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Flawless goal-kicking by Mike Harris inspired the Wallabies at Suncorp last night, but dumb second half rugby let the All Blacks off the hook in an 18-all draw.
It was a travesty to watch.
Holding a match-winning 15-6 lead at the 51st minute, the Wallabies gave away four dumb penalties in 18 minutes to gift-wrap the lead to All Black sharp-shooter Dan Carter 18-15.
Suicide.
Two of the serial offenders all night – flanker Michael Hooper, and half Nick Phipps – should have been dragged immediately for their stupidity in two of these four penalties.
Hooper copped a yellow card for a blatant late tacke on All Black half Aaron Smith, Phipps was three metres off-side when Adam Ashley-Cooper spilled a no pressure high ball.
To compound the major elementary mistakes, the Wallaby forwards played pointless pick-and-go tactics for 28 phases from the 78th minute to the 82nd at 18-all when a Kurtley Beale, or Harris, drop goal to win was so obvious an option.
Amazingly, former Wallaby captain George Gregan made excuses for the blunder, saying it was inexperience.
Utter bollocks. It was inexcusable, these Wallabies are supposed to be internationals – 10-year-olds would know a drop goal was the sole selection.
Having rightfully dropped the bucket on the Wallabies, they played more than enough good rugby to win, and deserved the victory.
Bookies had the All Blacks at a short $1.15 pre-game, the Wallabies rank outsiders at $5.50 in a two-horse race.
Translated no-one gave the Wallabies a ghost of a chance to beat the world champions, but the men-in-gold should have cruised to victory in what would have been an epic win.
Just about every Wallaby had their moment of glory, and brain explosion, in the 80 tension filled minutes. Much the same can be said of the All Blacks.
So on paper a draw was a just result.
But even die-hard Kiwis would be the first to admit their team dodged a bullet and still could have won had Carter landed his snap drop goal in five minutes of overtime.
There would have been no justice in that result.
Damn it, the Wallabies should have won. The draw leaves a mighty sour taste.
And the Wallabies have no-one but themselves to blame.
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October 21st 2012 @ 2:15am
Frank O'Keeffe said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:15am | Report comment
A bit harsh on the Wallabies, David…
I agree they let the All Blacks into it. They were 15-6 up and then gave them an immediate penalty after the break.
But did the Wallabies look like scoring a try at all? Maybe once in the first half and that’s it.
This is an inexperienced, injury-riddled side, that went against a side that has Dagg, McCaw, Reid, and Carter!
And they got a draw… I agree the Wallabies could have won, and the last 20 minutes were poor, but they did incredibly well.
Nobody else will beat New Zealand this year, and yet a Wallabies side minus Genia, Barnes, Cooper, Pocock, Moore, etc, etc, took it to them.
I was especially happy with the Wallabies breakdown work. They got a few turnovers which was great to see!
October 21st 2012 @ 2:17am
Frank O'Keeffe said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:17am | Report comment
By the way, this comes from a bloke who continuously says, ‘When people say “Australia are the second best side in the world”, that’s what’s wrong with Australian rugby!’
I was actually happy with that draw. Before the game I thought the Wallabies didn’t have the power up front or the speed out wide to even remotely challenge New Zealand. But the forwards fronted-up well, I felt.
That and McCaw was taken off his game!!!
October 21st 2012 @ 10:27am
Mantis said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:27am | Report comment
A draw is a good result for the side we put out last night. There were two big dissapointing things we did, that NZ did in almost the exact opposite fashion, which shows the differences in mindset.
The first was when both teams were a man down. When the Wallabies had a man up on NZ, you would imagine we would try and utilize the extra man, play quick, expansive rugby. Nope. We kept kicking the ball away, slowed the tempo and didnt look to utilize the extra man advantage once. NZ on the other hand tried to run the ball and played up tempo style of footy. Credit to the Wallabies they defended well during this time.
The second was after the siren. We were picking and driving, doing it painfully slowly, cms at a time, clearly looking for a penalty. It was like we were scared to give ourselves a chance at winning the game, which was a dead rubber and would at worst case have been a draw. We never even had anyone in the pocket looking like taking a shot. NZ got the penalty in their own 22, and instead of putting it out they took the scrum. Would we have done that? not a chance. NZ then marched 60m down the field through some expansive play and gave themselves a chance of winning it. Credit to them for taking that chance, unlucky not to convert it.
October 21st 2012 @ 12:16pm
jeznez said | October 21st 2012 @ 12:16pm | Report comment
That penalty pulling play was never going to come off with the AB’s not commiting to the breakdown. I’d be happier if the draw had come about by the WBs missing a drop goal attempt but am still pretty happy that we broke their streak.
October 21st 2012 @ 12:11pm
Blue said | October 21st 2012 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
Why won’t anyone ‘else’ beat NZ this year? Because the mighty Wallabies didn’t? Both teams were terrible.
October 21st 2012 @ 10:26pm
SkinnyKid said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:26pm | Report comment
Blue – dont watch much rugby then?
October 21st 2012 @ 2:11pm
yahyah said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
to be honest i think Genia, Barnes, Pocock and especially that ballerina Cooper have been letting them down all year.
October 21st 2012 @ 9:16pm
Someone said | October 21st 2012 @ 9:16pm | Report comment
Bit harsh on Phipps I reckon. If he left the ball, there was every chance the blacks would have picked up for a try. Not saying he did it on purpose but taking the penalty was the better bet
October 21st 2012 @ 10:10pm
We've Got Bill said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:10pm | Report comment
It was a dead rubber Frank O’Keefe…. the ABs were not their usual clinical mode..they were not hungry enough because both the Bledisloe and the 4 Nations trophies were already in the cabinet…. Ho Hum…so what???
October 22nd 2012 @ 9:23am
RugbyRene said | October 22nd 2012 @ 9:23am | Report comment
Um yes they were. They wanted to win the game which is why they went for the score well after the full-time whistle had blown.
If you’re tired of rugby then stop watching it…….simple. Quite frankly I could watch rugby 12 months of the year.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:50am
Barns said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:50am | Report comment
I’m gutted we didn’t win but saying the wallabies should’ve cruised to victory seems to be overstating the wallabies chances. Both teams forced mistakes and penalties… wallabies maybe edged the ‘AIG’ ABs (why would you put that on such a clean looking fantastic jersey btw, doesn’t look right. Not that I care though) in some departments, but the game seemed close to me. Looked to be 2 very good defensive sides forcing poor offensive performances. Interested to see how the spring tests play out
October 21st 2012 @ 2:55am
El Gamba said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:55am | Report comment
Australian Institute of Geology?
October 21st 2012 @ 3:09am
Barns said | October 21st 2012 @ 3:09am | Report comment
American International Group spending some sweet financial crisis bail out money on ruining the last jersey holding out against commercialisation….. Or have I missed some sort of joke that I don’t understand? If so I’ll be quiet now
October 21st 2012 @ 6:16am
Jerry said | October 21st 2012 @ 6:16am | Report comment
The French have never had a sponsor’s logo on their jersey.
October 21st 2012 @ 7:45am
Micky said | October 21st 2012 @ 7:45am | Report comment
agree with David and others that you knew the forwards would somehow muff it and no field goal taken. I found myself going for the ABs for the first time in 32 years the way the had a crack at the end. Adidas has sponsored the jersey for a while. So what with AIG in the middle. I was expecting a billboard. When Brazil has Coke across the famous yellow jersey then you know the last bastion has fallen!
On the euro trip I thought one from four. Now maybe two from four for the wallabies would be a good result. Gram slam! Miracle!!!
October 21st 2012 @ 8:13am
sheek said | October 21st 2012 @ 8:13am | Report comment
True Jerry,
But they have had Adidas’ three stripes prominently arrayed on their shirt, shorts and sox for Gawd knows how long (mid-70s to late- 90s) before they tried to emulate the ABs jersey by going dark blue.
The three stripes might not be actual sponsors words, but the significance of them can’t be mistaken.
October 21st 2012 @ 11:23am
Bakkies said | October 21st 2012 @ 11:23am | Report comment
Sure Australia had the three stripes in the 80s before Canterbury manufactured the shirts with a XXXX badge on them.
October 21st 2012 @ 7:39pm
sheek said | October 21st 2012 @ 7:39pm | Report comment
That’s right Bakkies,
The Wallabies had the three Adidas stripes down the shoulder & sleeve 1978-88. The ARU was so broke in 1977 it didn’t have the funds to either receive or send a team that year. The Adidas clothing contract in 1978 was the first step in the long road back.
In fact, as a separate exercise, if you picked the best 22 Wallabies from that 11 year era, it would be one heck of a team. I’ll do that later.
