The Wallabies have conceded 40-plus points in their last three matches; this does not mention the 38 the Springboks scored against them in the Perth thriller in September.
This is also a coach issue rather than a coach issue, as the Wallabies have struggled to keep results low for years, regardless of who the coach is.
The problem is that the associated line speed defense system is no longer a viable option when you’re throwing out new combinations week after week.
It requires strong combinations and strong links between key defenders, something the Wallabies have shown they lack in the last three games.
The game of rugby is currently skewed to favor the attacking side with the way of refereeing, and this puts extra pressure on the defence.
Defensive coaches around the world now have to accept that their teams will almost inevitably concede around three tackles per game, whereas previously it was a realistic goal to keep teams to zero tackles.
In this climate, the biggest weapon defense and momentum offenses have against this fact is to use the blitz, to cut down time and space and put pressure on the skill sets of offensive players; nothing else works.
The change in strategy has been a long time coming, with the Springboks now the world’s most skilful side in the rush after years of perfecting their system, and while linked line-speed movements still have their moments, the days of it being an all-encompassing system are now long gone.
Wallabies coach Les Kiss has admitted his frustrations with the lack of improvement in the Wallabies defense and says work is on to make it more aggressive.
“We know there’s work to be done; we’re just working on some habits that were there and just trying to move the dial a little bit, to be a little bit more pressure-based in our defence, it’s just not coming together for sure,” Kiss said after the match at Twickenham.
“The bottom line is we just have to be better, we have to be better.”
Now, while it would be too harsh to say there haven’t been changes from previous defensive coach Laurie Fisher to the current one in Scott McLeod, there is too much clutter in the system right now.
Players are constantly missing roles that should be muscle memory at test level.
The Wallabies need to simplify their defensive ideology.
McLeod needs to remove the details from a coverage perspective and get back to basics, as this cohort of Wallabies players underperform eight games into his tenure as defense coach.
Worse, it doesn’t seem to be going in the right direction.
Stand up, man for man, hit hard, set up on 10 posts and practice from there, and keep the pressure high.
(Clip 1 Feyi-Waboso attempt)
This first example of the Wallabies’ disjointed ‘linked speed line’ defense shows players making poor initial decisions and a lack of cohesion resulting in three players launching three individual, different lines of action.
The first poor effort came from Fraser McReight in the White Caps, who, without Max Jorgensen to assist, is likely to slip and miss a clearance from England No.8 Ben Earl.
The second mistake comes in the next phase where Lukhan Salakaia-Lotto battles in the black headgear with Seb Atkinson, when in fact his man to mark is England No.13 Henry Slade.
This one bad read sends the three Wallabies players outside him into a panicked frenzy trying to correct their mistake.
The man directly outside the LSL is Len Ikitau, who now has to switch to one and cover Slade; the next defender is his center partner Isaac Henry, who jams England flyhalf Fin Smith.
Now, in this case, the jam itself isn’t completely misread, it’s the wrong decision because it’s not being communicated to others.
Here the Wallabies have connected line speed as there is a three-on-two overlap in England’s favour; the right thing to do is to jockey and wait for Ikitau to reconnect from the inside.
If the defender in front of Henry, Joseph-Auskuso Suaalii had also stuck, then maybe the Wallabies would have stopped the attack there.
However, this is not certain as the Wallaby defender who was furthest down the wing, Tom Wright in jersey number 15, would also have to follow Suaali and he is about 2m deeper than necessary.
He would have the job of covering two players as well as a draw pass, but at least it would put England’s skill under pressure.
With LSL making the wrong call, Ikitau bailing early, Henry following suit but late, Suaalii’s late rebound all the ingredients for a perfect storm that allows Immanuel Feyi-Waboso to burst through the gap to score.
(Video 2 Scrum Defense)
There’s no reason for Ikitau and Henry to be so far behind where it’s Declan Meredith with the white headgear as he goes to battle the black cap-wearing Atkinson.
Ikitau and Henry gave their English central opponents two meters of clear air to do as they pleased.
While Ikitau still remains relatively square, Henry’s hips and shoulders point squarely toward the sideline.
This is such a clear and obvious example of how the Wallabies’ mindset needs to change. Ikitau and Henry should have the mentality to be up and on top of their opposition’s centres, so they can be ready to swim to No.10 Smith behind.
All their jockeys are doing here is kicking the proverbial bucket down the road and creating a two-on-one for winger Max Jorgensen against fullback George Furbank and try shooter Feyi-Waboso.
Wallabies concede 40m from one phase; and at that point, you’re asking too much of your attackers to effectively realign; you have to come up and go in, believing in your fight.
The Wallabies are very happy about that England ran straight and narrow in the next phase, as if they had attacked outside the 30-yard line, they would probably have scored.
