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Not many minutes after 10.30am on Saturday, I find myself – mockingly – typing the words “That’s the way he plays” into Twitter, after David Warner played one of the worst first over cricket shots I think I have ever seen. And that includes a few I played myself.
By the end of the weekend, however, I discovered Warner’s horrendous shot in Hobart wasn’t the biggest sporting crime committed by an Australian. But more on Will Skelton later.
It was a touch surprising to see much of the reaction to the Wallabies win, with much of the commentary in the first 24 hours post-match at least suggesting the Wallabies had got away with another one, and that Scotland were unlucky.
I was surprised by this because I never felt the Wallabies wouldn’t win the game. The nerves were increasing, the closer the clock got to 80:00 minutes, don’t get me wrong, but even in the moments leading up to centre Tevita Kuridrani’s try, I felt it was a matter of when the Wallabies would score the match-winner rather than if.
“Good for the Wallabies to guts out the win. Scotland wonderful in defence and at the breakdown, but didn’t play a lot of rugby, really. The Wallabies execution was very hot and cold, no doubt, but I never really thought they wouldn’t win. And that’s not often been the case!” I offered on Sunday afternoon, across two tweets.
A few days on, I may have been harsh to suggest Scotland didn’t play a lot of rugby; what I really mean is they didn’t necessarily play a lot of first-phase rugby, instead preferring to do most of their attacking on the counter, or from a turnover.
Regardless, the Wallabies asked considerably more question of the Scottish defence than the reverse, and it’s here that the Warner comparison holds water.
Simply put, you’ve got to take all the Wallabies’ good with all the Wallabies’ bad. There were more than a few signs of much-improved skills and decision-making – think about what we endured against England back in June – but just as many signs that there’s still much to work on.
In rough chronological order, here’s but a few examples throughout the game.
Good: Israel Folau was actually looking to run at gaps in the first half, rather than straight at defenders and trying to beat them one-on-one. He regularly looked for offloads, too, finding Michael Hooper more than once.
Bad: Folau held back from the chip kick that led to Huw Jones’s first try. The whole reason Jones won the race to the bouncing ball was because he accelerated toward it and Folau remained passive, Folau did this again in the second half too. It’s a shame, because it’s little things like this that bring his fullback play into question; it also took the gloss off what was otherwise one of his better Tests in 2016.
Good: The first half set piece try was pure rugby porn. Just outstanding. The reason you watch rugby in the first place. Folau’s pass to Bernard Foley on the loop, Kuridrani’s out-in line that sucked in two Scottish defenders, Dane Haylett-Petty gliding through the gap and freeing the arms, Reece Hodge’s straightening run to draw fullback Stuart Hogg. Brilliant.
Bad: Rory Arnold dropping a Will Genia offload cold, through in his defence, it’s pretty hard to drop something you were never looking for and certainly weren’t expecting. But Genia was also guilty soon after the Hodge try of pushing a pass in traffic that was easily intercepted by the scrambling Scotland defenders.
Good: The quick ruck ball, coming from strong carries, and well-presented ball back for Genia toward halftime. Wallabies forwards – missing a major go-forward cog in Adam Coleman – were actually using the leg drive to push through tackles, and were actively looking for offloads.
Again, think back to June, when the Wallabies wouldn’t even offload the ball if it was on fire in their hands.
Bad: Rob Simmons, as he’s always been prone to doing, again hit attacking rucks far too high, providing no effective cleanout and allowing the likes Scotland backrowers easy turnover penalties just through superior body height and ruck positioning.
Good: The Wallabies’ restarts, previously a cause for many a dented TV and cracked remote, were very good throughout the game. Good height on the kick, well-chased, and well-contested. Australia dominated this part of the game.
Bad: Way too many desperately flung passes in traffic in what wouldn’t have even been 50-50 situations. Folau was guilty more than once, but certainly wasn’t alone. In all situations, the better option would’ve been to go to ground and get the quick recycle, rather than trying to thread a risky pass through the mix of opposition and teammates.
Good: Foley’s goal-kicking. After missing kicks last week from his preferred side, Foley at Murrayfield was noticeably keeping his head down, and striking the ball much cleaner and much better off the tee. And he was actually kicking through the ball, not stabbing at it, a tell-tale sign when his radar goes off.
Bad. The worst, in fact: Skelton’s yellow. The Wallabies had already won the penalty deep in the Scotland 22m, and Skelton thought he’d be able to get away with a clean-out that from the moment he pulled his arm into his body, was never, ever legal. And it was so late Carole King sang about it.
It was dumb, but was it Warner-in-the-first-over dumb?
— Brett McKay (@BMcSport) November 13, 2016
The tribe has spoken.
Kuridrani’s try certainly qualifies as good too, and he had plenty of work to do once he made the initial break. It sealed what was a very up-and-down Wallabies win, and if they were a bit lucky then I’d argue it was because they made their own luck. They certainly created more opportunities, and to me at least, it felt like they were on top all game, even if the scoreboard didn’t reflect that for 75 minutes.
And though it was far from perfect, it was a win. This Wallabies group haven’t ‘gutsed’ out too many wins in their time, and they should take plenty of confidence in doing that to Paris this weekend.
Take the good with the bad, and keep looking ahead. After all, ‘that’s the way they play’.