Australian coach Robbie Deans answers questions at a press conference follow their Rugby World Cup loss to Ireland at Eden Park(AP Photo/Ross Land)
“We played some dumb rugby, we weren’t good enough”: Wallaby skipper James Horwill nailed two of the reasons why Ireland created the shock of the RWC by winning a tryless goal-kicking shoot-out 15-6 at Eden Park.
Ireland’s first win at Eden Park in history, and Ireland’s first win over the number two ranked nation in three World Cups.
Ireland’s coach Declan Kidney out-manoeuvred Wallaby counterpart Robbie Deans:
* Kidney told his troops to slow down Wallaby ball; they were slow to the lineouts, slow to pack down in the scrums, and in regular intervals Irishmen went down “injured” – all time-consuming. The men-in-green did everything asked of them to perfection.
* And Ireland had more passion, more composure, more structure – and belted the Wallaby forwards into submission.
Ireland was aided and abetted by the dumb way the Wallabies tried to turn the tide.
When possession was like hen’s teeth to find, why kick, why kick, why kick?
To compound the agony the Wallabies’ defence allowed Ireland space by waiting for them, rather than advancing and chopping them down well short of the advantage line.
And if Tatafu Polota-Nau (TPN) can’t find his lineout jumpers, find someone who can. There’s no law that says the feeder has to be the hooker.
It’s beyond belief lineout feeders can’t throw in straight – TPN is a serial offender.
But there wasn’t one Wallaby who played anywhere near their usual form.
And if anyone tries to find an excuse for the three missing frontline Wallabies, forget it.
We all knew the injured Digby Ioane was to be replaced by James O’Connor, and flanker David Pocock by Ben McCalman, but Polata-Nau was a late replacement for Stephen Moore (stomach bug).
McCalman was a poor selection in the first place. Scott Higginbotham was a far better bet with no acknowledged openside flanker in the squad.
There was no grunt, and precious little passion.
And as I predicted pre-tournament, Kiwi referee Bryce Lawrence killed the game with penalties – 20 in all with 12 against the Wallabies – and incessant whistle blowing.
Both predictions were spot on with the additional downsides of missing offsides and forward passes on both sides, dishing out unfathomable penalties both ways – and on four occasions Lawrence hindered play by getting in the way. Poor positioning.
In this company, he’s simply not good enough.
Nor were the Wallabies.
Where was the side that beat a full-strength South Africa in South Africa? That beat the All Blacks for the second time in three to regain the Tri-Nations ending a decade-long drought? And scored 26 points in 16 minutes to dump on Italy in the RWC opening round?
Three successive resounding victories. They are but a memory.
But Brian O’Driscoll’s men will long remember September 17, 2011, and Eden Park.
They have turned the RWC on it’s head.
It’s not the end of the road for the Wallabies, but the road is much much harder with the Boks now likely quarter final opponents, the All Blacks in the semis.
And the Wallabies have no-one to blame but themselves.
They played dumb rugby alright.
Ben S
Roar Guru
I've fluttered with Mr Saunders (i.e. my surname) which I took after a previous nom de plume. I was never that comfortable with monikers, but then post-change I thought Mr Saunders (I think that was it) was a bit too formal, so here we are...
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Ben S. I get your point, mostly how class differences come about! (I was tidying the font in my Word File where I keep snippets of Roar posts. Nice to see your earlier contributions when you penned under a different name!)
Ben S
Roar Guru
No, Thelma, I mean culture as in language, art, literature etc. If we take that concept on a simple level, the classes in a divided society have their own methods of expression which expand and interact over time. Consider hip-hop now, and how hip-hop developed from slave music, which itself helped to develop R&B, and now both styles of music are worldwide phenomenons. Actually, maybe I do mean class conflict in one sense... I'm not sure.
ahh what a stunner
Guest
tito "First of all rugby union people at the games go to watch their country win ugly or other wise go watch your league" Are you English? winning UGLY is what the tahs having been trying to do over the last 3-5 years they have lost a lot of fans! Aust scrum gets a rough deal in my opinion, refs just give the other team the 50/50 calls because of recent history. i thought we were hard done by in scrums, breakdowns and a lot of general calls.... i hope aust beat NZ in the semis so Bryce Lawrence is the ones the Kiwis can blame! i know the Kiwis would rather play the Irish in the semi... with Ireland never beating them! As bad a s Aust played they can beat the Kiwis as they can get up for that one, then probably lose the final. Tito, i think a pack weighs around 900kgs & don't be so harsh on league as state of origin sh*ts all over any rugby game! if we didn't have league we would have a lot of talent to pick from and dominant rugby! as you know league is a blue collar game and thats what this team lacks hard heads, that want to smash the crap out of you game in game out!!! not scoring a try in 80mins of rugby is poor
tito
Guest
First of all rugby union people at the games go to watch their country win ugly or other wise go watch your league please don't tell us that rules are negative these rules are their to protect the player when you have 750 kg packs scrumming against each other that's some mussel not like dads army scrums they have in league even your half back could play in the front row can you imagine Quade cooper playing in the front row. Rugby union is about being aggressive smart out thinking the opposition and trying to unshackle their defence . If you think kick on the 6th tackle is a no brainer you keep it my advise keep watching league.
