Wallabies? Get up! Stand up!
Columnist By Andrew Logan, 7 Aug 2011 Andrew Logan is a Roar Expert
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Australia's Quade Cooper kicks midfield in front of Daniel Carter during the Investec Tri Nations rugby match between Australia Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks for the Bledisloe Cup at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday August 6 2011. (AAP Images/NZPA, Stephen Barker).
I sat in the car out the front of my house last night having driven home from a friend’s place. There we had watched the obliteration of the Wallabies at Eden Park, and don’t think for a moment that that is hyperbole.
There was no time… none… in the 80 minutes when it looked like the Wallabies were up for this.
The Aussie gold jersey might as well have been a yellow streak a mile wide.
I turned off the engine and sat there in silence. The engine tick…tick…ticked blackly. Silence reigned, then Bob Marley began to build through the speakers.
“Get up! Stand up!…Stand up for your rights!… Get up! Stand up!… Don’t give up the fight!…”
I winced and wished the Wallabies forward pack was there to hear it.
Get up. Stand up. Stand up for… yeah right.
Those of you who are Roar stalwarts may have noticed that I don’t actually write too many post-match reviews. I prefer relaying the wonderful stories that rugby has to offer over hammering a bunch of wounded players with the unfair benefit of hindsight.
But a match like last night’s Bledisloe demands a response. And it demands an answer. WTF?
“Get up! Stand up! Stand up for your rights!”
Let’s start with the only place that matters against the All Blacks and that’s up front. Where in the world did our national team, the team that apparently represents 21,874,900 proud Aussies (pending the census), possibly get the idea that it might beat the All Blacks at fortress Eden Park, for the first time since 1986, without first taking the All Blacks forwards out of the equation?
Thinking that you can beat the most successful and ruthless team in world rugby without being ruthless yourself, is a little like thinking you might beat Mike Tyson with a few good jabs, or that you could probably take down Kimbo Slice with some flashy footwork. Earth to Pretenders – these guys know the language of pain and punishment.
“Get up! Stand up! Stand up for your rights!”
After the Thrilla-in-Manila heavyweight fight in 1975, Joe Frazier said of Muhammad Ali, “Man, I hit him with punches that’d bring down the walls of a city” and Ali said, “It was like death. Closest thing to dying that I know of”.
Compare, contrast and giggle. Whereas Ali and Frazier were both prepared to go to war and die, the all-a-Twitter Wallabies were perhaps prepared to go to an extra-hard pillowfight and come away with a tummyache.
Of this game, Richie McCaw would surely say “It was like a really tough walk to the shops. It was the closest thing to an eight year-old’s birthday party that I know of” and if the X-box Wallabies were honest, they’d say, “We hit them with tackles that would definitely dent my sister’s Barbie house”.
For God’s sake. Brad Thorn has played 200 games of top-line rugby league for the Brisbane Broncos, 77 games for the Crusaders and 49 Tests for the most successful rugby team of all-time. What does it take to get over the top of a man like this? To win his respect? Well, you don’t need to just put him off…you need to put him to sleep. A hip flick pass and a nifty step is not cutting it. What in the world makes a team think that a man like this might let them win one… just because?
Well, I’ve got news for you, Zoolander-wannabes, and it’s all bad. Brad Thorn is giving nothing away to nobody. If you really wanted it, you’d take it, but it’s pretty obvious that you don’t really want it.
Eden Park. Bledisloe Cup. The All Blacks. Couldn’t quite get up for that one? Well, what in the world does it take?
Because if that’s not enough, then we can’t work it out.
“Get up! Stand up! Stand up for your rights!”
Substitute any name you like for Thorn and the story is the same. Mealamu? Read? McCaw? Franks? These guys privately laugh at the idea that the Wallabies might figure in the business end of the World Cup, and that’s because the Wallabies’ achilles heel couldn’t be any more obvious. We have no appetite for the tough stuff.
“Get up! Stand up! Stand up for your rights!”
Of course, Pat McCabe eats the contact up with a spoon, but there’s a problem with that, and that is that he’s a frickin’ centre. When McCabe and Ioane are the hardest men in your team, things are vastly awry – particularly when your captain is a 6 and should be leading the hits.
