What a difference a year makes. This time last year I wrote about how Australia coach Ewen McKenzie didn’t use his substitutes effectively or early enough.
He didn’t recognise that Matt Toomua was having a shocker at inside centre and left him on until the 70th minute. McKenzie also left a clearly hobbling Nic White on the field for 66 minutes before replacing him with Nick Phipps, who provided the Wallabies with clean, crisp ball from the base of the ruck.
On top of this, McKenzie only gave Will Skelton ten minutes, nowhere near enough time to have a substantial impact on the result.
Fast forward 12 months and we have almost the reverse situation. This time it was Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley starting for the Wallabies and struggling and instead of leaving the pair on, Michael Cheika replaced them early. And the difference was clearly notable.
On top of this, Skelton was given 22 minutes to make an impact – and make an impact he did.
Let’s start with Nick Phipps, the Waratahs starting halfback who has been struggling for form of late. Throughout the Super Rugby season his passes struggled to find the mark, they weren’t out in front of ball runners and often they had to reach for them.
Nevertheless, with the injury to Will Genia, Phipps has had the chance to make the Wallabies number nine jersey his own. On Saturday night he did anything but.
Phipps’ passes were off the mark more often than not, for most of the match he was either to slow or rushing himself and his teammates. He didn’t play well.
However Nic White was the halfback sitting on the bench and any fan who remembers Bledisloe 3 last year knows that it is always risky to put Nic White on the field in the dying minutes of a match. Cheika didn’t really have a choice, as soon as Phipps got himself sin binned in the 53rd minute it was pretty clear that his night was done.
White came on and played very well. His passes were flatter and out in front of the target, he slowed play down when he had to and played quickly when the Wallabies had front-foot ball.
While White wasn’t flawless, there were a few times he waited too long to clear the ball from the ruck, and not every pass found the mark, he was definitely an improvement on Phipps.
It will be interesting to see what Cheika does next week for the return bout, he could start Phipps and give him one last chance or he can give White the chance to prove himself and book his ticket to England.
It is fairly safe to assume that Genia will be chosen for the World Cup and highly likely that Cheika will only select two halfbacks after Robbie Deans blunder in 2011.
As such, Phipps and White are fighting for the other position and while Phipps holds the advantage right now, White may have the opportunity to overtake him next weekend.
It was clear that White played far better than Phipps during the 17 minutes he was on the field but White also had the advantage of playing with Matt Toomua and Will Skelton. When Phipps was playing with Foley for the first 50 minutes the Wallabies were playing very deep and wide in attack.
The forward runners were almost standing where a five-eighth would usually stand and were repeatedly monstered by a blitzing All Blacks defensive line.
Throughout the first half and the early stages of the second half the All Blacks committed just one defender to the breakdowns, it routinely took the Wallabies three attackers to clear the ruck of this one man.
While this was happening New Zealand got their defensive line set, spaced out across the field and got ready to rush up on the deep Wallabies attack. It would have been nice to see the Wallabies recognise this and start to pick and drive to suck the All Blacks in closer to the ruck and open up some space for the backs, however it was not to be and the backs remained as deep as ever, with very little space to attack.
This all changed, however, when Matt Toomua was injected into the game in the 50th minute. He played flatter, he played more direct, he played off the front foot and he took the defensive line on. He put the All Blacks defence in two minds and the effects were clear.
The Wallabies had far more front-foot ball and with the All Blacks retreating, they had more opportunities to attack. Praise must go to Cheika for not being afraid to bench his starting five-eighth and use Toomua early in the second half.
The increase in front-foot ball was not only a result of the Toomua substitution, the addition of Will Skelton in the 58th minute had a big impact on the match.
Skelton is so large and so hard to tackle that even when he was getting the ball standing still, he is able to power forward and use his big legs to drive himself over the advantage line.
This is what the Wallabies missed in the first half, a forward going forward and it was the reason why picking David Pocock and Michael Hooper together is so risky. To pick the pair you’re giving up a big ball runner like Wycliff Palu who is able to bend opposition defensive lines back.
Unlike a year ago, Cheika gave Skelton the chance to impose his big body on the game with 22 minutes to go. He gave him more than a quarter of the match to change the nature of the game against a tiring defence, and this is exactly what he did.
It would not surprise me if Cheika turns this role into a specialty for Skelton during the World Cup.
Michael Cheika used his substitutes early and he used them effectively on Saturday night. But in the grand scheme of things Saturday night means nothing now, all it means is that the Wallabies have earned the right to challenge for the Bledisloe Cup next Saturday in Auckland.
As we saw last year, a good showing in Bledisloe 1 means nothing if you lose Bledisloe 2 by 50. The All Blacks were clearly below their best at ANZ Stadium and they are never below their best at Eden Park.
If the Wallabies are to defeat New Zealand next weekend they will have to deliver a much improved performance from all 23 players in the squad.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen NSW
Guest
Exactly what I was thinking. Reading about Phipps yappy and White yappy, both getting under Refs skin and then their brain farts......I thought 'well that's a 9 for you isn't it'? It's as if it's in their DNA. And then I remembered Nick Far Jones. A long time ago I know, but he seemed so cool, calm and collected, and measured in what he did and said. Maybe he's in the legal business, where people pay large sums for every word you utter? Not sure.
