By Jim Morton
July 6th 2008 @ 2:43am
Giteau spearheads Wallabies to victory
Wallabies playmaker Matt Giteau regained his mojo tonight to spearhead Australia to a record 40-10 Test blitz of France at Suncorp Stadium.
More rugby
All Blacks record tough victory over French
Giteau set up all four Australian tries and kicked eight from eight with the boot for a personal haul of 20 points to ensure a 2-0 series whitewash for the Wallabies.
It was easily Australia’s best performance under new coach Robbie Deans who would have been well pleased with the match as a Tri-Nations warm-up.
But the display was tarnished by injuries, including a broken leg for luckless replacement back Cameron Shepherd.
Centre Berrick Barnes (shoulder) and lock James Horwill (eye socket) were also sent to hospital for precautionary scans as reserve Ryan Cross flashed over for two second-half tries from Giteau cut-out passes.
Expected to put up a much stiffer fight than in the 34-13 loss in Sydney last weekend, the French were their own worst enemies throughout the match.
Terrible first-half ball handling was compounded by ill-discipline under immense Australian pressure at the breakdown, while the visitors also conceded a tight-head to the Wallabies scrum.
The 30-point victory eclipsed the Wallabies’ 35-12 1999 World Cup final win as their biggest over Les Bleus.
Australia’s highest-paid rugby player, Giteau, who produced one of his most forgettable halves of Test rugby last week, was on song from the outset.
He opened the home side’s account in just the third minute with an angled penalty goal, his first of four three-pointers in a dominant opening half.
The Wallabies first five-pointer came soon after when in-form local winger Peter Hynes scored a cherished maiden Test try in front of his 40,218-strong home crowd.
Sharp vision and a perfectly-placed cross-field kick by Giteau gave Hynes an easy take and run to the right corner after a slick lineout drive.
A wild brawl just before half-time drew Australian blood and showed some of Les Bleus’ renowned passion still existed in their last game of a long season.
Horwill, only minutes after finishing a brilliant try, was forced into the blood bin after being on the receiving end of a flurry of Imanol Harinordoquy upper-cuts.
Horwill, who played no further part in the match, was penalised for sparking the all-in brawl by running into a fracas between hooker Stephen Moore and the French flankers.
When Giteau latched on to a charged down Luke Burgess pass and spun his way through the defence before flicking a pass to Horwill in the 36th minute, Australia seemed as good as home at 26-0.
The only joy the off-key tourists had was a counter-attacking try on fulltime to five-eighth Francois Trin-Duc after a Wallabies turnover.
Skipper Stirling Mortlock cut a happy figure at the end of the match, impressed by his side’s improvement on their opening two Tests of 2008 and proud of the second-half defence.
“We take a lot bit of pride in our defence and I think that showed tonight,” Mortlock said.
“We were very disappointed to concede that late try but that came from a turnover when we were on attack.
“I’m incredibly impressed with all the spirited defence.”
Shepherd’s fracture, sustained when he was tackled at the end of a half-break, is a heart-breaking blow to the man who was expected to be Australia’s fullback for the Tri-Nations.
The Wallabies selectors will announce their Tri-Nations squad on Monday and will have to think long and hard about who to include as cover for Adam Ashley-Cooper who produced a solid game in the No.15 jersey tonight.
With World Cup fullbacks Chris Latham (shoulder) and Julian Huxley (brain tumour) sidelined, Western Force winger Drew Mitchell and Brumbies back Mark Gerrard will come into calculations for the position.
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LL said | July 6th 2008 @ 9:41am | Report comment
Big win for the Wallbies but their tight five is feared by no-one and that weakness exposed by an average England outfit last year cannot be fixed in time for this year’s tri-nations. In contrast to the brutal test between the Boks and the Blacks, Horwill was smooching Giteau and then tried to cry to the ref after cowering when his head was pummelled after stepping in…..This is of course the Queensland captain and the team’s self-styled “enforcer”??? Pity Dan Vickerman wasn’t there to throw a text book at them….beyond that pansy front five of course Palu is the man about town playing Sydney club footy but strangely goes missing when the likes of Burger and Lauaki come calling…
matta said | July 6th 2008 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Just a point here - and yes I have said this on another post..