As my man Bob Marley said – and he was talking to you Rocky – “You can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light – what you gonna do? Stand up for your rights?”
You’d better work it out pronto. The worst thing about this loss is that every tinpot rugby wannabe team from Alaska to Zimbabwe is now sharpening their sabres and thinking they can rattle the Aussies, because the Wallaby pigs fake the tough stuff.
In particular, our poolmates at the World Cup Ireland, Italy, Russia and the USA, now all think that they are in with a chance. The gameplan is as obvious as a wart on your forehead. Go out and bash the fruits in yellow by fair means or foul and you’re in with a shot.
“Get up! Stand up! Stand up for your rights!”
The back-of-the-bike-sheds approach has an uncomfortably long list of accompanying successes against Australia stretching back to Tonga in 1973. Even Italy were unlucky not to beat the Wallabies in 2009 when Quade Cooper got them out of jail with a late try, and the Irish have beaten us a couple of times on wet, dark, NZ-esque nights, as have Munster last year. Don’t even mention Samoa.
We all know the truth. The Wallabies don’t like it up ‘em.
And now, come September, every man and his rabid dog is going to forget rugby and come out to smash the Wallabies because they think they’re yella. Next thing you know, a ward full of injuries and hey presto… no men left standing come knockout stages. World. Cup. Ovah.
Are the Wallabies all soft? No, but as a team, they’re like a Caramello Koala. The soft centre dribbles out when the bite comes on.
Samoa and now the All Blacks have exposed the Wallabies soft underbelly, and if you Aussies want to figure in the October sessions of NZ2011, there’s only one thing to do.
“Get up! Stand up! Stand up for your rights!”
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August 7th 2011 @ 7:35am
sixo_clock said | August 7th 2011 @ 7:35am | Report comment
Oooooh did that hurt or what! We are going to hear perfect storm, blitzkrieg, cheating, game play and all manner of accusations and excuses in the next week. Maybe they played the ref better than we did, and more enthusiastically. The ABs deserved to win that game and any others till our collective brains trust unravels the mystery.
August 7th 2011 @ 7:40am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 7:40am | Report comment
I know they lost Andrew but this wasn’t Wellington revisited but a side that just got their attack wrong, sorry the finishing of the attack wrong last night.
I even think Pocok must have thought he was wearing the black number 7 last night as he got pinged severly.
If that was the best AB scrum and the Wallabies down TPN and Robo the performance was solid, the only must do change for me is having either Samo or Higgers on for the first half at least as we need to have a dynamic forward pack and the drive from Higginbotham was huge but give him at least the first 40-60 to shine Robbie, not the last 10.
You talk about fight and spine Andrew, Wallabies don’t lack it but they need a fuse player, TPN and Higginbotham are exactly that, maybe even Vickers but his speed still a concern.
August 7th 2011 @ 11:45am
Kuruki said | August 7th 2011 @ 11:45am | Report comment
Tony Woodcock is the number one Loose head prop in New Zealand. He wasnt there last night.
August 7th 2011 @ 7:47am
robert said | August 7th 2011 @ 7:47am | Report comment
me thinks its high time the aru raids the rugby league ranks again..targeting jarryd hayne, billy slater, greg inglis, etc..that bunch last night was god awful..we also need more samoans in the wallabies..is it any surprise that some of the biggest performers last night were mealamu, kaino, nonu and digby ioane (and SBW)?..all samoans..
August 7th 2011 @ 8:13am
Jerry said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:13am | Report comment
You reckon SBW was one of the top performers?
August 7th 2011 @ 8:17am
AdamS said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:17am | Report comment
Was he on the field?
August 7th 2011 @ 10:26am
p.Tah said | August 7th 2011 @ 10:26am | Report comment
How are more backs going to help us?