oddball
Guest
Let's start with the basics of rugby: discipline, courage, teamwork, sportsmanship, and tackling. Quade has been put on the pedestal way before he is closed to deseving it. How can anyone be proclaimed to be a good, let alone great, rugby player if he can't (or is afraid to) tackle? With all this arrogance, Quade should be playing football (ie soccer) instead. He might find a friend in the similarly egoistical Christiano Ronaldo. Then again, this could be an insult to the Portugese.........
Chuck
Guest
It was a little cool and had been raining in Auckland on and off for much of the day. It absolutely hosed down for a while in the second 40 thankfully I had covered seating a bit of wind but not a lot.
Chuck
Guest
Mumm, O'Conner lol
Amorita Maharaj
Roar Rookie
It just wasnt Quade Cooper's night - He was absolutely lost! Cant wait for them to match up against the Boks in the quarters - they are likely to fall over again!
Moaman
Guest
Not sure if they were rhetorical or not but will have a stab at answering a couple; 1/2 Slow ball is pointless so sometimes it's preferable to re-engage the opposition's forwards and bide your time before going wide. 3 Defensive screens can be hard to penetrate -particularly off slow ball.....some screens leave inviting gaps between front line and fullback/wing...whether by design or not.A chip can exploit this space and allow the attacking team to get in behind. Obviously relies on execution,chase and,usually a favourable bounce! A bad bounce or chase etc can make these chips look pointless and give away possession. 4 QC is an outstanding passer.World class,with excellent peripheral vision honed,I suspect,by an acutely-developed sense of self-preservation.
Jerry
Guest
The same number as Quade.
wannabprop
Guest
'Half-back carries 5'... That's hilarious.
Moaman
Guest
Thelma! Greetings. MY point about the rain was that it appeared to be just very light....and not even persistant.Not like you will get during the Monsoon! NZ's main grounds all have superb drainage these days so any rain atall usually only affects handling and modern balls are designed for this. As we have had night-rugby imposed on us here for over a decade now I have to say I am really enjoying seeing the odd match played in sunshine.My daughter was perplexed by the 'look' of daytime rugby--having grown up in the modern era---and I suspect she thought it a bit Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately,when this competition reaches the nitty-gritty end....matches will be played even later in the evening than usual....all so we can kowtow to TV andd overseas audiences and at the possible expense of spectacle. Still,so far the RWC seems a brilliant success and with the odd strange result to spice it up! ;-)
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Hi Moaman! Just saw your post. Sorry, there's been a lot of them; yours got lost in the clutter. Nope, I'm in Asia! In my native land. About the rain, I took it as given from StillMissIt's report. Maybe it had stopped. I'm cranky about the rain. For three years I've been saying that the Wallabies need to train in hard conditions. The greatest concern about the Wallabies is their mental fragility. It could have been worse with a FOG! :-) I didn't watch the game (I visited the dentist.) When I finally get to watch it, I'll remember your observations. Cheers!
ThelmaWrites
Guest
Hi Ben S! That's a strange proposition, "Culture tends to arise from inequality". By "culture", do you mean "class conflict". Marxian?
Quakezone...
Guest
the problem with the team and some of their supporters are they are already talking quarters and semis when USA is all that you should be focussed on hahaha - need bonus points and man up against an agressive USA D and if it rains that may be a leveller...If I was USA I would fancy my chances USA pushed Ireland by being brutal and their back row is competitive....get that one boys and be injury free Will...
Capital
Guest
I agree pj The ref was tough on the front row - and appreciate that Ireland were more committed. A number of first infringements were missed on Kepu's side. But - we had chances to compete and Lawrence didn't subtract 1-2m of pace off every one of forwards. We were just not in the contest area where it counted. Too much pretty boy rugby from the Gen Y triad.
Capital
Guest
MT Does Quade want the job :)
Seiran
Roar Guru
ooooh league, how exciting. 1. two lines of blokes run into each other, one guy holding the ball humps the ground for a while.....Then the procees is repeated a few more times before a players kicks the ball to the opposition. 2. The oposition then refers to point 1. 3. Eventually someone, after performing point 1, chip kicks behind the wall of players and a try is scored. 4. back to point 1. 5. Game over. 6. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Quakezone...
Guest
My personal favorites are "We will take a lot from that..." "Its about education..."