So, what HAS Michael Cheika actually done as a coach?
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Two forward passes.<br>
They did broach the fanatical French defence Rodders took four defenders along for the ride after a sustained attack in the 70th minute. If they had another 10 minutes to make up for the forward pass that came off the kick off I'm sure they would have again.<br>
Yellow Card.<br>
0 penalties in the last 60 minutes despite 72% possession.<br><br>
I'm not saying this to point out why we got robbed. I'm pointing out the things Henry and McCaw didn't blame after the game. -
<p>Back to Cheika, he also complained about Owens! I think Hansen's approach is bang on, ask "what are we doing wrong?".</p>
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<p>I watched that whole press conference, he was clearly implying they didn't get a fair go from the ref. Combined with his wholly unprofessional conduct in the coaches box (and history of abusing refs), he's got a siege mentality when he should trying to improve his team and tactics.</p> -
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...Rodders took four defenders along for the ride...</p>
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<p>Ahh I miss Rodders, if we were doing a niggly 15, he would be VC behind Sean Fitzpatrick.</p>
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<p>But there is only so much any Wallaby coach can do with the talent they have. I'm guessing the school boy path is AFL or NRL then rugby </p> -
<p>whoops too many drinks, ignore or delete my double posts</p>
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<p>Back to Cheika, he also complained about Owens! I think Hansen's approach is bang on, ask "what are we doing wrong?".</p>
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<p>I watched that whole press conference, he was clearly implying they didn't get a fair go from the ref. Combined with his wholly unprofessional conduct in the coaches box (and history of abusing refs), he's got a siege mentality when he should trying to improve his team and tactics.</p>
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<p>It reminds me a bit of the Blues a few years ago with Ali Williams as captain and Kirwan as coach - they used to bang on about not getting a fair go from the ref - well i'm not surprised given the crybaby attitude that accompanied Ali Williams as captain</p> -
<p>Well, it seems like it's only NZers who think he's a whinger... the rest of the world has turned on the cynical All Blacks and their thin-skinned NZ fans. The Aussie media have something else to distract from 6 losses in a row. Mission accomplished, right?</p>
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<p>What would an All Black Coach do in this situation? Try to think back to 2007 when you lost to France but everyone just decided it was a forward fucking pass not called by the officials that was the problem. Not the fact that the ABs, despite their might and pomp, couldn't break down a fanatical French defence, or even have the brains or skill to pop over a field goal despite numerous opportunities.</p>
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<p>Nah mate, forget blaming the refs I was too busy blaming Henry for not selecting Aaron Mauger, he had kicked the most drop goals in test matches of all those in the 2007 WC squad :whistle: :whistle:</p> -
<p>Spiro Zavos take</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/australia-rugby/wallabies-coach-michael-cheika-must-stop-complaining-and-start-coaching-20160901-gr70nw.html'>http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/australia-rugby/wallabies-coach-michael-cheika-must-stop-complaining-and-start-coaching-20160901-gr70nw.html</a></p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(29,29,29);font-family:merriweather, georgia, serif;font-size:16px;">After a loss in a Bledisloe Cup Test which coach said this and when?</span></p>
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<p style="font-size:16px;font-family:merriweather, georgia, serif;color:rgb(29,29,29);"><strong>Coach 1:</strong> "They played particularly well and thoroughly deserved the win … They out-muscled us, I thought, at scrum time. They won the battle over the ball and under the body at the breakdown."</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;font-family:merriweather, georgia, serif;color:rgb(29,29,29);"><strong>Coach 2:</strong> "I was bitterly disappointed, to be honest (about the performance of the referee) … He's got the whistle, I understand, but there's a place where that guy, the captain, has an opportunity to speak with the referee… I don't know if it's subconscious or not, but it's there. It's got to be dealt with, because it can't be that the opponent can have every player discussing with the referee. It's pretty blatant to anyone listening to the referees."</p>
<p style="font-size:16px;font-family:merriweather, georgia, serif;color:rgb(29,29,29);"> </p>
<p style="font-size:16px;font-family:merriweather, georgia, serif;color:rgb(29,29,29);">Coach 1 was Steve Hansen last year after the Wallabies defeated the All Blacks 27-19 at Sydney. In the return Test at Auckland, a week later, the All Blacks out-muscled, out-scrummed and out-mauled the Wallabies at the breakdown to force a 34-17 victory. Hansen had honestly identified the problems with the play of the All Blacks and then rectified them.<span>Coach 2 was Michael Cheika on Saturday night </span><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-match-report/bledisloe-cup-all-blacks-beat-wallabies-in-wellington-to-nab-14th-consecutive-series-win-20160827-gr2om6.html'>after the All Blacks thumped his Wallabies 29-9, four tries to none, in Wellington</a><span>. Cheika clearly did not identify why the Wallabies lost the way Hansen did with his All Blacks. Blaming the referee is an excuse, not an analysis.</span></p>
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<p>I think Spiro's feeling vindicated after pointing out the Wallabies were not going to be well served by those returning under the Giteau Rule.</p>
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<p>What the fuck else is he supposed to talk about in press conferences? "Yeah look, the players were shit out there and I did my best. Useless fluffybunnies, the lot of them!"</p>
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<p>What would an All Black Coach do in this situation? Try to think back to 2007 when you lost to France but everyone just decided it was a forward fucking pass not called by the officials that was the problem. Not the fact that the ABs, despite their might and pomp, couldn't break down a fanatical French defence, or even have the brains or skill to pop over a field goal despite numerous opportunities.</p>
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<p>Fuck really??? Can you show some actual evidence of Henry losing it like Chieka did?</p> -
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<p>Fuck really??? Can you show some actual evidence of Henry losing it like Chieka did?</p>
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<p>Where did I say Henry lost it?</p> -
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<p>Where did I say Henry lost it?</p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;font-size:12px;background-color:rgb(247,247,247);">"What would an All Black Coach do in this situation? Try to think back to 2007 when you lost to France but everyone just decided it was a forward fucking pass not called by the officials that was the problem. Not the fact that the ABs, despite their might and pomp, couldn't break down a fanatical French defence, or even have the brains or skill to pop over a field goal despite numerous opportunities."</span></p> -
Actually I like Cheika's antics.<br>
I think the problem is the captain. -
<p>It's a classic example of 'live by the sword, die by the sword'.</p>
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<p>I'll preface these comments by saying that I love Michael Cheika, and this love will never die. He single-handedly took the Waratahs to a Super title, and for that he has my eternal gratitude.</p>
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<p>When he rose to prominence (first with Leinster and then with the Tahs), his plain-speaking passion was his biggest strength. A post-game presser with Cheik was mesmerising, he had a way of talking that seemed so genuine, so free of the cliched rubbish you'd hear from most coaches.</p>
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<p>The way he'd motivate players was also incredible. He turned around the careers of Kurtley Beale, Kane Douglas, Cliff Palu, Nick Phipps. I don't know what he said to them, but it all worked.</p>
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<p>And then he took us to the World Cup Final, and it wasn't a fluke. We were genuinely the second best team in the world last year (though that may say more about the other sides than it does about us).</p>
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<p>But then the results turned, and all of a sudden this plain-speaking honesty is putting him offiside with many. The same passion and honesty that saw him lauded at the Waratahs and in his first year as Wallaby coach is now 'too much swearing', 'too much complaining', 'too much talk about the ref'.</p>
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<p>I'm not trying to defend anything he has said (and agree you can never win talking about the ref post-game), but you can't have it both ways.</p>
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<p>The bloke flies by the seat of his pants, and always has. I think he is a very good coach (his track record is incredible), but for whatever reason things have gone awry. It could get pretty ugly if it keeps getting worse, as Cheika isn't going to turn into Captain Cliche all of a sudden - 'it's disappointing, but we will just work harder' 'full credit to the opposition' 'we tried really hard out there' etc etc etc</p>
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<p>I think we are seeing a man trying to make sense of his crumbling empire in real time, and it's equal parts excrutiating and fascinating. We don't have the answers, and neither does he. And predictably he's not taking it well.</p> -
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<p>A post-game presser with Cheik was mesmerising, he had a way of talking that seemed so genuine, so free of the cliched rubbish you'd hear from most coaches.</p>
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<p>I know you've done some of those pressers. What is the atmosphere like among the journos when Cheika is in there? Does it depend on the result? </p>
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<p>Have you done any non-Cheik pressers?</p> -
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<p>The bloke flies by the seat of his pants, and always has. I think he is a very good coach (his track record is incredible), but for whatever reason things have gone awry. It could get pretty ugly if it keeps getting worse, as Cheika isn't going to turn into Captain Cliche all of a sudden - 'it's disappointing, but we will just work harder' 'full credit to the opposition' 'we tried really hard out there' etc etc etc</p>
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<p>I think we are seeing a man trying to make sense of his crumbling empire in real time, and it's equal parts excrutiating and fascinating. We don't have the answers, and neither does he. And predictably he's not taking it well.</p>
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<p>I think we can draw a line under "Super Rugby Coaches" as one of the issues in terms of player preparedness. Sure, Cheika had a month to clean the slate and start again, but I saw a tweet not long ago, I think from Paul Cully, saying basically "Is anyone surprised by these results, after the way each Super franchise went about their business?"</p>
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<p>In other Aussie rugby news, I see Holloway got Tahs forward of the year (obviously behind Hooper who was Player of the Year), despite playing about half a season due to some niggles and then the big shoulder injury in training.</p>
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<p>So the question remains: how much longer can Cheika ignore him?</p> -
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<p>So the question remains: how much longer can Cheika ignore him?</p>
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<p>He's out for another 10 weeks or so with a shoulder injury.</p>