Ryles, who answered an SOS call from Eddie Jones last month to help with Australia\u2019s attack at the World Cup, casts his mind back to 2012 during his time as a prop at the Melbourne Storm.<\/p>\n
Albeit in a different code, Ryles is a firm believer that one game is all it takes to be the circuit-breaker for a run of consecutive losses.<\/p>\n
After winning their first nine games of the 2012 NRL season, the Storm capitulated in the third quarter of their regular season, losing five matches in a row to the Bulldogs (20-4), Raiders (40-12), Cowboys (20-16), last-placed Eels (16-10) and Dragons (26-18).<\/p>\n
Although Billy Slater was sidelined with a knee injury, the Storm were in the midst of a post-State of Origin slump. But a resounding 46-6 win over Penrith at AAMI Park was the catalyst for Craig Bellamy\u2019s side to revitalise their season.<\/p>\n
The Storm couldn\u2019t put a foot wrong as they chalked up eight straight victories to take out the premiership with a 14-4 grand final victory over the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Incoming Melbourne Storm coach Jason Ryles is in camp with the Wallabies as the team\u2019s attack coach. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n While the Wallabies can\u2019t claim to be as successful as the Storm, seven straight wins would hand them the Webb Ellis Cup. It is an unlikely scenario but momentum is a funny thing, according to Ryles.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were 0-5 and it was basically one game \u2026 it broke that drought of not winning,\u201d Ryles told reporters in France ahead of Australia\u2019s first match against Georgia on Saturday (Sunday 2am AEST).<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it takes that game to get that confidence back and get a bit more belief in the group. Then before you know it, you turn one into two into three \u2026 all of a sudden, you have turned that corner. It\u2019s one of those things where it only takes one game.<\/p>\n \u201cEddie is very experienced. He\u2019s done really well in terms of keeping the environment really positive. All the players are really hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n Craig Bellamy and Cam Smith after the Melbourne Storm\u2019s premiership in 2012. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jason South<\/cite><\/p>\n By comparison, the reigning World Cup champions, South Africa, did not lose any of their five matches before the 2019 tournament (four wins, one draw).<\/p>\n The bookies have Australia as $13 outsiders to win their first World Cup since 1999. The Wallabies fell to England 40-16 in a quarter-final at the 2019 edition.<\/p>\n Australia face Georgia in Paris this weekend, before pool matches against Fiji, Wales and Portugal. A potential quarter-final looms against either England or Argentina, depending on group standings.<\/p>\n Despite losses to South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand and France in a two-month block, hooker Dave Porecki insists that results don\u2019t match the mood in camp.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s an environment that is 0-5 right now,\u201d Porecki said. \u201cI genuinely feel like we\u2019re moving in the right direction. It doesn\u2019t feel like a losing culture or a losing environment. It feels like a winning one. The last thing [that matters] \u2026 will be the scoresheet.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark Nawaqanitawase, Max Jorgensen, Samu Kerevi and Ben Donaldson during a Wallabies gym session. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Ryles, who will join Bellamy\u2019s coaching staff at the Storm in November, is the first to admit he is not making wholesale changes to Australia\u2019s attack so late in the World Cup cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cI was actually renovating my house and painting \u2026 doing real work when I got the phone call,\u201d Ryles said. \u201cNo better way to spend the last two months of my little break than with these guys in France, chasing a World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201c[Eddie] takes the lead and then I basically do a lot of the legwork for him. It is about as simple as that. The systems are in place and now it\u2019s just about refining and evolving and making sure that we\u2019re improving every session.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a Wallabies style. What I\u2019ve picked up really quickly is that it\u2019s less structured, it\u2019s more about playing to the players\u2019 strengths and then building the game plan in and around that.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch all the action from <\/b>Rugby World Cup 2023<\/b> on the Home of Rugby, <\/b>Stan Sport<\/b>. Every match ad-free, live and on demand in 4K UHD from September 9.<\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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