Lots of positives for the Wallabies, but plenty of work-ons remain
Another refereeing blunder?
Looking at social media last night, you would have thought the All Blacks committed some atrocity in their 49-14 Third Test win over France in Dunedin.
Actually, it was referee John Lacey who committed the atrocity by running blocker on Baptiste Serin from a scrum move allowing Damian McKenzie a clear run to score under the posts.
It was another disgraceful refereeing episode in the French series with even the New Zealand commentators lamenting “not again”. But even taking out this try, it was a well-deserved win for the All Blacks. They were precise and clinical and they looked like the number one ranked team in the world.
A highlight for me was the All Blacks’ driving maul try from a lineout in the 22nd minute. The All Blacks faked a throw to the back and instead pitched a simple lob to the front man with no jump before driving over. They turned this super coach Under 15 play into a piece of brilliance.
Rain, hail or shine
Australian sports fans are a tough crowd.
If the Wallabies lose every week fans don’t show up or watch on TV. If it’s cold and wet they don’t show, and if the Wallabies win by 50 every week they don’t turn up either.
Conversely, All Blacks supporters just seem to love watching their team smashing the opposition week after week and turn up in big numbers. Reminds me of a mid-week Wallaby match I played in Ebbw Vale, Wales.
It was minus five degrees at least, the wind was cyclonic with driving sleet rain which was hitting you horizontally with the force of a body punch. As I signed a match program after the game for one of the thousands of Welsh supporters, I asked “why did you turn up, I would be home in front of the fire”, the reply I received was “well you know, nothing else to do around here”. Welcome to Wales.
Too close to call
What a great Test match in Sydney last night.
Both the Irish and Wallabies turned up to play and it came down to the final moments, with the Irish getting up 20-16 in front of a capacity crowd.
You could not pick a winner before the game, it was a 50/50 bet. The Wallabies were the better side in the first Test, the Irish the better team in the second.
At the end of this one, the Wallabies were simply not precise enough in their execution. The Irish had a bit of luck with some decisions and Sexton’s boot got them over the line.
The Wallaby scrum was superb again and really has come a long way, to be rock solid against two British and Irish Lions front rowers and put pressure on them was great work.
The Wallaby lineout is inaccurate and is under pressure a lot, this needs to be fixed. Mauling is really a forgotten art in Australia; players don’t learn it at school, club or provincial level then the Wallaby forwards coach has to teach a very complex skill in a matter of weeks.
You saw the Irish driving maul like an arrowhead with just three players at the front with the pack slotted in behind slicing through a spread of five Wallaby forwards. You have to match this narrow concentration of power to stop a driving maul. Occasionally the Wallabies do get it right, but definitely the lineout and maul will be seen as areas to attack the Wallabies.
The tackle contest was more even this week, with the Wallabies able to halt the continuous quick recycle ball of the Irish.
Pocock again made some superb turnovers whereas last week he was the mystery man on the field, with the Irish able to cancel him out of the game.
Hard to pick a driving tackle last week or a double team on the Irish ball carrier but there were plenty last night and the Irish were denied the gain line on many occasions. Last week in Melbourne they strolled over the gain line with prop Tadhg Furlong a highlight with his big runs.
What to do with a very competent Wallaby backline in this modern game?
Opposition rush defence really cancels out Australia’s obsession with flat backline attack. I really need to have a chat with Bob Dwyer about this.
The Randwick inspired flat backline attack that has been the hallmark of Australian backline play for 30 years. The modern game in Australia has descended to tackle then use the width of the field from every play. Very few runners form depth and there is very little attack through the ruck or near it. I am surprised the Ireland Coach Joe Schmidt did not attack the centre of the Wallaby ruck, I am sure the All Blacks will.
Well done to the Irish, I bet they had a great night in Sydney last night “on the craic” with their supporters.
I think the Irish were deserved Lansdowne Cup winners and the series win tops off a great year for them with their Six Nations Grand Slam as well.
The Wallabies have a lot of positives to come out of the Test series but still have plenty left to work on. The Wallabies can go into the Rugby Championship with some confidence and on their day if every little thing goes right, they Wallabies may even give the All Blacks a run.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments