Venom directed at Michael Cheika, Wallabies after All Blacks Sydney humbling at least shows fans care
MICHAEL Cheika may be best-equipped to steer the Wallabies out of choppy waters and through to next year’s World Cup but he doesn’t want results to sink much further, says JIM TUCKER.
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THE rattled Wallabies prepared for Saturday’s Test at Eden Park by basing themselves at Waiheke Island, a short ferry ride from downtown Auckland.
It was a calculated base away from distractions and prying eyes which no one wants to turn into a Gilligan’s Island gag.
The 1960s TV hit about shipwrecked castaways ran for 98 episodes but was repeated so often it seemed like thousands.
In that way, it’s not unlike the Bledisloe Cup which seems to be on endless re-run.
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You know the simple script…Wallabies’ hopes grow, fans get excited about escaping the nightmare, All Blacks win, marooned again.
Michael Cheika is the perplexed hands-on-his-head “Skipper” of this cast who needs to quickly turn into “The Professor” to sort out the technical problems.
Cheika and attack coach Steve Larkham are the best-equipped to lead the Wallabies all the way to next year’s Rugby World Cup.
That doesn’t make them immune from strong criticism along the way, detailed scrutiny of malfunctioning elements of play or the absolute truth of the win-loss ledger.
The venom directed at Cheika and the Wallabies this week has been a good thing.
It was a reflection that the Wallabies had got us caring and believing again in a potential Bledisloe Cup miracle after weeks tuning together.
That made the hurt and angry fallout so much greater when the Wallabies turned into the great deceivers in last Saturday’s second half debacle against the All Blacks in Sydney.
Fans, stakeholders in the code at every level and the rugby media expect a certain level of acumen every time the Wallabies take the field.
That’s not a victory every time but it is a basic bedrock that makes that a real possibility.
Botch eight lineouts and rely on creating anything from a wonky scrum and you might as well stay in the dressing room at half-time.
You can fix the lineout in a week as former Wallabies lineout general Nathan Sharpe tweeted to despairing fans this week.
“Strategically, the Wallabies were poor last weekend at the lineout,” he wrote.
“They approached the game prepared to face only one style of NZ defence. It’s crucial to have at least a plan B and C in every game so you can adapt to the way a team defends mid-stride.
“They can turn it around quickly.”
Adapting so poorly or not at all was the most damning aspect of the lineout where Gilligan was clearly running the show.
Cheika takes on a Wayne Bennett persona when his Wallabies are carved up.
He figures he has the thickest hide so he draws all the arrows towards himself that might otherwise inflict more damage on a player’s psyche.
Cheika weighed in when the “sack Cheika” vibe surfaced from angry fans after conceding 33 points way too easily against the All Blacks in the second half.
He contended that many of the fans calling for his head had never wanted him to get the job in the first place in late 2014.
He took some licence there to create a bogeyman that never existed.
People outside NSW might have wanted to know more about Cheika in 2014 but no one can recall any outrage about his elevation when Ewen McKenzie so suddenly left the job.
Feeding a siege mentality yourself is not a bad thing because as much as the Wallabies hate media outrage at a poor performance they very often respond with a better performance.
The Wallabies never get paid less for an average performance or get hit with a training session that is twice as long.
One of the few instantaneous measures of a performance they get outside self-appraisal, selections and the coach’s cane is a withering assessment from the media, the public and a loved one saying “Geez, you guys have copped a bagging.”
Long may that continue.
No matter what the excellent elements of Cheika’s make-up, all coaches are prisoners of their record.
His Wallabies have won just one of their past six starts.
It’s not the losses to the All Blacks that we should be blowing up deluxe about as much as they hurt the most.
It’s the two draws against a disorganised, ripe-for-the-picking Springboks side last season.
They will be twice as hard to beat at Suncorp Stadium on September 8 under new coach Rassie Erasmus.
If the Wallabies don’t win at Eden Park for the first time since 1986, it has to be an epic display that takes them to the brink.
Or throw all rugby fans a lifebuoy.
Originally published as Venom directed at Michael Cheika, Wallabies after All Blacks Sydney humbling at least shows fans care
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