I had my radio earphones plugged in on Sunday morning and tuned into the BBC world sports round-up service. Half asleep I heard an announcer break into the match call of an EPL game to give a 38 – 21 scoreline for the England – All Blacks Test.
I had the impression that the 38 was for the All Blacks and wondered briefly how their defence could leak three converted tries.
But I was jolted awake when the EPL commentary was interrupted to go to Twickenham for an interview with the ‘victorious’ England coach, Stuart Lancaster. My wife was not amused when I told her, breaking her sleep, that ‘England has monstered the All Blacks.’
Several other interviews were carried about the upset result. Curiously, there was one brief announcement that the Wallabies had defeated Wales 14 – 12 and nothing about the sensational try on time that twice saw the Wallabies, in the same try-scoring movement, run the ball forward from their own 22 before Kurtley Beale was released by Dave Dennis to score an historic try.
Steve Hansen was right about the All Blacks being out-played by England.
The points differential from the 38 – 21 result represented the second biggest loss the All Blacks have ever suffered in 109 years of Test rugby. In 1999 the Wallabies defeated them 28 – 7, a victory that set them up for their RWC 1999 truimph.
The Springboks defeated them 17 – 0 in 1928 on the strength of Bennie Osler’s kicking.
And now the history books will record England’s 38 – 21 triumph, a victory achieved with three 21 year olds playing a major part in the outcome. With England hosting RWC 2015, this victory, after close recent defeats to the Wallabies and the Springboks, suggests that they will be the team to beat in that tournament.
The impressive part of the victory was that they found all sorts of holes in the All Blacks defence. They also won the collisions. And in general they showed more rugby nous, on the day, than the All Blacks.
The interesting aspect of all this is whether England can take this impressive form into the Six Nations tournament in 2013, and then for two more years to the World Cup.
My guess is that they will. The team is young. It is powerful. And it is well-coached.
England’s victory, also, threw into sharper relief the quality of the Wallabies’ play since their defeat by France at the beginning of their northern tour.
It needs to be remembered for all those who have demanded the head of Robbie Deans on a plate that the Wallabies defeated England, Italy and now, while the All Blacks were drowning in points against them, a rampant, fired-up Welsh side, inspired by its fervent and partisan crowd to play some brilliant running, expansive rugby.
And again for all those who continually denigrate rugby as a spectacle, these Tests were sensational spectacles in their different ways, with England out-All Blacking the All Blacks and the Wallabies down and out with minutes to play scoring an absolutely sensational try to send them into 2013 with the momentum of three successive wins.
At the 77th minute of play at the Millennium Stadium, Wales had forced a 5m scrum on the Wallaby try line.
Greg Clarke, the excellent Fox Sports match commentator, realistically, made the comment: ‘Wales are less than three minutes away from breaking their drought’.
The drought was a dry run of six successive losses. Rod Kafer, who was at his most astute throughout the match, did not contradict this comment.
Somehow the Wallabies forced a turnover-scrum when Wales could not clear a maul on the Wallabies try line. Then, from an excellent scrum, they moved the ball out to Drew Mitchell who broke away to the near the halfway mark.
A series of phases then saw Berrick Barnes making a terrific break to the Wales 22. If a Wallaby had been able to link up, it was try time. But Barnes planted the ball where it lay exposed for what seemed like a couple of seconds before a Welsh player snaffled it.
Now Wales made a terrible, if understandable mistake, in the hurly-burly of the moment. Instead of kicking the ball out, as they could easily have done and then resisted the last lineout (if there was time for it), the ball was belted down field.
The Wallabies then had to run the ball back from close to their 22. So back they came. After a couple of phases, Berrick Barnes got the ball wide, Dave Dennis galloped through a gap.
Beale came hurtling up on his outside. The pass was made. And Beale raced away to go over in a tackle.
Amid all the noise, I heard Nathan Sharpe ask referee Wayne Barnes if time was up. ‘Time is up,’ Sharpe was told. So he indulged himself with taking a dropped kick, which missed, in an attempt to convert the try.
Sharpe deserved this indulgence. It is his last game for the Wallabies. I have been a critic of his play. He has been dropped from the Wallabies several times by different coaches. But this year, when the future of the health of Australian rugby was at risk, he literally rose to the occasion with some terrific lineout and scrumming play and inspired captaincy.
As an indication of the thrilling aspect of the Test, here is the scoring sequence, with the Wallabies scores first: 3 – 0, 3 – 3, 3 – 6, 6 – 6, 9 – 6, 9 – 9, 9 – 12, 14 – 12.
It was clear to me, as well, that a lot of thought had gone into the way the Wallabies played in this Test.
Drew Mitchell, who had a splendid game, played a lot in the middle of the field, to give the Wallabies a cutting edge to their phase attacks. And when Digby Ioane came on, he did the same thing.
In the early parts of the Tests, when they had a 74 per cent possession advantage, the Wallabies kept the ball in hand.
They missed the dazzling feet and speed of James O’Connor to make the breaks and Will Genia to clear the ball and break himself when the time was opportune. Several times Kafer called for Nick Phipps to run but the half-back did not deliver on runs or a decent stream of passes.
