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Wallabies coach Robbie Deans rued Drew Mitchell’s send-off and inexplicable momentum-turning errors after feeling the pain of an eighth straight loss to the All Blacks.
Deans cut a disconsolate figure as New Zealand ruthlessly pounded his team 49-28 at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
The seven-tries-to-three defeat was a massive step back after the advance of last week’s 30-13 win over South Africa.
Deans didn’t need All Blacks coach Graham Henry to point out he’d feel “very sad” if he were in the former Crusaders coach’s shoes.
“Personally if I had eight losses in a row I’d find it very difficult to handle to be frank,” Henry said. “You’d feel under a lot of heat, that’s the nature of international sport I guess.”
Deans was most pained by continued lapses in concentration from kick-offs, Mitchell’s 47 minutes off the field and particularly a momentum-turning charge down try.
Down 8-3 after Dan Carter had a clearing kick charged down by Mitchell, the All Blacks roared back to life from the restart when Carter scored from a Berrick Barnes charge down.
“Our challenge in the game, it’s a lot of little stuff. A charge down after a charge down score (that’s) easily averted and they’re the things we have to master.”
“We have an opportunity next week in Christchurch and you keep going and try to find some solutions.”
While NZ clinically took their chances and Australia conceded some soft tries, Deans pointed to Mitchell’s yellow cards as a major factor in their inability to claw back from 22-11 down midway through the first half.
“Once we were down to 14 men and we were playing for pride there was potential there for (the scoreline) to blow out,” Deans said.
“It could have been worse.”
Mitchell was sin-binned firstly for a shoulder charge on Richie McCaw that was picked up by the assistant referee, and then was again marched after the break for stripping Conrad Smith of the ball as he looked to take a quick lineout.
Never before in his career had the winger been sent off.
“I let everyone down out there and it’s not a nice feeling,” said Mitchell, who started the game so well with his eighth-minute try.
“It’s hard for me to take any joy from that at the moment, watching the game unfold like the way it did is not a pleasant feeling.
“It was gut-wrenching.”
In one piece of bad news for NZ, All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan is in doubt for Saturday’s clash in Christchurch with a rib cartilage injury.
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.