The Welsh player the best backrowers in the world simply couldn't cope with
The look on Michael Hooper’s face said it all. As Australia’s captain sat alongside coach Michael Cheika and attempted to dissect the Wallabies’ first defeat to Wales in a decade, he seemed distant.
Hooper spent much of a 10-minute post-match press briefing deep inside the bowels of the Principality Stadium staring into space, apparently yearning to be anywhere else but there.
He is not used to being in this position. His five previous visits to Cardiff with his country had yielded 16 tries, 138 points and all ended in victory.
In what was an intriguing, attritional arm wrestle on Saturday, Hooper admitted that if he had his time again he would have told his fly-half Bernard Foley to kick for goal, rather than the corner, when Australia won a series of presentable penalties early in the second half.
Getting their noses in front at such a crucial time could have swung the tide in Australia’s favour, but we will never know.
What we do know for sure is that for the first time since November 2008, Wales beat Australia and they did so, largely, by winning the battle of the back-row.
Hooper, again, is not used to being the second most effective openside in any game, but on Saturday he was outfought, outthought and outshone by Justin Tipuric.
The Ospreys captain was comfortably Wales’ best player at the Principality Stadium and a deserved man of the match following an all-action performance.
Tipuric was at his destructive best from the off, the first of his three telling contributions in the opening period made within five minutes as he got over the ball to secure a turnover with the Wallabies on the attack deep inside the Wales half.
Five minutes later the flanker stole a lineout to give his side an attacking platform that should have led ultimately to the first points of the match – had Leigh Halfpenny not endured a rare off-day from the kicking tee.
Speaking after the match Wales coach Warren Gatland admitted it was the most comfortable he had felt defending against an Australian side. That the hosts kept a team that had averaged more than three tries a game on their last five visits to the Principality Stadium from crossing the whitewash will have delighted defence coach Shaun Edwards.
Wigan-bound Edwards was seen ecstatically punching the air before dancing out of the Wales coaching box at full-time and it can be assumed that he had a few words of praise for Tipuric as the celebrations continued in the home changing room.
Australia might not have attacked with the invention of previous Wallabies sides in Cardiff but they did enjoy concerted spells of possession inside the Welsh half on Saturday.
Each time they did, however, a blue scrum cap invariably appeared to disrupt their flow and stop their momentum in its tracks.
That was certainly the case five minutes before half-time, and again less than 12 minutes into the second half when Tipuric made a nuisance of himself as the Wallabies attempted to drive a lineout towards the goal line, forcing a knock on.
On each occasion the gold wave was halted, Wales could clear and belief grew that this would finally be their year, the end of the long hoodoo.
Gatland was measured in his praise for Tipuric at full-time, instead anointing Josh Adams as his man of the match.
The Worcester wing was indeed excellent, and appears to be growing in confidence and stature with every Test cap – as displayed by his chip and gather late on.
But who was it leading the charge to secure the breakdown and ensure that Wales retained possession? That’s right, Tipuric.
His was a gargantuan performance on both sides of the ball – even playing dummy half for multiple phases in the second period when first Gareth Davies and then Tomos Williams were indisposed – and a timely one with Sam Warburton now permanently confined to the commentary box.
For so long a man in Warburton’s shadow, the rise of Ellis Jenkins and Josh Navidi over the past year looked to have cast doubt on his standing as the heir apparent to the number seven jersey.
Yet, the Ospreys captaincy clearly rests well on Tipuric’s shoulders and he is currently playing some of the best rugby of his career. When Jenkins emerged from the bench on Saturday evening, it was in place of blindside Dan Lydiate and in tandem with Tipuric he ensured there was no let-up in the back-row battle.
Whether the Cardiff Blues skipper did enough in an impressive cameo to force his way into Gatland’s starting side remains to be seen but the potential of a Jenkins-Tipuric axis is clear.
South Africa may well find out just how destructive that partnership can be in a fortnight’s time.
Comments on RugbyPass
Pacific Lions, cry me a river
124 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
124 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
124 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
124 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
124 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
124 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
124 Go to commentsHo hum.
124 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
124 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
124 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
124 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
124 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
124 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
124 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
124 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
124 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
13 Go to comments