Scrumtime - for Rugby Tragics
• 11/5/2007 - IT'S GREAT TO BE AN UNDERDOG (AGAIN) !!
This is the time of year when we philosophise....only because our teams are all out of the Super 14, and we don't really care what happens in SA this weekend, do we? Thinking positively, and putting the best spin on it, you say things like, now the boys have two weekends off, a bit of club Rugby won't hurt them, you can' t win every year, etc etc....
But I have often said - beware the wounded Wallaby.
So, this is a great time to talk about how we might go in France in November.
For all of our supposed lack of depth, we have won the World Cup twice, once when we were in the amateur era, and once when there were only three Australian Super 12 provinces. Having four provinces is not a liability by any means. Back then , we didn't have an inferiority complex, and there is no reason to have one now. I believe that we still play the game the way that it should be played. The World Cup is sudden death and some teams will play a low risk style of footy. Provided that we don't drop our heads, we have the fire power to go right through.
I do think that South Africa will do well this year, but we've all seen how cocky they can get, and with two teams hosting semis this weekend, their confidence must be right over the top!! Hope they don't peak too early!! Again, will they play high risk Rugby or low risk Rugby when the pressure is on?
The All Blacks have that famous propensity to peak early, and already they are talking themselves up (not without some good reason). Hope they don't choke.
France deserves a place at the top of the table, so they have to come into the mix. The more that do come into the mix, the better for us, as far as I am concerned. England will always talk themselves up, because they think that they have a God-given right to be considered superior, and Ireland must be looked at as a genuine contender.
So, again, we're not in favouritism and that's right where we should be. Who remembers 1995, with all of the hype and the expectation that the Wallabies would walk it in? Other people had other ideas.
I think that we are in the best position that we have ever been in, and we certainly aren't drawing attention to ourselves, so we're perfectly positioned to "sneak up and bite the others on the bum!!"...and, let's face it, the first really crucial game is the semi-final. Once there, it's on for young and old.
I don't think we have ever been into a World Cup ranked no. 1 (except 1995, and look what happened then), so what else is new?
While we all bristled that the Waratahs got 19 into the squad of 59, you can't really say that any of them should not be there ....and we only have to put 15 out of the 59 on the field. From my short summation, we seem to have good depth across the board. We have (arguably) the world's best players in at least 8 positions (Paul, Chisholm, Vickerman, Smith, Waugh, Gregan, Larkham, Mortlock, Latham.. and potentially others) .. so nothing to panic about (except maybe the coaching credentials)
In my view, every position is covered by a world class player. Perhaps our weakest area might be the front row, but even there, we have made some good strides in the last two seasons. Provided that Connolly and Johnson settle on the combinations reasonably soon and stick with them, we should be right. Remember 1991 - we had a very settled team for months before the World Cup, apart from the glitch of Tim Gavin's injury, and we stuck with that combination. I hope that we do that again, this year.
Hopefully, they will coach a good, sensible kicking game, with more emphasis on a running game, and not coach the flair out of the players, especially the new guys like Lachlan Turner
I ( and I'm sure I'm not alone) am quietly optimistic. What about everyone else? |
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