This was not the Wallabies return the great George Smith had in mind.
Making his comeback and farewell to Test rugby on the very same night, Smith endured one of the most forgettable Tests of his 111-match international career as the Wallabies crashed to a painful series loss to the British and Irish Lions.
Playing his first Test in four years, Smith was on, off, on, off, on and finally off ANZ Stadium for one last time as a 41-16 loser.
Early on, it looked like his swansong would last but four minutes and 39 seconds after the champion flanker clashed heads with Lions hooker Richard Hibbard and was escorted off in a groggy state.
But living up to coach Robbie Deans’ assessment as the most resilient No.7 he’d ever seen, Smith was back in the thick of the action less than five minutes later.
But there was to be no fairytale.
There were no telling turnovers either and most certainly no repeat of his 2001 series triumph over the Lions.
Smith was none too pleased when Deans briefly substituted him after 26 minutes when prop Ben Alexander was sin-binned for collapsing the Australian scrum.
Turning 33 next week, Smith’s inclusion was the feelgood story of the week for the Wallabies in the build-up to the most significant home Test since the 2003 Rugby World Cup final at the very same venue.
But it was the Lions No.7 Sean O’Brien instead who stole the spotlight.
And as if to rub Deans’ nose in it, Lions coach and fellow Kiwi Warren Gatland showed there was no room for sentiment on such a grand occasion.
While Deans was lauded for recalling Smith, Gatland was widely condemned for dumping Irish superstar Brian O’Driscoll for the series climax.
Gatland, though, had the last laugh, with the Welshman who wore O’Driscoll’s No.13 jumper, Jonathan Davies, delivering the sweet last pass for Jonny Sexton’s second-half try that sealed the Wallabies’ fate.
All up, Gatland selected 10 Welshman in his starting XV and on this rare occasion Smith was unable to keep up with the Jones’s.
[roar_cat_gal]
Lamb
Guest
Franky he is still the 2nd best breakaway we have , behind the injured Pocock. Gill and Hooper are not close. GS was playing with no preparation and coming back from a knee injure. It was courageous to risk GS but the way Gill and Hooper played left Deans with no option.
Ben.S
Roar Guru
How many times did the Lions delay the scrum?
OK, let me ask you this, did you watch the Cheetahs vs Blues yesterday? Did you see what a lottery those scrums were? Neither team dominated the scrums the whole time, but for different periods of the match, effectively that scenario can cause a match to be decided on scrum penalties, are you OK with that?
yeah, right!
Guest
Interestingly, if you actually read the scrum laws, then you soon realise they are a bit like the Bible. You can read what you want into them. http://www.irblaws.com/index.php?law=20&language=EN However, the intention is clear: "The purpose of the scrum is to restart play QUICKLY, safely and fairly, after a MINOR infringement or stoppage". Apologies for the caps. Does anyone really think that scrums resulting from 'minor' infringements should lead to shots at goal? Under 20.1 (d) a team must not intentionally delay forming a scrum. Sanction: free kick. How many times did the Lions delay the scrum?
yeah, right!
Guest
Why would the Lions milk a penalty? Why moan about the rules? Who better to ask then the Lions very own team manager Andy Irvine. Funnily enough, he agrees with me: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/britishandirishlionsrugby/10156181/Lions-2013-penalties-confusion-in-scrummage-and-breakdown-areas-are-a-nightmare-says-Andy-Irvine.html
yeah, right!
Guest
Thanks Steve, given your moniker is so plain and ugly it is as good as anonymous. The point I am making is that if the Wallabies won I would still hold the same opinion on scrums. Interestingly, so does the Lions' team manager Andy Irvine: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/britishandirishlionsrugby/10156181/Lions-2013-penalties-confusion-in-scrummage-and-breakdown-areas-are-a-nightmare-says-Andy-Irvine.html
James
Guest
Agreed that when it comes to refereeing the game there is definitely a disparity between SH and NH refs and that needs to be changed for the good of the game and we don't need any confusion from the players on the interpretation of the rules. However, what has let the game down is the shocking and disgraceful decision made to clear Horwill. That was clearly a deliberate stamp and anyone was saw it would agree every time and it was dangerous too. An inch or two more and that could have blinded AWJ. Pretty useless, blind and incompetent NZ and Canadian officials overseeing both tribunals have let the game down. Well done to the Lions and if only WG wasn't sentimental and had the guts to picked the right players and played like that in the first two tests and they would have destroyed the Aussie team hands down.
tk rugby
Guest
Our experts keep forgetting some basics... if your forward pack is not going forward, 3 positions are most affected - halfback, no.10 and openside flanker. Give Smith and any world class flanker a little more front foot opportunity and they will shine. Any openside playing for the wallabies last night would have problems delivering a standout game. An early concussion does not help. Imagine if Smith, Gregan and Larkham had played after 2002 (the decline of the Aust forward pack) for the All Blacks - they would have been referred to as amongst the greatest ever.
joeb
Guest
DJW, yes I agree, Gill's a Wallaby star of the future and would've given an honest account of himself last night. Joe Tomane was shown up somewhat in letting North in for one of those four Lions tries. Will also missed a tackle that led to a try, and being a Badger fan i'd have had him in for Joe on the left wing, or right wing after Izzy went off injured. It was interesting too how in the 1st test the Lions were seemingly in awe of Izzy, but by the 2nd test they made sure of their tackles on him, as they did last night. Thought Jesse was almost away there 'cept for the ankle tap.
joeb
Guest
Lynette, totally agree. It'd be un-Australian not to appoint Link as Deans's successor.
Lynette
Guest
Agreed. Time to rebuild, Home grown coach please. We really do NOT NEED another outsider to coach OUR WALLABIES. Ewen MacKenzie has all the credentials, he belongs here, he,s a former Wallaby, he looks after his team and they all love and respect him.!!!!
DJW
Guest
Hooper seemed to make more impact when he came on then Smith did all game. I was all for smith but he didn't seem to get into the game. That head knock would of rattled anyone. In hindsight maybe should of started Gill. We can't really complain about scrum penalties when the Lions also scored 4 tries. While it does seem a lottery at the end of the day if you have a strong scrum then it takes the lottery out of it. Lions dominated last night and myself and other Wallabies fans need to cop it on the chin. Time for a refresh. Deans has had enough time.
Minz
Guest
He's been the George of old this year for the Brums when he's not concussed... no way should he have been let back on given how big his wobbly boots were!!
Minz
Guest
I dunno, it seems a valid point - why is the scrum so special? I mean, as a former front-rower (albeit only a hooker), I know the scrum's special ;) Just didn't realise it was so privileged in the rule-book! Unless they're considering poor play at a scrum to be dangerous and hence a penalty? Would seem a bit odd since it's the dominant side which causes the scrum to come down a lot of the time.
joeb
Guest
“But living up to coach Robbie Deans’ assessment as the most resilient No.7 he’d ever seen, Smith was back in the thick of the action less than five minutes later.” How George Smith ever made it back onto the paddock after such a sickening brain-rattling head clash, testament to a warrior of the highest order. But I don’t think he should’ve been allowed back on considering the way he fell/collapsed to the turf in the initial collision. All said and done the Lions were awesome, and thoroughly deserved it obliterating the myth of 'southern hemisphere superiority'. It don't get more comprehensive than that, and it could've been worse. Time to rebuild for the Wallabies, time for a new approach and coach, and that man's Link. We'd be utter fools to ignore our home-grown talent.
Franky
Guest
It's a shame but Smith should have stayed in retirement as he has been playing 2nd string rugby for nearly 5 + years and some how Deans thinks that he is going to be the match winner, all involved were delusional.
Crash Ball2
Guest
Well said sir.
Lamb
Guest
George well played you showed great courage and tenacity in your last game and gave everything you had. It was a pleasure to watch all your games and you have to be in the top 5 players to ever have put on the gold jersey. You are an absolute legend.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Graham Price, former Lions prop, agrees with you in his piece on the Walesonline site. What I find a bit strange is that Corbisiero scrummaged illegally at times because he knew that Alexander had milked penalties the previous week by turning in on Vunipola. Nick Bishop wrote a prescient piece on Green and Gold where he predicted Poite would penalize the Wallaby scrum and also predicted an early yellow card. When someone asked him why Corbs was allowed to scrummage illegally, he wrote: "It's just one illegality responding to another. Either the loose-head can stay out and let the tight-head do his thing - as Vunipola did at the start of the Melbourne Test. In that case he's pretty useless. Or he can follow the angle inside and defend his hooker like Corbisiero" I'm relieved we did get the benefit at the scrum - I'm still a bit traumatized by the scrum refereeing in the 2003 World Cup final - but I don't like the way this set piece generates so many penalties. There was one scrum early in the game which seemed to go completely pear-shaped but Poite just let it play out, without penalizing anyone. Former England prop David Flatman on Twitter wrote "Ref letting a scrum develop and take care of itself? Love it." I'd prefer that approach to a stream of penalties.
Colin N
Guest
Not particularly. Saying that is different from saying: "If you dominate in a team in the scrums, great, benefit from it, but making up an innings by expecting the referee to give you penalties leaves a sour taste in my mouth." You are saying here that you didn't like the fact that the Lions based their game plan around the scrum and apparently played on Poite's view of the set-piece. "and when one team dominates the referee immediately assumes it must be because of the weaker team infringing." Well, yes, that's generally what happens - a team dominates, the weaker team infringes, penalty to the dominant team. It was pretty easy for Poite and he generally refereed that area well. The dominant team will hardly want to infringe when they are in the ascendency. To be fair, the scrum that saw Alexander sin-binned I thought was harsh, it should have really seen a re-set, but apart from that Australia can have no complaints.