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Improvements made by the Australian players during the Super Rugby season have translated into the Wallabies.
One of the things that stood out to me watching Super Rugby this year was the way the Australian forwards in particular had really upped their level of work around the park.
It even got to the point where in comparison I, and others, would joke that the New Zealand forwards had made a gentleman’s agreement before each match to avoid the breakdown contest at all times.
The Australian teams, in particular the Reds and the Brumbies, have set the pace in terms of dominating the ruck – pushing over the ball, stopping the opposition touching the ball and generally going at a million miles an hour in that area of the park so the opposition feel under immense pressure.
Even the Waratahs, Rebels and Force, while not getting on top of the leading Australian teams, were able to be more competitive in this area of the game than their table standing would indicate.
It also seemed to me every match saw one or two forwards tackle themselves to a stand-still in defence, something not seen as often in previous years.
This isn’t just the Wallabies players; I think it is a cultural thing because non-Wallabies such as Ed Quirk, Jake Schatz, Scott Fuglistaller, Luke Jones, Chris Alcock and Sam Wykes are all playing in the same vein.
That collective lift in intensity has translated to the Wallabies, as evidenced by the first Test, especially in the back-row.
The Wallabies tight-five was probably just pipped by their Lions counterparts, but that swung into the home side’s favour when the substitutes came on.
In the back-row Australia had a superior breakdown presence, while also showing the ability to fan out and make a lot of tackles.
They didn’t aim to pilfer the ball as much as run the Lions off their own ball by traditional counter-rucking, something lacking from Australian rugby in recent years.
This style of rucking is just as important as a pilfer because it keeps every forward engaged in the battle of winning the ball back rather than designating that role.
I’d reserve special mention for James Horwill in this space. As the strongest member of the tight-five he was also a forceful presence at ruck time and was only beaten in the tackle count by Kane Douglas and Sam Warburton.
Horwill truly led from the front in the first Test. While playing as some sort of menacing second-row/eight man hybrid, he’d taken notice of the collective lift in the Australian forward performance this year and improving his own output to match despite a patchy domestic season.
Wycliff Palu has taken a bit of a beating because he wasn’t seen running all over the opposition fly-half every second phase. I thought he had a strong game.
He was first to more rucks than anyone besides Jamie Heaslip and kept going strong right until the final minute of the match. He was also a destructive presence at many rucks when he wasn’t the first person there.
Michael Hooper was a strong runner, as always, and while he didn’t make a clean break he was also driving forward with two people hanging off him before going down. It was great to see he and Palu combining to smash through rucks – sometimes with Adam Ashley-Cooper, who’s taken more than one back-row pill in 2013.
Surely by now the sight of any of those three coming into a ruck appears in Mike Phillips’ head whenever he has a quiet moment. He couldn’t get away from them in the first half.
If the Wallabies can get their axis in order with some strong play between 9, 10 and 12 they should be able to get the ball in front of this pack a bit more and apply pressure to the Lions in their own end.
I hope the Wallabies translate the ferocity at the ruck and desire to make a hit in defence into a more superior tight running game.
The Lions were able to retain possession well at times because they could dent the Wallabies right around the ruck edge and first channel, sometimes even making breaks there.
If the Wallabies can bang bodies around the corner and pick and go more effectively, they will set themselves up for victory on Saturday.
One of the most pleasing areas of improvement in Australian rugby this year has already translated quite well to the Wallabies; they just need to lift that touch more in one or two areas to get the wood over the best forward pack they’ll face until 2025.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.