August 7th 2011 @ 12:36pm
jamesb said | August 7th 2011 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
robert we need mongrel in the forward pack, buying rugby league backs is not the answer
August 7th 2011 @ 3:25pm
stuartw said | August 7th 2011 @ 3:25pm | Report comment
I agree with jamesb. The problem with our great game is that we are developing no depth. We need to expend the game beyond the domain of Private schools to a game for everyone. No criticism of the private school system I came from one! We need a broademing of the grass roots base of the game to include all states and all schools playing it. Its no use that all of our Wallabies come from a handfull of schools. Broaden the base, develop true competition for spots …mongrel will come!
August 26th 2011 @ 3:15pm
nige imrie said | August 26th 2011 @ 3:15pm | Report comment
Mongrel,interesting, rugby is about controlled aggression and thinking, you can damage the opposistion with sheer power and technique, harnessed together to give you the best results,whats wrong with the game is not where it came from but how it’s grown and there is not enough done to nurture our great game, we seem to have a good crop of guys there at the moment and they are definitely not all private school boys.
August 7th 2011 @ 7:48pm
Shahsan said | August 7th 2011 @ 7:48pm | Report comment
Yes, rugby league guys like Sailor, Tuqiri, Tahu, Rogers, Cross, Rooney, Vuna — all pretty average rugby union players.
August 7th 2011 @ 11:17pm
Rob said | August 7th 2011 @ 11:17pm | Report comment
Seems that’s what you need to be to make the wallabies. An average rugby union player. What make you think union will be able to afford the best rugby league players after the 1 bill + tv deal Is done.
August 8th 2011 @ 9:33am
robert said | August 8th 2011 @ 9:33am | Report comment
they all want to play union pal..why? because rugby is a global sport..that’s gonna get even more global..very quickly..
August 8th 2011 @ 9:31am
robert said | August 8th 2011 @ 9:31am | Report comment
tuqiri is better than any winger we have right now and i’d rate rogers better than cooper at test level..billy slater and jarryd hayne would be better than cooper, genia abd beale put together..those three are rubbish at test level..
August 7th 2011 @ 7:55am
Face the Facts said | August 7th 2011 @ 7:55am | Report comment
Australia has no chance in the WC with Deans as coach and Elsom as captain. If we make it as far as the quarters that’ll be the end of it.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:01am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:01am | Report comment
Mate, bath water thrown out as well? 1999 build up was similar and 2003 well worse so relax, ten deep breaths mate (I do twenty and a couple of stiff drinks without spilling any!)
August 7th 2011 @ 8:50am
sheek said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:50am | Report comment
Facts & Warren,
With all due respect, you guys just don’t get it, do you, in different ways?
Yes, Deans & Elsom may be part of the problem, but they’re a small part of the problem.
The All Blacks are going into battle with cannons, while we have pop guns. The All Blacks are taking men into battle, the Wallabies are taking boys.
Warren, do you seriously believe we can turn our pop guns into cannons by the time of the world cup final? Our front row, tight five, & pack in general has been a work in progress for 4-7 years.
And now you’re saying we’ll fix it in less than two months?????
And you obviously didn’t read what Andrew said about a guy like Brad Thorn. This guy is as tough as anyone who’s played rugby – physically & especially mentally.
Do you think a guy like Thorn is going to feel sorry for the Wallabies, maybe give them a freebie? If the Wallabies want to win the world cup, they’re going to have to be willing to crawl over broken glass.
But they’ll have to throw their twitters away first of all…..
August 7th 2011 @ 9:06am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:06am | Report comment
Sheek the Wallabies are not gapped by daylight to the ABs.
The impact one or two players can make in a squad is huge. Were the Wallabies demolished in the scrum? The ABs number one scrum couldn’t do what England did to a similar set up in June 2010 so one would assume improvement in technique has occurred?
This placing of the ABs forwards into Greek like Gods is absurb, yes they play well and yes they look all scary dressed in black but they are just professional rugby players carrying out their roles well.
Regards crawling over broken glass Sheek, Deans may be wanting that come the quarters and here lies the selection changes that I assume (some already done this morning) will happen to finalise the starting 15 and best 22.
: Samo in for Simmons
: Higginbotham in for McCalman
: Barnes in for McCabe, Giteau still there!
