- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Full credit to Argentina for their win over the Wallabies. They played as a unit. They played with passion. They played with intent.
I wish I could say the same for Australia. After a brilliant first half, in which the Wallabies defended like mad men and took the few points on offer with some clinical finishing, ill discipline and poor attitude let the wallabies saw Los Pumas claim a very well deserved first win of the Rugby Championship.
I want to stress the importance of Argentina’s win. They are not easy beats, and I think it’s reward for the quality of the side. And as the competition continues to develop looking towards the inclusion of an Argentinian team into Super Rugby, it’s a boost for the game as a whole.
MORE:
>> Wallabies vs Argentina live blog
>> Wallabies vs Argentina full match report
So let’s talk about the Wallabies then.
They set the game up so well in the first half, with a solid lead at the break despite very little territory, but laziness, complacency and terrible decision making in attack lost them the game. They have good patches of absorbing pressure, but they then seem unable to return this pressure to their opponent.
This happened time and time again against South Africa last week, and we all saw what happened there. If we look back at the last few games, this is also detailed in the lack of points scored in the second half.
Today, under immense pressure in defence, the Wallabies actually did pretty well. Sure they conceded a few penalties and some inevitable points. But that’s rugby. The biggest problem for me is after conceding points, they can’t return serve and force the same from the opposition.
This manifests in dumb decisions in attack (Israel Folau’s two chip kicks! He should have been pulled for that regardless of who’s left on the bench), inability to control the ball at the breakdown or sloppy penalties. And it compounds into what we saw last week and again today, were we descend into further ill discipline, yellow cards for bad, bad errors and ultimately costs victory.
I don’t think there are better players available, although I certainly wouldn’t have selected a 6-2 split myself considering Matt Toomua’s concussion concerns, so there is an element of selection at play. But for me it’s the mindset that lets us down. The team seems to have a sense of self belief, however unfounded, as they back their ability to let the game pan and that they will find a way to win. But that’s the problem right there.
We do possess the ability, as we saw in the first half and the first 70 mins against SA. However there is no urgency or intent to take the game away.
After falling behind in the second half, there was no firing up, there was no lift in intensity, there were no signs that they wouldn’t accept defeat. Compare that to Argentina, who played with such passion that they forced Australia into errors and converted pressure into points.
McKenzie’s men just let the game come to them and assume they will win. It stems from his analytical coaching style I think, which it doesn’t instil the ability to lift when it’s required. It’s too calm and collected. There isn’t the fear of God that someone like Cheika would put into his players.
The coaching staff are well aware of the second half fade outs, with bench impact being a big point of discussion recently. So we will see what they can come up with to combat this in the few games remaining this year.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.