Towards the end of the match, though, the kickingitis came back to the Wallabies game. Let’s hope the disease will be cured next year.
So what we have now is the Wallabies ranked nunber 3 in the world, a fall of one place for the year, and in the other half of the New Zealand side of the RWC 2015 draw.
The British and Irish Lions look as though they’ll have a strong core of England players who played superbly against the All Blacks, with some of the Irish and Welsh best players to give the squad a sharp attacking edge.
And the Wallabies will go into the series with the Lions, which will be the biggest sports event in Australia next year, on a swelling tide of the optimism that comes from knowing they have defeated both Wales and England on their home grounds.
Bring it on!
richard
Guest
Neuen, NZ has the highest fp numbers? Evidence please.
Cliff (Bishkek)
Guest
Ra -- correct -- I am not a Mitchell fan but what you say is correct -- he used his brains and today the Wallabies lack braisn and good old fashioned leadership on the field
Neuen
Roar Rookie
I agree with you but NZ were clever in rotating their players this year and I think they were a bit too relaxed in that first half. They showed some urgency but England hit them where they were vulnerable and surprised NZ more than anything else. NZ won't make the same mistake mistake twice. What was great about the game was is that now everyone can see how good a 10 can look if his forward pack is dominating or how bad one can look if his pack is taking a beating.
george082
Guest
Dear Tatah! Thank You for dialogue! It was my first comment... Absolutely Not! Suzy is maniac for sure, but I doubt she is responsible for that too:)))))) What about 2007 it a forward pass noted by everyone except referees... Please note: Henry’s ‘final word’ on suspected match-fixing in RWC 2007, By Spiro Zavos, 31 Jul 2012 BRGDS
Crazy Horse
Guest
Sharp kicked a conventional place kick that almost went over (after checking with the ref that time was up so even if he missed the Wallabies still win. The kick it self was no worse than many I've seen the designated kickers do. It just fell short. The earlier conversation was about ending the game quickly as the injured player was receiving treatment in the area a place kick would be, and subsequently was, taken from. Two seperate issues. Next time I suggest you watch the game if you are going to write about it.
Ra
Guest
just come and sit on the couch under those circumstances Bob, crack a DB and turn analyst
soapit`
Guest
that was happening with the beale/cooper/oconnor trio as well. with multiple options they'd always try and give it to each other on a break (remember those?) even if it was the high risk pass with them not in a particularly good position (ignoring the better option)
Argyle
Roar Guru
Mark, You have failed to quantify your statement that Taps had more defensive mis reads than all the other centres put together all season and correctly point out that Beale is a poor defender. If you look at both the highlights of Bled 1 & 2 - The Dagg try - AAC got sold - should have stayed on his wing and trusted his cover. The Jane try Horne got sold, wrong footed more than being obstructed by Nonu. Hosea Gear nearly scores - look who came up in D to create the space - AAC. About 1 minute into the footage of either Bled 1 or 2 Barnes comes in for a low tackle - Horne comes in a 2nd man - not required - All Blacks run to where he came in from - have more numbers and run 30 odd meters. Now I agree that Taps made some errors against Wales but maintain if he is making 10 out of 11 tackles he is reading the attack pretty well and is a good defender. I do agree his best defensive position is 12. I also submit the Wallaby defence in that 13 channel needs to be reviewed. However your costant attack on Taps is largley unquantified therefore I can't agree with it.
richard
Guest
Ra @ 9.34pm, no, I'm not ozzie,nor am I a whinger just because I don't get into an ab love-fest.I call it as I see it. If you want to stick your head in the sand, you go right ahead.What I try and present is a realistic analysis, not a cheerleaders pov.You might want to try it sometime. Time will tell, but my gut tells me, next year is going to be very tough for the ab's. All of the other top teams are going to be better, and a number of our best players are getting older....
Neuen
Roar Rookie
People forgot to look up which country has the highest food poison numbers in the world. You will the answer is NZ. So they took a illness very well known to them and ran with it. But the statement and accounts of what happened had more holes in it than a tea bag. Mehrtens said it best for me. :The Saffers would throw their mothers on defense that day. Maybe trying to find reason for a loss at manufactured sources will be more forgiving from a Rugby mad nation who expects perfection and is used to winning.
Tatah
Guest
'The same co-incidence took place in SA before the RWC 1995 final match...' Are you suggesting that Suzy got you again? Was it Suzy that was responsible for the 'conspiracy' (according to Henry) that caused you to lose to France in 2007? Is Suzy the agent responsible for the Australian pilfering of the NZ rugby ranks (Hansen, 2012, upon drawing with Australia)? Or, and this is the most outlandish theory of all, were you beaten by, or drew with, better or equal sides on the day?
Tatah
Guest
Watch the last 5 minutes of the Welsh test when they were forced to run the ball. They were a vastly different team to the previous 75 minutes. Surely it wasn't co-incidence that they could play like that without fear of breaking any Deans game plan that led them to more breaks in the last 5 minutes than the entirety of the game?