: TPN for Faainga when obviously fit
There is no well in hell Deans or Elsom will be having the attitude of softly softly but you get the view that Deans is holding some of these guys back, I assume to keep them fresh and coiled as Higginbotham showed in the second half cameo.
Sheek we probably don’t have the production line of grunters like the ABs but I didn’t see Elsom get monstered by Thorn or Franks (good hit though!) and I did see Higginbotham, even JOC (on Williams) show some good bash. If the ABs lose Thorn they have no one of his calibre to replace with, same as Nonu with SBW as poor as Cooper last night and their grin man hugs at the end of the game looked strange!
August 7th 2011 @ 9:29am
jokerman said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:29am | Report comment
Just face the truth warran your team got hammered!
August 7th 2011 @ 9:34am
jokerman said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:34am | Report comment
And they deserved to be hammered. You talked up warran, everyone talked up. The All blacks were tired, vulnerable etc. What are they? They are mind games…from the ego, and I love it when the ego gets dismantled.
The All Blacks showed heart…that went deep.
August 7th 2011 @ 10:19am
Red Rooster said | August 7th 2011 @ 10:19am | Report comment
Christ Warren – we just lost the Bledisloe and are 1 and 2 going into the RWC and we just got shown up again for the umpteenth time and you come up with the notion that Deans is “holding something back” – if he is then he obviously has an ironclad contract and no threat of reprisal and there is no concern about rugby as a sport because we are going backwards at a rate of knots. Jokerman makes a simple and valid point – got hammered why try and make it sound strategic
August 7th 2011 @ 10:22am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 10:22am | Report comment
Don’t think there is anything strategic in a loss RR but do think he hasn’t settled on his starting side, we got beaten and beaten well but leave the doomsday glow for the Kiwis mate, pick a positive, even just one and run with it!
August 7th 2011 @ 10:56am
MattyP said | August 7th 2011 @ 10:56am | Report comment
Ah… except that in 99, although we slipped in the Bledisloe, the boys had some runs on the board and form to point to, with a 98 Beldisloe whitewash… This team, not so much..
August 7th 2011 @ 1:37pm
Jerry said | August 7th 2011 @ 1:37pm | Report comment
We’ll wait and see what happens in Brisbane, but it’s worthwhile to note that in the final TN match of 99, the Wallabies handed the AB’s what is still their biggest losing margin in 100 plus years of test rugby – they had form going into the tournament, no question.
August 8th 2011 @ 6:40am
Bayboy said | August 8th 2011 @ 6:40am | Report comment
It will be interesting to see what team takes the field in Brisbane Jerry.
News out today has 5 starters staying in NZ and “re-joining” the squad in Brisbane although they are rejoining the squad it is not necessarily in a playing capacity. Todd Blackadder also weighed into the debate saying Henry had full support of the coaching fraternity in NZ and not to be surprised to see Richie and Co sit out the return Beldisloe after the South African trip.
As it stands Kahui, Toeava and Dagg will all get game time over the next two matches all three having played or playing for their ITM cup teams over the next few days. Woodcock is already confirmed as a starter for SA.
Players most likely to be left behind if Toddy and the NZ Media are to be believed are
Thorn, Read, Franks, Mealamu and Carter.
That’s a third of the starting 15 right there.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:38am
Modernity said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:38am | Report comment
When the ARU pinched one of the best coaches in the world (off my home team) you didn’t exactly hand him a team of talent to take on the world with. Remember you just sent in a bunch of very talented boys to play against the “oldest” AND “most Capped” All Black team to walk on to a paddock.
Of course if you think that after 3 years of building a team he should be winning against the AB’s then sack him and i personally will be very happy to see him back in Canterbury and the Crusaders can get back to the business of raping and pillaging the Super Comp.
August 7th 2011 @ 3:36pm
Capital said | August 7th 2011 @ 3:36pm | Report comment
Mod
The ABs were pretty ruthless, and you can be when you have a near 90% odd winning record as a team.
They deserved to win, were smarter – Carter was exceptional again and the forwards consistently aggressive.
It looked like the Wallabies got the set piece pretty well down – scrums were pretty good, and lineouts were solid, except for two bad throws at the end of the match.
