Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks lead the way to RWC 2011
Columnist By Spiro Zavos, 29 Nov 2010 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- All Blacks, France, les blues, Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup 2011, Spring Tour, Springboks, wallabies
142 Have your say
Related coverage
Australia's Adam Ashley-Cooper, center, is grabbed by France's Aurelien Rougerie, center right, Yannick Jauzion as Alexis Palisson looks on during the rugby match between France and Australia at the Stade de France stadium, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
There could not have been a more vivid illustration of the gap between the top three rugby countries – New Zealand, Australia and South Africa (in that order) – and the rest of the world than the three commanding victories these sides recorded at the weekend.
The Wallabies absolutely demolished France in the last 35 minutes of their Test at the Stade de France. Minutes into the second spell France took the lead for the first time in the Test with a penalty, making the score 16 – 13.
Then, sacrebleu, the floodgates opened and the Wallabies went on to score 46 unanswered points.
It was interesting how the floodgates opened. One of the reasons why rugby is such a wonderful game (Luke Doherty please take note) is that little mistakes or carelessness can have devastating implications.
France failed to chase a kick-off. They lost a lineout. And suddenly the Wallabies were running the ball at them, with great effect. Adam Ashley-Cooper started making the sort of breaks that opened up the All Black at Hong Kong. The ball started bouncing kindly for the Wallabies. Even some scrum penalties started to go their way.
In the end the Wallabies scored seven tries against a French side that in the first 40 minutes looked as though it was well-organised and determined. By the end of the Test they were a rabble. But they had been reduced to this by a well-coached Wallaby side that had any number of excellent set moves.
In fact, the beginning of the Test was marked with a terrific move that saw the ball moved from a lineout out to Berrick Barnes as first receiver. Quade Cooper doubled around him, as a decoy. The inside ball to James O’Connor on the burst opened up the French defence.
The All Blacks have a slightly similar move with Ma’a Nonu as first receiver, the centre making a dummy inside cut and Daniel Carter doubling around to receive the pass.
The Wallaby variation, which was capped off with a perfectly position Ashley-Cooper taking a pass from O’Connor, totally fooled a French defensive line which was obsessed by the need to watch Cooper like a hawk.
Cooper, in fact, played his best game for the Wallabies in that he underplayed his hand and contrived to send out long, beautifully timed passes to his outside backs which frequently defeated the French rush defence.
The only real blot on the Wallabies performance was the scrum. France overpowered the Wallaby scrum for most of the first half. This dominance included a penalty try when the Wallabies collapsed four scrums. But when Benn Robinson came on the scrum settled and the Wallabies were at least able to get their own ball, instead of conceding penalties.
The Wallabies half of the Rugby World Cup (RWC) draw has them, in theory at least, playing England in the semi-final. This presumes that England will defeat France in their quarter-final. This, in turn, presumes that the All Blacks will beat France in their pool round match.
England have been something of an obstacle to the Wallabies ever since RWC 1991 when Australia defeated the home side in the final. Since then, England has put the Wallabies out of the tournament three times. Judging by the demolition job South Africa did on England at Twickenham, you’d have to think that England will not repeat this history, if it is given the chance next year.
The Springboks would have won more comfortably than the 21 – 11 scoreline if they’d have any expertise and skill in their backs. Fourie du Preez and Bryan Habana could make a big difference here. But the Springboks need a number 10 with some fluency in his skills and imagination. They had to get their points the hard way by banging away. There were none of the easy points that the gifted Wallaby and All Blacks backs create for their sides.
The All Blacks scored five tries to one against Wales, and still a former Welsh international like Ieuan Evans (Evans the optimist, perhaps) opined that ‘Wales might have won.’ What nonsense. The All Blacks played at a high speed which gave Wales something to play off. The All Blacks, too, were curiously at odds with how to deal with the rush defence. They need some coaching from Robbie Deans on the inside ball, perhaps.
But despite criticism of their play from some of the experts, the fact is that the All Blacks achieved a fourth Grand Slam.
