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'Cop that on the chin': Campbell 'shattered' after missing key tackle vs France

By Finn Morton
France's wing Damian Penaud (L) runs with the ball past Australia's fullback Jock Campbell (R) to score a try during the autumn international rugby union Test match between France and Australia at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris on November 5, 2022. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP) (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images)

The Wallabies were less than five minutes away from a stunning upset win over France on Sunday morning (AEDT), before winger Damian Penaud sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

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Much like their win over Scotland at Murrayfield a week ago, this match was defined by a key moment which only goes to show how tight Test rugby really is.

French fullback Thomas Ramos made it a one-point game with less than 10 minutes to play at Stade de France, after converting his sixth penalty of the match.

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But Ramos’ successful attempt at goal was cancelled out shortly after by Wallabies replacement Reece Hodge, who made the scores 25-29 with a penalty of his own.

Australia were just over five minutes away from ending France’s incredible winning streak, but there’s a reason that Les Bleus are among the favourites for next year’s World Cup.

Exactly 50 seconds after the kick-off, Penaud scored in the corner after getting the ball in space out wide, where he beat the covering defence of Tom Wright and then Jock Campbell.

Campbell was impressive during his first Test start, but felt “shattered” after full-time as he reflected on the missed tackle which he believed had cost Australia the match.

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“Pretty shattered if I’m honest. To lose in the fashion that we did, yeah pretty shattered,” Campbell said during his post-game interview.

“It’s an incredible atmosphere. Family has travelled a long way so it’s pretty special, just a shame we couldn’t come home with the win.

“Just the last tackle, just missed a tackle at the end me and Tommy (Tom Wright) and (it’s) come down to that really. I’ve got to cop that on the chin and just move on.”

Campbell played a crucial role in the opening try of the match, proving to be the link between Wright and try-scorer Lalakai Foketi in a exceptional long-range try.

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The Queensland Reds fullback finished the match with the second-most run metres of any Australian player, and he also made six tackles.

Speaking on the Stan Sport post game show, Australian rugby great Drew Mitchell said he was impressed with how Campbell conducted himself both on and off the field.

“I thought he was pretty solid tonight, I actually really liked the way he spoke there. He just owned it, he knows that he missed the tackle, he didn’t shift it onto anything else,” Mitchell said after Australia’s one-point loss.

“We’ve all been in those situations where you feel like you’ve cost your team the game.

“He was solid under the high ball, he was really impressive in that area of the game, and some of his decision making and also finishes this beautiful try.”

Following their hard-fought win over Scotland at Murrayfield last weekend, the Wallabies’ record on their five-match spring tour now sits at one win and one loss.

Up next for the men in gold is a trip to Florence where they’ll take on an Italian side full of confidence after beating Samoa 49-17.

Coach Dave Rennie said he was “proud of the character” that the Wallabies showed in their loss to France, but acknowledged that they have to “bounce back quickly.”

“Look we’ve got to bounce back quickly. It’s a long tour, five games. It’s tough,” Rennie said after the loss to France.

“We were excited about that and it’s been a great experience to be here, and we’re going to bounce back quickly for Italy who had a great win today.”

After playing Italy, the Wallabies will end their 2022 international season with Test matches against World No. 1 Ireland and then Wales.

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Mzilikazi 14 minutes ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Had hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”

6 Go to comments
S
Sam T 6 hours ago
Jake White: Let me clear up some things

I remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.

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E
Ed the Duck 13 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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