CHEIKA’S THE MAN
But we face huge task at Eden Park
MICHAEL Cheika was the coach who had the biggest influence over my career, so I am unashamedly biased towards him.
He played all of his rugby at Randwick, the same club my father played for and the only club team I’ve ever played for.
Michael was my first coach at grade level and I was fortunate to play for him in Super Rugby towards the end of my career.
I won only two senior competitions in my career – a club competition in 2004 at Randwick with Michael as coach, and then professionally in 2014 when we won the Super Rugby with the Waratahs.
A lot of the stuff I learned – not just the skills and tactics but more the values of the game, the work ethic required to compete at a high level, the resilience needed when things are not going well for you – these were installed by him and the people he coached with. So when I hear and read these things about people saying “he’s got to go”, I see it from a completely different point of view.
The rugby-loving public are entitled to feel let down after the Wallabies’ disappointing loss last week, but making rash changes this far out from a World Cup is not the answer.
If you look at the past five or six years of under-20 results compared to where we were six to 12 years earlier (previously under 19s and 21s), we used to be really competitive at that level, often winning junior world titles and regular placing between first and third. Now we are seeing an unsuccessful generation from that level coming through to Super Rugby.
All the Australian coaches in Super Rugby have had a win record of below 45 per cent over the past couple of years, so changing the coach now will not solve anything – it will add only more problems to the game in Australia.
What the Wallabies need to solve is the riddle of Eden Park.
I was four years old the last time Australia won in Auckland, in 1986, and the All Blacks haven’t lost at Eden Park since 1994. But the most remarkable thing about the venue is it’s not the most daunting of places to go to.
Sure, it’s a different layout and it’s full of really passionate Kiwi fans, but you get that in other stadiums in New Zealand and other parts of the world.
You can’t really say why it’s so difficult to win at Eden Park.
You just know it is the spiritual home of the All Blacks and they take its history very seriously.
A lot of times with these hoodoos and the fact you have a good record over someone, you just have that bit more confidence – and this All Blacks team will be very confident this evening.
The Wallabies need to try to find that sort of confidence, and change a couple of technical things too.
Their lineout last Saturday was the worst we have seen from the Wallabies in a long time. This is a measurable thing you can improve.
Lineout throwing wasn’t the main issue on the weekend. The major issues were pre-calling lineouts before seeing the opposition set up, and minimal movement in the Wallabies’ lineout attack.
We missed 40 tackles and people might say that’s terrible tackling, but it’s more than just the actual tackle. Getting into position early with good even spacing makes one-on-one tackling so much easier.
When the Wallabies turned it over, they were late to react and against a quality side like the All Blacks, you’ll get punished every time.
The players involved in the close loss in Dunedin last year and the win in Brisbane will believe they can cause a boilover, even if only a few Aussie rugby fans will believe with them.
That’s what is so great about sport – you get another chance, and if the Wallabies prevail at Eden Park tonight we will be saying it’s up there as one of the greatest Australian wins in 20 years.