So, what HAS Michael Cheika actually done as a coach?
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="610149" data-time="1472368027">
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<p>Yep - they basically marched up the field, stole our lineouts, forced a penalty that Morne Steyne kicked - rinse and repeat. And of course they were using the high ball that Habana especially was much better at than our guys.</p>
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<p>We had Beaver for the first two tests in 2009 and Danny Boy came back to run the Boks close at home. </p>
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<p>In 2010, Tom Donnelly and ultimately Sam Whitelock (and the return of Ali Williams) helped to strengthen our lineout - but, the emergence of Kieran Read to supplant Rodders was also crucial in shoring up our lineout.</p>
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<p>If we'd had to persist with Isaac Ross, Rodders, Beaver and Sivi - I'm not sure we would have fixed things in 2010. </p>
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<p>We ran too much that year and kept coughing up the ball in silly positions so that half the time they didn't need to march up the field to force the penalty.</p>
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<p>Then DC did a kick instead of going through the hands in the Tron! :ireful:</p>
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<p>That was a bad year, but I think it contributed mightily going forward. I hope this is just a bad year for the Wallabies. ;)</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Chris B." data-cid="610149" data-time="1472368027">
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<p>Yep - they basically marched up the field, stole our lineouts, forced a penalty that Morne Steyne kicked - rinse and repeat. And of course they were using the high ball that Habana especially was much better at than our guys.</p>
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<p>We had Beaver for the first two tests in 2009 and Danny Boy came back to run the Boks close at home. </p>
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<p>In 2010, Tom Donnelly and ultimately Sam Whitelock (and the return of Ali Williams) helped to strengthen our lineout - but, the emergence of Kieran Read to supplant Rodders was also crucial in shoring up our lineout.</p>
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<p>If we'd had to persist with Isaac Ross, Rodders, Beaver and Sivi - I'm not sure we would have fixed things in 2010. </p>
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<p>You do have a good point re the cattle, I forgot about Ross or maybe just suppressed the memory!!!</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="sparky" data-cid="610093" data-time="1472362444"><p>I once knew a guy who used to shout "look a flying pig" before trying to take someone else's food or beer, Cheika reminds me of that.</p></blockquote>I assume you mean Cheika reminds you of the guy you mention, not the flying pig.
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="610123" data-time="1472365700">
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<p>So it's ok to take a shot at the ref as long as you take the blame for yourself. It was our fault we lost, oh and by the way the ref is a cheat. But, it's all good, it was our fault we lost.</p>
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<p>Cheika seemed like a breath of fresh air last year, he's coming across as a knob this year, and sadly a knob who can't coach these blokes very well. I actually don't have a problem with the niggle as a tactic early on, but it clearly wasn't working and he should have stopped it at half time.</p>
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<p>I was responding to Kirwan's post, where it was proposed he needed to 'take the blame himself' which he clearly already has.</p>
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<p>I think if Eddie Jones said what Cheika did it would be a 'cunning ruse, designed to dictate the media narrative for the next week'. If Cheika does it though he 'looks like a knob'.</p>
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<p>To be brutally honest I don't care what you think of him off the field. We all think Steve Hanson is a cnt but fuck me if he doesn't get results.</p>
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<p>The issue isn't the post-match pressers at all. It's the motivation within the playing group, what goes on behind closed doors. Obviously something isn't right at the moment. I didn't think we were that far off the mark against England, but we've taken a big step back since then. I wonder if it's just confidence, and all they need is an easy win or two to right the ship. Sadly they aren't going to get that for a looong time.</p> -
"We all think Steve Hanson is a cnt but fuck me if he doesn't get results."<br>Do you?
