside when I gave that penalty, plus there was no number 8 as the opposing number 8 was in the sin bin.
The other example I would like to offer comes from my first ever final I controlled. About half way through the first half I realised that every time I blew my whistle it was met with cheers from one sideline and disappointment from the other, depending on which team my decision went in favour of. In essence, every decision I made was thought to be wrong by half the supporters and right by the other half based on which way my arm pointed, does any referee really get half the decisions wrong?
So I suppose my impassioned plea is cut the referees some slack out there. And no matter how bad you think their performance is, hurling abuse from the sideline or confronting the referee later, and that does happen, is completely unacceptable.