Expat in Mongolia
Guest
Please. Enough. The AB's lost. Do we care? Of course we do as we are Kiwis. Over time history will tell our children its another loss. Will England move forward and live to their potential. I hope they do. Time will tell but history begs to differ.
Colin N
Guest
Yes, I was a huge fan of Matthews when he played alongside Launchbury in the U20s - a big, tough lad who complemented Launchbury exceptionally well. Hopefully, he develops into the player I believe he can be. Agreed about the depth, all of a sudden there are competition for places and, even though I wouldn't have Farrell at 10, you can't deny he wasn't excellent on Saturday. As an aside, I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of Goode. I love intelligent footballers like him, a bit like Conrad Smith. I've got to admit, despite being a passionate England fan, I did die a little bit inside when Smith made that mistake for Barritt's try - he just doesn't make errors like that!
Ra
Guest
another pair of idots who hate winning, my team lost lind freddie and dave you pair of whingers - celebrate your team's win
Ian Noble
Guest
Spiro During the course of last week I told my son in law that England would beat the AB's. My reasoning was pretty logical, England should have beaten both the Boks and the Ws, but poor decision making in the heat of the battle and general lack of clarity of thought had lost the tests. England had a new better coaching set up, of young aggressive coaches brought up in the professional era, who had spent time learning from other sports about creating a culture and a winning mentality. England's young and largely inexperienced squad probably learnt more from the losses and how small margins effectively affect the outcome of many test matches. Finally the AB's had had a long season and frankly mainly of their squad would now be considered within England as being too old and over the top.What I was surprised by was the size of the win and the collapse of the AB's rearguard. One win of course does not mean a great deal, it is how England kicks on from here. This win was achieved without Foden, Lawes, Hartley, Croft, Sheridan, Steffan Armitage, and suddenly there is strength in depth for the future and stronger competition for places. That is not including a number of young players who are on the cusp of international recognition. One interesting thought on Launchbury, three years ago he was dropped by Harlequins academy as he was not considered as good as two young second rows, Charlie Matthews and Sam Towney. These two second rows are 22 and 19, not forgetting George Merrick another 19 year old. They are members of the Harlequins Squad but can not get enough game time as the current second rows Robson and Kohn are playing within a winning team. Harlequins are champions of the Aviva Premiership and are currently top of the league. Matthews in particular I rate very highly and he will become a fixture within the Quins line up next season. It is this strength in depth that will provide the future of English rugby.
Derm
Roar Guru
No - 1 and 2 are not seeded "so they can only meet in final". It is a random draw based on the five bands of seeded teams. Band 1 are the top 4 teams. They are kept apart in the pool rounds only. For example, in last RWC, the top band of seeds was New Zealand (1), South Africa (2), Australia (3) and Argentina (4. They were drawn randomly into Pools - NZ (A), Arg (B), Aus, (C), SA (D). In other words, 1, 4, 3, 2. I'm not sure how the knockout stages are worked out or if these are pre-determined beforehand. e.g. Pool A winner plays pool B runner-up. But since the pools are assigned randomly to each of the top four, it would not be possible to keep the number 1 and 2 ranked teams apart until the final. Hope that makes sense.
Ra
Guest
I dunno what strategic eye glass you guys view the game through, but through mine I saw the genius of a master coach at work in the selection of Mitchell on the left wing. I too was looking for that sharp pace we are use to seeing scorching down the sideline, but it took only a couple of runs for me to see that that blinding pace was not yet there. What i did see though was the experience of a genuine veteran Test and super rugby player coming through. That powerful and educated left boot of Mitchell's carved off metres of land time and again getting his side out of trouble. He made the left hand side a defensive fortress in the second half when yardage was measured in inches. Yes Wales broke down there once, but Mitchell on that left wing was like a good ole Aussie outhouse. He charged the ball back like a 6, because of his loss of pace, stood strong in the tackle like an 8, and refused to go down till his support got there. He showed awareness by moving the ball away from the touchline in one move, running in and drawing in numbers of tired defence to him, setting up the ensuring ruck with quality laid back ball that contributed to the winning try down the other side of the field. Those who wanted Ioane on the field instead lack the strategic overview. Even i doubted Mitchell's readiness, but two guys thankfully for the team didn't, Mitchell and his coach. The extra pace of Hooper, Ioane and Harris coming on when they did swung the game, but it was the hard fought yards by the guys already in the arm wrestle who set the platform. Did anyone else see what I saw?????
kingplaymaker
Guest
Have had to get back to this rather late, but both Brett and sheek, yes teams often use more than just XV players, but that doesn't mean that having a whole teamout doesn't warp the performance of that team so drastically that it must be taken as a critical factor in judging how the team plays. Nor does it mean the judgement is merely subjective, because it revolves around simply assessing which team is playing. It is in fact subjective to intentionally disregard large scale injuries, and could be well connected to the lack of subjectivity surrounding the Deans issue
Tatah
Guest
It's a bit early to say that isn't it? That was his first full game in how long? You may be right, but let's give the bloke a chance.