‘I don’t think there’s anything in our game that’s world class’: Fisher pleads for patience in Wallabies rebuild

Wallabies assistant coach Laurie Fisher has asked for patience ahead of two Tests against Argentina that have grown in importance after successive comprehensive defeats at home against South Africa.

Fisher is enjoying his second stint with the Wallabies under Joe Schmidt after briefly working with former coach Dave Rennie in 2022, before finding his talents not needed under Eddie Jones.

“At the moment, we’re six training weeks in [under Schmidt],” Fisher said. “So that’s not a lot, is it? Six training weeks [is not long], when you look at sides that have had a particular style of play or game plan for years, and there is a significant change from where we’ve been previously, particularly in our attacking game.

“We just want to see progress, we want to win games, and we feel we go into every game believing and expecting that we’ll win that game. It won’t always happen, but we’ve just got to be patient.”

Having worked in Australian rugby for more than 20 seasons, mostly with the Brumbies, Fisher is well placed to provide perspective on the state of the game.

He is also a realist.

“I don’t think there’s anything in our game that we can tick off and say that that’s world class at this point in time,” he said.

Joe Schmidt and Laurie Fisher bring a wealth of experience to the Wallabies.Credit: Getty

The veteran coach has seen various false dawns before for the Wallabies and believes that the rebuild under Schmidt and his coaching team must be allowed time to take shape.

“We haven’t had an above 50 per cent [winning] season in Super Rugby across all teams since 2006,” Fisher said. “So it’s a long time – all of a sudden we haven’t won a Bledisloe Cup in 30 years [the last win was in 2001], so I understand where we are.

“Ideally, if we can have four Super Rugby teams all have winning seasons, and that transfers into quantity and quality at the next level.

“At the moment, we’re addressing at the top level. I know the Super Rugby coaches will be working super hard to make sure next season is successful. We get a combination of those two, and then we’ll start growing better from the ground up as well, and that’s what it takes.”

The Wallabies come to terms with another defeat, this one in the second Test against South Africa in Perth.Credit: Getty

Fisher’s primary brief at the Wallabies is defence, which provided some rare highlights against South Africa, particularly Tom Wright’s scrambling try-saving tackle on Springboks winger Makazole Mapimpi.

A particular area of focus ahead of the Tests against the Pumas will be the Wallabies’ weak maul defence, which allowed the Springboks to score three tries in the second half in Perth.

Fisher was particularly disappointed at how focus dropped in the forward pack in the second period due to the departure of four front-rowers and stressed that it is an area that needs to be improved.

“We’ve been where we are for a period of time now,” Fisher said. “It takes time to set a standard, and then for players to understand how they can adhere to that standard ... the maul defence being an example.

“We start off in the first half with a couple of good ones, [then] we lose some players, it gets a bit dysfunctional, we go off script, and that’s where we are at the moment.

“[We need] the ability to maintain focus, to play to a standard, to play to an expectation, to play to a skill set from minute one to minute 80 and not be distracted by other things that happen in the game.

“Now we need to fast track that; we need to put some heat on the boys.”

The Wallabies will play their first Test in Argentina in the compact home stadium of soccer team Estudiantes in La Plata on Saturday night (Sunday, 8am, AEST), before making a rare journey north to Santa Fe the following Saturday for the final game against Los Pumas.

Fisher is wary of the threat Argentina pose after defeating the All Blacks in their first Test of the Rugby Championship in Wellington and is prepared for an even more dangerous side in front of their passionate home support.

“They can maul, as they showed against New Zealand in the first Test,” Fisher said. “They’re a pretty well-rounded team – you don’t play in a World Cup semi-final if you’re not a well-rounded team – and the addition they’ll have at home is unbelievable support and the passion that they play with.”

Watch all the action from The Rugby Championship with every match streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport. Round three kicks off Sunday, September 1 with South Africa v All Blacks (12.30am, AEST) and Argentina v Wallabies (7.50am, AEST).