The Wallabies would be better off forcing a kick or double cut here and trusting their speed down the ground while the ball is in the air; simply too much territory is lost without forcing England to make a decision.
(clip 3 kickback)
This clip makes it clear that the Wallabies are not identifying numbers well in their system, and whether it’s player incompetence, a defensive mindset or a lack of communication, the problems must stop now.
With the first phase set up, England attack the short side where five Wallaby defenders cover six English forwards.
Because the problem is set in the middle of the field, covering the backline can be tricky, but it is clear that the pendulum of the Wallabies backfield is not working hard enough to give fullback Wright the confidence to come forward and give the Wallabies backline to be aggressive.
A big reason why backfield movement is so important is that England have gone half way, so they can’t shoot 50/22m.
In the second phase where England attack through the same narrow edge, the Wallabies have a more difficult problem, defending three on four in 15 metres.
In this situation, two basic mistakes are made: first, LSL doesn’t react quickly enough to settle on the 10-post on the short side, and then number 9, Ryan Lonergan, slips out of the match he should make on Feyi-Waboso.
Again, not filling space intelligently means the Wallabies are put into situations that require spot attacks, which are usually reserved for blitz defenses anyway. There is a sign on the wall to change the system.
While it’s not acceptable to completely miss a catch, there are simply too many situations where the Wallabies system currently leaves certain players at a disadvantage in their pursuit of a link.
(Snippet 4 chess attempt)
This clip has a very simple lesson: if a lock-forward is scoring on the wing by running 20m into open space, then the system is definitely not going to work for a winger, and is therefore not fit for purpose.
A brilliant pack draw from England third Joe Heyes allows Smith to play the ball to a swinging back four back line and Chessum on the wing against four Wallabies defenders.
Henry, Ikitau, Jorgensen and Meredith in white headgear end up all in a passive jockey position just 14m from their try line.
What makes this passive set-up worse is the lack of effort from full-back Wright and half-back Lonergan to drag their defenders across to cover the kick.
What it would also do is give the Wallabies in the front line the confidence to attack with more speed, knowing that their reinforcements will cross and cover the space and Chessum.
But a lack of effort, a lack of defensive leadership in all of this, and Chessum rushes over the try line in the corner.
(Clip 5 Good, Good, Bad)
In this clip, the Wallabies actually do well to get off the line after the opening Pollock breaks the left touchline.
In two phases, the Wallabies catch England behind the gain line, but it’s all undone as LSL don’t set up the 10 posts properly and are beaten inside by halfback Jack van Poortlivet,
Any rugby player will tell you that ‘you don’t get beaten inside 10 posts, ever’; it should be a physical impossibility.
This is further compounded by the three Wallabies whose job it is in the next phase to secure the ruck, who also fail to set up the 10 posts properly.
The result is three Wallabies – Angus Bell, McReight and Meredith all battling with one England player, No.8 Earl.
This was a big problem for the Wallabies against All black people in two Bledisloe Cup matches, and it reared its head again, no doubt, as England inspected the Wallabies and saw what we see now.
McLeod and Kiss need to make the installation of the 10-post non-negotiable their first port of call, and it needs to happen now. The Wallabies can’t keep going through at will like this.
(Clip 6 Pollock Attempt)
This final clip highlights why connection and aggression are so important off the set, especially in the centers.
That’s a great shot by England from the line on the left.
The half-back goes wide, giving the attack extra width as he delivers a straight cut, bringing England into the center of the pitch with two passes.
Once in midfield, Ikitau kicks to make a tackle and Henry is on his heels when there is no logical reason to do so.
This highlights, like many other examples, that he is a defender who prefers to be passive.
Not that he’s shy about contact, but his default setting is to hold the jockey as well, which isn’t a good way to go when Kiss says he and McLeod are trying to break “habits” and want to be more “pressure-based.”
Henry holds, presenting a checkered defensive line for England to run into, and they need no second call.
Ikitau’s good running, coupled with Henry’s poise, means in the sweep-and-dig pattern the Englishman’s run is just as easy to draw and pass with a little Henry Pollock’s pace and flair to finish.
Pollock now thinks it’s easy being an international winger, and you can’t blame the young full-back for thinking that; he sure made it look so easy over the weekend.
Now real players must be trusted, system protocols must be removed, and it starts at 10 pillars and then out.
The Wallabies are running out of sleep in the new defensive mindset they desperately need.
McLeod and Kiss need to simplify it: up and in, get off that line and hit the square in front of you, because any suggestion that the speed of the connected line prevents line breaks and therefore points is now completely indefensible.
The Wallabies have conceded 40-plus points in all three of their last games; cumulatively, that’s 138 points.
Offense is the name of the game right now, but 40 points is too much at any given time for anyone to overcome; the bleeding must stop now.
