Porky Wallabies Anger Dwyer

WORLD Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer has taken aim at the poor fitness levels of the Wallabies.

And he has cited Will Skelton’s dramatic weight loss and form surge as the latest example of how Australia is falling behind its northern rivals.

Skelton, the giant lock who played 18 Tests for the Wallabies between 2014-16, is now tearing up England’s Premiership with Saracens, having cut ties with the Waratahs last year.

His weight fluctuated playing in Australia and, while he was a key cog in NSW’s maiden Super Rugby title in 2014, was never able to fulfil his potential in the gold jersey.

Former Wallabies coach Dwyer remains a keen watcher of all rugby, including the Premiership, and is dismayed that Skelton, Kurtley Beale and Matt Toomua appear to have improved their games by playing in England, not Australia.

“My gut feel and observation is that our Super Rugby teams are not fit enough,” Dwyer told the Fox Rugby Podcast.

“And I’ve never had it more clearly driven home to me than when I watched Saracens on the tele a week or so ago and I saw Will Skelton in the Saracens team.

“Now he doesn’t look anything like the Will Skelton that played out there.

“The commentary team said he’s lost 20kg and he’s playing at 130kg.

“He goes to England... we thought they were soft and you could always run them around and beat them.

“And all our players that go there come back better now.

“So that’s an indictment on us.

“If Will Skelton can be 130kg and look like a million dollars... he looks fantastic and I watch the Premiership on the tele and all the players look in fantastic physical condition.”

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika last year admitted Australia’s players were not in the necessary condition to play his desired high tempo style at Test level.

It was hoped that more sharing of fitness data between club and country would help remedy the situation this season but Dwyer said that was simply not the case.

The Wallabies’ Bledisloe Cup battering at ANZ Stadium in August rammed home the point, in his eyes.

“I have a belief and a demand of my players that nobody is allowed to walk while the game is in motion — nobody,” said Dwyer, who masterminded Australia’s first World Cup victory in 1991.

“You’re allowed to run or you’re allowed to stand still.

“If you think you should be somewhere else, then get there in a hurry.

“If you think you’re where you ought to be, stay there.

“Ten minutes into the second half against New Zealand in Sydney, I saw five players in a diameter of about 10-12 metres, a small part of the field, five players walking.

“So New Zealand had the ball, they had 15 attacking and we had 10 defending.

“I said this is totally and absolutely unsatisfactory.”

Dwyer said Rugby Australia needed to take a tougher stance on fitness levels and be more hands on improving standards with its four Super Rugby clubs.

“They need to be able to say ‘this is not good enough,’ we’re going to continually test all our players and if they’re not up to scratch we’re going to withdraw them from your Super Rugby team until they get fit enough.

“That’s what I would be pushing for, whether I’d get support for that is another thing but that’s certainly what I’d be pushing for.

“It is just absolutely nowhere near good enough.

“I am sure that (Tevita) Kuridrani got overweight a year ago and he played poorly.”

by Foxsports.com.au 

I have noticed this for a while myself. It's remarkable that a nation that was so ahead of the curve with regards to professionalism fi nds itself falling so far behind. It isn't confined to Rugby Union either. The Wallabies had a special camp to prepare for the Bledisloe series, and added time off, what were they doing? 

Sure there are always exceptions to the rule insofar as NH rugby is concerned.

I would rather look at the overall situation.  France is bad for players - the main problem is that the players go backwards when playing there,   The return of players to the Springbok squad in shocking physical condition was shown up by Frans Steyn and Guthro Steenkamp.   The problem is further amplified by the fact that both Bismarck and Steyn were initially invited to the Springbok camp and although the claim was that they had niggles - fact is that they would not have passed even a basic fitness test.

Japan is even worse than France - the players returning from there is so unfit that they get injured - often seriously - within weeks from returning from there.

England is a mixed bag -  Willie came back in top condition.  Louw not so.  He was doing as little as possible in games and that could only be ascribed to poor conditioning.

However, I think there is another problem in Australia and that is a bad approach to alcoholism and even drug usage and a substantial breakdown in moral fibre - which leads to poor discipline and a reckless approach which also finds its way into sport.  One has to think back to the Sydney Olympic Games which was called a drug festival with a lot of medals - especially of US athletes, but also Australian.   Ian Thorpe was the main swimmer and won nearly everything - but where did he ended up subsequently?  He just vanished from sight - he could not compete in foreign countries because his drug usage would be exposed.

In rugby that could be a major problem in Australia leading to the poor physical condition of players and I doubt not that is why the present lot is not really making the grade.   Unlike others I think the Aussie problem is both psychological and physical - and I cannot see how in the present environment things would improve.     

Watching you strain to make a point is like watching a blind man try to hit a nail.

How does a league which plays the fastest game, with almost no kicking, produce players with inferior fitness? That's quite a mystery. Du Preez got fitter. They all do. As they say, it takes a bit of time to adjust because they are not conditioned for that kind running. To further compound matters, the Japanese are very strict when it comes to excess weight. They measure their employees and keep tabs on them to ensure they don't become fat. Not only are you rugby ignorant, you are culturally ignorant.

Drug usage is not confined to Australia. Alcoholism is even worse in England and Wales than it is in Australia. 

I think Professionalism (?) plays a huge part as well.

I had the pleasure of visiting Penny Hill Park ( RFU and England training ground ) for a coaching session with Steve Borthwick and the level of detail and planning was astounding. 

Speaking to him and some of the other back room staff was a real eye opener. Hydration intake/ sweat levels and internal core temperatures were just some of thenthings monitored. As well as dietary needs and weight loss/gain. 

The pros are even monitored in how long it takes to return to their feet after a tackle or clean out.

Amazing levels of detail and analysis.

AO

How do you explain the high number of serious injuries suffered  within a month by  players returning from Japan?   It is clear that lack of proper fitness playing only once every two weeks is one of the main reason.  But then you have marvelous dreams and who am I to wake you up to the truth.

I have no comment on Du Preez other to say that whenever he played two tests in successive weekends he was good the first weekend and very-very average in the second game,   That happened regularly after coming back from retirement,  His pace was down - but his ball handling remained good.   Before his selection for the WC he was off rugby for near to 14 months and he was a must after the Japan disaster.   He was played after that game in all matches - not because he was so good -  but because the alternatives were so poor.   He was also the ideal scrummie to play the 2004 Bulls game plan of Meyer  that was utilized in the WC.   I would definitely not call him the paragon of fitness after 2011 anyway.

Anyway I have not been to England since 2007 - do they have buckets with notices above saying "Put your used needles here"  as the case is in Australia? 

However bad behaviour is found in all nations but I have been twice to Australia and fact is the Australians attitude is not what anybody can expect when it comes to professional sport.   There competitiveness in most codes of sport has weakened  massively over the last decade.   To offset that deficiency they recruit players from the Islands which also happened in the case of Skelton - whose discipline on and off the field of play was vey poor. The English Club coach maybe succeeded in knocking some sense into the guy.