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I’ve returned from a week looking at big rocks in the middle of Australia, and I’ll get the travel recommendation out of the way early: if you haven’t ventured in the red centre of this big country, you really should. It is just an amazing part of the world.
Of course, being hundreds of kilometres from anywhere, where today’s newspaper is actually yesterday’s (and where hotel broadband rates make Telstra’s look like a bargain), means that keeping up to date with the goings on in the sporting world was a little difficult.
After the previous weekend’s performance in Pretoria, where the Wallabies squandered 14-point leads not once, but twice, I was keen to find out what the fallout was.
The main points of interest seemed to be thus:
* Captain Rocky Elsom apparently gave the boys a good old-fashioned dressing room spray after the loss, which is great to hear, as Elsom has been criticised in some quarters for his lack of obvious emotion after games, and
* The Wallaby assistant coaches, Captain and Lieutenant Obvious, laid down a fresh challenge in the 2010 edition of the Stating the Bleeding Obvious Awards, by calling on the Wallabies to “show more consistency” after their Loftus Versfeld showing, where they surrendered a 23-year-victory-draught-ending lead twice.
A high point in clear thinking, I’d imagine.
Nevertheless, I was confident going into the Bloemfontein Test early Sunday morning. I had a really good feeling about the changes in the forward pack, that the recall of Stephen Moore and Mark Chisholm, and the promotion of Number 8 Ben McCalman to the starting side made a lot of sense.
Come the first half, I found myself forgetting about a fresh cup of tea once again, as the Wallabies raced out to a 31-6 lead within half an hour or so. Bonus points were secured before my bleary eyes had even stopped squinting at the TV.
So, some brief observations.
Rocky Elsom was outstanding, and played probably his best game as Wallaby captain. He was willing in the contest, and seemed to be back to his best with his wide running game.
His try from a James O’Connor break, which sealed the bonus point, looked to be out of determination that he wasn’t going to be run down for the second week in a row. It was a just reward for a storming game, and it was great to see a satisfied man lift the Mandela Plate post-match.
This might be a big call, but in Ben McCalman, the Wallabies may just have found their next long-term No.8. Wycliff Palu will inevitably return for a period once fit again, sure, but at only 22, McCalman looks to be that aggressive, hard-tackling presence at the back of the scrum that Richard Brown tries desperately to be, but just hasn’t quite mastered.
Admittedly, I need to lay a disclaimer here, that McCalman was one of my Next Breed subjects back in March, and I am just as excited about getting one right (and on that subject, Dave Dennis, what’s happened?) as I am about a young guy from central NSW coming through.
It will be interesting to see how he slots into the already Wallaby-laden Western Force backrow rotation next year, and more so, when or if the Waratahs might try to bring him home.
Now for the humble pie bit.
I’ve been saying for quite some time now that James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale in the same side make me nervous, but there’s no ignoring this: they were both outstanding in this game, and both seem to be getting better with every game in their current roles.
While Beale will ultimately be remembered for kicking the winning penalty goal, O’Connor was very dangerous on the counter, and had a major hand in two of Australia’s tries as well as netting one himself. If this roaming wing role is the one from which O’Connor can reach his undoubted potential at international level, then good luck to him.
This was the classic game of two halves.
Australia dominated play for 39 minutes, went to sleep just on halftime, and were then completely outplayed by South Africa until the 79th minute of the game, by which time a 25-point lead had disappeared and yet another heartbreaking loss looked inevitable.
However, some laziness from the Springbok forwards in trying to close out the game presented Beale with his opportunity for glory. From just inside halfway and on a decent angle, Beale stepped up under enormous pressure, both at the ground and from many a lounge room back in Australia.
I still haven’t seen the kick from front-on, but from side on it was only ever going to be a question of whether it was straight enough. As the flags went up, there was a triumphant, if muted, early morning celebration in my house not seen since Brett Holman’s cracking goal for the Socceroos in their World Cup clash with Ghana.
If, in twelve or thirteen months time, the Wallabies go further in the Rugby World Cup than expected, we may well look back at this game as the turning point.
This could be the game where Australia finally learned how to grind out a tight win in the most hostile of environments, where previously they might have folded and suffered yet another frustrating and inglorious loss.
I learned an enormous amount about Aboriginal history and the Dreamtime on my trip out to Uluru last week, but I suspect this current Wallabies squad is starting to create some history of its own.
Their next big test comes this Saturday in the final Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney, and not for the first time I find myself saying that the Wallabies are now only as good as their next game. With Dan Carter out injured, there may not be a better chance to beat the All Blacks.
The Wallabies are starting to give fans a reason to believe again though, and they deserve all the optimism that comes their way this week. I just hope this isn’t all some cruel dream.