It wasnt Harinordoquy’s punches that did the damnge. If you get a chance have a look..Horwills head gear comes off in the scuffle so its hard to see but after copping a few from Harinordoquay Horwill breaks free and gets king hit from behind by the French Tight Head.. its a real cheap shot.. if you have Foxtel IQ have a look….
GregC said | July 6th 2008 @ 9:57am | Report comment
LL
Yes, it is of course all about Burger and Lauaki and when they ‘come calling’, or whatever they do in Orc Country…whoooo…smooching…cowering….pummelled…’enforcer’…it’s all there….’brutal’…well done LL for stringing some sort of sentences between adjectives that somehow, so incredibly and intelligently, rhetorically point out your strawman point. Mmmm, we are all so scared….Burger and Lauaki…so damn scary.
JC
matta said | July 6th 2008 @ 9:57am | Report comment
sorry - you can see it on the video above - about 1.38 in.
matta said | July 6th 2008 @ 10:01am | Report comment
yep interesting that he used Lauaki as fire power when he was making a point about Palu ‘going missing’… if he knew anything about the game he would know thats Lauakis biggest problem.. even at Super 14 level he has a long history of going missing
John said | July 6th 2008 @ 10:13am | Report comment
LL
Talking to a mate of mine before the Test on Sat and my argument was that there wasnt anyone in the tight 5 that you would want in the trenches with you. His counter was that the game had changed and the forward clashes were now tame anyway with video footage, no rucking , touch judges coming in etc. But as I said to him that aspect wasnt really my point. There are some players whose mere presence can have an intimidating influence. The Aust media talks up Horwill, McMenniman and sometimes Mumm for their aggression. They do talk and push and shove but do you think the ABs, Boks and England forwards would be quivering in their boots? The hard forwards are the ones who use every ounce of their body to drive into opponents, who take a no nonsense approach to their footy like the Tony Carrolls of the Broncos. Its not about throwing punches but about physical and mental toughness. A hypothetical question I ask is would Deans like some of the attitude of AB forwards in his Aust forwards.
joeb said | July 6th 2008 @ 12:33pm | Report comment
“A hypothetical question I ask is would Deans like some of the attitude of AB forwards in his Aust forwards.”
Deans stressed in the post-mortem it’ll be a step-up in two weeks time; the team will have to match the physicality of their opponents (they’re under no illusion).
Done it before. Can’t see why we can’t do it again.
BTW, “Prop Renaud Boyoud and Number eight Imanol Harinordoquy will appear before Judicial Officer Christopher Quinlan at the Queensland Rugby Union offices at Ballymore on Sunday.” - PR.
Don’t referees send players off anymore for foul play? Who was the touchie on the left side of the field? And how come Harinordoquy got away with that late arm around the throat of Turner without even a penalty?
jimbo said | July 6th 2008 @ 1:51pm | Report comment
Good result and some positives came out of the game.
Giteau kicked well and was our spearhead in many ways.
The forwards were starting to look at bit more organised, particularly in broken play and in defence.
But I think Le Blue won the fights and Horwill will think twice about playing a cavalry role in the next melee he’s involved in.
Lets not kid ourselves, this was a pretty ordinary French team that we beat convincingly and we’re still looking good for the Bronze Medal in the Tri-Nations.
stillmissit said | July 6th 2008 @ 2:02pm | Report comment
LL - Dont go making a goose of yourself. The days of enforcers is over, the only way you can intimidate anyone is with a hard tackle. Burger is hardly a hard man in the Jerry Collins mould, he is a ball pilferer and yard maker. Never seen Lauaki throw a punch so dont know what you are talking about. Bakkies Botha and Brad Thorn are hard men but not scary like Steve Finnane or Richard Loe was.
Horwill learnt a lesson last night and he wont lose any points by what happened. I thought the ref was going to send off both Horwill and Harinordoquy which would have been a sensible solution to that issue. Unusual for anyone to get a hit on in those arm swinging affairs, so maybe Horwill was unlucky.
Matta didnt see the king hit from behind but it is not unknown by the French. At least they dont eye gouge anymore.
