John Eales’ advice for ‘shamed’ Wallabies after record home loss to All Blacks
TWENTY years ago, John Eales led the Wallabies to their worst ever defeat against the All Blacks. In the wake of a similar shellacking, the great captain offers some advice to the current side.
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NOW is not the time for sugar-coating it.
Saturday’s 42-8 loss to the All Blacks was the Wallabies’ greatest ever defeat on home soil.
And the great John Eales knows how they feel.
The two-time World Cup winner was the Wallabies’ captain on a wintry Wellington Saturday in 1996 when they were thrashed 43-6 at Athletic Park — still their heaviest loss to the All Blacks.
They won their next Test against the Springboks.
“There’s no doubt shame is a great motivator,” Eales said on Fox Sports following the Wallabies’ 34-point defeat at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium.
“We felt ashamed that day (in 1996) about how we performed.
“These guys will feel the same tonight — there’s no question about that.”
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DEVIL IN THE DETAIL
Saturday was one of the Wallabies’ worst performances in decades.
Michael Cheika’s team were guilty of an inexcusable 31 missed tackles, inaccurate kicking, poor handling and a faltering lineout.
The drubbing comes on the back of one of Australia’s worst Super Rugby seasons ever.
Australian teams won just three of 22 matches (11.5 per cent) against New Zealand teams.
Eales, one of the greatest to pull on a Wallabies jersey, says Cheika’s team must clearly identify where it went wrong, before they can move on.
“They’ve got to go through the detail of this game and they’ve got to really analyse where they let themselves down in the game,” Eales said.
“Was it line speed in defence? Was it just poor handling? Why were they missing so many tackles? Was it getting into a bad position or was it our execution of the defence?
“Really go through it in depth and then go out there next week with a huge amount of motivation to just redeem themselves.
“Redemption’s a great thing, if you can get it right.”
‘A CATHARTIC MOMENT’
Eales, who captained the Wallabies to 41 wins from 55 Tests, said that entire team needed to feel the pain of the loss and watch it together, rather than just the team’s management.
“I think one really important thing is that the whole team needs to sit down and watch this blow-by-blow,” Eales said.
“You can’t just break it up and watch it in separate bits of analysis.
“You’ve got to feel the pain as a collective to be able to take this forward.
“It won’t be a happy moment, but it can be a cathartic moment in some respects — it is a burning desire for the future.”
WHAT NEXT?
Cheika’s team will fly to Wellington on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s second Bledisloe Test at Westpac Stadium.
The Wallabies were further rocked on Sunday by knowledge that Matt Giteau’s international career could be over.
The inside centre suffered a syndesmosis injury on Saturday which is expected to rule the 33-year-old out for at least the remainder of The Rugby Championship.
Vice-captain and versatile back Rob Horne (shoulder) will also miss the rest of the tournament, while Matt Toomua (concussion) is in doubt for this week’s return fixture.
Originally published as John Eales’ advice for ‘shamed’ Wallabies after record home loss to All Blacks
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