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Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales all have the same problem
By Jake White
‘The conductor of an orchestra is the only person that does not make a sound. He/she depends for their power on the ability to make other people powerful.’
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I was reminded of those words by the famed British conductor Benjamin Zander while watching the Ireland versus Argentina game.
You see, they’ve lost their long-time conductor in Johnny Sexton. Sure, he was vocal on the pitch, but at times, it’s like the backline could read his mind. They almost had a sixth sense of how and what he was going to do on a pitch. I say this, because when they were on-song, they looked part of the orchestra, hitting the right notes, but there were periods this November when they didn’t even seem part of the same all-conquering Leinster side, let alone Ireland.
They have given Jack Crowley time in the 10 jersey. They have given Ciaran Frawley a run and now they are starting young Sam Prendergast, who has only had about eight starts for Leinster, against Fiji. We all know you can’t expect miracles in the infancy of your Test career. You will make mistakes. That is what Ireland, who are shipping too many penalties, are missing right now, that calm an experienced conductor gives you. There was bound to be a drop-off.
Whereas, I have to say how impressed I have been by Felipe Contepomi and by proxy their fly-half, Tomas Albornoz. He looks to the manor born in the blue and white of Los Pumas. The difference is experience. Tomas is 27 and has been pulling the strings for Jaguares and Benneton in the URC for five years. It makes all the difference. He has a wand of a left boot, controls the game and is very sharp off the mark. The Puma backline, as a whole, is looking as dangerous as any in this Autumn Series, which should worry everyone else – that Juan Cruz Mallia try was outstanding.
If you look at Wales versus Australia, whichever way you look at it – they’re also still looking for their long-term conductor. Take the Wallabies, they hung their hat on Carter Gordon but he disappeared back to League. Now they’re giving Noah Lolesio another run. That’s the thing with Australia, since Lynagh and Larkham, they haven’t had a proper conductor. They had the talented Quade Cooper and Christian Leali’ifano but they weren’t dominant in their position. As for Wales, names like Barry John, Phil Bennett, Jonathan Davies roll off the tongue, and in Dan Biggar, they had a different 10, but one who was very driven. Wales don’t possess anyone of that ilk right now.
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If anyone can give Wales hope, it’s Australia. They have shown how quick things can turn. They were getting scorched 67-27 by Argentina two months ago and roundly heckled, and yet one Len Ikitau flick at Twickenham, and they flicked the switch. When Eddie was coaching Australia, they were thrashed 40-6 by Wales. It’s been a roller-coaster period for anyone Down Under.
So, are they back at the top table? Not yet. The true Test is how they go against Scotland and Ireland. We will see in a few weeks whether the Lions can start shifting uneasily in their seats, which is crazy because it wasn’t long ago that pundits were asking if the tour should be taken off the Wallabies. If they win a Northern ‘Grand Slam’, you’ll have to doff your cap and say it is an incredible achievement.
As for England, as I said in last week’s column, they remain the sleeping giant of Test rugby. Every time they look like they’re stirring from slumber, you turn around and they’ve nodded off again. It’s quite something. You take the last couple of Tests. You can’t have that many narrow losses without taking accountability. You have to accept that something is not quite right. To pretend it’s business as usual is foolhardy.
I am still concerned about their scrum. England were supposed to have a strong set-piece as a bare minimum, but right now it’s absent. Between November and March, they play in the cold, biting rain, with snow over Christmas and low-scoring games and this is when a scrum and line-out is paramount. For all the player depth they have, it hasn’t translated into the England team. Plus, their defence is all over the shop and they don’t seem to score in the final quarter, with Steve Borthwick now complaining that they’re not fit enough. It doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Jean de Villiers said something very pertinent after the game. He said the Boks weren’t great but to win by nine points and miss eight points at the poles shows how it was relatively comfortable. If you’d played ‘badly’ historically and won, it would have been seen as a massive victory in years gone by, but it’s not such a surprise now, which shows you where England are at.
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All the off-field upheaval hasn’t helped. Losing your conditioning coach and defence coach weeks before the Series is a concern. After two years in the role, you should be promoting stability to your squad.
Looking ahead, they have a tough start to 2025. They start with Ireland away, and then they go over to Paris to play France. If their house is not in order by then, you can expect two losses. Borthwick has a less than 50 per cent win record after 28 games in charge. That sort of record has caused trigger-happy executives to act in countries with high expectations.
As for the Boks, they have had the easier tour compared to the other top teams in the world; Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. England were all at sea, Scotland wilted after putting up a spirited show and Wales are in transition. They would have expected them to win those games. Next year, they have two Tests against Italy, so I expect things to look rosy until they play New Zealand in the Rugby Championship. Those games will be a true Test of whether we’re still at the summit of world rugby.
Let me finish this column by revisiting Wales. I did send Gats a message a few days ago, because I went through the same. All coaches do. In 2006, I lost five Tests in a row, in a country where there are high expectations, like Wales. It’s psychological torture. You start to doubt yourself. You wonder if you’ve lost a certain element of what made you successful. Like players, coaches are human and while they strive for perfection, the bounce of a ball or a 50-50 decision going against you can send you to distraction.
Listen, all coaches want to break records, but not the wrong ones. Wales are on the cusp of being the first Welsh side since 1937 to go winless, and that will hurt Gats.
He isn’t getting the luck. The first time he goes with a 6-2 split, it blows up in his face and they’re exposed. Then he loses one of his genuine world-class talents in Tomos Williams. Against Australia, he loses his lineout leader, Adam Beard. Anything that could go wrong, is going wrong.
Warren Gatland (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
If he chooses to depart – and it sounds like he’s going to tough it out – they have a huge set of gates in his honour. I would like to think he could leave through them rather than the back door. He deserves a dignified exit and respect for what he has achieved. Rugby prides itself on doing the right thing and behaving in the correct manner but everyone can see this can’t go on forever. As a nation, they are rugby mad and they are hurting. It’s front-page news because they care. Other countries are looking on and thinking, how on earth did they get themselves in that situation with the passion they have for the game.
Wales will be back, I have no doubt about that, but no one knows how long it will take to turn the ship around. They need to rediscover their mojo for the good of the game.
Go behind the scenes of both camps during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021. Binge watch exclusively on RugbyPass TV now
