LONG READ Why the Wallabies must mount a more convincing case for the defence

If they really have such a baked in defensive system that is so frail and susceptible to failure even under the most mediocre of examinations then why do they persist with it?

Now I'm not for one second suggesting that the All Blacks are mediocre. But the Wallabies have similarly struggled against softer teams who didn't produce nearly the degree of pressure that the ABs did yet it made them stutter anyway.

I thought Kiss was in fact going back to what Dwyer had done so effectively between ‘91 and ‘93 which was to have a team that simply ground other teams down because they couldn't break through the Wallabies' ironclad defence.

I guess we were misled. I didn't originally think that the defence had been that poor structurally. I thought it was just because players were getting overwhelmed by the sheer pace and effort of the All Blacks rather than because their own system was letting them down.

But your candid analysis suggests that is precisely what has been happening now for too long. I wonder why they won't abandon it when it's surely been proven now beyond all doubt that it just doesn't work anymore, if it ever did.

England, Scotland and Wales all pose slightly different problems for the Wallabies but the same weaknesses will still be ruthlessly exploited if they don't find some way to play a more proactive and up tempo defensive game.

For instance, the attacking of their Northern hosts isn't going to be quite as relentless as the ABs so the scoreboard pressure is probably not going to be as acute. Though having caught the latest from the Prem they're no slouches either and if the Wallabies give them half a chance they'll take it.

But they'll be especially difficult for the Wallabies to make much headway against when they're defending unless Australia can get that breakdown ascendency that they pride themselves on once again.

The ABs figured them out and then simply never gave the ball back to them. That doesn't mean any other team will. But it also doesn't mean they won't either. And the Wallabies have no laurels to rest on so they'll have to come up with something.

They've got the better part of 3 weeks to fully digest and analyze exactly what went wrong over the last two tests, why the team couldn't employ any of the game plan and couldn't adjust to the pressure.

I still feel that some degree of personal responsibility lies with the players for failing to step up. Whatever system you use is simply a tool to allow you to do something useful.

But if you're not putting in the maximum effort and trying to do your job as best as you are capable of, then the system becomes irrelevant. Your work is going to be poor regardless.

The ABs didn't simply have a superior system or exploit the weak Wallabies one. All 23 players put literally everything into winning every single moment in both games and came up trumps for the majority of the 120 minutes they dominated for.

They inevitably slipped off in the second 40 in Sydney because of course they did. You can't keep playing at such a high level indefinitely. You're going to lapse and if they'd been playing a better team that could've been costly.

The Aussies were cooked by the time the pressure let up and even though they scored two high quality tries in that half it was just such a token reward that it was hard to genuinely celebrate it.

And even getting a two man advantage for like the last 8 or so minutes of the game they just couldn't do anything with it. They were done. And that really shows the difference.

Last week right up until the final whistle the ABs were still playing and scored again right at the death even though they were already so far ahead it didn't really matter. But that's how they are.

Australia could only dream of matching that kind of effort. I will say that Wilson was the one person who delivered above and beyond over the two tests, being one of the few to actually record a dominant tackle and he really put himself in everything.

If the whole team was doing that all the time this kind of result would be a thing of the past. But they don't and so they're only going to be in for a lot more frustration and disappointment.

Thanks Nick

Very helpful to know i might almost understand what’s going on. As an amateur whi simply enjoyed tackling whatever required, must be frustrating to be a top tier pro, told where n when to do just that. Of everyone not on same page, so to speak.

Lools like instinct does not always align with instruction maybe, so nothing easy.

Cheers

KP

Check that All Black backline and loose forwards bursting into gaps, well that wasnt even the best players. The All Blacks in reality played most of that game with a patchwork team yet they smashed them in the first 40. What will it take for a Wallaby defensive revolution to take place? They have no line speed, they crack after one offload, they are constantly overloaded at the line, concede tons of line breaks and miss tackles for fun. JAS and Lonergen were the worst offenders in the first half but increasingly they are being hung out to dry by the system. The Wallabies dont have the talent to out All Black NZ. So they need to find something they are good at, do it over and over again until they are better than everyone else at it and try to win that way while ensuring that everything else is solid. When the world cup draw was released everyone said the Boks were on a collision course with NZ. Some said well what if Australia beat NZ? On the basis of this evidence the question is how on earth can a Wallaby team ever be expected to beat this NZ team just 12 months from now especially when playing in Australia doesnt phase the AB’s in the slightest?

Off topic but how good where Connaught at the weekend? There’s the perfect example of the impact good coaching can have on a side. They were worthy winners against a very strong Sarries side.

I’m not so down on AUS at this stage. You really need your players together to start changing systems and that wasn’t going to happen in this round of games with key players missing.

I think you will start to see them evolve the defence in the NC games once they have finalised who will be in their squads through to RWC 2027.

Great article NB, although I am slightly torn if this is AUS defending slipping, or the improvement of the AB attack? I think it’s more the latter at the moment but both mean AUS need to do more (as do the other teams).

I think Barrett & Holland are looking like the starting AB lock picks, clearing a huge number of rucks, which is then allowing Lakai & Sititi to be more devastating on the carries (who are playing so well together).

The AB’s have improved their initial carriers, post contact metres and clearing the ruck, whilst DMac is thriving in that new space at 10 with the quick passing movements. This was the best I have seen them in attack this season and the AB’s are still continuing to evolve.

Piece by piece they keep making progress but the red zone efficiency was off the chartsd in the first half. The AB’s are really hitting their straps and I think there is still another level to come before RWC 2027.

It's a huge job for Lonergan.

It seemed that the ABs playmakers had figured it out pretty quickly and were happy to wait for and absorb that shooting hit.

Actually making that hit really count when you shoot off the line isn’t something many players can do either. Hunter Paisami would have helped there. JAS is just going to get carded doing that but his absorbing tackles are decent.

Bringing on Tizzano and Daugunu early-ish were Kiss’s best decisions during the game. They probably should have come on earlier still.

Thanks Nick. Great to read this as it explains some of the reasons why Nz were so good on the weekend. Nz looked sharp and the wallabies were putting everything into defending but it wasn’t doing a whole lot. The 12 1 2 breakdown is helpful! Also noted is our lack of breakdown pressure. I almost wonder if Carlo would make more of an impact at 7 for games against nz? England next!!