Heads must roll (1)

The Sydney Morning Herald - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 10:40 AM

MAYBE it would be better for all concerned if, whenever the Wallabies win a Test (honestly, it does happen on occasion), they forfeit the next match. It would cause less grief for everyone.

As the small band of Australian supporters left Wellington's Cake Tin on Saturday, they must have wondered whether they would have been wiser to have gone to the local university to watch a bronzed, buffed-up Jonah Lomu compete in the Wellington bodybuilding championships.

At least they would have seen a decent performance, unlike the rubbish dished out by Australia. Like clockwork, the Wallabies followed a Test triumph with a tragedy. For the final 10 minutes, they might as well have been waving little white hankies while they let the All Blacks score virtually at will.

There is something seriously amiss with this Australian team, as they seem to have no idea how to string two good performances together. It is a distressing problem that demands a quick fix - otherwise the next World Cup campaign will be as bad as the last.

We are two years out from the tournament in New Zealand and yet the Wallabies keep saying, ''It doesn't matter, we're getting better,'' despite not having won in the Shaky Isles since 2001. It's poppycock. How can Australia believe they can beat the All Blacks in their home country when they have suffered 10 successive losses there? Then again, these Wallabies are struggling to win anywhere overseas.

It doesn't get any worse than having to repeatedly turn to the match program to double check whether several players are actually on the field, with quite a few in the green and gold disappearing like Lord Lucan.

And so a dreadful Tri Nations came to a close. The memories are horrid. The Wallabies choked in Auckland. They fell asleep in Cape Town. They were pathetic in Perth. And, finally, in Wellington, they gave up. One debacle after another. It is unforgivable. Maybe Australia are backing Argentina to join the Tri Nations so someone else can finish bottom.

There must be casualties - and not just on the field. Wallabies coach Robbie Deans likes running a closed, tight ship, but his unspectacular 56 per cent success rate (13 wins from 23 Tests) must force his employers, the Australian Rugby Union, to take a critical look at the whole operation.

A smart first step would be for the ARU to take a close look at what several ''yes men'' among the off-field staff actually do. They would be very surprised by the level of their output. Also, the selection panel requires an overhaul, with the inclusion of some new faces to add a diversity to the voices.

It has worked before, especially before the 1991 World Cup, when then coach Bob Dwyer had alleged foes as part of his back-up staff. The Wallabies' triumph that year remains Australian rugby's greatest moment. What is going on now is one of its lowest.

The players have to be pulled into line. Forget the ravings of the militant past-player goon squad, who love a soapbox, and introduce a win-bonus scheme. Then you would really see the professional players hurt after a loss. At the moment they cannot complain about being underpaid because they are providing virtually no return on the investment in them.

Despite this, we keep hearing of players ridiculously demanding more funds whenever they have to do anything extra, as well as complaints from certain Wallabies that they are tired of the current set-up and want to head overseas. Again, several self-centred senior players are looking for someone else to blame. Maybe it's time for the ARU to just tell them to go.

And for all those Wallabies supporters who have wasted their dollars again, at least the AFL and NRL grand finals are just around the corner. You'll get value for money at those.

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