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In the final quarter of the Springboks 38-12 demolition job on the Wallabies at Suncorp last night, the television camera swung onto Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie’s tortured face as he mouthed two key words…
“F–k me.”
Unfortunately apt words to perfectly describe what he watching – the Boks piling on a point a minute unanswered in the final quarter of the game.
I described the Wallabies as awful in the series decider loss to the Lions, but last night they were pathetic, an insult to the coveted gold jersey.
What gives with these blokes? The entire squad is made up of qualified internationals, yet the majority played like rank amateurs.
The scrum was a shambles, pushed all over the park, the attack disjointed, the defence fragile.
If there was any pride and passion in representing their country, it was well hidden. James O’Connor laughing and smiling with the Boks after full-time grated. He wasn’t the only one.
They obviously don’t hurt enough when they lose, a result that is becoming endemic.
In six Tests this season they Wallabies have won one in posting 110 points but giving up 191, and scoring seven tries, but letting in 18. By any standards that’s not acceptable.
In Robbie Deans’ last three Tests, the Wallabies posted 53 points to 79, scoring four tries to six.
Deans’ fault? No, the Wallabies.
In McKenzie’s first three Tests, the Wallabies have posted 57 points to 112, scoring three tries to 12. Even worse.
McKenzie’s fault? No, the Wallabies.
I have been watching Wallaby rugby for nigh on 70 years, and have never been so disgusted.
I must have said similar words to McKenzie aloud at least 20 times, long before the final quarter.
And I reckon most of the 43,715 Suncorp crowd would have done likewise, let alone the millions of television viewers around the world.
The stats last night suggest the Wallabies should have won, and won handsomely.
They won the rucks and maul 67-57, the off-loads 11-zip (although that’s a dubious stat) they ran the ball 79 times to 55, covering 415 metres to 284, forcing the Boks to make 118 tackles to 84.
In that department, the Boks were superb, keeping massive pressure on the Wallabies who folded like a pack of cards.
Then the crunch, and the basic reason for the flogging.
The Wallabies missed 16 tackles to just eight, most of them critical, and turned over possession 17 times to five. Repeat – 17-5.
Amid all that carnage were there any pluses worth reporting?
Yes. Quade Cooper is the best bet at 10 with his x-factor play and a couple of vital tackles that were his pluses. Israel Folau is the best 15 for much the same reasons, although defence has never been one of his weaknesses.
Christian Leali’ifano’s goal-kicking boot is golden, although the jury is out with his play at 12, and Ben Mowen is gaining in stature with every appearance, so much so if James Horwill is still injured for the next game against the Pumas, Mowen is captaincy material.
No argument with any of those four, but plenty for the next lot.
Will Genia just can’t get out of his own shadow. He’s lost his inspirational mode, jolting the backline, Michael Hooper keeps winning awards, but proving a liability with the bone-headed penalties he gives away like the lifting tackle on Bryan Habana, O’Connor’s still the pretty boy with deep pockets – get dirty and mix it.
Adam Ashley-Cooper made a dozen powerful runs last night, the most by any Wallaby, but he only passed once – end of any promising action.
In short, the Wallabies never looked like scoring, as the Boks comprehensively ended their seven-game drought at Suncorp.
The answer? I’m blowed if I know, except to pay the Wallabies by result only – say $35,000 a win, $10,000 a draw, and not a cent for a loss.
That should sure smarten up the prima donnas in the side by whacking them in the wallet.
That’s a sad indictment, but as close to the truth as we are going to get in the current climate.
Otherwise Ewen McKenzie will be dropping a few more two-word expletives before he irons out the kinks in this lot.
Meanwhile the Boks are laughing – they are back in business with a vengeance, a salute to their much-maligned coach Heneke Meyer.
He’s playing the game the way McKenzie wants to play it. The difference is Meyer has players with rugby brains, and nous, to carry out his orders to the letter.