The shining light for the Wallabies in record Bledisloe Cup defeat
Whichever way you look at it, a 57-22 defeat against the All Blacks is a poor return for the Wallabies but while the team as a whole may have failed to contain the threat of the men in black, there was one major shining light for the visiting Australians at Eden Park on Saturday night.
Halfback Tate McDermott, in just his third test start, was a constant menace for the Wallabies and built on his solid outing last weekend.
McDermott, who helped the Reds to a Super Rugby AU title earlier this season, made his international debut in Sydney last year and played three further tests off the bench over the past 12 months against New Zealand and France.
While McDermott always injected his trademark livewire play into the game upon his late arrivals, it’s as a starting scrumhalf that the 22-year-old has looked most assured, being able to balance his running game with the core duties of distribution and controlling field position.
That first start came in in the third test of the Wallabies’ July series with Les Bleus, when McDermott helped his side to a 33-30 win, securing the series 2-1 for the Australians.
McDermott has now gone from strength to strength in the two Bledisloe Cup matches with the All Blacks where he’s gone head-to-head with arguably the world’s best halfback in Aaron Smith.
While Smith has always been second-to-none in the passing stakes, McDermott has matched the man nine years his senior in the ball-running stakes over the first two games of the three-match series.
In the opening game, a 33-25 loss, McDermott ran for 36 metres – the third most of any player in the Wallabies squad. While his team as a whole were more industrious on attack in the second match, McDermott was still able to break through the line for a well-taken try, dodging the tackle of Dalton Papalii, one of the most secure defenders on the field.
Speaking after the match, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was full of praise for how his 22-year-old halfback has built on his game since coming into the national set-up.
“Real credit to Tate,” said Rennie. “He’s had a massive focus on the quality of his distribution and his kicking game. He’s always been a very good runner.
“He’s developing nicely and he’s a real handful. If you’ve got a 9 that’s a genuine threat, it’s hard [for the opposition] to bring line speed around those rucks so his ability to create space for himself and others is a real strength and he had a big game tonight.”
"Over a five-minute interview they pluck out three or four words to make a headline." #Wallabies #NZLvAUShttps://t.co/QusSEMb2lB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 15, 2021
Were it not for an untimely injury to Nic White in the lead-up to the French series, McDermott’s chances to grow through big-game experience may have not presented themselves.
White, as the incumbent, would likely have worn the No 9 jersey against France and New Zealand – and McDermott entered the July series as the third choice, behind White and Jake Gordon.
The unfortunate MCL injury to White, however, gave McDermott a foot in the door and after compelling work off the bench in the opening tests against France, the decision to start the Queenslander was likely all too easy for Rennie.
White, fit again, came off the bench against the All Blacks on Saturday night. Now, Rennie must decide whether to preserve with McDermott as the starter for the third test against NZ, or to reinstate White.
The third and final Bledisloe Cup match of the year will be played in Perth in two weeks’ time.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments