Tag Archives: Rugby

Super Rugby: How long can Richard Graham last?

July 6, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I have written before on this blog about the performance of the Queensland Reds this season and my regular lament has been about the seeming drop in skills and discipline in the team during the 2014 season. Yet again last night we saw a Queensland Reds outfit that was ill disciplined both in attack and defence; viz, yet again the Reds were prone to make a mistake in almost every key moment and were punished for it by a workmanlike and consistent Force outfit.

Obviously the team has been decimated by injury but this is not the first time the skills gap between the Reds and an opponent has been obvious. Indeed, the last time I wrote calling for the head of the coach the Reds were fielding an almost full strength line up including the team’s half stars, Genia and Cooper and on that occasion, against the Rebels, poor discipline and errors were the deciding factor in the game.

Additionally, last night’s game was another fixture in which the Reds highly vaunted forward pack was, frankly, completely dominated by an opposing pack. Make no mistake: this game was won by the Western Force in the exchanges in the forwards, particularly at the breakdown and in set piece play where the Reds lacked enthusiasm as well as technical precision.

Richard Graham was always going to be compared to Ewen McKenzie when he took over the stewardship of the Reds and the one key comparison I would make is the fact that from basically the same playing group that last year made the finals, Graham has produced a rabble whose skills fall far short of the level likely to challenge most teams in this competition currently. Injuries can take part of the blame as can the form of the players BUT a large part of the blame must rest with Richard Graham and his coaching group.

All of the words coming from the QRU have been that Richard Graham will be the coach of the Queensland Reds in 2015. I get that he has a contract that the Reds are keen to fulfil but based on the confluence of results and the type of rugby the Reds are / have played this year he must be close to having lost the confidence of team management on the one hand and the players on the other.

Absent a must improved performance next week, Queensland will, and this is the hardest admission a Queenslander can make, be thrashed by New South Wales next week at Lang Park. There can be no greater insult. If that happens then in my opinion Richard Graham’s tenure as Queensland Reds coach must considered by the QRU and brought to an end so that a fresh start can be made in 2015. Absent such a start I can not fathom how a team coached by Graham can or will improve on this year and that, as a Reds fan and a Wallaby fan, is a terrible position for the Reds and the Wallabies.

Postscript: The ongoing chase for James O’Connor’s signature, seemingly at the behest of Coach Graham does nothing to enhance my opinion of his coaching acumen. The fact is that O’Connor is a terrible influence, indeed a divisive one, on the dressing room and the last thing the Reds need is another injury prone winger (when he is not beset by scandal).

Rugby: Another day, another player is off to France

June 11, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Rod Davies has signed to play rugby for the next two seasons with Biarritz Olympique in France. It is a very sad, more to the point another sad, day for Queensland and Australian rugby fans.  Sad in two respects:

  1. Rod Davies is a talismatic player for the Reds.  When he is on the field and the ball is in his hands the crowd lifts.  You can almost here the fans, me included, thinking and saying “go on Rocket!!!”.  He is a player who brings young fans through the gates and will be missed by the team, the members and the fans.
  2. Yet again Australian rugby has been unable to retain a player playing in our top domestic competition and perenially on the cusp of Australian selection.  Rather, the player has preferred to play in the second division of French rugby for a team that won 5 of 20 games in the French Top 14 last year.  I am all for players setting themselves up for their careers post rugby but it saddens me that that same opportunity is not afforded to such a player in Australia.

Rod Davies is one of my favourite players to watch and I will miss him running around in a Reds jersey.  I am left to lament now his loss from Australian rugby and to ponder who might be next to chase the money (and future security).

Genia dropped and Horwill to the bench: McKenzie gets it right again

June 3, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Ewen McKenzie has named the Australian team for the first test against France at Lang Park this Saturday night. The team is:

Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua, Nick Cummins, Bernard Foley, Nic White; Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper, Scott Fardy, Sam Carter, Rob Simmons, Sekope Kepu, Stephen Moore (c), James Slipper. Res: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Pek Cowan, Paddy Ryan, James Horwill, Ben McCalman, Nick Phipps, Kurtley Beale, Pat McCabe

Obviously the biggest move by Coach McKenzie is the dropping of Will Genia, not just from the team but also the bench. This is a massive step, given the Genia has not been out of the team when available since 2010, for McKenzie and, frankly, is the correct one. Aside from an inspiring performance in the 100th Queensland game last Saturday Genia has been in terrible form this season. Based on form he simply could not be selected. Nic White, conversely, has been in excellent form and deserves his run on spot.

James Horwill has been selected on the bench as the locks to run on are Carter and Simmons. This, again, is the correct move in my view: the Reds back row has been smashed this year whilst at line out time, last week aside, Horwill and Simmons had been less than impressive. I am not sure about Rob Simmons at test match level to be honest: I find him to be too ill disciplined for my liking so will be interested to see how he goes in this game.

This is a team that is, obviously, selected on form and for that McKenzie must be saluted. He is making his mark on the team on the field with these selection decisions as well as off the field with his leadership team selection. Now all he needs is results on the field to lock down his position at the top of rugby in this country.

