Recalibration – It’s the Wallabies’ word of a tense week.
The hurt, embarrassment, drama and danger of a major divide being created through coach Ewen McKenzie’s punishment on six late-night drinkers has all been about recalibrating the team’s cultural standards.
McKenzie has used the word numerous times in front of the cameras and tape recorders in Edinburgh this week and also when they’ve been turned off.
Even his players are now using the word.
While a furious McKenzie’s decision to suspend six and warn nine others for enjoying a big night in Dublin last week appeared heavy-handed, especially when no complaints were made and the Wallabies then thumped Ireland 32-15, he’s chosen to shift their standards markedly.
The Wallabies have been a fading force since upsetting the All Blacks to win the 2011 Tri Nations. They underachieved at the last World Cup, haven’t won a Bledisloe Test since and are now No.4 in the world.
McKenzie’s doing all he can to turn them around to be genuine contenders for the 2015 World Cup.
Former Test playmaker Matt Giteau, now plying his trade for French glamour club Toulon, is one who was taken aback by McKenzie’s stand.
Watching from afar, Giteau described the Dublin episode – which saw some of the 15 night-owls stay out until 4am – as a typical midweek tour blow-out over the course of his 92-Test career.
His view of the punishment boils down to how clear McKenzie’s guidelines for the night were, especially considering the ensuing four-tries-to-nil performance.
“If there was nothing else said beforehand then it was a harsh stance,” Giteau told AAP.
“In previous tours it wouldn’t have mattered. You could go out midweek for a few drinks knowing the Wednesday is a day off and then you refocus going into the Test match and perform at a good level.
“Back in Eddie Jones’ days he would have asked ‘who was out past this time?’ And then he would have put the heat on.
“He said ‘okay if you want to put yourself under pressure you have to perform’. Which is fine. If you don’t play well then you have no excuses.
“Ewen is in there to put the Wallabies in the right direction but there’s a cultural change he wants to bring as well.
“It’s a pretty big call he’s made.”
Giteau is well credentialled to judge.
He started at the end of Australia’s last golden era under Jones in 2002, was the Wallabies’ pin-up boy under John Connolly and then gradually fell from grace under Robbie Deans.
Giteau’s Test career hit the skids just before the 2011 World Cup, overlooked when Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor were promoted as the brash, young stars who would take Australia to the top of the world.
Instead, Kiwi-born Cooper crashed and burned under the pressure of being the villain of New Zealand crowds while Beale and O’Connor have since failed to pay back the trust and forgiving attitude of Deans by running off the rails.
Following his own falling out with Deans, Giteau was a vocal supporter of McKenzie – who he praised at the time as an empowering coach.
Looking back, he saw standards gradually slip as the former All Black’s old-school New Zealand approach – letting players drive team culture – allowed some to be a law unto themselves.
“I certainly felt for a long time, even 2010, that the standards were slipping and I think the culture itself, there were rules made for some but not for everyone,” he said. “I felt the inconsistencies there certainly created a problem within the group.
“So you can understand where Ewen is heading here. You just hope all the players are on board, there’s no splinter groups and that everyone is in it together.
“He’s got a proven history. Look at where the Reds were (as perennial cellar-dwellers in 2009) to where he took them (2011 Super Rugby champions). I feel the Wallabies as well are starting to build as well.”
Giteau points to Cooper’s recent form transformation in the past two months as how McKenzie “understands players”.
“Quade is a clear example,” the 31-year-old said. “You look at how well and how confident he performs, and how comfortable Quade is playing under Ewen.
“That makes a big difference. There’s certain coaches where you have that level of comfort where you really enjoy playing under them because of the respect you have for the coach; and you work harder for them and you don’t even realise it.”
Cooper is now a vice-captain and driving the standards along with rookie skipper Ben Mowen and a host of other emerging players like Christian Leali’ifano and Matt Toomua.
Superstar fullback Israel Folau is another. Folau was, with Mowen, one of only two out of a dinner group of eight who didn’t kick on in Dublin.
With 23 more Tests until the next World Cup in England, the success of McKenzie’s hard-line stance will be clearly shown by results.
“The consistency of performance is what that is going to reflect the most,” Giteau said. “The thing for me is if you have a good core leadership group all working together and not undermining each other then that makes a big thing.”
They set the tone, just like when Giteau came into the Wallabies squad at 20 when the likes of George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Toutai Kefu, Daniel Herbert and Matt Burke were leaders.
“If George Gregan would throw you the ball and you dropped it he would just show you those eyes,” he said. “That’s the sort of culture I’m talking about.
“It wasn’t just George but all the senior players that would drive standards at training but they also made sure you enjoyed yourself and would have fun.”
