The Wallabies remain at the bottom of The Rugby Championship ladder after a 38-12 trouncing at the hands of the Springboks in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Australia produced another dismal performance following consecutive losses to the All Blacks, handing South Africa their biggest ever win in Australia and their first ever at Suncorp Stadium.
The first half saw both teams put on error-riddled and penalty-laden performances, with Springboks flanker Willem Alberts sent to the sin bin within the first 10 minutes, and recalled Wallabies winger Nick Cummins, aka ‘The Honey Badger’, dropping the ball with his first two touches.
South Africa went into halftime with a 10-point buffer and plenty of momentum, having had more sustained attack with simple, smart play.
On the other hand, the Wallabies looked dangerous in patches, but their high turnover rate denied them any quality possession.
Australia began to show more enthusiasm in the second half, with more possession and phase sets, but poor ball security and disorganised attack kept the home side tryless.
The sin binning of flanker Michael Hooper in the 50th minute further added to the Wallabies woes as their forward pack continued to struggle at the breakdown.
The Springboks piled on three more tries in the space of 10 minutes to seal the win and move to the top of The Rugby Championship ladder, leaving Australia without a win under new coach Ewen McKenzie.
Three key stats sum up the Wallabies’ recent performances: turnovers, possession, and tries scored.
Australia has scored just three tries in as many matches and has turned the ball over 18 or more times in each of those games, yet they have had more possession than their opposition.
If it wasn’t for the deadly accurate boot of centre Christian Lealiifano, Australia would be in all sorts.
If the Wallabies want to compete in this year’s Rugby Championship, they have to revert to the basics. This means significantly minimising turnovers and capitalising on possession by scoring tries.
Simple as that.
Israel Folau’s move to fullback is a sensible one which guarantees him more ball and freedom to roam in open field play, but Folau has to be careful not to isolate himself when on the attack.
There were a couple of instances against the Springboks where he ran the ball without support and was consequently left stranded at the breakdown, resulting in turnovers.
Quade Cooper showed glimpses of his attacking prowess against the Springboks with some slick passing and a couple of deft chip kicks, but failed to ignite the Wallabies’ attack.
Cooper’s discipline in defence also needs to improve considerably if he is going to remain Australia’s first-choice flyhalf, after conceding some crucial penalties on Saturday night.
The Wallabies face a tough task against Argentina this Saturday in Perth, with the Pumas boasting a giant, aggressive forward pack that will certainly test the home side.
Australia must avoid playing catch-up rugby in order to catch up to the other teams.
Nigel Imrie
Guest
It is a myth that if a team has the majority of possession that it translates into a win. The more possession you have theore mistakes you will make, it is as simple as that, to tell the team not to make mistakes implies that the team will treasure the ball and not use the ball, there is a fine line in there somewhere and it is the responsibility of the 10 in the team when ball is handed back to decide what he will do with that ball, do we pass, do we take it to the line and build pressure, whatever we decide, we at the moment are losing ball at the attack phase, gyro' counter tucking or being isolated, there is an obvious inability by this crop of Wallabies not to recognize what is required at these breakdowns so that the team can profit from them. They appear to be simple things, however we are repeating them and the game v the Pumas will not be a foregone conclusion, they are hungry for a scalp and I am afraid to say Saturday will provide them with that scalp! We are looking to the likes of Timani to bolster our scrum, we are not going to get any satisfaction there gentlemen, watched him play against Sydney Uni last weekend and he was ordinary for a guy of his size and physicality. His scrummaging technique was woeful and EM is making a big mistake bringing him into an already dismal performing pack. McCalman at 8, Dennis at 6, Fardy at 4, Simmons at 5, Beau Robinson at 7, Robinson at 1, Moore at 2 and Slipper at 1. The backs, White at 9, Foley at 10, Cummins at 11, Lesfano at 12, Kurindrani at 13, AAC at 14 and JOC at 15. Let the Games begin, Robinson is playing his guts out in the ITM Cup in NZ and should be rushed back into the squad for his sheer enthusiasm and must win attitude, we need more like him!!!come on Wallabies come on!!!
