The Wallabies are off to a flying start under Joe Schmidt with back-to-back wins against a gritty Wales who tested the inexperienced Wallabies, and the men in gold have defence coach Laurie Fisher to thank for a large part of their success.
“Defence wins championships” as the adage goes, and ‘Lord’ Laurie Fisher has the Wallabies tackling at 90 per cent and above.
A tackle success rate of around 90 per cent is broadly considered the Test-level standard for a non-rush, connected linespeed defence like the one Lord has the Wallabies running.
It’s a style in stark contrast compared with the Wallabies of 2023, who under rugby league great Brett Hodgson, never managed more than 84 per cent tackle success at the World Cup.
Hodgson had the Wallabies running a rush-defence which ultimately was ineffective.
The Wallabies worst tackling result in 2023 ironically came against this weekend’s opponent’s Georgia, where the Wallabies tackled at just 64 per cent in their World Cup opener.
To put the numbers into context, a rush defence can get away with mid-to-low 80s, even high 70s figures because they have cover and scramble protocols, but in connected line-D you better make your tackles.
Hodgson’s rush defence had the Wallabies rushing, tackling higher on the body and avoiding joining tacklers on the ground, it proved to be an ineffective way to slow down opposition’s advances at the contact point and at the breakdown.
Rush defence has been all the rage in the world of rugby for the past couple of years, but Fisher has always known who he is.
“If you want narrow defence and balls-out line speed then I’m not your man,” Fisher told the 8-9 Podcast in early April about his conversations with Schmidt prior to signing with the Wallabies.
Fisher’s defence relies on the defender getting in an optimum position to make a low, dominant tackle, getting “square”.
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and assistant coach Laurie Fisher at a training session at Ballymore on June 25, 2024 in Brisbane. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The defence operates on the inside player working hard to make sure the outside player can focus on nominating and backtracking, if need be, to ensure the line is connected.
Fisher much like the rest of Schmidt’s assistants is detailed-orientated, relying on simple and clear instructions to achieve the desired outcome.
“Speed off the ground, speed to set, spacing and nomination, connected line speed, high hustle on the inside looks after the inside shoulder of the outside, double ups, get in front stay in front, next action,” Fisher continued.
So far, with the Wallabies tackling at 94 per cent against Wales at the weekend in Melbourne, you’d have to say it’s working well.
If the Wallabies can maintain similar stats on Saturday against Georgia, then it will bode well for The Rugby Championship – but there is still room for improvements.
Although the Wallabies are making tackles very successfully, there is close to no line speed at all, meaning the Welsh managed to make the gain line regularly despite not having big ball carrying threats.
It’s something which former Wallaby Morgan Turinui noticed midway through the second half in Melbourne on Saturday night.
“It just seems out here the Wallabies are being a little passive with their line speed, [they] can’t forget they’ve still have to get out and whack ‘em, make some hard hits and make a difference in these sort of contact areas,” Turinui said in Stan Sport’s commentary.
SA Game 1 good system
The above clip is from Fisher’s first game in his tenure as Wallabies defence coach under Dave Rennie in 2022 against the Springboks in Adelaide.
Comparing the rush defence in that clip with the defence at the weekend, it’s evident the Wallabies defence rushes up faster and further past the gain line than they did against Wales below.
Wales gainline carry G2
Wales gainline carry 2 G2
Against Wales, the contacts were happening closer to the ruck and almost on the gainline, this is important thing to note because close to the ruck is where the Wallabies defensive speed is quickest and most “aggressive”.
With the Welsh managing to make gainline metres in close at the “peak” of the defence, it shows the Wallabies were gifting their opponents metres.
Against the Springboks, the Wallabies’ tackles are no less effective, they just got up faster on the inside and forced them wider and despite passing several times, the South Africans hardly make any ground.
The slow Springbok advance is caused by the inner players rushing hard, staying square and shepherding them out while the outer players are backtracking staying connected and are so still able to make a strong hit.
Against Wales, the lack of speed in the defence wasn’t a material issue as they had few dominant ball carriers, who weren’t bigger than their Wallabies counterpart but against South Africa there will be size mismatches as well as more robust ball carriers across the park.
The Wallabies must show more linespeed against Georgia at the weekend in Sydney in a bid to prepare for TRC.
South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina all have deadlier finishers and bigger ball carriers than both Wales and Georgia.
Georgian fullback Davit Niniashvili in action against the Wallabies during the 2023 World Cup. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
TRC sides will see the Wallabies’ “passive” line speed as an opportunity to play flat and on top of the Wallabies.
This in turn will force the Wallabies to scramble and infringe, probably leading to a higher penalty rate against the Wallabies, and most likely a scoreboard which continues to tick over.
The Wallabies’ only other option is if all 23 players chosen on any given game day make dominant tackles often.
Players like Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Filipo Daugunu, Hunter Paisami, Allan Alaalatoa, Langi Gleeson, Josh Flook and Isaac Kailea all made dominant tackles against Wales, but they didn’t come often enough.
Although the shots by Kailea and Alaalatoa in the 60th minute, Paisami, Alaalatoa and Gleeson in the 78th minute were dominant big hits, it seems unlikely as many Wallabies could land similar shots, as frequently against their TRC rivals.
Increasing the defensive linespeed is the safest bet to ensure the Wallabies maintain their defensive integrity throughout the season, because there were times in Melbourne when the Wallabies looked like an extra pass would’ve opened-up their defence.
The Wallabies are a better side than they were during the World Cup, that much is clear, but they are racing the clock to achieve a more rounded, Test-level game which they can consistently play.
In rugby it’s often about tweaking one thing each week as opposed to wholesale changes.
If line speed is the one thing the Wallabies have tweaked this week then it’ll go a long way to keeping the Georgians to a low score and securing a fourth win in a row, and their third consecutive win under Schmidt.
John Fergusonhttps://https://ift.tt/f7L4NiQ: How Laurie Fisher has already improved Wallabies’ defence – but there’s one area they must tweak
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