Stephen Moore: Absolutely the right choice to lead the Wallabies

June 3, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

Stephen Moore was announced as the new captain of Wallabies yesterday. Among a poultice of candidates Moore has been selected, based on his own and the coach’s comments, in no small part due to his strong views on player culture and behaviour.  One only needs to run one’s eye over the other candidates to affirm why this choice was absolutely the correct one:

  • James Horwill: Captain of Queensland and former captain of the Wallabies during the end of the Robbie Deans era.  Simply is not in good enough form to guarantee his place in the starting team and being in the run on team has to be a factor in selection as captain.  Also, it can not be forgotten that he presided over the Beale / O’Connor fiascos and under a coach focused on building culture that had to count against him.
  • Will Genia: Vice-Captain of Queensland and former captain of the Wallabies.  Much like Horwill, is just no in good enough form to guarantee his selection in the team.  One excellent performance last week against the Highlanders should not mask what has been a season of much lament for the incumbent half back.
  • Michael Hooper: This bloke is a captain of the future so long as he stays healthy.  It is striking though that he is just too inexperienced at this stage to be a captaincy candidate.  Selecting him as a co vice-captain in league with two very experienced players in Moore and Ashley-Cooper will only expand his leadership experience.

Stephen Moore has not been a captain of a team since he played  for Queensland Colts over a decade ago.  That said, he has been a constant in leadership groups in both provincial and national teams for some time. He plays the game in the right way, hard and fair, and is as close as you will find to an 80 minute player in the front row.

I salute the appointment of Stephen Moore as captain of the Wallabies and look forward to seeing him lead out Wallabies on Saturday night.  More to the point I look forward to a new age of positive cultural influences on the Australian team and a time of less “drama” which I am certain Moore can bring to the table.

Reds v Highlanders: Six thoughts from an epic encounter

May 31, 2014 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

The Queensland Reds defeated the Highlanders last night in a pulsating clash at Lang Park that ended with a Reds try after the siren after the Highlanders had launched a might comeback. I have been pondering this game much since leaving the ground and 6 key thoughts have continued to resonate so I thought I would share them:

1. Been a long time since I was so excited by a win: boy the Reds needed that!

I have been a member of the Reds for a long time and a fan even longer. The last time I hugged the bloke next to me in overjoyed celebration at the end of a Reds game was when the Reds bested the Crusaders to win the championship in 2011. That was until last night: the emotion in the crowd, let alone on the field, at the end of last night’s game was indicative of how much this victory really meant for the Reds. It has been a season of lament but this victory will be long remembered.

2. The emotion of the victory should not mask how bad this Reds season has been

There is a golf analogy that is apt: “there is always one shot that keeps you coming back no matter how bad you play”. This win by the Reds could well have the same effect: in the wash up of a terrible season this game could be remembered and, indeed, mask what has been some terrible rugby by the Reds in 2014. Not wanting to take the shine of a great night but there were still signs of how bad the Reds have been this year in last nights win: silly penalties and options still were prevalent as was some lacking defence under pressure.

3. Will that win save Richard Graham? Probably but it shouldn’t

I was listening to Tim Cox’s program on 612 ABC on the way to the ground last night and heard one of the panelists comment that Richard Graham’s job has to be safe because the Reds will not want to go back to the dark days of changing coaches every year after bad results. I concede that I agree with that concept, in theory, but I can not agree with it as a principal justification for keeping a non-performing coach. This win will help Graham’s cause as will avoidance of a hard decision by the QRU but all of the statistics point to a coach, in Graham, who is not up to Super Rugby. Take his whole record and the squads that he has had and that is the only available conclusion. He should go in my opinion but will not.

4. Why video ref? Why?

The usage of the video referee this season has been more prevalent and has been nothing short of a failure. Incorrect decisions, interminable delays and incongruent silence when assistance is actually needed have been hallmarks of the use of the TMO in 2014. Last night we saw, again, the use of the TMO in unnecessary, match delaying, situations and making wrong decisions. I am an ardent Reds fan but even through that lens the decision to disallow a Highlanders try for an alleged obstruction that occurred on the 50 metre line seemed like the wrong decision to me. No system is going to be perfect but one that does not delay the game and gets decisions write more often than not would be nice!

5. Will Genia: superstar!

It was Will Genia’s 100th game in a Reds cap last night and he provided the Reds faithful with probably his best performance in 2 years. I have been overt in my views about Genia’s form and probably watch him more closely than anyone else on the field at home games and I have to say last night’s effort was just a joy to watch. Take a bow sir!

6. Just kick a bl**dy field goal!!!!

Decision making has not been the strong suit of the Reds leadership of late and so, again, we saw what could best be described as garbled decision making almost cost the Reds the game. Can anyone cogently explain to me how a former test captain (Horwill) and current test vice captain (Genia) miss the obvious opportunity to attempt a field goal in the dying moments of the game. The play was set up under or around the posts for at least 10 phases before the final try was scored. Surely that made going for the field goal the better option? To me the win is more important than the glory and I would have had Harris and Lucas both in the pocket from about the 4th phase.

As I said in the preamble: this was an epic encounter. It was also a vital win for the Reds: not for their season but for their psyche. 2014 will still end as a season of much lament for Queensland players and fans but we will always have 30 May 2014.