Sam Taulelei said | July 6th 2008 @ 2:37pm | Report comment
Damn hard to objectively assess games against such weakened teams like France when they’re missing so many test regulars. But I liked the Aussie’s strong defense, their enthusiasm, stronger first half performance and clinical finishing. They have shown steady signs of improvement since their first test against Ireland and know that the Tri Nations will be another step up but then so did the All Blacks and the Boks, it will always be that way.
Of some concern will be the advantage of possession they conceded to the French. They won’t want to repeat that against much stronger opposition who have the ability to use the ball better than the French and score tries. But their defence is well organised and strong which is always a good sign of teamwork in spite of the disorganised attacks by the French.
They’re building nicely and will be the biggest improvers by years end.
Chris Ash, syd - Aust said | July 6th 2008 @ 2:55pm | Report comment
Harinordoquay and Boyoud both got 3 weeks ban for the punches… glad horwill didnt swing so he’s available for the 3N.
did anyone see how shepard broke his leg… like the tackle didnt look too bad, but ouch.
Blinky Bill - Bellingen said | July 6th 2008 @ 3:08pm | Report comment
What’s all this crap about toughness and enforcers? Nothing tough about a cowardly shot from behind. What a gutless act.
Here’s what Robbie Deans had to say when asked for his take on the fight. “I don’t have a take on the incident. That sort of stuff doesn’t interest me to be frank,” he said. “There are people and places to deal with that if there is anything sinister about it, it should be dealt with. If not, move on. As far as we are concerned we have a game coming, we will concentrate on that. We are not concerned with what is behind us.”
On the game - I’m in agreement with Sam Taulelei. It’s just so damn hard to work out how well we’re improving against such poor opposition. Yes our attack seemed more fluid but the Boks and especially the All Blacks just play with so much power & pace compared to that French team.
I’ll be interested to see what Robbie comes up with and I’ll be supporting them all the way, but for me it’s hard to see us competing at the top level this year.
Robbie prove me wrong. Please!
Harry said | July 6th 2008 @ 4:24pm | Report comment
Well we can’t tell much against a frankly pathetic French team (imaging the derision if Australia or NZ put on a show like this on a Northern Hemisphere tour) but for what its worth, I thought several positives in the last couple of weeks:
- Good debuts for Mumm, Cross, Turner; Horwill, Burgess, Hynes, Barnes all finding their feet at test level, consequently a bit of depth and a battle for positions in some spots.
- Two tightheads won by the scrum last night! They looked stable and strong on other occassions ( a few slip-ups as well of course but we got to accept that). Wonder if the absence of Sharpe was a factor in the improved scrummaging.
- No discernable slacking off and resting once the game was in the bag - a feature of Aus teams in recent years.
We are all aware of the high bar that has been set by the Oppo in the 3N following last nights SA v NZ game and I still think we are slightly behind those 2 at the moment, but not without real hope, particularly if we can get Vickerman and Palu fit and firing. Can’t wait for our 1st game.
Harry said | July 6th 2008 @ 4:42pm | Report comment
Chris I watched the replay for Shepherd’s leg and it looks completely harmless on first viewing, but on closer inspection he gets his ankle trapped under a player on the ground (who first tackled him) then falls at right angles when the second player comes in to tackle him, result = “snap”. Freak accident and a real pity.
True Tah said | July 6th 2008 @ 5:31pm | Report comment
Stillmissit,
how can you call Richard Loe a hard man? All the bloke did was apply his elbow to Carozza’s face and eye gouge some guy in the NPC.
chas said | July 6th 2008 @ 6:10pm | Report comment
To call the Oz-France game a test is a joke. This was a French team in holiday mode. I never saw a thing that told me that France were trying to score tries, were interested in winning the game or attempting to entertain. They were rubbish. It was impossible to rate the Wallabies in such a mismatch. I wondered how many seats were given away. I know that they were available. Who would pay to see such dross?
GG said | July 6th 2008 @ 7:17pm | Report comment
Harry,
How can you say that Turners had a good debut? He was ordinary at best. he made many worng decisions and from memory nothing worth noting.
I thought Horwill was playing well. after he coped the hits to the head it looked like he was about to cry to the ref. not a real hard man look! Mind you I would have probably cried as well after the beating he got!
