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'Koroibete is the hardest working winger in World Rugby' - Winger draws Lomu comparisons after Bledisloe IV performance
The Wallabies have recorded a famous win at Suncorp Stadium, winning the so called ‘dead rubber’ Bledisloe IV clash 24-22 against the All Blacks on Saturday.
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The first half was marred by controversy, with both All Blacks Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Wallabies debutant Lachlan Swinton both shown red cards for high tackles.
On the stroke of half-time, the Wallabies went down to 13 men after winger Marika Koroibete was shown a yellow card. But instead the hosts seem to rally when they came out of the sheds, with the former NRL player a clear standout despite his 10 minutes in the bin.
The 2019 John Eales Medallist has been a human highlight reel through the four-match Bledisloe Cup series, scoring in both of the tests in New Zealand as a start. In Bledisloe II, he was also held up over the try-line.
But what’s stood out for fans from both sides is how much of an impact the winger is making on the match in defence. Traditionally wingers are there to score tries and while Wallabies fans would still love to see the speedster add to his tally, he’s more than making up for it in defence so far.
In Bledisloe IV, Koroibete ran the second most metres of any player with 83 metres off 11 carries, beating two defenders and having one offload as well. But in defence, he made his mark with some momentum-shifting tackles on the men in black.
Fans on Twitter have been raving about the Wallabies winger, with one even comparing him to the late great All Blacks winger, Jonah Lomu.
Marika Koroibete is the hardest working winger in world rugby #BledisloeCup #AUSvNZL
— stefan (@StefanRautnbach) November 7, 2020
Hard to imagine a more monumental performance by a wing than @MarikaKoroibete’s in the 25 years since Jonah flattened @EnglandRugby at Newlands. As many cards as tries, 2 reds, 2 yellows. Great Test match.
— Peter Jackson (@JackoRugby) November 7, 2020
So Marika Koroibete is alright isn’t he… #AUSvNZL
— Samuel Woods (@Samuel_w0) November 7, 2020
Marika Koroibete is bloody everywhere.
What a star!#AUSvNZL— Nathan Brookes (@BrookesyNat) November 7, 2020
Absolute blinder from Marika Koroibete, even with a yellow card. #AUSvNZL #BledisloeCup
— Beth Newman (@bethknewman) November 7, 2020
Marika Koroibete absolutely phenomenal. Fantastic win for the Wallabies #AUSvNZL
— Adam McKendry (@admckendry) November 7, 2020
King @MarikaKoroibete taking on the @AllBlacks last night was unreal… Yellow card schmellow card, that’s my man of the match for the @wallabies ??? #AUSvNZL
— Blaze Kippax Ross (@BKRYouTube) November 8, 2020
One of the best games of rugby I’ve ever watched. It had everything!
Well played Australia and especially @MarikaKoroibete – a heat seeking missile! Bringing a bit of cheer to London!!#TriNations #TriNations2020 #AUSvNZL
ADVERTISEMENT— Rollo CrichtonStuart (@rollocs) November 7, 2020
Marika koroibete work ethic ??
Bad man! #AUSvNZL— It’s Fine (@Peter_Parma) November 7, 2020
Marika koroibete wow…..just wow ?? #AUSvNZL #TriNations2020
— Real Is Rare (@LorenKalz) November 7, 2020
Koroibete made a try-saving tackle on All Blacks winger Sevu Reece with 30 minutes to play, with the match still very much in the balance. In Bledisloe III, he made another try-saving effort when he got in-between a rampaging Caleb Clarke and the try-line.
He all but sealed the win for the men in gold as well due to his defence, with the Brisbane crowd erupting just before the full-time siren after a tackle on All Blacks replacement Damian McKenzie.
After the match, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said that “his aggression in defence created opportunities for us” which has been echoed by fans on Twitter.
#AUSvNZL some game winning tackle there by @MarikaKoroibete ???
— Stevie G (@Steverg1) November 7, 2020
What a response from the @wallabies after being pantsed last week!
May have been a dead rubber but All Blacks dont give up any win easily…. Huge hit at the end from Marika Koroibete to force the turnover at the end and get the win! #AUSvNZL #BledisloeCup #Wallabies https://t.co/YReESXXbud
ADVERTISEMENT— Clint W (@Clintwits) November 7, 2020
The match winning play from Marika Koroibete for the @wallabies #AUSvNZL pic.twitter.com/cdPKnZxdAG
— Justin Stevens (@_JustinStevens_) November 7, 2020
Marika Koroibete! Wow. What a hit. What a player. Secures the win for Wallabies 24-22 in Brisbane. #AUSvNZL
— James Cole (@jamescolesky) November 7, 2020
What a hit from Marika Koroibete! Take a bow. Wallabies hold on to win a cracking game. #AUSvNZL #RugbyChampionship
— Michael Kelleher (@M__Kelleher) November 7, 2020
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper also sang the praises of his teammate following the win, especially after performing how he did after being sent to the bin.
“He’s a world class winger. He adds so much across the park, both in attack and defence,” Hooper said following the win.
“I was really proud of the way that he bounced back from the card, I thought he came on and made some really smart decisions.
“Sometimes you can chase a game when you feel like you give away and hurt the team. The way he came back on and impacted in a real positive way, it was great for him and it was great for the team.”
The Wallabies have a bye week in the Tri Nations, with their next match set to take place on the 21st in Newcastle. For the first time this year, the Wallabies won’t be playing the All Blacks, and will instead be facing Argentina who beat a Rugby Australia XV that included non-matchday Wallaby squad members, two weekends in a row.
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments