Australia v Fiji
Before the game
I'm in Saint Etienne today and feeling nervous for the Wallabies tonight.
The Fijians were not well treated by the officials in the Wales game. There is a lot of comment, in the press and on the web, about the inconsistent application of the laws in that game, with some commentators going as far as to suggest the Fijians should get an offical apology for the standard of refereeing. In the end, however, the Fijians were the masters of their own destiny and let a last minute opportunity slip away. The game is over and the score recorded. All that can be done is to move on and accept the next challenge.
This is the problem for the Wallabies. A fired up Fiji needing a big win is a daunting prospect. Add to that two of our best big men being unavailable, the job becomes even harder. What can we do? I wrote briefly in some comments on the Roar about my views how this game should be approached. I doubt Eddie is taking any notice but I am putting them out there anyway.
Firstly, the Fijians love to hit and hit hard - so the aim should be to not give them easy targets. The easiest way to do this is to kick your possession away, but this creates a bigger problem when you constantly give the ball to the most potent attacking side in the competition. More about kicking later, but for a start I would definitely rule out early long passes from the base of the ruck to forwards standing flatfooted. This is a really dumb tactic but you see it a lot. Instead, create some confusion: wrap, have dummy runners and use a selective inside balls. Stay close to the ruck and try to angle runners in behind the ruck contest. Pick and drive. Pass the ball when a half break is made. Use the right hand side of the scrum and angle the attack from your lineout in behind their lineout. Use the blindside a lot as a turnover there is less likely and also not as catastrophic as turning the ball over out in the wider channels. If you must kick defensively, kick it out. If you kick offensively, put it where it is contestable and land the ball near touch, giving the best prospects of regaining possession. If you don't have the skill to do that - don't kick. If they get their hands on the ball when you are attacking close to their line - give it up. Having them get possession here will probably result in a hurried kick to touch, whereas a penalty is giving up possession 50m downfield. Concentrate so hard your head hurts, especially at set piece, and convert every single one.
In defence, get off the line like you are running to Dans at closing time and make that first up tackle. Fijians can be a bit sloppy under defensive pressure.
Play with discipline and keep the penalties to a minimum. Keep all you players on the field. We can't afford a red.
Then pray for consistent officiating and a bit of luck. Win this game and the quarterfinals beckon.
More here after the game.
After the Game
Home (at least in our B&B in St Etienne) now and feeling deflated. Australia will be waking up to the news that we lost the crucial World Cup pool game against Fiji 22- 15. How did this happen? I'm going to try and analyse it here and be warned it is not pretty.
For months now we have heard how Eddie Jones.has a long term plan. Its a smash and grab operation. We shouldn't worry about loses or strange selections because this is all part of the plan. This was believable because Eddie had pulled of some memorable coaching successes in the past. I played with Eddie at Randwick and I bought the sell because I knew he was a smart coach. Well tonight in St Etienne that myth was exposed. There is no cunning plan and the hopes of a creditable 2023 Rugby World Cup result were dashed by a rampant Fiji outfit still hurting from their loss to Wales.
First, I want to acknowledge that I am generally not critical of the Australian players. Mostly they tried hard. A proper analysis of their individual efforts will need to await a closer look at the statistics for the game but I don't agree we were soft or lacked physicality. We just didn't play smart rugby and that has to come back to the coaching.
We suffered a high penalty count, 18 in all (Fijia gave up 7). At least 6 were in kicking range. Halving that count would have made a significant difference. Some of the ruck penalties were marginal as there was often no opportunity between the tackle and the jackal to play the ball. Surely it is not worth holding on when an opponent has his hands on the ball. If they win it then give it and smash the player stealing the ball. Better outcome than lineout possession 40 metres downfield at best and a 3 point penalty at worst. The coach should be insisting on this.
I think Carter Gordon was sacrificed and I don't agree he had a bad game. A mix up led to Filji's first try and I know he was coming forward but I'm not sure it was his ball. On other occasions he took the ball bravely and was smashed. Several times he probed and his team mates offered no option so he had to take it into contact. Certainly, there was no direction in his play but i assume that again was part of the plan. He was playing deep and running sideways which is just not his natural game. No pass and loop options and his passes hit their targets. It was just that the play was predictable and lacked variation. Further having him defend in the 13 channel is atrocious and one might well ask what some of the bigger more experienced backs were doing when this was happening.
Most of the time we did not look like scoring a try and one of the two we did score we did score was from a fortuitous kick and some quick thinking. Certainly, no plan there.