Huntley Mitchell
Roar Rookie
Cheers Mike for the feedback. I haven't forgotten the many tests the Wallabies won off the boot under Deans, and I'm fully aware of the mentality for teams to give away a penalty instead of risking a try being scored against them. However, Australia shouldn't be relying on penalties to get them over the line. Sure, if three points are on offer and the game's in the balance or there's plenty of time on the clock, it would be common sense to kick for goal. But with the types of players in the Wallabies squad at the moment, Australia should focus on building their attack around consistent multiphase play coupled with smart kicking for field position. It is off this platform that they can then adopt coach Ewen McKenzie's style of running rugby to create try-scoring opportunities. I agree that the Wallabies' recent defensive efforts have been sub-par. You only have to look at the scoreboard from the last four tests.
Mike
Guest
Huntley, good article. I think your potted summary well encapsulates the good and bad points for the Wallabies on Saturday. They did actually do a few things right and there were some positive passages of play in there One thing: "Australia has scored just three tries in as many matches and has turned the ball over 18 or more times in each of those games, yet they have had more possession than their opposition." Its worth remembering that many Wallabies victories under Robbie Deans didn't involve heavy try-scoring. Of course there were matches where WBs scored 6 tries or 3 tries or whatever. But many matches were won off the boot, sometimes solely off the boot. At different times Mike Harris, James O'Connor or Berrick Barnes kicked every point we got to win a match. The fact is that top level teams find all sorts of ways to sacrifice a penalty instead of giving away a try - when that happens, good teams slot the 3 points, refocus and start again. I think your second stat is more important - 18 turnovers. Nathan Sharpe has already commented on this - it has really surprised him, and this is a gent who played under three previous Wallabies coaches. The other area where I think we have let standards slip is in defence. We need to get that very tight again.
Chan Wee
Guest
since OZ have tried Tomooa and Cooper and before that JOC and Beale an Barnes at 10, why not give Lio a try as well. after all there is nothing to be lost but everything to be gained from such a change. CL is now the #1 kicker in the side , so it is safe to assume he will start when fit. also maybe move Folau to 12, because he is definitely not a fullback (he has not played enuf union to know and gain experince in positioning,kicking , coverig etc.) JOC is the best full back atm (beale when fit). AAC is a winger, he has mentality of a winger (does not pass n open play). OZ also need a defensive center ( ala conrad smith or bosch). I remembr Deans used Faainga in this role. OZ miss Ioane, maybe Speight can live up to expetations. among forwards , no idea who can be a good font row. Horwill is good but he needs a taller guy at lineouts - maybe Hugh Pyle who was good in a poor team. 3rd row again is a sad situ. the best are out injured - Palu Pocock H'botham. Fardy is not a 6, he will have nightmares about Alberts. Mowen is not an 8, maybe he could become a 6 with some hard work. Hooper is a myth, he is nowhere in the international 7 class of Mccaw Flow Warburton (or even Brssow or Latimer or Todd) Why not start Nick White who had good form in S15. he could not play any worse (or can he ?)
Lys
Guest
Hopefully this Wallabies team doesn't go the same way as the NSW State of Origin team has over the past 8 years. Creating & testing endless playing combinations in the halves then changing them when they aren't immediately successful, instead of allowing the players to get some match experience & build on the combinations as they get comfortable with them. Quade Cooper is the Mitchell Pearce of the Wallabies. He delivers very little & is a liability but is favoured by Ewen McKenzie for whatever reason. Personally I've not seen anything from Cooper or James O'Connor that impresses me. Their performances have been lacklustre & riddled with errors, respectively. I can't understand how they keep being included in the team. Matt Toomua at fly-half is the way forward for the Wallabies!
Johnno
Guest
Joeys at least win, don't insult joeys comparing joey's to the wallabies lol.
Aussie Rugby
Guest
They should try Christian Leali’ifano at 1st five. He’s played a lot of games there so he’s not new to that position. He’s a better option than Quade Cooper Then they should stiffen the midfield up.