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="nostrildamus" data-cid="610166" data-time="1472369388">
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<p>"We all think Steve Hanson is a cnt but fuck me if he doesn't get results."<br>
Do you?</p>
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<p>He's a bitter, grumpy old bastard. Would hate to be sat next to him on a long flight.</p>
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<p>Doesn't mean I don't think he's the best coach in the world, and respect the shit out of his ability.</p> -
<p>I don't know Hansen that well, so wouldn't know if he's bitter, but he certainly looks like a grumpy bastard.</p>
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<p>I suppose at best, he's taciturn. Certainly he seems to endear himself to Kiwis with his unsmiling, patronly visage. </p>
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<p>When you're riding the best horse in the show, and everyone is on donkeys, you don't need to smile and shout and laugh I guess. He's very quick to fire a shot as a result.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="barbarian" data-cid="610170" data-time="1472369688"><p>
He's a bitter, grumpy old bastard. Would hate to be sat next to him on a long flight.<br><br>
Doesn't mean I don't think he's the best coach in the world, and respect the shit out of his ability.</p></blockquote>
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Grumpy maybe, but bitter? -
<p>To be honest, I'm not sure why Shag feels the need to needle Cheika and the Aussies. They're obviously on the down and to a point - it feels like putting the boot in.</p>
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<p>I guess, to a point, it does help to keep them on the back foot, but right now we don't really need that.Maybe he just doesn't like Cheika?</p> -
He's clearly neither. Just a dry wit. All the players clearly like him and genuinely so.<br><br>
The head coach coming across as a bit of a fluffybunny in the media is Cheika. Something appears rotten from this distant vantage point, as if the players don't have faith in each other or the plan. Moore looks like the captaincy is draining the life out of his soul.<br><br>
That may all be rectified by getting a win against the Bokke or Pumas, I can't tell which of the three is the worst in the RC. But another loss at home will make the pressure unbearable. Bled 1 was the fault of the coach because he didn't motivate professionals representing their country for a chance to win a cup they haven't had for over a decade. Bled 2 they were obviously motivated and still lost badly.<br><br>
So as a result there's accusations of meetings, accusations of eye gouging and when the requirement came to ante up, neither appeared to be true. But the problems are solved because the media is discussing that rather than the insipid display of rugby and misplaced aggression! "We fronted and with some poor weather the All Blacks scored 33% less tries"... -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="610175" data-time="1472370137">
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<p>I don't know Hansen that well, so wouldn't know if he's bitter, but he certainly looks like a <strong>grumpy bastard</strong>.</p>
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<p>I suppose at best, he's taciturn. Certainly he seems to endear himself to Kiwis with his unsmiling, patronly visage. </p>
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<p>When you're riding the best horse in the show, and everyone is on donkeys, you don't need to smile and shout and laugh I guess. He's very quick to fire a shot as a result.</p>
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<p> He has a dry wit and doesn't suffer fools but don't let Shag's schtick fool you Nick, in there beats the heart of an emotional man super passionate about the ABs and a national treasure. Check out Mr Grumpy at 1:31:50, 1:32, 1:36:30 of this piece</p>
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<p>Goddammit if it doesn't still bring me to tears</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="610204" data-time="1472374741">
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<p>No doubt he's a complex bloke</p>
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<p>His players love and respect him and he treats them in kind. Exhibit A, Izzy Dagg. Left out of the RWC15 side, he went away and came back into the squad instead of dropping his bundle and shipping off on an O/E</p> -
Hansen is grumpy? The guy cracks a joke at least once a press conference often more. The whole RWC was basically him and the press shooting the breeze four times a week.<br><br>
Ted I don't think was grumpy but you can see how others could interpret the headmaster demeanor that way.<br><br>
Cheika doesn't seem grumpy, but perhaps in need of some mental skills sessions with a professional. -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="rotated" data-cid="610225" data-time="1472377399">
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<p>Hansen is grumpy? The guy cracks a joke at least once a press conference often more. The whole RWC was basically him and the press shooting the breeze four times a week.<br><br>
Ted I don't think was grumpy but you can see how others could interpret the headmaster demeanor that way.<br><br><strong>Cheika doesn't seem grumpy, but perhaps in need of some mental skills sessions with a professional.</strong></p>
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<p>He's probably not a grumpy person generally but he's got the job he always wanted and its turned out to be a bit of a shit sandwich you'd expect anyone in his position to be in a pretty bad space. On g and g and planet rugby there's a fair bit of hate directed at Hansons way mostly because he seems like he's drifting in and out of consciousness when he talks to the media yet despite almost being in a coma his team keeps racking up wins. </p> -
<p>Cheika tried to play mind games with Eddie and he's carrying it on. We're baiting him, in the press and on the field. His players don't look comfortable in the enforcer roles as they're skilled professionals and did really well at the WC when they concentrated on the rugby. I think Eddie showed how to put Cheika off and maybe if you put the coach off that in some small way transfers over to the team. It's obvious from the England series what Cheika was trying to do. If you can needle the coach and it translates into a loss on the field, lack of focus, maybe you get rid of the coach. That's probably an indirect compliment from the other coaches, they see him as a threat, but with a weakness that's easy to exploit. By contrast, even under Clive, I've not seen such a professional and focussed England team before. If Cheika loses another couple he may be on the way out. Mission accomplished? </p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Nepia" data-cid="610133" data-time="1472367030"><p>
Who's saying it was a success? I thought it was just NTA making a joke about it? Or have the media said that? (I don't read them. Although I did read the Murdoch tabloid in a cafe today while waiting for my food and they gave Kaino a 6 - while giving yellow card Coleman a 6.5 so that tells you all you need to know about that).<br><br>
But yep, at a kind of lucky 15-9 at halftime Cheika should have said ok boys stop the niggle, hit some rucks and lets make a game of it.</p></blockquote>
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Both the Aus commentary teams (Foxsports and Ten) during the game and in post match analysis where banging on about how the added aggression was such a positive and made it a real contest etc. <br>
From where i was watching it looked like they got carried away and forgot to play rugby. Its not as if their forwards were piling into rucks with extra venom or putting on bit hits. Just silly shit after the whistle. If anything i think it backfired when they let Coles and BBBR get under their skin. Certainly helped the AB when their lock got carded and Kepu got pinged for off the ball shit on A Smith. I dare say it probably contributed to the ref not wanting to listen to moore have a moan at every stoppage. -
Back to coach of the year in 2015<br>
One guy coached his team to do what no other team has done before I.e back to back world cups. The other guy won a shortened four nations (playing both SA and NZ at home) and came second at the World Cup (which has been done by lots of other coaches)