But the kickoffs were a joke – each way, just consistently poor. Their was no counter to Carters short kicks, we certainly weren’t smart enough to stop the defensive line swarming, or adjust to the match at hand.
The Wallabies naively thought that they could razzle dazzle a complete side – and were given a lesson in test rugby.
To say I am disappointed is an understatement – that match shows the lack of leadership in the team.
Elsom is a non event as Captain.
Genia and Horwill are the leaders and its about time they were rewarded for the role they actually play on the park.
There are no excuses for that effort – Cooper played like a naive fool, and too many Wallabies did not perform under test match rugby.
Well done ABs a well deserved, smartly coached side who played with intensity – as though their reputation depended upon it.
That match was totally unacceptable on too many levels.
August 7th 2011 @ 11:27pm
ronnie88 said | August 7th 2011 @ 11:27pm | Report comment
Was at the game last night, awsome atmosphere, it set it self up as a true Kiwi ambush pre-game, an intimidating cauldron. And guess what, Robbie Deans newthis clearly. Iheard that his pre match speech was not in the class required for such an event. We have all heard him in public, at best he talks in riddles and does not inspire any public confidence. Yet last night, when passion and fearlessness were critical, Robbie rolls out the usual uninspiring dribble in such a charged up environment. He hasnt changed in 4 years and to expect him to bring out the best in the wallabies is a waste of time. Time for a reality check-Deans and Elsom need to be released, I dont care if its 6 weeks out of RWC, things can hardly get any worse.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:13am
AdamS said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:13am | Report comment
Get over it, we let a few soft tries in and O’Conner left 9 pts on the field.
We had plenty of attacking ball and the AB’s defended out of their skins.
The attack didn’t quite gel, but the scrum was outstanding.
On to SA and Lang park and Winning!
August 7th 2011 @ 8:19am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:19am | Report comment
Nice Adam, I think the site sometimes gets over run by negative nellies. The ABs played very well and were by far the better side. The Wallabies played poorly at times but were menacing when on attack and we trust Cooper’s mistake rate of last night will never be repeated again, that up and under was a changing point of the game in the first half as was JOC misses at goal. Going in at 6-10/17 left the door ajar enough to avoid too many miracle balls which Quade had too? start throwing.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:38am
M.O.C. said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:38am | Report comment
Warren, you make out like Cooper has never played like that before -he has quite a long history of brain farts. Sure when the 50/50 balls come off they look great, but when they don’t – wow. Having said that, I thought the Aussie counter-rucking was better than I have seen previously, and even managed to turn over a couple of rucks without the need to Pocock to pilfer as he seemed off the ball last night.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:45am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:45am | Report comment
MOC I thought Pocock played well but gave away two silly penalties and if you give the ABs any free balls that way they generaly make you pay.
By putting Samo or Higginbotham on starting that Aussie front foot ball would have worked better as Kaino showed.
I firmly believe that Coopers performance last night has locked in either Barnes or Giteau, yes Giteau starting against the ABs or England as need to have that ‘settler’ to avoid to many brain farts by Cooper.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:56am
M.O.C. said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:56am | Report comment
Absolutely, unfortunately with such good natural attacking ability in the outside backs, Cooper needs to realise that sometimes all he has to do is give them the ball. This is a skill which Carter has mastered – he is often criticised for not running more, but I think it just shows his confidence in his backline and lack of ego.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:07am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:07am | Report comment
Spot on MOC, I guess and I hope that Cooper has now learnt a valuable lesson the hard way.
August 7th 2011 @ 4:21pm
Decs said | August 7th 2011 @ 4:21pm | Report comment
Warren, congrats. To me you are the only one here to make sense. The ABs defended brilliantly, took it up the level when they needed to and were professional.
The Wallabies showed the signs that can give heart.
- The scrum: everyone’s biggest worry before the game and held up.
- we managed to play rugby until we were 10m from the line, but lacked some composure.
