Rugby Championship: Breaking Down Australia’s Strengths and Weaknesses

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 6, 2013

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Any side that gets thumped by a record margin will have demons to face in their next outing, especially when they have a new coach, a rash of injuries and the game just happens to be against world champions New Zealand.

That's the task currently facing Australia, a side beaten 41-16 in the deciding Test with the British & Irish Lions, and a side also looking to put recent controversies behind them and buckle down to impress new coach Ewen McKenzie.

Although the Wallabies finished second in last year’s inaugural Rugby Championship and enjoyed a reasonably successful end-of-season tour of Europe (winning three from four), off-field issues blighted the reign of former coach Robbie Deans.

The New Zealander clearly was not to everyone’s liking in the Wallabies' dressing room, and the behaviour of star players Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor and Digby Ioane did nothing for team morale while Deans was in charge.

Indiscipline cost the Wallabies respect both on and off the field, and it is a wonder Deans’ sides managed to play as well as they did with such an unstable backdrop.

Clearly, the Wallabies have had to struggle through their fair share of poor discipline in the last couple of seasons, but Deans’ man management was also questionable and one of the reasons for his departure after the Lions loss.



Cooper, recently recalled by McKenzie, is not the only player to have fallen out with Deans. The New Zealander also had issues with 92-time capped Matt Giteau, who chose a career with French club Toulon after controversially being left out of the Wallabies’ 2012 World Cup squad.

How Australia could have done with Giteau’s experience and proven skills as they lost player after player to injury during the Lions tour is anyone's guess. There is no excuse for highly-paid players not to behave professionally, but coaches al...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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