Hailed as a hero only a month ago, John Connolly now confronts the downside of coaching Australia.
Connolly takes the Wallabies into Saturday’s Tri Nations rugby Test at Suncorp Stadium with many questioning his game plan, tactics and selections.
The long-serving Queensland coach, who succeeded Eddie Jones at the end of last season, was seen to have turned around Australia’s fortunes when he led them to convincing wins over England and Ireland in June.
He snapped Australia’s losing streak, a run of eight losses in nine games in the declining months of Jones’s rule, and seemed to have both rejuvenated their back play and addressed shortcomings in their forward strength.
But last week’s 32-12 loss to New Zealand in the opening match of the Tri Nations championship raised the first questions over the direction Connolly is taking Australia.
Australia had no chance to produce the back play that had been a feature of their earlier wins this season, while the gains they were seen to have made in the forwards were shown to be illusory.
Connolly believed Australia was making progress up front, but the All Blacks exposed the weakness of the Wallaby scrum and made their line-out appear far less sound than it had seemed against weaker opposition.
The Wallaby backline, experienced but battle-scarred, also seemed less composed when confronted with a tight and physical defence.
Connolly attempted to deflect attention from Australia’s poor performance by criticising South African referee Jonathan Kaplan and saying that his team had not been beaten, but conceded the match through their own mistakes.
Saturday’s match against a lesser but still formidable Springbok pack may test both statements, and examine the strengths of the Wallabies. If Australia fail again to measure up in the forwards, if their backline is starved of opportunity, Connolly’s critics will become louder.
Springbok coach Jake White has made no secret of the fact his team will attack the Wallabies up front on Saturday. South Africa are less equipped than the All Blacks, but they will still be a test for Australian props Greg Holmes and Guy Shepherdson, who have joint experience of only nine tests.
Connolly has predicted a clash of styles between a Springbok team bent on forward domination and the Wallabies, attempting a more open style.
Connolly is too experienced to expect a sudden turnaround in the quality of the Wallabies’ forward play. He realises test-quality packs need years of development and Australia has not invested enough in that development in recent years.
”The scrum definitely caused us inconvenience [in Christchurch] but we never really paid for it strongly,” he said. ”I don’t think the scrum was crucial in the outcome of the game but obviously we would have liked a stronger performance.”
White has declared his tactical emphasis.
”You never move away from what works for you,” he said. ”If you’ve got a pack of forwards and that’s one way you can dominate and win games, then you stick to it.” — Sapa-AP
Teams
Australia: Chris Latham; Mark Gerrard, Stirling Mortlock, Matt Giteau, Lote Tuqiri; Stephen Larkham, George Gregan (captain); Scott Fava, George Smith, Rocky Elsom; Dan Vickerman, Nathan Sharpe; Guy Shepherdson, Jeremy Paul, Greg Holmes. Reserves: Sean Hardman, Al Baxter, Mark Chisholm, Phil Waugh, Sam Cordingley, Mat Rogers, Clyde Rathbone.
South Africa: Percy Montgomery; Akona Ndungane, Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier, Bryan Habana; Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Ricky Januarie; Pierre Spies, Juan Smith, Joe van Niekerk; Danie Rossouw, Victor Matfield; CJ van der Linde, John Smit (captain), Os du Randt. Reserves: Danie Coetzee, Eddie Andrews, Albert van der Berg, Jacques Cronje, Fourie du Preez, Meyer Bosman, Breyton Paulse.