Seven clips the Wallabies will be analysing after another tight win over Japan

Let’s be blunt: seven linebreaks is far too many, and so is the total of nine the Japanese managed to get against the Wallabies, according to the stats.

It was the first look at new defence coach Scott McLeod’s defensive system, and it was every bit as aggressive as head coach Les Kiss had foreshadowed during the week, saying he wanted to “attack” with defence.

While nine linebreaks were recorded, seven of them will likely feature heavily in review this week for the Wallabies. 

It will be embarrassing watching for some, frustrating for others, with varying degrees of complexity in solving the issues.

The biggest hurdle in solving these issues quickly is to educate players on how they should be reading attacking pictures individually and then how to achieve the correct reaction as a team.

Seven of the linebreaks illustrate the players’ shortcomings in implementing some of the things McLeod and Kiss would have liked to have seen, and some showcase a clear lack of rugby IQ.

These clips are likely to form part of the Wallabies’ review and preview for the Japan Test in Townsville this coming weekend.

Gunter

This clip will look like a few of the other examples because the breakdown was a porous area of the Wallabies’ defence.

Because the Wallabies under McLeod will focus on bringing initial line speed off set piece and have a player shooting occasionally, there will be some teething issues around the alignment at the breakdown.

The issue in this clip, however, has to do with another pillar of the McLeod defensive system: the counterruck.

Rob Valetini and Aidan Ross do a great job of making a mess of Japan’s ruck and appear to have won it.

Josh Nasser, who is wearing the no.2 jersey for the Wallabies and who is the last person to fold, and Miles Amatosero, who are both either side of the ruck, are too slow to react to their teammates’ efforts.

This leaves Gunnedah-born and raised Ben Gunter, Japan’s no.6, to streak through the ruck and the middle of the field.

If you were to be nit-picky, you could argue that Gunter has entered that ruck from the side and that he should be trying to go through Valetini and Ross.

Nevertheless, this is a fault of the new system being just that, new, to the players, and the surrounding Wallabies being too slow to react to the picture presented.

A new system error is understandable; slow reactions and lethargy are not.

Cornelsen

In the 10th minute, the Wallabies show a complete lack of urgency and desire to win a terrible boxkick by Japan’s no.9.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s lackadaisical effort to catch the botched kick is well below par for an aerial threat like himself.

As a result, Japanese lock and born-and-bred Australian Jack Cornelsen swoops on a tip pass from his winger and charges forward.

Two of Australia’s best back threats in Suaalii and Max Jorgensen are outworked, outleapt and outenthused; that’s inexcusable.

Ito try

It only takes until the 11th minute for one of these linebreaks to prove lethal for the Wallabies.

Ryunosuke Ito, the rookie flyhalf for the Brave Blossoms, was on fire on Saturday night, and no moment was cooler to see than this one.

Again, the Wallabies ruck defence was the issue, and it was once again Nasser who was too slow to react to the picture presented to him.

The ‘10’ defender, or the player closest to the ruck on either side, has the job to stay put and watch the opposition’s halfback in case they scoot.

In this instance, Wallaby captain Harry Wilson strays around three metres from his post, and Nasser is too slow to mend his captain’s mistake.

Wilson should never have gone that wide; Nasser should’ve reacted quicker.

Ito does a great inside-outside step to bamboozle fullback Tom Wright for a splendid individual try. Wright should’ve tackled Ito at the 5m line but hesitates as he looks at the oncoming Japanese support play.

The most dangerous person is the person with the ball; Wright should’ve made the tackle first and worried about the support player second.

Jorgo misread

This next one highlights expertly the agency McLeod’s system has given players to make individual, aggressive reads in defence.

Wilson, in the red headgear, flies out of the line and collects Ito unawares and behind the gainline; he has to make a high-risk pop off the ground to prevent a serious loss of ground.

At this moment, the rest of the Wallabies defensive line should have moved up in a line and shut down time and space as well as cut off options.

This is what Jorgensen in jersey no.14 tries to do, but with poor execution, and that’s what costs the Wallabies their fourth linebreak of the game.