They scored 18 tries against the Home Union nations and conceded only four, one of them on Saturday night right on time.
When assessing the performances of the Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks in the last four weeks, we need to remember that all their Tests in Europe have been away games. The Wallabies lost to England at Twickenham and the Springboks lost to Scotland at Murrayfield. Both these losses could have been turned into victories for the visitors.
New Zealand is not home territory for the Wallabies or the Springboks. But it is more familiar territory for their players than it will be for their European opponents in RWC 2011. The Springboks are basically an old side that is probably on the slide, rather like England in RWC 2007. The All Blacks are an old side that is getting better, a bit like England in RWC 2003.
The Wallabies seem to me to be a bit like the Springboks of 2007. This team endured a number of years of defeats. There were calls for the coach to be sacked. Then in the last Test before the World Cup season, in a make or break match, the Springboks defeated England. This victory meant that Jake White was retained as coach. The veterans like John Smit, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha were retained to play in every match of RWC 2011.
The Wallabies defeat of France at Paris 59 – 16 is a much bigger scoreline than the 2006 South Africa- England match. But the fall-out could be similarly important. There will be no more talk about whether Deans can coach successfully at the international level. The high octane Wallaby game can obviously overwhelm even strong sides like the 2010 Six Nations champions, France.
Adam Ashley-Cooper is a champion centre. Kurtley Beale is dynamic at fullback. Berrick Barnes gives the backline some stability on defence and attack. Will Genia has got his mojo back. David Pocock is running more, and still getting turnovers. The lineout is working well.
Fix up the scrum and who knows how far the Wallabies can go in RWC 2011.
Recommend this story.
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
- Explore:
- All Blacks, France, les blues, Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup 2011, Spring Tour, Springboks, wallabies
November 29th 2010 @ 6:11am
Eljay said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:11am | Report comment
Spot on yet again, Spiro. We all seem to have forgotten that lurking on the sidelines for 011 are two Wallaby powerhouses: Dan Vickerman and Wycliffe Palu. Add them and the developing Scott Higiinbotham to the mix and we should have a forward pack at least equal to any going around come RWC time. How sweet it was to see the Wallaby backline click last weekend.
Who said the pain of loss only sweetens, when it eventually comes, the ectasy of victory ?
I did.
November 29th 2010 @ 7:55am
Eljay said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:55am | Report comment
NB I forgot to include Horwill as another returnee for RWC11.
November 29th 2010 @ 8:49pm
cm1 said | November 29th 2010 @ 8:49pm | Report comment
Yep, there are problems in the forwards. And, yes, quality backrowers will improve the pack. But the chief weakness you’re ignoring is the front row, and I don’t see any easy solutions there.
November 29th 2010 @ 6:20am
warrenexpatinnz said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:20am | Report comment
Spiro we have seen on occasions this year how devastating the Wallabies can be on attack, even only if for a half.
The scrum is the annoying fraility this side has but it will improve and I would assume it will get a lot better with the improvement in the second half of the French test being an indicator that technical difficulties are the problem not the cattle although the second half effort does highlight that Alexander is woefully out of form/confidence?
When these technical areas are corrected and this side can and will push the All Blacks. The negative I bring into discussion is whether Norieaga is in danger of being replaced or as I indicated in a previous post having a ‘helper’ to fix these issues with the scrum as it must be frustrating and a little humiliating for the players on the park to get so brushed up?
On a positive note how great is it to see all the backs now in their own right show the line breaking ability normaly only reserved for the likes of Larkham and an in form Giteau.
The pairing of Sharpe and Simmons looks very good though it was dissapointing Higginbotham didn’t get some more time in as Horwill’s return as with Palu’s make for an interesting selection dilemma.
Well done boys as that was the best Sunday morning I have had since Hong Kong, perhaps even better than HK as to do that to a French side at home and at the end of a so so tour speaks volumes for the confidence you have in each other and the coaching staff around you and even with the scrum problems in the first half it did not shake your game plan and that confidence.
