IN HIS poem of praise to his former colliery work-mate and great hero, Dai Morris, Max Boyce came-up with one of those head-nodding lines, as he described the aftermath of a Combined Aberavon-Neath XV being thoroughly gone-over by the touring All Blacks.
He wrote: ".....We all blamed the committee, but, no one there blamed Dai".
That was the great thing about the Old Days, of rule by committee-men, the "bufties", "Alickadoos" and "blazers" who ran things in the amateur days. When, as they often did, things went awry, we could blame the committee-men who ran the teams; they, in turn, could deflect blame, by insisting: "I went the other way, but, was out-voted". Various retired greats have written of how, after being dropped the from the national side, a majority of: "the big five" or "the big seven", dependant on how-many selectors there were, would sidle-up to the dropped player and whisper: "Of course, I voted for you, but was out-voted".
Much was the joy and what an uplift it was to have EVERY member of the selection committee admit: "Well, I wanted you in the team old boy, but....."
Nowadays, selection is down to one man - the Coach; God, he who makes the ultimate choice. I suppose it's because, in rugby as in so-much of life, we've gone down the American route of 'The Coach as God'.
Right now, in Australia, Warren Gatland is in this situation - he needs to put the correct team on the park in Sydney for the Third and final Test between Australia and what is most-definitely HIS Lions.
He certainly didn't put the correct team on the park in the Second Test, and, as far as we Scots are concerned - he made one HUGE mistake, when he over-looked Ryan Grant for the loose-head spot, going with England's Samoan Mako Vunipola.
I can accept that Vunipola is perhaps the future of English front row play, but, and it's a big BUT; his current strength lies in his impact about the park as a ball-carrier and close-quarters tackler. As a scrummager, he is still wearing L-plates.
The first and primary function of a loose-head prop is to guarantee his side wins its own put-in. In these days of, at the top level, EVERY put-in being squint, this ought not to be a problem. However, when an international side loses one against the head, as happened to the Lions on Saturday, then questions MUST be asked of the loose-head.
OK, it is not all about the loose-head. I can name a terrific loose-head whose Scotland hopes were sunk by a B international in which he was under-mined by propping in front of a second row who simply couldn't push. I can also name a couple of international loose-head props who were such technical wrecking balls, they could have scrummed without benefit of second row support.
Gatland, as a former hooker, SHOULD know what is involved in propping. However, that he chose for the tour Vunipola, a player seriously lacking experience and top-flight exposure, then Matt Stevens, a proven liability, makes one wonder about this perception of his experience.
He also took, as first-choice, the hugely over-rated Gethin Jenkins. Nope, I reckon Gatland doesn't know Jack Shit about front row play.
THE outstanding loose-head in the British Isles during season 2012-13 was Ryan Grant. Not taking him as a first-choice defied explanation; not taking him as first alternate, after Jenkins was hurt, further defied explanation. Finally taking him as second alternate was, to my mind, a case of: We'd better get him this time or we will look really silly.
But, to then marginalise him, as Gatland has done, this HAS to go down as bloody-minded determination to prove: "I don't rate him and simply will not pick him until I have no alternative".
Grant HAD to have been sent on, if not during the first half, then certainly at half-time, to shore-up an already creaking Lions scrum. NOT sending him on, may yet go down as Gatland's "Woodward moment" - that decision which under-mines his reputation as a coach.
THE above said, what can we as Scots (and I include our Australian Director of Rugby/Caretaker Coach as "Scottish" in this) do about this calculated snub to one of our finest?
Well, the answer is obvious - we can win the 2014 Six Nations. This is not wishful thinking or outwith our capabilities. In truth, there is very little difference between the six countries. There is NO outstanding northern hemisphere international side right now.
Scotland has to find a consistent level of performance. I actually think we have something which the other three British Isles nations lack - and that is the desire and ability to play the modern off-loading, fluid game.
But, to do this, we have to be given something we certainly didn't get this season - a fair crack of the whip from the referees. Somehow, as was most-crucially seen in the Welsh game, where Craig Joubert had a shocker which handed the initiative to Wales, we MUST change this supposition that Scotland has a "weak" scrum.
How, at Murrayfield, I longed for Scott Johnson to appear on the touch-line and tell Joubert straight: "You've got five minutes to sort-out the scrum; you are crucifying us; either give us a fair crack of the whip, start penalising these cheating Welsh so-and-sos or - I will pull the team off".
A bit hard, I know, but, sometimes somebody has to make an unpopular stand.
OR, MORE properly, we instruct our IRB representatives such as the White Shark to start banging the table and get the laws and the referees sorted out.
Bring back rucking, proper rucking - this would sort-out the breakdown in jig time; insist on straight feeding of the scrum; restore hooking; and, abolish "the hit".
The thing is, we Scots don't cheat well. So, we MUST lead the fight to stop the others cheating us and the public.
No comments:
Post a Comment