If we could harness your knowledge and goodwill, we would lead the world.
Jim made the point, “Thanks for not forgetting what we did to Folau. I personally think the spirit and heart departed from both the Waratahs and the Wallabies over that. We play rugby, not wokeism”.
The statistics from the first two Tests are surely alarming. In the first Test, we had enough ball and territory to win three games of rugby, 66 per cent of the possession to France’s 34; in territory, 75 per cent to their 25.
Yet we never, at any stage, led until a penalty in the 83rd minute put us in front.
None of that improved significantly in the second Test. We had 61 per cent of the possession, and 62 per cent of the territory. We ran double the number of metres that they ran.
So where do we start?
My Kiwi mates have a saying about good people. They call them “good buggers”. There is no doubt that Dave Rennie is a “good bugger.”
But as we say in Australia, it’s no use being a nice guy if they come last. From what I have seen in these two Tests, Dave Rennie has added nothing to the Australian game.
As the figures suggest, if you are running 971 metres and they are running 466, and you lose, it must mean you’re running in the wrong direction.
After only eight matches in charge of the Wallabies, Rennie looks lost and uncomfortable.
The pictures on television of the Wallaby dressing room at half-time is a cause for alarm.
You would think the coach would be taking charge, with the players hanging off every word.
Instead, the pictures showed the forwards’ coach having a one-on-one chat to the number 10; the scrum coach was wandering around the change room recording everything on his smart phone; the head coach was in the background, looking bewildered while players roamed around the sheds.
Galthie, the French coach, has given his inexperienced mob direction and belief.
Our players need direction and that has to come from Dave Rennie, the head coach.
On Tuesday night, our men certainly were trying to attack, but there was far too much sideways movement.
The French defence answered any challenge and France dominated the breakdown.
There is no doubt the Wallabies are fit; they finished strongly in both games. But there are three things, at least, that they need to fix.
Firstly, Michael Hooper must understand he’s playing Test match rugby. When we are awarded penalties in kicking range, we should be taking the points and building our score.
Rugby fans are sick and tired of turning down points on offer. Hooper rolls the dice all of the time and we come up short most of the time.
Hooper is a gutsy player and gives more than everything he has, but he’s not a great captain and his decision-making is not getting any better.
Secondly, the French have cleaned us up in the ruck area in both Tests so far. How can we enjoy 66 per cent of possession in the first Test and 61 per cent in the second and not translate that into points?
The answer is, the French backrowers play like centres and their centres play like backrowers.
I always argued that in a good Wallaby side, the skills must be interchangeable.
France controlled the breakdown and stole the ball far too easily. Cameron Woki, the French blindside flanker, is a world class prospect.
His lineout work is excellent, his defence is brutal and he’s very comfortable on the ball in space. Jonathan Danty, their centre, has been exceptional in the first two Tests.
He stole three balls in the first Test and another three in the second. Unless we can look after the football, we cannot beat the French on Saturday.
Finally, to this nonsense about an avalanche of reserves at the end of the game.
It has been costly to us in both Tests. If we are playing to win, don’t flood the pitch with nervous reserves who are likely to make errors as they try to settle into the contest.
Mind you, doesn’t it also make a mockery of the statistics? You hear commentators boast that “such and such a person” has now played 100 Tests. He hasn’t really.
He’s run on, maybe, for two or four minutes and it counts as a Test. We are completely corrupting the statistics.
There was a time when you could only come off the paddock if there was a medical certification that you couldn’t continue.
Here we were on Tuesday night in a crucial lineout, in the final moments of the game, and the young reserve hooker, Lachlan Lonergan, fluffed his throw and a scoring chance was lost.
It’s not his fault. It’s the coach’s fault. If we are playing for keeps, and that’s what Test match rugby is about, we should trust the starting players to finish the job.
And if they are not fit enough to play out 80 minutes, they shouldn’t be there.
Dave Rennie is going to have to take charge of this Wallaby outfit and show to the rugby family that he has made changes in the way the game is played, which transforms the team into a winning outfit.
As it stands, after eight Tests in charge, Dave Rennie has won two Tests with a win rate of 25 per cent. Rennie is on big money. It’s time he earned it. Galthie is a winner.
Much is made of Rennie and his winning of the Super Rugby titles with the Chiefs.
Wayne Smith, one of the best in the business, was the coach when they had Sonny Bill Williams, among others, and they won two Super Rugby titles.
When both Smith and Williams left the Chiefs, they slid back to being an average, middle of the table team under Dave Rennie going solo.
A similar thing happened in Glasgow.
Dave Rennie took over a team that had just won the Pro-12 competition under Gregor Townsend. Under Rennie, they slipped back to mediocrity.
The Wallabies are ranked seventh in the world behind South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France and Wales.
It pains me to say this, but I can’t see the fortunes of the Wallabies changing under the direction of Dave Rennie.
He was given the job without due diligence from the board of Rugby Australia, and because he’s managed by the same management stable as Scott Johnson.
Dave Rennie may well be a “good bugger”, but he’s not cutting the mustard as the Wallaby coach.
He needs to win the series to keep the wolves from the door, remembering that this is anything but the top French side.
To be honest, we got lucky in game one and we blew it in game two.
Dave Rennie, you are going to have rev up the Wallabies for game three.
Your one real concern is, do they believe you?
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