Sonny Bill Williams was the standout in the All Blacks’ comprehensive 22-0 defeat of the Wallabies at Eden Park last night to hold aloft the Bledisloe Cup for the 10th straight year.
The giant inside centre is the best off-loader of a rugby football I’ve ever seen. His talent in this department covers the full 360 degree range whether he’s standing erect, at full bore, or heading for the turf under a tackle.
It’s uncanny how well he can keep All Black momentum intact with pinpoint accuracy. And last night he was at his best.
He’ll be a huge loss to the All Blacks when he leaves on Tuesday for a six-month stint in Japan rugby before an expected couple of years in the NRL with the Roosters.
“He goes with our best wishes, and hopefully he’ll get back to us as soon as he can,” was how All Black coach Steve Hansen described his departing hot property.
“He grew a leg this year. His performance in the Super Rugby (with the Chiefs) was outstanding, and all through the Irish series he played top notch rugby as well as the last two Tests (against the Wallabies)”.
The standout for the Wallabies last night?
No-one.
Quade Cooper did nothing unpredictable, badly missing touch once, as well as three tackles, but he paced himself back into the big time to get rid of nine months of international rust. Along with tyro flankers Michael Hooper and Liam Gill, all three will be better next time out.
But to give the men-in-gold the credit they deserve, they played far better than last weeks capitulation. They were outgunned by a truly professional side, but aided and abetted by their own stupid elementary mistakes that cost 15 points through five Dan Carter penalties.
Obviously 15 makes a big hole in 22 points, a scoreline which forced the Wallabies to abandon three penalty shots at goal chasing seven pointers in the last quarter to get back in the contest.
Just as obviously the Wallabies failed in other areas as well. They were out-rucked and mauled 110 to 74, the All Blacks offloaded 26 times to 5, with SBW showing the way, and the Wallabies missed 20 tackles to 7.
Worse still the number of times the Wallabies kicked away possession when holding ball in hand was mandatory. At times possession was as scarce as hen’s teeth, kicking it away so often was criminal with every Wallaby back an offender.
“We said before the game we weren’t going to do that,” ventured Wallaby hooker Stephen Moore in a post-match interview with Fox’s Brendan Cannon.
Which begs the question why? It doesn’t make any sense.
Nor does it make any sense the Wallabies are ranked the second best rugby nation in the world. That being the case it’s the All Blacks and daylight.
But Hansen was surprisingly supportive of the Wallabies.
“All credit to them, they defended magnificently. We put them under a lot of heat for periods of time.
“I know the score probably doesn’t make them feel too good, but there were parts of their game they would be pretty happy with”.
Two Wallaby tackles did stand out – Adam Ashley-Cooper’s crunching diving tackle into touch on Israel Dagg at the corner post when a try seemed a laydown misere, and Sitaleki Timani ripping the ball off Luke Romano on the ground in the in-goal area, saving another “certain” five-pointer.
Steve Hansen was right, there were long periods when the Wallabies stuck to their defensive guns, only to undo all the good work with some dumb rugby giving away costly penalties.
Next up the Boks in Perth in a fortnight.
Don’t expect too many new Wallaby faces in the 22, that’s the way it is.
It’s not right, but it is a fact of life.
allblackfan
Guest
damien, that's part of the new rules which the ITM Cup is trialling.
Morgan
Guest
Fair call. On reflection I would mark Barnes down lower than 5/10. I guess when looking at the tapes it seemed his inability to create was as much his inability as it was a failure of the players around him. The backline has no formation at all these days. They don't even do loops or run-arounds to create an extra man. It one of the first tests in memory where we haven't even had decoy runners in the mid-field. I can't can't believe how these guys have become completely disorientated this year.
Jerry
Guest
42-10. Trolling Fail TJ.