The disappointing bit for me was the lack of Plan B. We tried to play wide in channels 3-4, yet the inside channel and the ruck was an area we needed to attack. When Conrad Smith (best defensive OC in the game) keeps cutting the attack down, we have to switch things up. The ABs knew that they could drift off Cooper and punish our outside.
For me Barnes will start at IC at the RWC and it isn’t because McCabe is that bad. He is workman like it is just when Cooper has an off night, you need a controlling player like Barnes in his pocket
McCalman, like McCabe just doesn’t give us the options we need and Higgo or Palu will be the 8s
Rocky is still short of a gallop, but will get there. This was only his 4th game this year
The ABs were superior last night, but the Wallabies had the chances.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:32pm
Geoff Brisbane said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:32pm | Report comment
Decs this is an if that what if the AB’s wern’t playing all of their cards last night??? What if they were just testing a few things out and particularly the scrums??? I can see the AB B/C team having a trial match in Brisbane, what a hoot.
August 7th 2011 @ 5:41pm
Cattledog said | August 7th 2011 @ 5:41pm | Report comment
Mentioning Giteau as starting indicates you have completely lost the plot Warren and you’re starting to grasp at straws. I laugh at all the doomsayers indicating Cooper’s finished and must be replaced. He didn’t have his best game but everyone knows what he’s capable of and it only has to gel.
Let’s see what happens in SA and the following Bledesloe in Brisbane. If the Wallabies continue to capitulate, then it’s goodnight the fox. A loss against the best team in world rugby 3 tries to 2 isn’t wrist slashing stuff. Bring Giteau back and we would all be looking for our jugulars to slash!
August 8th 2011 @ 6:43am
Bayboy said | August 8th 2011 @ 6:43am | Report comment
Very unlikely you will face the top team in Brisbane CD, Henry has publicly stated that the last two 3N games are his last chance to make sure he gets his combination’s right for the WC
August 7th 2011 @ 3:43pm
Capital said | August 7th 2011 @ 3:43pm | Report comment
Warren
I am happy to play the we are developing card as well.
But that effort was poor – the set piece was acceptable, but the coaching staff and playing roster were outsmarted, out – rugbied and beaten by a more professional, more committed team of experienced hard men.
That result was unacceptable because they were never in the fight.
They didn’t counter the rugby played by the opposition – Cooper was headless, creative bind stupidity.
They didn’t vary lines, didn’t grubber to stop the swarm defense, didn’t break the gainline in attack and were pretty much soft – except for a couple of players – Moore, Ioane, and Higginbotham.
This was a pretty poor effort – and to not be ‘UP’ for a game of this magnitude was unacceptable.
The coaching staff and leadership group have to ask themselves why.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:34am
cinematic said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:34am | Report comment
I saw a scrum hanging on for dear life that conceded territory and points. What’s outstanding about that?
August 7th 2011 @ 8:42am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:42am | Report comment
The point was that this one one scrum and that the Wallabies showed up Crockett for what he is, all beef and little technique. We by all accounts were going to be smashed up front and we weren’t so that perceived dominance by the ABs has suffered and with TPN a better hooker than Moore I think that platform for the Wallabies will continue to get better.
The area we suffered in the forwards was not having a Samo or Higginbotham on in the first 40-60 as there style is what is needed against the ABs. Not disgraced but when your 10 makes pressure errors and transfers that pressure onto the other back play makers, JOC and Beale we were always going to struggle.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:00am
Michael Clark said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Remember that Crocket is only in the AB squad as injury cover. He is very unlikely to be in the World Cup squad and in fact last night will likely have played himself out of any consideration.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:10am
warrenexpatinnz said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:10am | Report comment
When both the Franks boys on the AB scrum looked good but I would also temper that with the Wallabies needing TPN in and having Slipper (Robo a bridge too far) back as a option.
I will say though I was pleased with the Wallaby scrum and think it is shaping up very well with some decent options there now of good age, skill and size.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:20am
cinematic said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:20am | Report comment
Only one scrum was constantly under pressure last night. It wasn’t a disgraceful performance as the Wallaby scrum has put in in past days but it is still a very worrying aspect to their game. Particularly as they have to deal with the Italian scrum and English scrum at the WC just to make it to the final. You can’t polish a turd.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:21am
dudfarmer said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:21am | Report comment
Man! Am I glad i opened that second bottle of red last night cos what i can remember of the first half we were awful. Thank god i can’t remember the second. I now know why Team Wallaby and the BRAND chose yellow over gold!!!! Awful Awful Awful…….ABs AWESOME.
