When a French station compiled highlights of Australia’s march to World Cup glory in 1991, it was accompanied by the symphony Ode to Joy. There’s a hearty laugh at the mention of being Bob ‘Beethoven’ Dwyer, but that showreel mattered to the coach who orchestrated their first title, sealed by a 12-6 success over England at Twickenham.
And, as strange as it may seem for an Australian to say given their rich sporting history, winning was not all that mattered for Dwyer.
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“I was never a coach to focus on outcomes and have certainly never been a coach that would sacrifice quality for a winning strategy,” he tells Sport360. “It was never enough to just win, but to play well.
“Our feeling in ’91 was, that if we played to the best of our ability we had a great chance – and if we didn’t, we would not win.”
This was the mindset of a man who grew up admiring Sir Donald Bradman before the 1959 British Lions rolled into town and Dwyer pursued rugby as his biggest passion.
“I was a mad keen cricket fan as a boy,” he recalls. “All my heroes were in the Australian cricket team. Bradman had finished playing when I was young but he was still so famous you wanted to be like him. Then there was Arty Morris, Ray Lindwall, Neil Harvey, Norm O’Neill, Richie Benaud and Alan Davidson.
“I never became an absolute rugby fan as a watcher until I went to university and the 1959 Lions came to Australia. I had enjoyed playing with Randwick in the Colts competition but when I saw the Lions I became fascinated by the international aspects of the game. Been hooked ever since.
“Ronnie Dawson was captain and they had Syd Millar, Tony O’Reilly, Ken Scotland, Bev Risman and David Hewitt.
“They did inspire me and I got Rugby News from the UK every month and became quite well versed with rugby in the UK and then got to know about the international tours and South Africa and New Zealand.”
Soaking up knowledge with every publication and every game he played with Randwick’s senior side, the former flanker then moved into coaching with his club after retiring as a player in 1976.
“Our club coach had also retired and when I saw people applying I thought I can do a better job,” recalls Dwyer, who led Randwick to four Sydney titles before Australia first came calling in 1982. “I don’t think I had an aspiration to be a coach at that time, but the opportunity came. I loved seeing quality players in action and was always anxious to hear what those players and coaches had to say about the game and I remembered most things.
“I was a leader when I played, always an outspoken sort of guy – bossy my wife, Ruth, reckons – and transferred that to other guys. In those days as a captain, if you weren’t the coach you were half a coach. I always aspired for the players to play better.
“Some you wonder if you ever added much to their game. David Campese was a great player, but my contribution was to move him from full-back to wing and from left wing to right wing where he played most of his best rugby. Phil Kearns and Jason Little, they had great individual talent but acknowledged that I was able to add things to their game. Those things are rewarding.”
And so too was building a side to become the world’s best. Dwyer spent just a year in his initial spell as Wallabies coach. But, taking over again in 1988 until 1995, it was sweeter second time around.
“The problem with the first spell was that I was impatient,” he says. “The players I introduced in 1982/83 went on to be important, influential players. If I had more time I think we would have been just as successful.
“People started to notice us in ’91 because we had beaten the All Blacks twice in the previous year and given England and Wales a hiding earlier in Australia.
“There was a real desire on my part to convince the players you have to leave your mark and play in such a way that people look up and say, ‘these guys are good and the team is good’.
“I heard an interview with [former All Blacks captain] Sean Fitzpatrick when he said looking back to ‘91 perhaps New Zealand had better individual players, but Australia had a better team. I’m not sure what he means. How can you be a better individual player if you can’t contribute to a team performance?
“We were as one in our desire to play well and let the result take care of itself.”
It was exemplified in the 16-6 semi-final win over the All Blacks, who were reigning champions, and then England, who were left frustrated after Campese knocked forward a pass intended for Rory Underwood, who felt he would have had a clear run. A penalty, rather than a penalty try, was the controversial outcome.
But Dwyer says: “England had lifted their game and played very well in the final, but I thought we were the better team and deserved it. I remember French TV made a mini video of Australia’s play set to classical music.
“It was entitled something like 10 moments of happiness. L’Equipe also chose a World XV of the tournament with 15 Australians. It was exaggerated, but showed what they thought of us – and the French love quality rugby.”
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Dwyer, now 74 and “doing well” after a heart attack in 2013, is back in England for this year’s World Cup to see how Australia fare 14 years on. The Wallabies have won both their opening games in Pool A against Fiji and Uruguay, but face England on Saturday and then Wales, who upset the hosts last weekend.
And Dwyer says: “There’s no margin for error in the results. I think we have got winning players and it’s how we play on any one day. It’s not whether you have good enough players, but whether you play good enough.
“After that, anything is possible. New Zealand are favourites, but in every tournament played they are favourites or joint – and they haven’t won them all have they?
“If Australia play to their best they can win it. And if we are good enough to win it, we have to get through this group and beat England and Wales. If it was an easy group, we could have fallen in a hole.”
Dwyer is an admirer too of Australia coach Michael Cheika, who was a young player at Randwick when he was in charge and also gave him a reference when he applied for the Leinster coaching post. “Mike is a very smart coach and he understands how to get quality performances when necessary,” he says. “He showed that with Leinster, the Waratahs and now with Australia. He understands my personality very well in lots of ways. He can get cross as I can and speak frankly and directly as I did. Players love his straightforwardness.”
