what the aussies are saying
www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20816382-5006067,00.html
By Peter Jenkins in Edinburgh
November 25, 2006 12:00
EDDIE Jones was sacked as coach in the fallout from last November's tour and Stirling Mortlock will lose the captaincy following the Test match against Scotland tonight.
Europe in the past year has been hell for high-profile Wallabies.
But if Australia fail in their final Test of the season it might also be the killing field for their World Cup prospects and leave the Wallabies as walking corpses just 10 months out from the tournament.
A loss to the nation they have discarded with ease for the past 24 years would be unacceptable. The Wallabies have beaten the Scots in 15 successive Tests since 1982 and the smallest winning margin was a 10-point win here a decade ago.
Victory is non-negotiable. But even then a win will only band-aid some of the recent bleeding.
Apart from a dazzling first 30 minutes against Wales, the amazing solo try by fullback Chris Latham in the same game and a solid scrum against Ireland, there has not been a lot to savour.
The tour, far from lifting confidence that the Wallabies can return to Europe next September and be genuine title contenders, has triggered major worries on and off the field.
Mortlock and two other players arriving back late to the team hotel after the Test in Italy was not a hanging offence. But it underscored concerns at player attitudes, reflected in former Test great Simon Poidevin slamming the "rock star mentality" of the Wallabies.
As skipper, on his first tour in charge, and with the Wallabies not setting the world on fire, Mortlock should have known better. He will feel the full ramifications when the first Test team of 2007 is named and a new leader installed.
The issue – as minor as it was on face value – had an impact elsewhere as well.
It is understood several teammates expressed their annoyance that the captain and two other players had overstepped the mark, while some members of the management and coaching staff wanted to punish the trio rather than warn "don't do it again".
At least two staff are still indignant about the events of that morning, which included a disagreement between Mortlock and backs coach Scott Johnson.
Added to this is the continuing confusion over how the Wallabies should play. There are divides among the coaches. Johnson, for instance, wants the Wallabies to develop an off-the-cuff game filled with flair. Connolly has a more conservative philosophy.
Selection-room debates have followed. There have been trials with two playmakers at five-eighth and inside centre followed by the twin tanks policy in midfield, when Mortlock was paired with Lote Tuqiri in the centres.
Neither plan worked. The only "discovery" was the Wallabies have backline problems.
There are mumblings that flyhalf Stephen Larkham is past his prime and no obvious inside centre successor to Matt Giteau can be found since his shift to halfback.
Strike runners Latham and Lote Tuqiri remain on rations while the passing and handling skills are disconcertingly ordinary.
Tactical deficiencies have been exposed too. Australia are inept in the wind and rain.
But to blame the weather does not wash. The World Cup is in Europe. The prospect of perfect skies and pitches is slim.
Problems in the pack are slowly being corrected. There has been progress in the scrum since last year's debacles, the lineout is once again a threat and there is less predictability to their ball-running.
But the starting point for the scrum was the pits. It is still short of world class, and lack of consistent go-forward in the loose has helped lift the lid on backline dramas.
There's no denying the Wallabies are in trouble for the World Cup.
An unthinkable loss to Scotland would suggest there is no way back.
#saltire#