Fraser McReight, in the white headgear, honeypots to the fallen Ito as does Valetini; this is an egregious error as it is, in fact, a 4v5 outnumbered Japanese attack.

Had the Wallabies held their line integrity with their rush, then this is a dominant defensive set that would’ve caught the Brave Blossoms around 12m behind the gainline.

McRieght and Valetini’s misreads, paired with Jorgensen’s effort, see Japan streak down the wing and make 20m from this linebreak.

Why Harry Potter tackles no one is also bizarre and will be grim reviewing for the elusive runner.

This is another system teething error, as well as players making individual poor defensive decisions that would hurt any system.

Takeuchi 1

The fifth linebreak, in the 33rd minute, is yet again at the base of the ruck, and this one again is lethal. 

Wallaby second rower Josh Canham does a good job of chopping the Japanese no.3, who, completely unencumbered, gets back to his feet with the surrounding Wallabies in McReight and Nasser again showing no urgency to secure the breakdown.

It is just beggars belief to watch some of the Wallabies’ best just ignore the man with the ball in hand time and time again.

This appears to be a by-product of the introduction of a new system, with lots to think about for the players.

Players are focused on making big shots rather than securing the tackle first and then moving on to the next phase’s machinations.

Japan’s bouldering no.8 scores a try from this linebreak, bringing the score to 14-a-piece, seven minutes before halftime.

Takeuchi 2

The first linebreak by the Japanese in the second half comes via the same barnstorming prop who set up the Brave Blossoms’ try before halftime, Shuhei Takeuchi.

This time it is fresh Wallaby replacement Angus Bell’s turn to be beaten to the punch. 

Canham repositions for a chargedown for the expected box kick; Bell appears to stare off into the distance as Takeuchi notices his opponent switch off.

Bell makes up for it by chasing back and securing a penalty, but the Wallabies should never have been in that position to begin with.

Yet again, the Wallabies showed little respect for Japan’s impressive work rate and game nous, as well as poor urgency to set a solid defensive ruck structure.

Suaalii

The seventh and final true linebreak conceded by the Wallabies comes around Suaalii, and there are two ways to see this.

Either Suaalii is being aggressive as the system allows him to be and Potter, as well as Wright, who are the winger and fullback outside him, are too slow to react, or Suaalii is jamming as rugby league players tend to do and he has abandoned Potter with three oncoming attackers.

There are nuances amid these options, in that Suaalii did rush but did not get the ball and so it could be seen as a bad read, but had Potter and Wright been higher, then Japan’s no.14 is likely caught with the ball outside the 22m.

Had Suaalii waited and solved out with Potter, then it is a 3v3, possibly a 4v3 inside the 15m line, and the Japanese are unlikely to score this try.

So ultimately, this was the wrong time for Suaalii to be aggressive in isolation, and he will have to learn from this quickly.

What must be understood from most of these linebreaks is that they were born out of a new system being implemented by players for the first time.

There are, however, too many examples of players simply not paying Japan the respect they deserve, and that is a bigger issue of mindset.

Ultimately, five of these linebreaks are easily fixed; the fourth with Jorgensen and seventh here with Suaalii are individual tendency and game IQ issues which these two in particular must work on.

Head-to-Head

Last 3 Meetings

Wins

3

Draws

0

Wins

0

Average Points scored

39

26

First try wins

67%

Home team wins

0%

Overall, there were encouraging signs of a more aggressive, more combative, and less passive defence both individually from the players and as a system.

However, there were also signs that too many players were trying to solve defensive issues alone, as opposed to in teams of three, which McLeod’s defensive system is known for operating in.

Tackling at 88 per cent, four per cent higher than the Japanese, as well as being one of their best defensive efforts in 2026, the Wallabies should realistically be buoyed by the effort.

From a personnel perspective, this defensive system suits the Wallabies a lot better than the previously passive one.

They have hitters, they have low-gear counterruckers, and smart defenders, especially with Len Ikitau to come back.

A starting point of 88 per cent and nine linebreaks is pretty decent for a side that defended with 14 men for 20 minutes in boiling hot and slippery conditions.

Nevertheless, their defence must improve, because conceding 32 points is far too many; realistically, the Wallabies must concede less than 22 points to be consistently winning.