One happy Aussie in NZ today.
November 29th 2010 @ 6:24am
Short-Blind. said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:24am | Report comment
Spiro we all agree with your last line – but what scares me is that the ARU and coaching staff have watched the Wallabies scrum go backwards for the last 18 months but have done little about it. Deans let Foley go and then did not do much at all as the scrum collapsed and penalties mounted. I will respect him as a coach much more if he declares and ‘emergency’ and next year invites all available Australian experts to help him fix up the scrum. Then if he selects the right mix we should get there. I didn’t see the England/SA game but you talk as though the England performance vs Australia was an aberration? I doubt Australia will defend/play as badly as that again but I think writing off England is dangerous as they appear to be a team on the rise. They should beat France on yesterday’s performance and if they play us in the Semi then there will be a lot of nervous people given their track record against us in this event. If Deans doesn’t fix the tight 5 we may be in for another forwards lesson.
November 29th 2010 @ 6:30am
Behind Enemy Lines said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:30am | Report comment
Great display by the SH teams on the weekend but if we’re picking one off games to decide who should win the world cup we could be in for the same result we’ve had in the last two. Kicked out of the competition by the English. They’re the only team we’ve lost to in the last two (maybe 3) world cups so writing them off based on one game is stupidity and falling in to the same trap as always.
November 29th 2010 @ 5:45pm
Short-Blind. said | November 29th 2010 @ 5:45pm | Report comment
Well yes – that’s basically what I said however, I wasn’t wanting to say that Spiro was stupid…..but sometimes the blinkers get a good run.
November 29th 2010 @ 6:40am
mcxd said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:40am | Report comment
Spiro, i dont agree with your assessment that because England lost to SA they should fail at next years world cup ?? did i read that right ? Anyway, I mentioned somewhere before but id love to see the stats of this years points accumulated against the wallabies dodgy scrums.
November 29th 2010 @ 6:49am
Viscount Crouchback said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:49am | Report comment
“England have been something of an obstacle to the Wallabies ever since RWC 1991 when Australia defeated the home side in the final. Since then, England has put the Wallabies out of the tournament three times. Judging by the demolition job South Africa did on England at Twickenham, you’d have to think that England will not repeat this history, if it is given the chance next year”.
This is hilarious logic. I would have thought that the match between England and Australia might carry more useful pointers to a future Eng-Aus RWC contest than a match between England and some other team entirely. Of course, South Africa’s magnificent performance might carry some significance for Australia if the Wallabies were capable of playing in the same style – but fortunately for England, they’re not.
Honestly, I know sporting folk aren’t particularly rational at the best of times, but sometimes the Roar takes kneejerk reaction to unparalled extremes of goldfishery.
November 29th 2010 @ 6:55am
CraigB said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:55am | Report comment
“Honestly, I know sporting folk aren’t particularly rational at the best of times, but sometimes the Roar takes kneejerk reaction to unparalled extremes of goldfishery.” – I assume then you NEVER read the english media then VC?
November 29th 2010 @ 7:10am
Ben S said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:10am | Report comment
The majority of the English media have been particularly anti-Johnson. The Australian media (read Zavos and Growden) have been particularly pro-Deans to the point of perversion. Really, some of this stuff is in a league of it’s own. I can assure you that a crapulent performance against Italy would not be met with claims of coaching bravery.
Anyway, it’s a bit of a sad debate whose media is worse. They’re all quite/very bad at what they do.
November 29th 2010 @ 7:42am
Jason said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:42am | Report comment
Yes VC, that made me laugh too.
November 29th 2010 @ 9:04am
Harry said | November 29th 2010 @ 9:04am | Report comment
A fair point VC you would have thought that after all the losses to England Spiro would not just write them of so blithely. I’m not sure whether he just isn’t just trolling pure and simply with that lne because it is manifestly rubbish, annoyingly so,
November 29th 2010 @ 6:54am
CraigB said | November 29th 2010 @ 6:54am | Report comment
“Since then, England has put the Wallabies out of the tournament three times. Judging by the demolition job South Africa did on England at Twickenham, you’d have to think that England will not repeat this history, if it is given the chance next year.” – Big call considering the demolition job they did on our boys 3 weeks ago. They are clearly our bogey side and have confidence they can beat us with aggression at the man and ball. The Wallabies need to show them they can stand up to this before the RWC, if only for their own confidence. That said I solid scrum and a backline that takes all the opportunities given to them are a winning combo.
On this game however, did the wallabies tries too many grubbers? There were a few occasion where kicks bounced off french legs etc that made me wish for patience and confidence to setup the ruck and find a hole next time.
November 29th 2010 @ 7:08am
Ben S said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:08am | Report comment
‘When assessing the performances of the Wallabies, Springboks and All Blacks in the last four weeks, we need to remember that all their Tests in Europe have been away games. The Wallabies lost to England at Twickenham and the Springboks lost to Scotland at Murrayfield. Both these losses could have been turned into victories for the visitors.’
Just when you think you’ve read it all… The mind boggles.
November 29th 2010 @ 7:09am
Nathan said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:09am | Report comment
France will beat England in q’final.
November 29th 2010 @ 7:13am
Mike said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:13am | Report comment
Have the Wallabies peaked too early? Only downhill from here – they’ve shown their hand
November 29th 2010 @ 7:35am
Sam Taulelei said | November 29th 2010 @ 7:35am | Report comment
Congraulations to the Wallabies on a destructive second half performance. That was a top drawer performance and it would be churlish to downplay the result because in comparison the French were so insipid. That’s not the Wallabies problem or fault and in the past I’ve criticised the Wallabies for not possessing that killer instinct and kicking on to a big score instead of coming down to the level of their opposition. Well done. I’ve been a big believer in that you can teach anyone a technical skill but you can’t teach them desire, attitude and mental strength. That’s the biggest challenge ahead of this Wallaby team and their coaching staff for next year and beyond. The Wallabies have proven like the other top tier teams that when they are on song, they are very difficult to beat. They just need to string these types of performances together instead of being like a one off Live Aid concert.
So what have we learned about the Tri Nations teams this autumn that we didn’t know before? Not a lot. What does this tell us about what we can expect at next years World Cup? Not a lot.
There is always a danger in predicting teams fortunes at a world cup that you’ll look back at recent history, recognise a pattern and look for signs of that pattern being repeated as a strong indicator that history will repeat itself,
From NZ and Australia’s point of view, we definitely don’t want to see history repeat itself at the world cup next year, SA and England definitely will.
Which team will play like a phoenix and rise from the ashes like England did in 2007 during the 2011 world cup? Who will dominate from the outset like SA did in 2007? Who will crash and burn like NZ and Australia did in 2007? Who will promise much and fail to deliver like Ireland and Wales? Who will overachieve like Tonga and Argentina?
Now if you can confidently and accurately predict those results this far out from the tournament, can you please predict for me the winning lotto numbers for next weeks draw because I stand as much chance of winning that as well.
November 29th 2010 @ 8:02am
warrenexpatinnz said | November 29th 2010 @ 8:02am | Report comment
Well said Sam, we need the tipster who predicted Mitchell’s yellow then red card for the lotto numbers.
November 29th 2010 @ 9:25am
Frank O'Keeffe said | November 29th 2010 @ 9:25am | Report comment
Sam you’re my favourite New Zealand Roarer here. Thanks for another neutral, well-balanced, post.
In a world that’s fair, you’d have been in Terry McLean’s place, writing about Fred Allen.
November 29th 2010 @ 5:55pm
Short-Blind. said | November 29th 2010 @ 5:55pm | Report comment
Good call Frank – Sam calls a spade a spade but always gives a balanced insight with no prejudice either way. He doesn’t seem to have the bitterness or faux pride of other kiwi posters and for that I thank him.