August 7th 2011 @ 8:35am
stuff happens said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:35am | Report comment
I agree with Andrew. Australia were completely outplayed in every part of the game.The Wallabies simply don’t have the forwards.The leadership on & off the field just like the Samoa game was woeful.
For some reason Sheek thinks Australia will make the RWC final. Sorry, but I just can’t see it.
The Wallabies could alleviate some of the gloom in Durban when they play Bakkies Botha,Victor Matfield, Bismark, du Preez & friends. ?!
August 7th 2011 @ 8:39am
choc-koala said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:39am | Report comment
Well said Mr Logan!! Well said-any one else who says other, is just apart of this-X-Box, twitting bunch, of justin beber-cho-koalas!
Most of your article I was laughing at how true your analogies were!!!
The truth hurts people-lets face it!!! Stop, denying it-stop saying we were close-cus that just aint true!!
The reason why Justin Beiber-O’conner- missed those kicks was because of the PRESSURE, that the ABS applied!!! The boy was under the pump, and like Mr Logan has stated, was not tough enough!
Ladies and Gentelmen!-what ever happened to the ageing ABs that were supposed to play last night??? They absolutely WUPPED-these lil boys in the Arse!!!
Sometimes Australia is its own worse enemy!!!- by the drivel and the hype, that is pumped to these boys and to the AUZ public!!!
For once we NEED to separate optimism, and true objective analysis!! There is a big difference between wanting your team to win-and the actual team you have in front of you!!!
Get rid of the channel 9 commentators..kernzie and Co..ASAP!!!
Mr Logan has called it RIGHT!
How can you beat the most Successful rugby nation in history-and not take out their forwards????
Rugby is a very simple game…if you stray from these basic principals..all the Sports med-tech, is not gona do crap!!
Im afraid..in order for AUZ, to have a team like NZ, the likes of MEALAMU, THORN, KAINO and Co..were gona have to wait, “4 MORE YEARS BOYS” “4 MORE YEARS!!”
Because this NZ team have been forged in the pains of defeat-WC defeats-and thats why i think they are HARD NUTS-OTSIDE and INSIDE!!!
Pain really has two options-use it to become better-or become yellow!
Last night it was the proud-yellow!
August 7th 2011 @ 8:45am
Micah said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:45am | Report comment
Funny while gracious in defeat. If only there were more like you.
August 7th 2011 @ 9:58am
Mungehead said | August 7th 2011 @ 9:58am | Report comment
To be fair to O’Connor, all three kicks he missed weren’t easy kicks, and he was close every time. Sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
August 7th 2011 @ 2:52pm
Jack Petro said | August 7th 2011 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Sorry – gets get paid a s–t-load to kick them!
August 7th 2011 @ 4:38pm
cookee said | August 7th 2011 @ 4:38pm | Report comment
not close every time;did you watch the game?
August 7th 2011 @ 8:35pm
Mungehead said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:35pm | Report comment
Yes
August 7th 2011 @ 8:41am
sheek said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:41am | Report comment
Andrew,
I can feel your pain, but those of us of a certain vintage have been here many times before.
As a young man in the early to mid-80s, I simply couldn’t comprehend in my youthfully ignorant mind, how a much of dunderheads from across the Tasman, who obviously were incapable of playing razzle-dazzle rugby, could consistently beat us time after time.
I mean, it wasn’t as if we had ordinary backs, we had some of the best of all time – O’Connor then Campese, mixed with Gould, Moon, Hawker & the best of them all – Mark Ella.
But these bloody All Blacks kept beating them on a ratio of 2-1. How on earth was this happening?
Ohhhh, the scrum. Ohhhh, the lineouts. Ohhhh, the rucks & mauls (the breakdown). Ohhhh, the restarts. Every so often we get it right – 1980, 1986, 1991-1992, 1998-2001. But there are more troughs than highs.
