During the 1970s Garrick Fay was the mainstay of the Wallaby forward pack. In this article he gives a fascinating insight into how Australian Rugby pulled itself out of an international slump. I recently caught up with Garrick with barrister and Gordon Rugby Football Club’ prop Chris Micali for lunch at the Union, University and Schools Club in Sydney . Garrick Fay has been in business all his life and is a celebrity speaker.

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In 1971 I was a member of a Wallaby team that was thumped by South Africa. In 1972 the team lost three Test Matches against New Zealand. In 1973 the

Garrick Fay

Wallabies were beaten quelle horreur by Tonga, yes Tonga, and then humiliated by England and Wales.

Australian rugby was broke and the game in the doldrums. What could be done to resurrect our national team’s fortunes, pride and success?

It has been said that the past is a foreign country. Rugby then was a very different game to what it is now.

Let me paint the picture of this ‘foreign land’ of over four decades ago. In the early 1970s I played two seasons for Wasps, a first division London Club. One would receive a “card” in the mail each week which was an invitation to play from the club president, Mr. Neville Compton. An RSVP accepting the polite invitation was de rigueur.

The Club ran twelve teams all with an extremely large differences in proficiency. The club had no coaches at all except for a motor cycle policeman called “Orse” who endeavoured in vain to add a modicum of fitness to the thirty odd blokes who might show up. There was no skills training.

The Club maintained a fixture list and played each season against other first division teams. Heaven forbid, if London Irish, or Harlequins, or Llanelli had had a bad season the year before, Wasps may consider not inviting them to play. Come to think of it omit Llanelli from that list, they never had a bad season. There was no competition as exists now and the game was totally amateur.
After my stint with Wasps I returned to Sydney to play for Northern Suburbs for 12 more seasons. There was a twelve team competition and teams played each other twice. From there, one progressed to the Sydney Representative team. Each club had a selector and club nepotism was rife.

From Sydney one progressed to NSW as it was known more colloquially as the Waratahs. Once again the game was totally amateur unless a set of club cufflinks, presented by Norths’ Club President, George Marshall could be considered sufficient to contravene the pure laws of amateurism. Such largesse was for being picked to play for Australia.

At every level of rugby there was a plethora of selectors. The bleedin’ obvious happened of course. A disparity of fundamentals and playing styles between Sydney, Country, NSW & Queensland led to a total loss of cohesion and more losses to international teams.
In 1973 a group of concerned businessmen funded a trip to Wales for Bob Templeton the Australian coach, to examine their coaching techniques and report back. Wales were then undisputed world champions. Ray Williams the Welsh National Coach was invited to Australia in 1974.

After that trip, in the same year Dick Marks a former Wallaby was appointed National Rugby Coaching Director. His job was to coordinate coaching programs and to liaise with National and State. A committee was formed to produce a standard coaching manual which every coach at every level was able to adopt. It showed, inter alia, all the suggested techniques ranging from scrums, lineouts and mauls to defensive and attacking plays. It was not so much a mandatory manual but rather a guide for correct technique which each player could adapt to different situations. It was adopted and used in 1975. Success didn’t happen overnight. Common techniques and a rationalization of selectors took a while to eventuate. Garrick this seems out of place on the timeline)
However, something was happening. The late seventies saw England, Wales and the All Blacks beaten by Australia, the latter by the largest score ever up to that time. The early eighties saw the Wallabies win back the Bledisloe Cup and create wonderful records on tours to Britain. Who can forget the Wallabies’ Grand Slam of the ‘Home Nations’ in 1984?

Success however was not just due to enhanced coaching, other crucial elements were in the mix.

To win games consistently correct technique must be combined with team spirit, an elusive but essential commodity. The French call it esprit de corps. It may be defined as a feeling of pride and loyalty that exists amongst the members of a team. A proud, burning desire that makes each member want their team to do their very best and win. How was this achieved in the mid to late 1970s? Sydney led the charge. The Sydney team used to meet socially on a regular basis. The team not only had camaraderie but developed a deep bond. They went on tour together. Players were made to feel that they had an important role in the team. This feeling led in turn to self-esteem and a sense of freedom of expression on the field. In other words, if you “had a go” there was no fear of failure.
This was radically demonstrated when Sydney played Wales at the Sydney Sports Ground in 1978. Wales were ‘cock-a-hoop’, confident and arrogant. Sydney were a rag tag team of players with very little representative experience. In the first two minutes Sydney’s Jimmy ‘Possum’ Feggans tackled the legendary centre Steve Fenwick in the middle of the ground after he had tried to make a break, I can still hear the crunch. One minute later Fenwick decided he’d have another go, the same thing happened. Sydney soon found themselves ahead. O boyo! What happens now?

What happened next was that the Welsh machine clawed back the lead and with a minute to go were two points ahead. Their winger failed to find touch and Laurie Monaghan the Western Suburbs’ and then Sydney full back grabbed the ball and belted over a magnificent field goal from about 50 metres out to win the game. Oh what a feeling!

The point is of course that he trusted his skills and was not afraid of failure. You little bobby dazzler Laurie.

Sydney beat England and France and drew with the All Blacks as well. The Wallabies followed, we were on a roll.

Another essential ingredient for success is consistency of selection. To me it is inconceivable that more than one change, let alone several changes, can be made to the Wallabies in one week. It shows a lack of respect to any player who is the best in Australia in his position one week but not considered good enough the next. That doesn’t engender much self-confidence.

I once asked the brilliant will o’ the wisp Welsh winger and captain of Cardiff Gerald Davies what Cardiff’s selection policy was. His answer remains with me to this day. Altogether now in a Welsh accent, “Not did he have a bad game, Garrick but is there anyone better.” Sage advice.

Thank heavens Wallaby coach Michael Cheika has started to rationalize selections which has resulted in a magnificent Wallaby win against the All Blacks. One swallow does not a summer make, there is work to do. However, there is a good feeling about this team now and my belief is that given more time they will do very well.

Lack of consistency of selection also indicates to me that there can be a lack of understanding of what it means to develop effective combinations. At international level the game is faster and more physical, gaps close more quickly. The very fact that the same team plays together week after week means that those split second passes hit their target, the moves are made with greater speed and confidence because they have been practiced hundreds if not thousands of times. When you’re in the zone all moves are understood from scrums and lineouts to backline play. It’s all very well to blood players but please keep a rehearsed combination together.

The Administration of the game has come under scrutiny recently. A lot of harsh things have been said. However, the ARU leadership needs to acknowledge that what it has been doing isn’t working and has completely alienated the clubs and spectators. As in politics, if you lose your base how can you expect to flourish? It all starts in the grassroots and filters outwards and upwards. The hardcore supporters are still there because they learnt loyalty and camaraderie when they themselves played the game in their various clubs. Their wives, girlfriends, family and mates accompanied them.

When Norths played the wives and girlfriends sat on the sunny North Sydney Oval hill usually with a couple of bottles of wine and perhaps with cheese and crackers. These Norths’ ladies recently celebrated a forty year reunion such was the level of friendship generated. The club players of course have reunions as often as they can. Lose them both and you lose the lot.

New Zealand’s nursery filters through to their most senior team in a seamless transition of both pride and a common skills. How can this happen when our club teams are abandoned? Ignore them at your peril and give them some support and recognition. With little pre-match publicity Sydney grade Grand Finals have in the past few years attracted huge crowds.

So there you are dear readers. A few thoughts on what must be done to win from an old, yes old player and make no mistake, when the Wallabies win the spectators will follow and the money will flow.

Garrick Fay played for the Wallabies between 1971-1979