Wallabies halves need to have confidence in each other

When Nick Farr-Jones made his Test debut he asked me how I wanted the ball. I said, “You throw it and I’ll catch it”.

When Nick Farr-Jones made his Test debut against England on the 1984 Grand Slam tour, he asked me how I wanted the ball. I simply said, “You throw it and I’ll catch it”.

Nick wanted me to give him an idea of where I wanted the ball passed to me, in front, direct, high or low, but I didn’t care. I just ­wanted the ball to hit my hands as fast as he could throw it.

He was such a naturally gifted player that I knew every time where the ball was going to be and that was at least a metre in front to allow me to run onto it with plenty of space between the Wallabies’ line of attack and the England ­defensive line.

How times have changed and in the professional era there is now sadly a lack of belief from ­Wallabies five-eighths, who seem reluctant to run onto the ball, electing to take the pass from their halfbacks at depth and always beginning their attack way behind the advantage line.

The relationship between the halfback and five-eighth in any team, whether it be schoolboy rugby, sub-districts, club or Super Rugby, and especially at Test level, is unique because how they ­combine usually determines the outcome of the match.

The Wallabies’ current halfback, Nick Phipps, certainly has plenty of talent and is as determined as Farr-Jones, but was shown up in the recent England series and now is unfortunately being widely criticised.

Phipps got caught with the ball far too often and, under pressure, threw too many wayward passes, which is maybe the reason why five-eighth Bernard Foley also played well below his ability.

I notice that Phipps is warming the Waratahs’ bench this afternoon with Matt Lucas in the ­starting line-up when they take on the Sunwolves in Tokyo, but I wouldn’t read too much into it with coach Daryl Gibson giving the Wallabies No 9 a well-earned rest.

If I were Gibson, I would have given Farr-Jones a call this week to see if he was available to talk to Phipps about his performances against England, critique his efforts, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of his game and give him the encouragement to keep his head high and prove to ­everyone, including himself, that he is worthy of wearing the gold of Australia.

With the prospect of Will Genia returning to Australia for the Rugby Championship, it would seem that Phipps will again warm the bench, but is Genia the answer to resolving our problems, because he is certainly past his best?

What Phipps needs is good coaching and if Gibson and ­Wallabies coach Michael Cheika can’t give it to him, then get ­someone like a Farr-Jones who can help improve his technique and skill levels so that he can hit the target every time.

Both halves have to improve in unison and not independently of each other because they rely so much on each other, especially in tight matches where mistakes are magnified.

Phipps and Foley are only as good as each other, as displayed against England, and Wallabies ­attack coach Stephen Larkham must work a lot harder with both players to lift their confidence and rejig the way they play the game, which definitely needs tweaking.

Making it harder for Phipps is the number of players who take the football as first receiver in the modern game and whose alignments, width and depths vary ­radically, making it a guessing game for the halfback.

There needs to be more consistency with Foley, who should always be at first receiver with the runners on his outside shoulder rather than Phipps throwing long passes which are gradually declining to the likes of Will Skelton in midfield who takes the pass around his ankles and worrying about not dropping the ball instead of building up momentum to smash it up the middle.

Both Phipps and Foley are under enormous pressure to prove that they can help take the Wallabies to another level, but they have to work harder and set higher standards to themselves and each other. You pass it and I’ll catch it. That is the level of confidence they need to be a world-class halves combination.