Wallabies wing James O’Connor is tackled during the IRB Rugby World Cup Semi-Final between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. The All Blacks defeated the Wallabies 20-6. (AAP Image/AFP, William West)
When Piri Weepu, the canny All Blacks halfback, kicked his final penalty to give New Zealand a 20 – 6 lead over the Wallabies, it was a signal for the vast crowd at Eden Park to go beserk.
The chant of ‘All Blacks! All Blacks!’ was backed with about 40,000 spectators (I’m presuming about 20,000 non-Kiwis in the crowd) smashing their feet on the concrete to make a rugby noise that was intimidating: ‘All Blacks! All Blacks!’ Bang! Bang! Bang!
Not even the Wallabies, a most resilient and brave side with brilliant ball-runners in the backline, could score two converted tries in about 8 minutes, could they?
The Wallabies swept on to the attack. Beside me a young man, in his 20s, dressed in adidas All Black gear, kept on moaning ‘Oh shit’ at various levels of intensity as drive after drive from the Wallabies pushed the side nearer the sideline.
When the ball squirted loose and there was a mad scramble for it, he was screaming out.
The ground erupted into roars of triumph when the All Blacks finally forced a ruck penalty.
By now there was only a minute or so left in the match and you could see Richie McCaw giving a smile of satisfaction. Some sloppy play followed and then a scrum that the All Blacks pulled down a couple of times before referee Craig Joubert gave a short arm penalty.
There was time for one more Wallaby backline thrust.
Ferocious and accurate tackling, especially on James O’Connor, forced a loose ball. Richard Kahui booted it through. Racing back in cover was Quade Cooper. Cooper bravely took the tackle and was smashed into touch.
A group of jubiliant All Blacks gathered around Kahui slapping backs and congratulating each other. One of the All Blacks gave Cooper a mouthful of abuse.
The final whistle blew and there was an exploding volcano of sound. It seemed to me like the sort of sound the last of the Christians might have heard when they were being feed to the lions at the Colisseum. It was the sound of pent-up and unrestrained joy, an explosion of noise that was at once triumphant, savage, raw and exultant.
In all my time watching rugby in the great rugby stadiums around the world and throughout many decades, I have never heard such an intensity of feeling expressed by a crowd.
I have gone into this emotional bloodbath atmosphere in some detail because this was one occasion when the crowd was literally the 16th man on the field for the All Blacks. They took huge reservoirs of energy from the crowd and delivered a power-laden performance that saw the Wallabies out-muscled in the rucks, the drives and, particularly, the scrum.
Nine of the All Blacks points came from scrum penalties.
This was a dominance that the Wallabies could not overcome with the rest of their game.
A significant part of the outcome, too, could be related to the poor play of Quade Cooper. The brilliant playmaker has had a shocking tournament. When his name was read out by the ground announcer in the Wallaby line-up, he was the only player on either side who was roundly booed. This booing has clearly affected his confidence and the usual manipulation of his high skills.
My feeling is that that he should have defused his Richie McCaw feud by confessing that he’d been a bit rash etc.
The New Zealand public would have acccepted this. Despite some of the media chatter, there is tremendous good will for the Wallabies in New Zealand. The intensity of the reaction of the spectators to their play represents the measure of respect the New Zealand public pays them.
But Cooper did not make his apologies and it seemed to me that this antagonised the All Blacks. It is never smart thing to do this, at the best of times. But when a place in the World Cup final is at stake, there is an element of stupidity in the sort of antics Cooper has been indulging in.
I noticed, for instance, that McCaw hardly looked at James Horwill when they tossed the coin.
There was some uncharacteristic gamesmanship by the All Blacks, too. Jerome Kaino, for example, patted David Pocock on the head when he conceded the first of his several penalties at the ruck.
This is being written immediately after the match. My impression of the Wallabies is that the team never really recovered from Cooper’s initial kick-off which went out on the full. The All Blacks spent the next 13 minutes on attack until Israel Dagg, a runner of Cooper-like brilliance but a better tackler and sounder player in every department of the game, hurtled through a gap and slipped a magnificent inside pass to Ma’a Nonu.
The Wallabies came back after this and forced a penalty after a series of forward drives the All Blacks found hard to contain.
But in hindsight, now we know what the outcome of the match was, the All Blacks were in control of the match. The youngster Aaron Cruden, who drop-kicked a neat goal, played the sort of steady game on attack and defence that the All Blacks needed from him. It is a difficult thing to have to say but that groin injury of Colin Slade was a blessing in disguise for the All Blacks.
And the Wallabies?
I was impressed enough with their resilience and courage and occasional brilliance to have the thought that if the bulk of this team can be held together, and the coach Robbie Deans with the players he has brought on, then they will be a real threat in England in RWC 2015.
But for now it is the sad story for the Wallabies that their dream of glory in RWC 2011 is over.
Errol
Guest
Deans badly mis-managed Cooper. He, or Cooper's manager, should have said very early on "Pull your head in Quaid. This is a team game." They should have sent him out there in front of the media right at the outset to apologise, and completely defuse the Cooper-versus-McCaw hype, instead of whipping it up like a ridiculous brand-building exercise. It cost Quaid his tournament, and will have shaved many many dollars off his asking price. Dumb dumd dumb. He's a telent, but his antics this tournament turned him into a liability. It was clear that he responded poorly to the crowd pressure, which only made us* jeer all the louder. It was a poor result for the Wallabies and a poor result for the kid. * All of which I was selfishly delighted to see, because I'm an AB supporter, and wholeheartedly joined in with any jeering that might increase the ABs chances by one millionth of one percent. But I do rate the guy. I think he makes rugby richer. I hope by the time he comes back from his shocking injury (and big ups to the Eden Park crowd for cheering him off) he'll either have better advice from manager and coach, or a better manager and coach.
amband
Guest
they actually could have won the game. Beaten them already this year
OneJayBee
Roar Rookie
Brick Lane. You have to remember a couple of things. * The majority of Australias 22.7mill people are not passionate (if at all interested) re rugby. Rugby is well down the pecking order (despite the intense comments coming through this post). * More relevant - I'd like to see the foxtel ratings for the match - though that still wouldn't be conclusive. I watched the game at my rugby club with a number of fellow members - I know many people who have foxtel at home who still went to pubs / clubs / live sites to watch it - partly for the atmosphere (and to avoid Channel 9 whose coverage of the event was a total disgrace.) Cheers
MR01
Guest
Actually RichT - Otago are just as bad, as are most regions. I remember a collective groan from the Lancaster Park crowd when Hewson kicked the match winning penalty against the Lions. A fair portion of the crowd thought that Deans would get the gig if the ABs lost that game. I also remember the roar from the crowd when some lads ran around with a "Full backing for Robbie" banner.
MR01
Guest
& mittens....
levelheaded
Guest
Read your artcile in the SMH today Spiro - are you joking? Any decent Journalist would attempt to utilise fact for a story, you, however have chosen to invent another story. For a man of your age, if you think creating sensational stories will position you well in the Rugby community, sorry mate, you have lost another reader. I have read over time your consistent berating of the Waratahs, it is personal, not often factual, how sad..... oh well, perhaps now that you have accidentally let the cat out of the bag we are all wiser to your intentions, push the blame of the underperforming Wallabies elsewhere ....tick, have another insecure crack with wrong information at the Waratahs....tick, blatantly lie to the public...tick....retire.....big tick!
King of the Gorgonites
Roar Guru
Anyone interested in RWC final tickets?
Charging Rhino
Guest
Correct Jerry. That's the touch judges call and the call was correct. Initially I thought he had a foot in touch but on the reply you see he passes before he went out. Definite Try. I was backing the Aussies... kinda have to... my wife's Australian :-) All Blacks completely outplayed them so well done to them. Pity they can't judge on final passes because perhaps De Villiers pass to Lambie would've been judged correctly and the whole quarter final game would have changed. Perhaps NZ may not have been in this final? Can't dwell on IF's though and rules are rules, history is history ;-) I see even some Australian guys proved on You Tube that the pass actually went backwards.... AGAIN..... SUch a pity about Bryce... But the past is in the past. No use in whining and No grudges against any team and you move on.