October 21st 2012 @ 8:31am
Dan said | October 21st 2012 @ 8:31am | Report comment
The last jersey holding out against commercialisation? Steinlager had a spot on the right breast from 1986 – 1998. The only reason there wasn’t a sponsor on after this is because Adidas paid enough money to be both the shirt maker and the principal sponsor.
October 21st 2012 @ 11:09am
Barns said | October 21st 2012 @ 11:09am | Report comment
True…. I forgot they used to have steinlager on there. Looks better all black though right?
October 21st 2012 @ 11:18am
Jerry said | October 21st 2012 @ 11:18am | Report comment
It wasn’t on the jersey that long. It only started in about 93/94.
October 21st 2012 @ 12:38pm
abnutta said | October 21st 2012 @ 12:38pm | Report comment
I think there’s confusion about the stylised silver fern logo which was introduced in 1986. There’s no Steinlager on the jersey circa 1993 end of year tour. The earliest would have to be vs France 1994.
So that would mean: France in Christchurch 1994 – France in Wellington 1999.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:21pm
Jerry said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:21pm | Report comment
It’d be 98 when they stopped having Steinlager – that was when the Adidas jersey debuted.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:40pm
Jiggles said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
they also had that translucent silver fern across the front around 2001, I think. god that was ugly.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:45pm
Jerry said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
Eurgh, don’t remind me.
October 21st 2012 @ 7:45pm
Goanna said | October 21st 2012 @ 7:45pm | Report comment
Ever heard of Adidas? They are not a part of the NZ rugby union, or have I missed something? As far as living memory goes, NZ has been emblazoned with the three stripes of Adidas.
October 21st 2012 @ 7:56pm
Jerry said | October 21st 2012 @ 7:56pm | Report comment
Wow, you must be young if you can’t remember anything before 1998.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:54am
El Gamba said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:54am | Report comment
The AB’s created more opportunities but much must be said for the wallabies tenacity and scrambling defence. A great example was Gear’s indecision with a 4/5 on 1 opportunity. In uncharacteristic for any AB but brought about by great pressure.
Who’d have thought the wallabies would be equal best in the world (you’re only as good as your last game) at this point? Factor in the injuries and against all odds we have finished the Southern Hemisphere season as the best.
Oh and David. You could have got the wallabies at $6.75. A massive effort.
The real winner? Tom Waterhouse. And he’s Australian.
October 21st 2012 @ 8:29am
Uncle Argyle said | October 21st 2012 @ 8:29am | Report comment
I am wearing a fine cotton shirt today.
October 21st 2012 @ 8:32am
p.Tah said | October 21st 2012 @ 8:32am | Report comment
Lol
October 21st 2012 @ 9:43am
sheek said | October 21st 2012 @ 9:43am | Report comment
Yeah, but Tom knows what the punters want [And Tom wants their money].
October 21st 2012 @ 11:08am
El Gamba said | October 21st 2012 @ 11:08am | Report comment
I think that it was the only good result for Tom!
October 21st 2012 @ 3:08am
Salada said | October 21st 2012 @ 3:08am | Report comment
I was just a tad wrong. I said the ABs by a whole raft of points. I said bet the farm on the Kiwis. I can’t believe it. I thought I was the foremost authority on rugby in the SH. Guess I’m not. Well done Wallabies. Maybe Deans isn’t the stumbling slouch we thought he was. Maybe he’s a brilliant tactician and should be given a 99 year contract. Well, end of the spring tour, anyway.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:42pm
sittingbison said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
He replaced Phipps at least 10mins too late, and Cummins with a fat unfit nervous Mitchell for no reason.
October 21st 2012 @ 4:08pm
IronAwe said | October 21st 2012 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
Yeah, what’s the go with that?? Mitchell has been injured all year, came back for one game gets injured.. I like the guy, but how can anyone say he’s in form or match fit? Cummins was doing well.
October 21st 2012 @ 3:17am
Untimelyzapped said | October 21st 2012 @ 3:17am | Report comment
Now, having kept the mighty All Blacks from the win column, we’ve given France, England and Wales something to think about. Can we play with such heart in Europe? With a few key players back in November/October, and some droppies fed into the mix, do we dare think about a Grand Slam tour?
October 21st 2012 @ 5:54am
Bazza all black supporter said | October 21st 2012 @ 5:54am | Report comment
Errr a couple of sayings spring to mind…
“A single swallow does not make a summer”
“Walk before you run”
The wbs piggies had a great game, backs pretty ordinary and the abs choked several tries.