Sluggy
Roar Guru
Sesanta, the Wallabies have been losing to the Pumas since qbout 1979.
mania
Guest
u funny danSA. 1st u chastise the aussie fans for being too harsh on their team then u rip into yours i honestly believed that the boks would be the team to beat this season. i'm begining to doubt myself
mania
Guest
johnno - i say it to annoy some people who are anti pacific islanders.
Johnno
Guest
Lol Mania. Yes polyneisian power is still strong and i hope it stays that way, just born to play rugby and contact sports. And TJ would of been great to have wallet lewis and stuart stay as wallabies. Nick far jones, and Gregan are not sad though lol, or Lynagh or david knox.
mania
Guest
Pete, TJ and Johnno - SAMOA and TONGA REPRESENT!!! Pacific Islanders in the house!!!!
chuck
Guest
107 years your missing
mania
Guest
johnno -perenara's injury is a fractured ankle. it will be a 3 way battle for HB. perenara vs kerr-barlow vs aaronSmth. these are good times for NZ rugby. agreee kepu is an awesome find for aus. timani is a man hopefully for the long term. a hard worker as well as a good defender. i wouldnt say AB's feared him but they're certainly aware of him now. i imagine he'll get shut down in the next game and be given less latitude to shine
TJ
Guest
Your correct Johnno....I was getting mixed up with Jonah mixed up with Tana Umanga who I think was from Samoa , but allowed to lead the Haka. Also, I think Michael Jones has been given special awards from Samoa because of his heritage. Anyway, its not worth taking any further as it was a hip reaction to the NRL jibe.....I guess they are two young to remember the number of RU players Union lost to League including some of the legends.....Wally Lewis was an Australian Rugby Schoolboy rep/ Ricky Stuart is an ex-wallaby....the list goes on.
winston
Guest
Hi NCART, Its a replay. I could tell you, but I may incriminate myself. However I can say that I often look out my window to check the Bay for Pirates. That way I avoid the Torrent of crap that comes out of Kearnsy's mouth ;)
Johnno
Guest
mania that is it this team is not great yet at all time will tell, some good players up an comng aoaran smith, and i hope tha hurricanes halfback gets fits again next year form his knee inury. We may see another dynasty of rivalries between those 2 like Marshall/Kelleaher fighting for that starting jumpper. -And with timpani and i will add Kepu too, they all got there high school education done in the NZ system in Auckland wesley college and AUckland Grammar, shallot of there early game was honed in NZ. -That 1st half bt Timani was truly awesome . He is a massive human being 6'8 and big and strogn, much bigger than SBW 6'3. He used his size well on the weekend, he was playing a de facto I/C on the weekend or being like a rugby league prop he made a few hit ups up the middle and SBW and Nonu had to gang tackle him. -He was the only wallaby out there who they actually feared. Fear and respect are 2 different things. They respect Digby Ioane and genia but don't fear them. -They actually feared Timani as he offered something they totally didn't have an answer for and knew physically he was the biggest and strongest man out there. He played well hope he develops form here be great boost for the wallabies to have him firing, and hope his younger brother develops, and the big fijian at the brumes kruidrani.
DanSA
Guest
I think Wallaby supporters are a little harse on the team, these ABs might not have all the star names from 1995 & 2007 however the level of skill and execution was incredible. The Boks are crap, and our coach is stuck in 2007, with a Bulls game plan, i.e. channel 1 crash ball rugby plus kick and chase. He is currently for me a worse coach than PDV! The Wallabies will score 3-4 tries and win by 15-20 points against the Boks. The ABs will beat the boks by at least 30 points, if not more and might even keep them scoreless. The Pumas are a great team but think they might loose away to the Wallabies, but potentially pull a shocker and beat them at home. The ABs will not loose a single game in this tournament
mania
Guest
johnno - it is hype. always is. but lets look at where a lot of the hype is coming from. a majority you'll find is coming from pre and post match interviews with the wallabies. genia pretty much admitted they lost to an outstanding team, which isnt the case, but i guess genia is trying to make the loss more acceptable. moore, AAC and timani have all been guilty last week of hyping up this AB's team. aSmith is nothing like genia. genia panics and gets confused in a losing game. aSmith keeps to the same standard. edenPark however i saw the greatness grantFox alluded to when he initially selected aSmith. i was a bit wary as graemeBachop imo is the greatest AB's halfback of all time but on saturday i saw aSmiths potential to being the next bachop. genia has good games and bad games. aSmith has the same game no matter how much pressure he's put under. in the 2nd irish test aSmith played like he was playing a winning game, a high standard not influenced by his team mates or the score on the board. messam - i agree with you here. has had his opportunities and now maybe a bit old to really leave a legacy, but is playing well at the mo and deserves his time in the sun. vito came on and played really well.