The game plan consisted of winning the ball and trying to bash through. Mostly with Valantini in the midfield. Predictable and certainly easily contained. Nick White’s box kicks were a poor option and poorly executed. One led to a Fijian try. Another squandered our best attacking opportunity of the night.If this can’t be coached out of his game, then White has to go. There was no one trying to open a gap for a runner or loop to create an overlap. Forward play was equally unimaginative. Take the ball from the half and try and bash through with a mate. Easily contained until someone didn’t quite get it right. Then penalty and possession lost. No trying to open an inside channel or unloading on the line as all modern forwards have to be able to do.
We got plenty of practice kicking off but why do it exactly the same every time. On the right hand side we had several quick players who are good in the air and the Fijians largely abandoned that side when they saw us kicking to the same spot every time (for zero result I might observe).
Fiji on the other hand spread the ball wide with abandon and often pushed the Wallabies back 30 or 40 metres with one backline raid. This put us on the backfoot, scambling to defend. Penalty. Another 3 points. By the way staying onside is not a high level skill. There is a line and you stand behind it. Also if we must have imported rugby league players then please make sure they have a full knowledge of the laws before they pull on an Aussie jumper. Similarly I see nothing from our much lauded attack coach. Perhaps someone should explain to him that when you take a crash ball midfield you don't just get up and play the ball and the opposition does not have to retreat 10 metres.
We were sitting 15 metres from the coach’s box and people were yelling “where the plan…show us the plan” The plain fact is there is no plan other than to roll out the same old, same olds and hope for some better result.
In doing so some fine young players are being sacrificed when they could have been developed. Along the way Australian rugby has plunged to its lowest ebb in 50 years. Eddie’s king’s new clothes have been revealed as naked ambition.
The balance of the pool C games throw up an interesting prospect. Perhaps all three top sides could end on the same points. Next Sunday Wales at Lyon.
Some Further Reflections After Fiji and Before Wales.
One upsetting aspect of the loss to Fiji has been the barrage of ill-informed comment on the various web portals criticising the Wallabies players. Negativity can have a dangerous effect on moral but ill-informed negativity is catastrophic. Several commentators have asked for this to be reined in and I fully support those calling for this to happen.
The main reason we did not do better against Fiji must lie in our approach to the strategic aspects of the game. These I have written about before, but they bear repeating. We made our runners easy targets for their devastatingly brutal defence. Did someone in the coaching staff dream that we could physically out muscle them in this area? No slight of hand or subterfuge, dummy runners or inside passing that other teams in this competition (Ireland and even Wales in their try against Fiji) have used successfully. The coaching staff have had this group for weeks in camp so surely such tactics could have been developed particularly as it has been bleedingly obvious for many months that we were going to meet a much-improved Fijian outfit. When the first totally ill-advised plan did not work the Aussie game unravelled and chaos set in. This was clear when later in the game an Australian lock took the ball on the openside running sideways with no support in reach predictably getting smashed and turning over possession.
A poorly executed but strategically appropriate kick can be forgiven particularly if the player is under pressure but a silly kick, poorly executed or not is still a silly kick.
Not understanding the laws is unforgiveable in someone wearing a Wallabies jumper but we have seen several examples of this this year which at international level can have severe consequences. What are the officials doing to rectify this?
Kicking the ball away with seconds to go where a converted try would tie the scores in unforgiveable in my opinion. Where is the Aussie do or die spirit in that? Clearly if the intention was to guard the bonus point that didn’t work. Only an unsuccessful Fijian penalty goal attempt after full-time saved our bonus point.
On the Wales Game
Wales presents a more traditional but still dangerous challenge. They will realise that they have been given a mementos opportunity by their win over Fiji. They have an opportunity to answer some strident criticism suffered due to recent poor results. They will tough and competitive at the breakdown and will take all the points on offer.
We need a bonus point win and defensively we need to lock Wales out of any points. This means scoring tries. If we are scoring tries, they cannot be doing so. This means firstly maintaining possession, kicking only offensively, doing the unexpected and taking our opportunities when they arise. We need to evoke the spirit or the man from Snowy River who when danger presented and “any slip meant death” ignore the dangers and “swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer”.
Putting some structure on the emotions I would suggest the following;
The Fijians were not well treated by the officials in the Wales game. There is a lot of comment, in the press and on the web, about the inconsistent application of the laws in that game, with some commentators going as far as to suggest the Fijians should get an offical apology for the standard of refereeing. In the end, however, the Fijians were the masters of their own destiny and let a last minute opportunity slip away. The game is over and the score recorded. All that can be done is to move on and accept the next challenge.