I was really pissed off with the draw but in hind site I agree with mr lord, the abs were lucky to get that…
October 21st 2012 @ 12:08pm
DHE said | October 21st 2012 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
I don’t think we are playing a grand slam tour, but we can think about it I guess.
Also I thought we played with great heart and commitment, we lost the game with an inability to turn great position and possession into points on a couple of occasions. Ad then a period of about 10 minutes f bad discipline where the ABs scored 12 straight to take the lead. Great heart though from a team that has been so widely panned. Only Mr Lord could write such a resoundingly negative article this morning.
October 21st 2012 @ 2:45pm
sittingbison said | October 21st 2012 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
Last time I checked France and Italy are not part of Great Britain. Could be wrong but…
October 21st 2012 @ 3:20pm
Chris said | October 21st 2012 @ 3:20pm | Report comment
Nor is Ireland, and they are part of the grand slam tour, so I’m not sure what your point is?
October 21st 2012 @ 4:13pm
IronAwe said | October 21st 2012 @ 4:13pm | Report comment
The Irish team is a combination of Ireland and Northern Ireland. A grand slam for a ‘touring’ side, (so not during 6 nations), is when they beat the four home nations. So if you don’t play the four home nations, no grand slam.
Home nations are England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
October 21st 2012 @ 3:29am
Salada said | October 21st 2012 @ 3:29am | Report comment
This from the NZ Herald –
“They (the ABs) were, in truth, probably a bit lucky that the Wallabies had no idea what they were doing in the last minutes when they trundled towards the posts. If they had, they could have set for the drop and killed it there.”
Captain Sharpe where were you? Who’s running things on the field? Shouldn’t Beale have called that shot? Or did orders come down from the coach’s box?
October 21st 2012 @ 8:21am
sheek said | October 21st 2012 @ 8:21am | Report comment
Actually, I differ from quite a few people here – I thought it was a terrific game for a change. At least the Wallabies were committed last night.
Which begs the question why aren’t they committed every time they take the field?
I also disagree they were clueless in the last few minutes. It was at least clear to me that they were doing the pick and go to get a penalty. That was quite obvious to me.
A lot of the penalties Joubert had awarded during the night came at the breakdown & some of them seemed incredibly trivial. So that was the Wallas plan, force Joubert to blow them a match winning penalty.
But either Joubert lost his pedantic profile in the final few minutes or the ABs were incredibly disciplined.
October 21st 2012 @ 9:35am
soapit said | October 21st 2012 @ 9:35am | Report comment
the latter, they knew what the aussies were up to and made sure they didnt offend. i dont think i’ve ever seen mccaw get away from the back of the ruck so quickly.
October 21st 2012 @ 10:31am
Mantis said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Its obvious they were going for the penalty. It is frustrating that that seemed to be our only option to win the game. Instead of us trying to win it we were waiting for them to lose it. Pretty negative. Would like to have seen us have a crack.
October 21st 2012 @ 10:57am
Rugby Tragic said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:57am | Report comment
Mantis, it was a replay of the AB’s match v France in 2003 except in reverse. In 2003, the AB’s were hunting for penalty as a dropped goal was not in the plans. Seems similar from the Wallabies last night.
The AB’s could have won the test after 85 mins but I agree with David that it would have been an injustice. Probably the draw was a fair result.
AS a spectacle, the game was not that inspiring but what was inspiring was the way the Wallabies fought tooth and nail.
Beside that, if anyone who watches the replay, can they answer conclusively if Jane scored a try or not? Was the ball in his hands at any time he personally was over the sideline?
October 21st 2012 @ 10:19pm
Mantis said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:19pm | Report comment
I dont know what the exact ruling is, but he jumped from outside the field of play, caught the ball in mid air and then landed in the field of play. Pretty sure thats counted as out.
October 21st 2012 @ 10:29pm
Jerry said | October 21st 2012 @ 10:29pm | Report comment
He was also out when he batted the ball a couple of times – there’s some odd provisions relating to touching but not holding the ball when you’re out, but I think it requires that the ball not be over the touch line which I think it was in this case.
October 21st 2012 @ 12:22pm
jeznez said | October 21st 2012 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
definitelly the latter Sheek, the AB’s didn’t commit to those rucks, the Aussies should have realised and adjusted. Pretty tough to expect Joubers to penalise the ABs in the breakdown if they aren’t in it.