All in all I thought it was a good improvement from the week before. Still I think we will battle in the TN’s. I just hope we can come away with a win somewhere.
ulysses said | July 6th 2008 @ 7:31pm | Report comment
Horwill did the right thing - came in when his teamate is being doubleteamed but didn’t throw a punch - that was the point he was making to the ref. Definite kinghit from behind. Some points to consider:
* how bad is Berrick Barnes’ hurt? If he is out, who will play 12?
* Sharpe has to feel worried. Did we miss our most-experienced lock? not at all it seemed to me.
* Hynes clearly justified his selection. Good selecting by Deans.
* agree Turner wasn’t great, but not bad. Ione next chance?
* Waugh added a toughness and urgency missing with Smith
And the best news? The AB’s bash SA again next week down in Dunedin (and visa versa of course) before we take them on in Perth the week after. SA will give next week everything - and then have to get up again a week later. Good draw for the wallabies.
Sluggy said | July 6th 2008 @ 7:56pm | Report comment
The French game plan was obvious - cheat, take cheap shots off the ball and fight, lie on the wrong side of the ruck and stand offside, don’t worry about giving away penalties and do everything possible to slow the game to keep the score from blowing out to 60 or 70 points.
They were so awful they only managed to get even that half right.
Harry said | July 6th 2008 @ 8:02pm | Report comment
Yes Turner was poor early - dropping high balls etc, but settled down and had a good second half. Just my opionion and agree erring on the charitable side in saying Turner was good - but not disasterous or a no-hoper. We’ll find out soon enough how we are going when - as our coach says - the real stuff starts in the 3N.
swifty said | July 6th 2008 @ 8:10pm | Report comment
some of the attacks here on Horwill are pretty weak.
the bloke went into help a mate who was being hit by no less than 3 french players. he doesn’t throw a punch but gets king hit from behind and you lot complain that he is not hard enough.
Sluggy said | July 6th 2008 @ 8:13pm | Report comment
Ulysses points:
* how bad is Berrick Barnes’ hurt? If he is out, who will play 12?
Giteau, with Tahu off the bench, and SNK starting at 5/8 for the moment, Cross coming off the bench and Mortlock moving in to 12. Ideally Beale will be available at 10 with Barnes, but not this year. Barnes at full back is another possibility.
* Sharpe has to feel worried. Did we miss our most-experienced lock? not at all it seemed to me.
Agreed, Sharpe will have trouble getting back in the starting side. Part of the problem perhaps, not the solution.
* Hynes clearly justified his selection. Good selecting by Deans.
A fresh mind free of pre-conceptions is certainly a good thing.
* agree Turner wasn’t great, but not bad. Ione next chance?
Turner didn’t make any gross defense or position errors, he dropped two high balls that he went up for, but he will be a great player, perhaps at 15 when Lote returns.
* Waugh added a toughness and urgency missing with Smith
Room for both and Deans seems to have the knack of picking a combination with the balance required for the game at hand.
Sledgeandhammer said | July 6th 2008 @ 8:14pm | Report comment
Quick point, someone said Burger isn’t a hard man in the mould of Collins. Well, he sure scares the hell out of me!
ulysses said | July 6th 2008 @ 8:17pm | Report comment
Swifty - you are spot on. I was making the same point.
mcxd said | July 6th 2008 @ 10:04pm | Report comment
spot on swiftyre sharpe, how could anyone say he was weak, total cheap shots by french,if that was you would you just take it and walk away when your being singled out by the ref for starting it ?? i think not…. re turner, my choice would have been Ioane. Turners passing and hands are a bit suspect. Still a bit more consistant than Mitchell which is saying something..hes had some shockers.
ohtani's jacket said | July 6th 2008 @ 10:39pm | Report comment
What’s interesting to me is that the last time Australia lost one of these June Internationals was against England in 2003.
Australia have won 13 straight June Internationals, with an average score of 38-15 and 5 tries to 2, yet they’ve gained absolutely nothing from them. Can anybody name a single worthwhile thing that came out of these Tests?
Sluggy said | July 7th 2008 @ 1:15am | Report comment
Revenue to support junior and club rugby, one hopes at least. And the opportunity to introduce some new blood to the team, and develop combinations under pressure before the 3N. And get some live scrum work done.
