Australia’s depressing defeat to Italy was the worst Wallabies efficiency within the Dave Rennie period and two selections from the coach have been skewered within the aftermath of the one-point defeat.
Australia had an opportunity to win the sport after the siren however by no means led in a sport towards a crew they’d by no means misplaced to in 18 earlier encounters throughout 39 years.
Ben Donaldson, who had been introduced on the sphere solely minutes earlier than to switch Noah Lolesio – the crew’s most dependable goalkicker – missed his likelihood to win it on the demise.
That decision was baffling, whereas Rennie’s resolution to make 12 modifications for the sport was referred to as “poor coaching” by Drew Mitchell on the Stan Sport commentary.
Rennie defended the choice to make wholesale modifications from the loss to France nevertheless it backfired horribly.
(Picture by Timothy Rogers/Getty Pictures)
It was powerful to search out any ‘studs” on the Australian crew whereas the “duds” abounded, and Rennie was entrance and centre as a goal for criticism.
“Dave Rennie you’re behind by six, you know a kick has got to win the game if you’re good enough to get in that position,” stated Jim Tucker on The Roar’s Instantaneous Response podcast.
“So five minutes from the end of the game he takes off a gun goal kicker in Lolesio and puts Ben Donaldson on with not enough time to influence the game. Shocking adjustment of substitutes by Dave Rennie. He’s got to cop that.
“Dave Rennie ‘discipline’. I don’t want to hear it again. That’s your job. Poor coaching.”
“Poor coaching” was a line echoed by Drew Mitchell on the Stan post-match protection.
“To me [the result] goes back to 12 changes,” stated Mitchell. “Subconsciously it gives you the mindset that you’re expected to win this. That was poor coaching. Seventh in the world, you’re not in a position to make 12 changes.”
Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui stated he couldn’t see a greater possibility to steer Australia proper now.
“I don’t think he’s going anywhere,” stated Turinui. “I’m impressed with a lot of the work he’s done. I don’t see an obvious, better solution. You’ve got to have a better viable solution. I think Dave Rennie’s doing a fine job with the players he has.”
Harry Jones, talking on the Instantaneous Response podcast stated there have been so many points within the sport that “speak to one thing only, which is coaching.
“[Italy coach] Kieran Crowley completely out coached Dave Rennie. Dave Rennie has to cop that and say ‘I got out thought, out planned. I did not get my troops ready’.
“And then he botched it as well. It’s like in the NBA where you put a guy in who’d never played the whole game for the winning free throw.”
Tucker was scathing concerning the efficiency of Lolesio and says his time is up as a Wallabies No.10.
“I think the Wallabies have backed the wrong horse. Noah Lolesio has had 16 Tests now,” Tucker stated.
“He was invisible towards Italy, and that’s sufficient for me to say he shouldn’t be an funding for the Wallabies as a flyhalf now.
(Picture by Timothy Rogers/Getty Pictures)
“Very nice pass to put Tom Wright over but in a match like this Noah Lolesio has to grab it by the horns and just control it and and initiate things and he just was invisible.
“And that’s a hard call. He was the right guy at the right time when Rennie needed a young five-eighth to groom but his progress has been negligible – not in his heart and not in his goal-kicking but just in his ability to take a match by the scruff of the neck when it’s required.”
Brett McKay, on the podcast, defended the Brumbies flyhalf.
“They still clearly played off nine a lot and Hunter Paisami went into first receiver a lot but I actually felt that there was more connection across the midfield in attack most of the time in this game than there had been the previous two weeks,” McKay stated.
“I really really feel sorry for Lolesio as a result of his growth as a global participant has been extremely poorly dealt with. It’s been stifled.
“I don’t know the way you’re speculated to get higher as a global flyhalf once you get three begins in a row and then you definitely don’t play once more for six weeks. That’s been his lot for many of his profession.
Tucker countered: “I can’t agree with that. He’s had 16 Tests. He’s been in most training camps. He’s had a cotton wool education as a Test fly half. If you want to win a World Cup, you have a guy who controls the game. He has to take more play himself. And if he’s not up to that he shouldn’t be in the team.”
McKay described the loss as “maddeningly frustrating” and one that might have massive ramifications for some gamers.
“We’ve seen some disappointing performances from this Wallabies group this last couple of years, but that was comfortably the worst Wallabies I’ve seen in the Dave Rennie era,” McKay stated.
“There are so many stocks falling out of this game. There will be blokes who don’t make the World Cup squad based off this game and I think Folau Fainga’a will be one.
“I don’t know how you can go from one of the better lineout throwers in Super Rugby, to just not even being able to hit the side of a barn with a frozen pea.
“His lineout throwing is absolutely appalling. And when he was hooked in the 55th minute he missed that target by a metre. He was rightly hooked and I don’t know how he plays again on this tour.”
Whereas good performances have been exhausting to identify, Will Skelton’s first begin since 2019 drew reward.
“That’s the best that Wallabies have used him since he returned to the side last year,” Tucker siad.
“They had a plan to get him involved coming hard off the back of a lineout. They used him in midfield and he dished off a couple of nice off loads.
“We finally saw the value of Will Skelton. He was right up for the game. He has a big motor, he kept performing, had nine or 10 carries. So I thought he was very assertive. So that’s a big plus for the Wallabies.”
McKay added: [Darcy] Swain and Skelton labored fairly properly as a mixture. [Ned] Hanigan and Skelton within the second half have been carrying very properly as a pair. They have been getting good acquire line, they have been getting good submit contact metres. There was a bit in that. However it feels prefer it’s clutching at straws.”
