Rugby Union: Signs good for a Wallabies side learning to coach itself
When Rod Macqueen coached the Wallabies during their last golden era his ultimate objective was to develop a team that was capable of coaching itself.
With great leaders such as John Eales and George Gregan steering the team, the empowered Wallabies held the Bledisloe Cup for five years, won the 1999 World Cup and defeated the British and Irish Lions.
After their epic 18-9 win against Six Nations champions Ireland in Brisbane last Saturday night, it appears the current Wallabies have embarked on a similar journey of selfempowerment.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika presented the players with a “menu of ideas” when they entered camp in Brisbane to prepare for the Test, but left it to them to devise the game plan to halt Ireland’s record 12-Test winning streak.
What Wallabies captain Michael Hooper and the senior players came up with was a dramatic departure from the way Australia has played since Cheika took over as coach at the end of 2014.
First with the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby and then with the Wallabies, Cheika has emphasised a ball-in-hand style, eschewing tactical kicking.
It was part of what Cheika used to describe as the “identity” of the team, but the strategy the Wallabies adopted against Ireland bore no resemblance to the team’s previous persona.
The most telling statistic in the game was that the Wallabies kicked the ball 26 times compared to Ireland’s 22, turning northern and southern hemisphere rugby upside down.
It was the Irish who had the most passes (201 to 157), the most runs (164 to 120) and the most run metres (408 to 333). They made more linebreaks (9-8) and beat more defenders (18-14).
Ireland controlled huge chunks of the game, dominating possession (60% to 40%) and territory (61% to 39%), but the Wallabies stuck to their unfamiliar game-plan and outscored the Irish two tries to nil.
Where did this new approach come from? It was not just conjured up at Wallabies training camp, but borrowed from the Waratahs, who under coach Daryl Gibson, have incorporated tactical kicking into their attacking repertoire this year.
The three key players in this tactical kicking strategy were playmakers Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale and fullback Israel Folau, whose aerial skills are being utilised belatedly after switching to rugby six years ago.
Foley and Beale continually put up high balls and cross-kicks for Folau, not always perfectly executed, and sometimes looking like they would backfire spectacularly, but they still managed to tactically out-manoeuvre the Irish.
It was a sign of the growth of the Wallabies’ tactical decision-makers and also a sign of Cheika’s growth as a coach to let go of the past and press on to the future.
Even though the players devised the game-plan, Cheika still had a huge influence on the highly physical way they played. The big hits the Wallabies made in defence was pure Cheika, his DNA still in the team’s character.
Not just physical toughness, but mental toughness was displayed. In the past the Wallabies would have fallen apart after things went against them – such as when Folau’s try was disallowed at a crucial moment, but not this time.
And what a difference backrower David Pocock made to the team. Cheika praised Pocock’s “off the chart” work-rate, which set the tone for the team with his tireless tackling and work at the breakdown.
It was as if Pocock was determined to repay Rugby Australia for allowing him to take a sabbatical last year, but he has come back an even more rounded player after playing under Robbie Deans for the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan.
The Wallabies’ performance in Brisbane was not perfect. Their lineout was terrible in the first-half, although it improved when reserve hooker Tolu Latu and lock Rob Simmons were injected into the game in the second-half.
But the scrum was strong with up and coming tight-head prop Taniela “The Tongan Thor” forcing a penalty against the Irish on their own feed, providing one of the highlights of the game.
Cheika was quick to focus on one of the Wallabies’ major shortcomings – inconsistency – as attention turned towards the second Test against Ireland in Melbourne on Saturday night.
Indeed, this is a team that beat the All Blacks last October and then was thrashed by England and Scotland on their end of season tour a month later. You just don’t know which Wallabies team will show up from week to week.
But a three-Test series against the second-best team in the world provides the Wallabies with the perfect opportunity to develop the consistency they have lacked.
The Wallabies will probably face a stronger Irish line-up in Melbourne. Coach Joe Schmidt rested several European-Cup winning Leinster players, including playmaker Jonathan Sexton, on the bench, but he will be tempted to start them in the second Test to maintain Ireland’s momentum to the World Cup.
It will be a great challenge for a Wallabies team that is learning to coach itself – a coach’s ultimate objective.