Campo shocked at decline in basic rugby skills
BACK home after spending the past decade living overseas, David Campese just can’t believe what’s happened to Australian rugby.
He made a flying visit to Europe to watch Australia’s matches against Wales and England and what he saw didn’t impress him.
“It was boring game,” he said. “It just didn't look like they were interested to play. It looked like they were just going through the motions.
Like everyone else, Australian rugby’s greatest showman is frustrated by the Wallabies’ run of losses and the dwindling crowds attending matches.
He says the answers are plain to see: Australian rugby needs to get back to the basics of how the game is played at Test level and how it’s coached and structured.
Campese said the Wallabies have all the ingredients to be a great team but are letting themselves down because they over-complicate things and don’t think for themselves.
“They train hard, which is fair enough, but I think the coaches have got a lot to do with it as well. The coaches have got to start letting the players think on the field – at the moment they’re all structured,” he said.
Campese said the decline in basic skills and playing in instinct is most obvious with junior players, who weren’t being coached properly.
“I've been away for 10 years so I’ve travelled a lot and I’ve coached and seen a lot and coming back, it’s been pretty frustrating our kids can’t catch and later pass,” he said.
“It’s very scary because that’s part of the way we used to play rugby.
“It’s good to see that they’ve actually realised that you’ve got to get the clubs on board because if you haven't got club rugby there's no rugby. That’s where rugby started.”
Despite his shock at the way the game has declined in Australia, Campese hasn’t given up hope of the Wallabies winning next year’s World Cup, because Australia has a great tradition of lifting for the tournament.