I can’t think of anything else.
mcxd said | July 7th 2008 @ 4:40am | Report comment
hmm..sorry not sharpe.. i meant horwill
joeb said | July 7th 2008 @ 7:57am | Report comment
“did anyone see how shepard broke his leg… like the tackle didnt look too bad, but ouch.”
Nallet dropped his weight on it, backside first, and rode it into the ground. Perfectly legal.
“Australia have won 13 straight June Internationals, with an average score of 38-15 and 5 tries to 2, yet they’ve gained absolutely nothing from them. Can anybody name a single worthwhile thing that came out of these Tests?”
Fitness? Goal kicking practice? Erm, touch down practice?
http://tinyurl.com/6ydeze
(The grounds people must be spitting chips.)
Terry Kidd said | July 7th 2008 @ 10:56am | Report comment
I now officially rest my case re: Notso Sharpe. I said on Friday that here was a good opportunity to see how our scrum went without him packing in and guess what? A solid scrum with 2 tightheads !! Not only that but more cohesive clean out and protection of our ball, because both locks worked in tandem and a crisp, less cluttered back line because Sharpe wasn’t out there seagulling.
Yeah, he should be worried because he shouldn’t play for the Wallabies again.
Bob Mc Gregor said | July 7th 2008 @ 10:01pm | Report comment
Best thing about this Test was Giteau’s kicking at goal. Gone was the pronounced curve in the ball off the boot. In the past it continued to curve. Not any more - once in flight it straightened and stayed on line. Sky sports commentators said Robbie Deans gave him some special tuition. It’s already noticeable. His kicking for touch and position was also an improvement - a fact that will not be missed by opposing Tri Nation teams who will target him with intention of putting him out. He must be protected, but I’m sure Deans will be aware of this.
Horwell bought into the incident where his No. 2 was being man handled - perhaps even gouged. I was watching the Test with a Referee of over 50 years experience and he still “coaches” referees in Sydney. He stated that had Horwell done what he did in the Brisbane Test, but in Sydney Club Rugby, he would have been RED carded immediately - as he was the first man in and that caused the melee. The cause of a melee is attributed to the “first man in” and one who gets RED carded in Club Rugby. Despite Horwell’s face being rearranged, OZ was lucky he wasn’t yellow carded [different emphasis at Test level]. To all you Neanderthals who want to see blood and guts everywhere be careful what you wish for. OZ may have half their team off the field and where does that get us? At such times it PAYS to observe the LAWS and not get the Referees further “off side”. Softness has nothing to do with it. One can be as hard as nails without being a dirty or foul player. From my observance of Tests over the past 55 years, fortune often favours the team that plays hard but fair in the really big games. Despite the AB’s starting favourite at all the RWC’s, have you ever thought why the AB’s continue to under achieve at them? Karma?
Personally I was disappointed with Turner’s debut as I was calling for his inclusion for RWC 2007. Made many mistakes in the first half but redeemed himself with a good second half until spoiling it with 2 bad options in the final 10 minutes - one on attack with the ball in hand then “hatching the ball” instead of picking it up and running [when trying to set up a ruck to be run over in the process]. That resulted in a crucial turnover and try to France. Fortunately we do not assess and condemn on one’s first Test otherwise Matt Burke wouldn’t have made it past his first. Obviously nerves can get to even the very best.
On subject of Tahu’s selection. I was at the game on Sunday when the Maori overcame Australia A. Lost structure and concentration in the final 6-7 minutes in both halves. Tahu scored the “winning” try to put OZ in front then missed the crucial tackle, which created Maori’s third try. But the major cause for the loss was the quick throw in on half time, which resulted in Maori’s second try. Was that an Ione’ brain explosion – and did that that cost him a place in the Tri Nations Squad? Probably.
Justin said | July 8th 2008 @ 8:14am | Report comment
Bob - I was pretty sure it was Turinui not Tahu who missed the tackle that allowed NZ to win the match.
Harry said | July 8th 2008 @ 8:57am | Report comment
It was Turinui who missed the tackle. Watched that game last night - Tahu did enough to convince me he will - initially - be a very effective bench/impact player for the Wallabies, and may well be in the starting team at 12 in the not too distant future. Contrast this player’s attitude to Rogers and Tuquiri (although Lote has cleaned up his act immensely this year, he needed to).