This is the problem for the Wallabies. A fired up Fiji needing a big win is a daunting prospect. Add to that two of our best big men being unavailable, the job becomes even harder. What can we do? I wrote briefly in some comments on the Roar about my views how this game should be approached. I doubt Eddie is taking any notice but I am putting them out there anyway.
Firstly, the Fijians love to hit and hit hard - so the aim should be to not give them easy targets. The easiest way to do this is to kick your possession away, but this creates a bigger problem when you constantly give the ball to the most potent attacking side in the competition. More about kicking later, but for a start I would definitely rule out early long passes from the base of the ruck to forwards standing flatfooted. This is a really dumb tactic but you see it a lot. Instead, create some confusion: wrap, have dummy runners and use a selective inside balls. Stay close to the ruck and try to angle runners in behind the ruck contest. Pick and drive. Pass the ball when a half break is made. Use the right hand side of the scrum and angle the attack from your lineout in behind their lineout. Use the blindside a lot as a turnover there is less likely and also not as catastrophic as turning the ball over out in the wider channels. If you must kick defensively, kick it out. If you kick offensively, put it where it is contestable and land the ball near touch, giving the best prospects of regaining possession. If you don't have the skill to do that - don't kick. If they get their hands on the ball when you are attacking close to their line - give it up. Having them get possession here will probably result in a hurried kick to touch, whereas a penalty is giving up possession 50m downfield. Concentrate so hard your head hurts, especially at set piece, and convert every single one.
In defence, get off the line like you are running to Dans at closing time and make that first up tackle. Fijians can be a bit sloppy under defensive pressure.
Play with discipline and keep the penalties to a minimum. Keep all you players on the field. We can't afford a red.
Then pray for consistent officiating and a bit of luck. Win this game and the quarterfinals beckon.
More here after the game.
After the Game
Home (at least in our B&B in St Etienne) now and feeling deflated. Australia will be waking up to the news that we lost the crucial World Cup pool game against Fiji 22- 15. How did this happen? I'm going to try and analyse it here and be warned it is not pretty.
For months now we have heard how Eddie Jones.has a long term plan. Its a smash and grab operation. We shouldn't worry about loses or strange selections because this is all part of the plan. This was believable because Eddie had pulled of some memorable coaching successes in the past. I played with Eddie at Randwick and I bought the sell because I knew he was a smart coach. Well tonight in St Etienne that myth was exposed. There is no cunning plan and the hopes of a creditable 2023 Rugby World Cup result were dashed by a rampant Fiji outfit still hurting from their loss to Wales.
First, I want to acknowledge that I am generally not critical of the Australian players. Mostly they tried hard. A proper analysis of their individual efforts will need to await a closer look at the statistics for the game but I don't agree we were soft or lacked physicality. We just didn't play smart rugby and that has to come back to the coaching.
We suffered a high penalty count, 18 in all (Fijia gave up 7). At least 6 were in kicking range. Halving that count would have made a significant difference. Some of the ruck penalties were marginal as there was often no opportunity between the tackle and the jackal to play the ball. Surely it is not worth holding on when an opponent has his hands on the ball. If they win it then give it and smash the player stealing the ball. Better outcome than lineout possession 40 metres downfield at best and a 3 point penalty at worst. The coach should be insisting on this.
I think Carter Gordon was sacrificed and I don't agree he had a bad game. A mix up led to Filji's first try and I know he was coming forward but I'm not sure it was his ball. On other occasions he took the ball bravely and was smashed. Several times he probed and his team mates offered no option so he had to take it into contact. Certainly, there was no direction in his play but i assume that again was part of the plan. He was playing deep and running sideways which is just not his natural game. No pass and loop options and his passes hit their targets. It was just that the play was predictable and lacked variation. Further having him defend in the 13 channel is atrocious and one might well ask what some of the bigger more experienced backs were doing when this was happening.
Most of the time we did not look like scoring a try and one of the two we did score we did score was from a fortuitous kick and some quick thinking. Certainly, no plan there.
The game plan consisted of winning the ball and trying to bash through. Mostly with Valantini in the midfield. Predictable and certainly easily contained. Nick White’s box kicks were a poor option and poorly executed. One led to a Fijian try. Another squandered our best attacking opportunity of the night.If this can’t be coached out of his game, then White has to go. There was no one trying to open a gap for a runner or loop to create an overlap. Forward play was equally unimaginative. Take the ball from the half and try and bash through with a mate. Easily contained until someone didn’t quite get it right. Then penalty and possession lost. No trying to open an inside channel or unloading on the line as all modern forwards have to be able to do.