TJ
Guest
SHEEK -- could it be that they arrive "underdone" at the Wallabies because the Club scene is dying . In days gone by young club player just out of school would train with and play against Wallabies and ex-Wallabies. That doesn't happen any more. Also there would be an opportunity to pass skills on week after week.. rather than at a day coaching clinic where the parties don't even know each other. Such basic things as running low off a ruck seem to be a basic skill missing from the Wallabies play. I can remember an old Wallaby at my club in days go by setting up a fence and making sure the " forward rush " ran at a height that they went under the fence......also, if a back kicked away ball aimlessly on a Saturday then the following Tuesday he would join scrum and ruck practise so that he learned what forwards have to do to secure ball. The back got a bit of " attention" during the session. It sounds primative I know but it worked .....the kickers certainly got the message. I guess we didn't have the distractions of Twitter and Facebook, and the main financial worry (which was not a matter for an "Agent " to handle )was whether the club would put on a 9 gallon keg after the game.
Johnno
Guest
mania good points. I suppose my point is the media hype about this team feels just that media hype. And is overblown a bit and everyone forgets the past ,lets see what this is team is like when truly tested, they have been together for 5 minutes. -And the halfback aoran smith reminds me of genia or any other rookie. Genia was seen as the next gregan as super star and had been on the scene for 5 minutes, then he was found out at twickenham with a bit of pressure he is limited or in world cup. He is good biut not great yet genia,a dn this aroan smith is the same, lets ee how he goes at say playing sty africa or against a good england or fence team at twickenham or in paris, or in a lions series or in world cup before we jump the gun on him. He has a long way to go before he matche marshallm keellehaer, or gregan. -Messam is good but still has to prove a lot this is his break out year, he didn't fire with ted, or maybe lacked confidence but still have to see him when the pressure is on. The supe rugby final was at home for him, and tired sharks needs more of a challenge before he overtakes Mike Brewer for example.
mania
Guest
timani played awesome, 2nd half it was his support around him that failed. agree hooper was struggling. dennis (dennis who?), higgers, gill and hooper were all taken to school by mccaw, read and messam. totally outclassed, so outclassed in fact that aus were at a totally different school which was remedial, where as AB's were graduating from the jedi academy.
mania
Guest
johnno - no way is lauaki beter than messam. lauaki doesnt deserve to be mentioned in the same paragraph. lauaki was lazy and didnt know the rules intimately. mealamu is a way better than oliver. at 33 keven is still peaking in strength. romano doesnt have to be a bradThorn. agree bout crockett. and its gregSommerville who was just as average as crockett is. brodieRetallick def isnt like the other locks u mentioned. he's destined to be better. dont discount retallick because he's a rookie. he plays with a maturity seldom found in a young tight5. retallick does all the dark arts as well as defending. retallick is the next ianJones of NZ rugby.
mania
Guest
"Sonny Bill Williams was the standout in the All Blacks" no it was aaronSmith "Nor does it make any sense the Wallabies are ranked the second best rugby nation in the world. That being the case it’s the All Blacks and daylight." no there is still the boks to come, who will put up a more comprehensive challenge than the wobblies. "The standout for the Wallabies last night? No-one." disagree Sitaleki Timani is a major find and if coached and looked after properly will be a long term wallaby.