October 21st 2012 @ 6:22pm
Cattledog said | October 21st 2012 @ 6:22pm | Report comment
Tend to agree with you here Sheek…surprise surprise
However, I feel they went a bridge too far. As soon as the hooter went, then was the time to set for goal. The penalty wasn’t coming so plan B. TPN not replaced early enough and Phipps I thought was terrible most of the time, and then that dumb off-side. Again, Deans poor use of replacements. Oh well, I suppose a draw is better than a loss…which it nearly was due to stupidity.
Great to see Mealamu recognised. Great player and a nice guy into the bargain.
October 21st 2012 @ 9:42am
Hopperdoggy said | October 21st 2012 @ 9:42am | Report comment
I tend to think Sharpie might have been a bit busy right about then. Was definitely Beales call and just let it go a couple phases too far. Wanted to be sure of it I suppose.
October 21st 2012 @ 11:45pm
Mike said | October 21st 2012 @ 11:45pm | Report comment
True, and Sharpe refused to blame Beale, which was also the right thing to do.
October 21st 2012 @ 3:46am
Valleys Diehard from Brunswick st. said | October 21st 2012 @ 3:46am | Report comment
Too right. Awful play with KB available for a drop goal.
October 21st 2012 @ 6:59am
formeropenside said | October 21st 2012 @ 6:59am | Report comment
Beale was dreadful for the last 20, and mixed before that.
October 21st 2012 @ 4:05am
biltongbek said | October 21st 2012 @ 4:05am | Report comment
Mr Lord, I beg to differ, Both team butchered that match.
October 21st 2012 @ 9:24am
Chivas said | October 21st 2012 @ 9:24am | Report comment
Agree.. DC didn’t just miss the drop goal, he had a poor game in the goal kicking department by his standards, but that said Mike Harris had another good night at the office. I think both sides were lucky to get a draw.
October 21st 2012 @ 4:11am
Schuey said | October 21st 2012 @ 4:11am | Report comment
David, I am glad you have hung the Wallabies out to dry for the inexcusable and embarrassing refusal to take the field goal despite being in range for 15 of the last 28 phases around the 80th minute.
Around the 5th phase of the 28 I turned to my British mate and told him the Wallabies will not end up getting a field goal away as they lack the brains, leadership and composure to execute the play.. and sure enough…
Surely between Sheehan, Beale and Harris they could have got the message to the pigs to stop driving and lay the ball for Sheehan to shift to Harris / Beale.
Harris was clearly ready to go for part of the 28th phases but from phase 16 or so seemed to lose interest to me and wasnt as well positioned (working from memory). Beale was ready next to Harris ready to take the 2nd pass if Harris was shutdown.
Assuming (yes Assuming) Harris was ready to roll surely the onus is on the veteran Sheehan, a professional for 10+ years to organise his pigs for delivery. Surely he would have seen the two near misses of dropping/losing the pill / getting isolated from about ruck 16 and pulled the trigger.
As you said David, Under 10′s could have done a better job.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth, as it detracted from a gutsy Wallaby performance that deserved a win.
I can handle errors of execution all day, but simple errors of choice when there is time to make the right decision are hard to swallow, particularly when one should know better.
October 21st 2012 @ 11:45am
Wally James said | October 21st 2012 @ 11:45am | Report comment
Hear hear Schuey. Have we learnt nothing from RWC 2003 when the Poms showed us how to do it? That play should have been practiced until it could have been done blindfolded. As Sheek said, the Wallabies were trying to rely on a mistake from the Blacks and then the ref pinging it. Unlike him, I thought it negative and brain dead. At least a missed field goal would have meant we had a go and the ABs could not win if kicked dead.
Compare that to the ABs. I had nothing but admiration for them when they took the scrum from the ensuing penalty. They wanted to attack with positive play from their own quarter. They nearly pulled it off.
I was impressed with the intensity of the Wallabies, but that passage of play was remarkable for its lack of leadership and common sense.
October 21st 2012 @ 4:50am
AndyS said | October 21st 2012 @ 4:50am | Report comment
For mine, the Wallabies were lucky to even be in the frame. I don’t know how many times they kicked, but did they manage to contest and win a single one? So much cheap turnover ball, they should have been crucified. If they are going to build their game around kicking, you’d think they’d work on being good at it or get a new plan.
October 21st 2012 @ 1:03pm
Rough Conduct said | October 21st 2012 @ 1:03pm | Report comment
Yes! That was the biggest thing that stood out for me, they looked scared to even contest the high ball. How embarrassing, they started to look like leaguies who all stand around and wait for the first bounce! WTF? If you are going to hoist the ball, how about some commitment to re-gaining possession!