Charging Rhino
Guest
Ash.. mate.... I don't support New Zealand and I'm not a Kiwi. So I'm glad that you can see why I'd want Joubert to ref the final... :-) because he was very fair and good... a great performance.... which should make for a great game... unlike Bryce who was a shocker. And I've seen that he will be reffing the final. He deserves it. Congrats. However... France - NZ final.... still making my mind up about who to back but I'm thinking it would be nice for the Kiwis to finally win it again.. especially at home too and France have lost 2 games already this tournament so they don't deserve to be in the final at all... let alone win the thing. All Blacks are unbeaten this tournament... at home.... and have number 1 ranking so perhaps it's their time. But whichever team plays best on the day deserves it I guess. Can't see France upsetting the party this time round though.
WorldChamps2011
Guest
Honestly, could you Aussies not see this coming, after watching the wallabie forwards being hammered by the Springboks the previous week, I knew that they would be mauled even more savagely by us and the will not be able to withstand that sort of pressure 2 weeks in a row? Very sad indeed Pot Hale and nothing at all to do with luck...but everything to do with power and forward dominance, import some new forwards and from either NZ, Samoa or SA and you will have better support for your descent backline. Go All Blacks go...you beauties!
Rucknroll
Guest
That's because he used to wear stockings due to the cold.....disgraceful. Should never have been picked again.
Colin N
Guest
England. It could be (and I don't want to predict what they said) that you're being slightly precious. I saw some random Kiwi's singing 'Jonny is a W****r.' But I just see that as football-like banter, nothing wrong with it.
IronAwe
Guest
Well I don't mind the taunting and booing of Cooper etc and I feel in part he did bring this on himself, but in the papers over here, there were reports of Kiwi supporters spitting on Wallaby supporters. THAT is absolutely disgusting behaviour. Perhaps this is what Andy is referring to?
stillmatic1
Guest
well, you do have considerable form dont you? so, in a way, your just a bigger hypocrite!! its not like you havent posted before with that big bag of ruffles on the old shoulder, now is it?
Hooplah
Guest
Cooper should be allowed to go to the low pressure world of NRL. He clearly struggled with the attention of a major international sport. Give someone else a go!
joeb
Guest
Having watched it again, much closer than the score indicated. In fact our forwards didn't play too badly at all, Radike included. Good point made by Slackie in the commentary - why wasn't Higginbotham on the bench for the 2nd half considering we needed some game breakers? Good news, Snobby. ;) BB: "Well done All Blacks. Has there been a better rugby side?" Let's not count the chicks till they hatch. :)
Brick Lane
Guest
Ratings are in. 1.788 million watched Nine’s Rugby: World Cup: SF2 Nine New Zealand Vs. Australia. Is this a joke? Prime time, Sunday night. Most Aussies are at home then. World cup and a national event. One of the most important clashes of a generation. A semi-final next door to you. That's killed off Australia as a sports mad country for me. It's a lie. Even when you take population size into it, when England can deliver 6.4m for a QF on a sat morning those figures are terrible. Union has serious issues in Oz if that's the case.
Ash
Guest
Oh a certain South Africa referee has been given the final and the first thing he did was thank Paddy. Oh well we are gonna get one side refereed to the letter of the law and the other given latitude. Game over! -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Timnaik
Guest
I'm going for the massive upset on Sunday. France have one huge game in them. They haven't played their best yet.
Cattledog
Roar Guru
Cliff, that was more like 50 cents worth ;) Just one thing. You'll find most (if not all) of the top rugby schools have excellent coaches. However, would agree to getting better coaches into some of the developing areas / schools who show a positive outlook toward rugby. Not sure how we do this...and I hate throwing up problems without suggesting solutions, but it would no doubt come down to the ARU providing some form of funding.