Why, Wycliff Palu, didn’t you draw and pass to an unmarked Adam Ashley-Cooper when instead you half-dummied and lost the ball? Why, Matt Giteau, did you not just pass normally on the inside to a looming Lote Tuqiri, rather than that ordinary attempted impersonation of the Harlem Globetrotters over your shoulder? And why, why, why Sam Cordingley, did you go yourself on the line when Giteau and 53,000 Queenslanders were screaming for it out wide???
The Wallabies had it on a platter on Saturday night: the Tri-Nations, the Bledsiloe, a winning record over the All Blacks, twelve months worth of sledging Kiwis, and it all disappeared with two non-passes and one shocker. Oh, the humanity!
In one of the better games of expansive rugby in recent years, this truly will go down as the one that got away. Australia dominated possession and territory for most of the game, yet fell short of the line to the most damaging counter-attacking backline in the world. What more can I say?
I’m quite sure this game will be remembered as a major turning point for the Robbie Deans reign, but even having watched the game on Sunday afternoon after returning from a wedding and avoiding all news for most of the day, this one really hurts.
mudskipper
Guest
Sam Cordingley couldn't pass up the opportunity to get the try in front of his home crowd on his last test...If he had Larkham standing there calling for the ball he would have done what he was told to do by the playmaker…He clearly didn’t respect Giteau’s call… This is one time playing what is in front of you didn’t work… You can’t think like a champion when you play for a loosing team, that’s Sam's real problem. A cold fact but ture. Matt Giteau will realize this fundamental point soon and go return to a rebuilt Brumbies squad where his has chance of winning the Super 14 championship either in 2010 or 2011. If wants a memorable career, he has to be in a winning team and not the team with the most cash…
JohnB
Guest
Well, maybe Palu thought Carter was going to go for the intercept, then fell between 2 stools a bit - should have either passed a bit earlier or gone hard and kept the ball secure. Giteau possibly only saw Tuqiri at the last instant and hurried the pass any way he could. Yes, it would have been better to hang on (mind you, Wallabies scored off somewhat similar passes earlier in the season) - question to me is was there a call from Tuqiri and if so, maybe it should have been earlier? Cordingley - sometimes the best time to take a snipe is when everyone is sweating on the blokes outside. Sure looks ordinary when it doesn't work though.
Jock M
Guest
Could it be that because Rugby has been turned into a League half breed that the players are playing like individuals and not as a team. I remember a Kiwi coach that I had in the seventies telling me that he would have me passing the ball to a team mate to enable him to score a try that I could easily have taken.I in fact saw Graham Mourie(All Black Captian and Breakaway) do this in a test once-surely some one will know which one! Rugby I concede has improved with the ELV's but the thing could really be fixed by preventing the tackled player playing the ball on the ground-trust me.
LeftArmSpinner
Guest
Blinky, they are capable of playing what is in front of them. They did it for patches throughout the past 4 months. Sustaining it is the problem and has been for years since McQueen. They need to get fitter, more aggressive and determined and then they will play for 80 minutes and win more games. having said that, the ABs and SA in J'burg, played well at the critical times. The best example is the AB's coming back from 17-7 down to score three unanswered converted tries. That is ticker and smarts.
Blinky Bill - Bellingen
Guest
Brett, it's not doing any of us any good raking over the coals. Having said all of that, I understand where you're coming from because I have an as yet unplayed tape of the game that I just can't bring myself to watch with others around. I just know when I do that I'll be wondering What if this? What if that? It was painful watching the incidents that you describe unfold. The Gits to Lote 'pass', Cordingly's 'let me show you how it's done' & Palu's absolute failure to do the simple things at crucial times. Robbie's plan of 'playing what's in front of you' is great in theory bu if the players aren't used to thinking for themselves, working on instinct and being quick to support their mates........what happened in Brisbane is the price. Dumb decisions. Two others stood out for me. One was losing the ball in contact (Sharp etc) and those brain dead kicks when we needed to keep ball in hand. Seems to me that kicking possession away was very much a case of conducting the experiment in the same way & yet expecting different results. I mean if kicking it to them for 75 minutes didn't work, then why would it with 5 to go? No where's that video tape?
ohtani's jacket
Guest
Deans is too soft on the Wallabies. The All Black coaches gave the players a bollacking at half time and Henry subbed at least two players who weren't having good games. Deans couldn't do the same because he inexplicably chose a 5-2 bench. I'm sure the players love playing under Deans, but he can't be one of the boys all the time.
Brett McKay
Expert
Leftie, you are correct in your concerns regarding fitness, and that has certainly been aired in plenty of posts here and elsewhere since Saturday night. I guess that's the beauty of "analysis from the armchair", it's so easy to move onto the What If? questions. What if Palu HAD put Ashley-Cooper away, for instance?? How might that have changed the outcome, with the obvious thinking being that the ABs may not have responded nearly as well from 24-7 down, as they did from 17-7? Do finish on a positive though, I think there's plenty of good signs, from both the team and the coaching staff. I'm looking forward to the late nights from Europe in Oct-Nov. Looking forward to adding more columns and enjoying discussion here too...
Justin
Guest
LAS - I think the game was there for the taking we fell aslepp for a brief period and it cost us the match. Our defence (again) was ordinary in parts. Fitness? Not sure, but we made as much if not more play then the Kiwis. I would say the ridiculous kicking away of the ball with grubbers when inside the 30m also was costly. Mud - doesnt matter in this instance where Paul was carrying the pill, he had no reason to engage Carter, the ball should have been moved, there were 2 men outside, and he should have backed up the speed men.
mudskipper
Guest
Palu was carrying the ball on the wrong side enabling Dan Carter to swipe at the ball without Palu using a right arm fend...Ball carry is a basic skill at this level and in this circumstance meant the test match... Fundamental skills like this need to be developed earlier with a player, they need to be instinctive... Obviously at the time Palu didn't have the benefit of hindsight to think about his play. He made a mistake… You can never under estimate the dexterity of a player such as Carter not to play for the ball…
LeftArmSpinner
Guest
brett, understand your frustration, particularly with Palu but, I strongly suspect that the Wallabies were not sufficiently fit to play out the 80 minutes, didnt have the bench to match the AB's and still being a bit soft between the ears, all of this compounded into three unanswered converted tries. It was not really there for the taking, at least not for this team and this captain at this point in their development. It was a great game to watch tho.