Wallabies labelled ‘cardboard cutouts’

The Wallabies have been branded ‘‘dysfunctional robots’’ and ‘‘cardboard cutouts’’ as the fallout to their Bledisloe Cup thrashing continues in Australia.

The damning verdicts come from veteran rugby writer Greg Growden who was merciless in his condemnation of the heavy loss to the All Blacks in Sydney.

He suggested the 30-day period given to a team of ‘‘leaders and performance experts’’ to try to find a way to revive the struggling Australian game needed to be reassessed in the wake of the Sydney shambles.

‘‘The problem is so serious, this supposed brains trust should reconvene today to try to provide immediate answers to bring some respect back to the Wallabies jersey before it’s all too late. Australian rugby is in crisis, and there’s plenty of serious work to do,’’ Growden, who has covered the Wallabies for more than 30 years, wrote for ESPN Rugby.

‘‘It was unacceptable. Numerous Australian players just went through the motions. In defence they were cardboard cutouts,’’ Growden said.

As the Wallabies get set for a rematch with the All Blacks in Dunedin on Saturday night where New Zealand can retain the Bledisloe Cup for another year, Growden said the Australian coaching approach ‘‘is not up to standard’’.

‘‘Basic catch-pass skills are not improving. Tactics are bewildering. There doesn’t seem to be a general purpose. There is abso- lutely no hunger. Where is the intelligence to their play? They are nothing more than dysfunctional robots.

‘‘An exasperated Australian rugby public is beginning to lose patience with Michael Cheika, whose win ratio now sits at an underwhelming 54 per cent, and will most probably drop to 52 per cent after next weekend’s Dunedin Bledisloe Cup match.’’

With so much focus on the new defensive system implemented by assistant coach Nathan Grey, Growden said the struggles should come as no surprise given the same man had overseen the Waratahs’ woes in this area during a forgettable Super Rugby season.

‘‘You can’t actually say Grey transformed the Waratahs into tackling machines this season. They instead turned into vegetable sieves - leaking more than four tries and almost 35 points per Super Rugby game. Defensively they were abominable and Grey must take some of the blame,’’ Growden wrote.

‘‘So now Grey heads to a fulltime gig at the Wallabies, explaining when he got the job that he had aspirations of ‘getting Australian rugby loving defence’, and then they let in eight tries in the space of 38 minutes - many of them due to basic defensive lapses.

‘‘And this follows an unacceptable effort against Scotland in June. So far this year, Australia has conceded 16 tries in four tests, and that includes easy internationals against Fiji and Italy.’’

Growden said the Wallabies’ defensive alignment was ‘‘often amateur and easy to expose ... the All Blacks must have sometimes thought they were involved in a training run’’.

Growden felt the talent stocks in the Australian game were hitting a low.

‘‘What talent? A guide to how poorly Australian rugby is faring, ask yourself - would there be one Australian player who would make the current All Blacks team? Not one would come close. We are a long way from the days when Australia could easily command five or six spots in a World XV.’’