And each successive generation of Wallabies fan fails to understand what each successive generation of All Blacks fan knows intimately – it all starts at the coal face. Forget the fancy pants in the backline UNTIL the hard work is done up front.
Even the Foxtel post mortem doesn’t understand this. The commentator says, “finally when Cooper was able to attack, Elsom scored out wide”.
As if that’s all we need to do – give Copper attacking opportunities. Sadly, there’s a hell of a lot more that needs to be done before Cooper can attack, even from himself.
I’ve satisfied myself with one thing though – Cooper is not fit to tie Ella’s bootlaces. Not even close…..
August 7th 2011 @ 8:49am
BARGE-ARSE said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:49am | Report comment
Unfortunately, we got the usual Bledisloe script:
– Wallabies, after early pressure, go to pieces
– All Black cheating (e.g. their first try was a direct result of Cooper being taken out off the ball and the ruck, almost always coming up off-side (old Bok tactic) and, my old favourite, lying all over the ball in Australian rucks)
– appalling South African refereeing that is so typical in these fixtures (both teams got bad calls)
– and, last but not least, the graceful, magnanimous Kiwi fans in victory
August 7th 2011 @ 8:53am
M.O.C. said | August 7th 2011 @ 8:53am | Report comment
Barge-Arse – you should have stopped after your first point because at that stage you were right. It’s a shame that the angelic Wallabies are always getting the rough end with the ABs constantly “cheating” as you describe it. You forget the gap on the blind side for the Ioane try came from Weepu’s foot being held by Simmons – also frequent forward passes are sometimes considered “cheating” – even the extremely biased commentators suggested that the last one deserved a penalty as it was so blatant. I am sorry that you obviously could not appreciate good rugby when you see it as you were wasting your time yelling at a ref who actually had a good night (he was at least consistent) IMO.
August 7th 2011 @ 12:06pm
Kuruki said | August 7th 2011 @ 12:06pm | Report comment
Can you blame the Kiwi fans for rubbing it in after a win, considering for the last 10 years we have had to listen to how great you are and how much youve improved leading into every game only to have the same excuses afterwards, when reality strikes.
The whole All Blacks cheating mentality is brought about by the Australian commentators one eyed viewing of the game. Just about every infringement by the All Blacks was mentioned by Phil Kearns but not once was anything said about a Quade Cooper forward pass or a Wallaby lying on the wrong side of the ruck. Even i started to think the All Blacks were the only team on the field infringing the way they brought it up every single time, until i noticed the absolute silence in the commentary after every Wallaby forward pass and infringement. Thats when it became obvious what a one eyed commentary you guys are being given here in Australia. Nowonder you all sing the same tune.
August 8th 2011 @ 5:22pm
Denby said | August 8th 2011 @ 5:22pm | Report comment
Kuruki,
I am not having a stab but the Australian commentary is just as bad as the NZ commentary. All the Aussie talk about it how much the other team cheat’s and all the Kiwi’s talk about it how good the AB’s are, they barely mention the other team on the paddock. You have a solid point about most Aussie’s learning the finer points from watching the game and constantly hearing that the kiwi’s cheat, with the exception of Kafer, the rest are quite one eyed. I have a few friends who are also of the belief that the Kiwi’s are not the best, they are just cheaters, but this also comes from years of coming close but never quite getting past the post, the truth that the your national team is not good enough can be hard to swallow.
August 8th 2011 @ 8:06am
jeremy said | August 8th 2011 @ 8:06am | Report comment
and, last but not least, the graceful, magnanimous Kiwi fans in victory
Where were you for the week leading up to this match, Barge-Arse? Run a google news search on ‘wallabies’ ‘eden park’ restricting date range to the 7 days leading up to this match, and see what was said in the media BEFORE the match by current and past Wallabies players. Grace, magnanimity in spades. In this instance, we have earned the right to be a little smug.
Thank you for being even-handed about the ref’s calls, at times I felt like he was retroactively correcting earlier missed infringements by randomly choosing something to blow the whistle about.