Given recent rumblings out of their camp in Japan, the Wallabies appear to be in danger of earning an unwanted reputation as the whingers of international rugby.
Coach Michael Cheika slammed the citing and subsequent three-week suspension of Reece Hodge for a dangerously high tackle in the 39-21 win against Fiji in their opening game of the World Cup. And then he blew up again about Samu Kerevi being penalised for a forearm to the throat of Rhys Patchell in the crucial 29-25 loss to Wales on Sunday night.
An irate Cheika stated that as a former player he was “embarrassed” by the Kerevi penalty and claimed he no longer knew the rules of the game. The game has changed dramatically since Cheika played in the 1980s and 1990s – what players got away with in those days would make your hair curl – but those days are gone and they are not coming back. That might irritate some, but they had better get used to it.
You would have to be hiding under a rock to not be aware that World Rugby has cracked down severely on attacks to the head in recent years. The governing body’s stance has been influenced by the advent of concussion as a major issue in contact football codes around the world.
World Rugby is genuinely concerned about player welfare, but administrators are also conscious of the potential for legal action, as we have seen in the USA over concussion-related injuries to NFL players. So there is no going back to the good – or bad, depending on your point of view – old days. Instead of being critical of the game “going soft”, the Wallabies need to adapt to the officiating.
With minimising the incidence of concussion a major priority, World Rugby has instructed referees to apply zero tolerance to attacks to the head. The frustration of coaches and players is understandable: rugby is a body contact sport and the head is part of the body. Players suffer head-knocks all the time, most often when they apply poor technique in defence.
But the head is protected for obvious reasons. World Rugby has ruled the head a no-go zone for deliberate and even accidental contact. That is the reality all teams, not just the Wallabies, must deal with, even if they think it is softening the game. It is no different to any other crack down. If the order to referees was to be more strict over hands in the ruck, for example, coaches would train players to avoid incurring penalties in this area. The same should apply to attacks to the head.
It would be surprising if the Wallabies did not practice their technique to try to minimise head-high contact, but their rhetoric suggests they believe the crackdown has gone too far. Maybe it has. That is a legitimate topic for debate, but right now the game is being officiated in a certain way and that is not going to change midway through a World Cup. Coaches and players must be alive to that reality.
It is not just the sanctions for head-high contact that has got Cheika so riled up. It seems like every line-ball decision that goes against the Wallabies lights his fuse. Coaches manage refereeing in different ways. Some cop it sweet, others fire up. There is a good chance other coaches would have gone off too, if they had been in the same situation as Cheika.
The Wallabies coach wears his heart on his sleeve and his authenticity is quite refreshing in a world of spin-doctoring, but the constant criticism of the referees is wearing thin. You can complain about it or you can do something about it.