All credit to Horwill, it was a pathetic cheap shot by the French who should have been red-carded and after review two of them were duly suspended. Typical gutless Frogs, their performance on the field was a disgrace to international rugby and the very proud tradition of French rugby.
Bob Mc Gregor said | July 8th 2008 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Justin,
I was at the game and they replayed the “incident” twice on the big screen. Tahu had both hands on the try scorer, side on around the chest area. The tackle was broken and Tahu chased, catching him too late to prevent the try. Had he gone low which he should have - as he was the defender on the inside with chance of driving him towards the touchline - I believe a try could have been averted.
I’m aware of the aura surrounding Tahu and don’t want to downplay his undoubted potential as he scored both tries for OZ A - where his outstanding attacking ability was very evident. Unfortunately the tendency for League converts to tackle high - ball and all style - can be a weakness in Rugby as marauding breakaways are usually on hand to keep the tackled player [usually on the ground] “honest”. OZ A had enough defenders on hand to be more than competitive had the tackle been made. But once the flat line defence was broken a try was enevitable.
Having said that, the main reason for OZ A’s loss should be streeted to the quick throw in on half time. It was well forward - so referee played advantage - and thrown to no one in particular. Neither of the OZ A players expected it and when the ball arrived centre field they made an absolute meal of it. Prudence neccessitated discipline at this time and it cost OZ A the match and the tournament.
Roger said | July 8th 2008 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Bob, it was Turinui…tackle was missed right in front of me.
Bob Mc Gregor said | July 8th 2008 @ 11:05am | Report comment
Roger,
I’m not sure if Turinui was on the outside of the tryscorer when he broke the line but Tahu was definitely on his inside and was responsible for the tackle as I’ve described. I paid particular attention to the number of the inside defender - as he was the one who missed the tackle. The defender closer to the sideline was covering the attacker outside which is normal. Tahu missed him after having both hands on Waldrom - the try scorer. I cannot say anymore unless Tahu and Turinui were not playing in 12 and 13 respectively - which they were; and of course 13 normally plays outside 12, especially in defence.
Of further interest was fact all the Maori tries were scored by break-aways [flankers] so defenders have to take them as they arrive in latter phase play - which this was. If a further replay comes on Foxtell I’ll be interested to see if at 2 prior rucks Maori went off their feet twice [according to referee mate sitting close to me] but missed by Fiji referee. A victory by OZ A was not meant to be.
Roger said | July 8th 2008 @ 11:46am | Report comment
Bob, see video of Morgs missing tackle:
Peter K said | July 8th 2008 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
Roger is right. Video clearly shows it is Turinui on the inside, Ioane is on the outside. Turinui after the poor attemp turns and tackles him.
Tahu was at the side of the previous ruck having been involved in that.
I have not seen any poor defence technique wise from Tahu.
Bob Mc Gregor said | July 8th 2008 @ 5:00pm | Report comment
Justin, Harry, Roger,LAS, Peter K, Fellow Roar readers and Timana Tahu,
It is time to eat humble pie and admit I was WRONG and I herewith apologise unreservedly to each and everyone of you. Not only am I going deaf, it would appear I’m losing my sight as well. Many thanks for the link to put me right - I watched it as I was leaving for a luncheon appointment but had no time to accept my medicine there and then, so I apologise further for my delay in responding. I cannot blame the angle from which I observed the incident live and again soon after on the big screen on replay. The number I thought I saw was obviously wrong - infact from the replay onsent I became aware that the player who made the line break, Tamati Ellison [12] was not the scorer, having passed soon after to Thomas Waldrum who scored. Perhaps I was confused by the Maori 12 who made the break and got the two 12’s mixed in my mind. Hopefully, it’s not a deep seated prejudice against Rugby League players as I was one myself for 2 years in Group 6 before returning to the city. If so, then “that” would be a real worry!
I promise I’ll be more circumspect next time.
On a brighter side, the incident gives me a degree of confidence that Timana Tahu will be able to handle the IC [12] Wallaby role should Berrick Barnes be unfit. I wish him all the best for his Wallaby debut in the near future. I’m sure he will give a very good account of himself.