We got plenty of practice kicking off but why do it exactly the same every time. On the right hand side we had several quick players who are good in the air and the Fijians largely abandoned that side when they saw us kicking to the same spot every time (for zero result I might observe).
Fiji on the other hand spread the ball wide with abandon and often pushed the Wallabies back 30 or 40 metres with one backline raid. This put us on the backfoot, scambling to defend. Penalty. Another 3 points. By the way staying onside is not a high level skill. There is a line and you stand behind it. Also if we must have imported rugby league players then please make sure they have a full knowledge of the laws before they pull on an Aussie jumper. Similarly I see nothing from our much lauded attack coach. Perhaps someone should explain to him that when you take a crash ball midfield you don't just get up and play the ball and the opposition does not have to retreat 10 metres.
We were sitting 15 metres from the coach’s box and people were yelling “where the plan…show us the plan” The plain fact is there is no plan other than to roll out the same old, same olds and hope for some better result.
In doing so some fine young players are being sacrificed when they could have been developed. Along the way Australian rugby has plunged to its lowest ebb in 50 years. Eddie’s king’s new clothes have been revealed as naked ambition.
The balance of the pool C games throw up an interesting prospect. Perhaps all three top sides could end on the same points. Next Sunday Wales at Lyon.
Some Further Reflections After Fiji and Before Wales.
One upsetting aspect of the loss to Fiji has been the barrage of ill-informed comment on the various web portals criticising the Wallabies players. Negativity can have a dangerous effect on moral but ill-informed negativity is catastrophic. Several commentators have asked for this to be reined in and I fully support those calling for this to happen.
The main reason we did not do better against Fiji must lie in our approach to the strategic aspects of the game. These I have written about before, but they bear repeating. We made our runners easy targets for their devastatingly brutal defence. Did someone in the coaching staff dream that we could physically out muscle them in this area? No slight of hand or subterfuge, dummy runners or inside passing that other teams in this competition (Ireland and even Wales in their try against Fiji) have used successfully. The coaching staff have had this group for weeks in camp so surely such tactics could have been developed particularly as it has been bleedingly obvious for many months that we were going to meet a much-improved Fijian outfit. When the first totally ill-advised plan did not work the Aussie game unravelled and chaos set in. This was clear when later in the game an Australian lock took the ball on the openside running sideways with no support in reach predictably getting smashed and turning over possession.
A poorly executed but strategically appropriate kick can be forgiven particularly if the player is under pressure but a silly kick, poorly executed or not is still a silly kick.
Not understanding the laws is unforgiveable in someone wearing a Wallabies jumper but we have seen several examples of this this year which at international level can have severe consequences. What are the officials doing to rectify this?
Kicking the ball away with seconds to go where a converted try would tie the scores in unforgiveable in my opinion. Where is the Aussie do or die spirit in that? Clearly if the intention was to guard the bonus point that didn’t work. Only an unsuccessful Fijian penalty goal attempt after full-time saved our bonus point.
On the Wales Game
Wales presents a more traditional but still dangerous challenge. They will realise that they have been given a mementos opportunity by their win over Fiji. They have an opportunity to answer some strident criticism suffered due to recent poor results. They will tough and competitive at the breakdown and will take all the points on offer.
We need a bonus point win and defensively we need to lock Wales out of any points. This means scoring tries. If we are scoring tries, they cannot be doing so. This means firstly maintaining possession, kicking only offensively, doing the unexpected and taking our opportunities when they arise. We need to evoke the spirit or the man from Snowy River who when danger presented and “any slip meant death” ignore the dangers and “swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer”.
Putting some structure on the emotions I would suggest the following;
- Mix up our kick offs (although hopefully we only have to do this once in the Wales game).
- Mix up our line-out and the attacking options from successful line-outs.
- Make sure we secure our set piece consistently.
- Limit penalties by making sure we only go to a contest when and where we have sufficient support to secure possession. If we must give up possession rather than force a penalty.
- Try and put our strong ball runners, Kerevi, Koroibete, Bell, Nawaqanitawase into space with some creative play with the ball.
- What about a quickly taken penalty when it presents and look for those 50/20’s. Please if they kick and the ball is rolling, harmlessly over the goal line let it go and take the upfield scrum.
- Kick offensively, immediately under penalty advantage or with possession changeover. Kick to where we can be almost certain of regaining possession. If we can’t do that don’t kick. On this point I see little point in passing back 15 metres to the 10 standing on the try-line to clear and risking a charge down when 2 passes could take the ball to the opposite side of the field where it could be effectively kicked deep into the opponent’s half.
- Get off our line quickly, make the tackles and only commit to the breakdown where we have a dominant tackle.