The Sheriff
Guest
I regard Aaron Smith as the best halfback I have seen since Ken Catchpole and early in the game said to fellow viewers he had a Rugby IQ of about 150. Then he nearly decapitated AAC and kicked out on the full! It is tough being a halfback.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Cheika still makes some of the same mistakes. Phipps was on too long on the weekend (you could see him losing his cool, as he does when tired) and got binned, could've been costly but fortunately Giteau was able to go to scrummie and the Wallabies were able to hold the ball for much of the time he was off. He's improving though. I do wonder if Skelton can pack down somewhere else in the scrum (such as at 6 when Fardy is on -- Fardy has lined up at Lock in scrums before), he's still not great in that area.
PiratesRugby
Guest
In other words, White is like pretty much every opposition scrum half you every played against.
El Gamba
Roar Guru
Thanks for the read, a good take on the halves combination. I think that perhaps it isn't as straight forward as picking the guys to start who finished well. One thing Cheika is bringing to the game is the concept of specialised 'finishers'. When he makes these changes, as has been the case in all three games so far, the whole structure changes and I think this is strategic. Cooper and then Foley in the last two games, have both stood deep leaving the forwards to earn the platform or link with the midfield to go wide. Then Toomua has arrived and this whole structure changes, and so far it has paid off. Both Kepu's and white's tries were through a fairly settled defensive line but the defenders were in two or three minds as to what option would be taken, this was exploited in both cases.
Pablo
Guest
Good comment and observation PetetK. He certainly has created competition for "run-on" spots, but also empowered the whole squad, with an attitude of " any one can start, anyone can finish and anyone can be in the "bleachers", i.e Horn. John Eales made the comment on Foxtel, " previously who do we pick, now. who do leave out"? Ealesy is sharp and has an astute rugby brain, not like Kearns. I was noticeable after the game, that White and Phipps were together and so was Pocock and Hooper were also hanging out together. The bond within the team is starting, to show and thats credit to all the coaches, especially Cheika, like him or not. Is Higginbotthom injured or has Cheika crossed him off, after that horrible chip ahead, against SA? SBW may get the same treatment, after his "i dont wont to get dirty" kick out saturday night.
Jay
Guest
One of the things I liked was when I saw Cheika on the field singing the anthem with the team. It seems to be a tight unit.
PeterK
Roar Guru
It is very pleasing that despite winning games Cheika changes the team around.
Red Kev
Roar Guru
It isn't just yapping at the ref, it is his tendency to engage in niggle and focus on that rather than on his game. He can be easily rattled by the opposition. If Cheika manages to get his head right he does have the best skills of any Australian scrumhalf.
Cortez
Roar Rookie
Good point. I also thought Giteau offered more at half back than Phipps had in the time he was on. It will be interesting to see what Cheika does this week. Phipps to start with White as a sub at 50-60 min or has White earned the right to start? Only time will tell.
Hello
Roar Rookie
On the note of when Phipps got carded I was very impressed with Giteau acting in the halfback role
Connor33
Guest
It's been criticized before, but whoever the half backs are, we should just give them 40 minutes each. From an aerobic perspective, no position is more demanding. Smith with NZ is the only one I've seen been able to play at the high tempo level and with the same physical vigor. But even he got caught out on Friday with two crucial mistakes as the game went on. After what White did on the weekend, he should have a lock on the last 40 minutes of every game from here on in. No team will infringe, knowing he has nailed two 48-53 m penalties in the last two Bleds. People crucified him last year for the box kick and forgot about the fact that he put us out to a 6 point lead. Phipps deserves another go, BUT, White to be our long distant kicking finisher--or pitching closer as my wife noted today when telling her of his kick on the weekend. Indeed, in baseball over here, the closer/finisher gets all the accolades!
bryan
Guest
White is the best scrum half in Australia, and has been for a couple years. He is the only scrum half who can kick at goal, something sorely lacking at the moment, and is by far the best defensive scrum half as well. Probably has the best pass as well. However, a couple very large negatives have prevented him from being first choice. Yapping at the ref, box kicking too much, and occasional poor decision making. I did notice he overcame his instinct to kick in the last 3 minutes down that short side.
apelu
Guest
White offers far more than Phipps or Genia. He can kick goals, especially from long range, and his kick for touch is also better. Goal kicking is crucial in tests and especially the WC.
PiratesRugby
Guest
Picking Phipps and Foley to start was a bad decision. White and Toomua saved the day. In the SA test, picking Skelton to start was a mistake. Leaving Pocock out of the starting side now seems criminal. If he's a good coach, he will make adjustments as needed.
Red Kev
Roar Guru
Before you get too carried away Cheika still doesn't know when to hook a guy. Phipps should have been off at least 5 mins before he was yellow carded (right after the abominable pass to Foley in goal). Without referee intervention it would have been Cheika failing to recognise Phipps having a shocker at scrumhalf and leaving him on the field until the 70th minute.
Nick Turnbull
Roar Guru
G'day Cameron, May I say, you have brought your A game with this article! I have never been much of a Nic White fan as I thought he lacked a running game and kicked far too often. I'm glad he proved me wrong on Saturday night. When Phipps does have a good game I think he is a better half back than White, however when Phipps starts his yapping on the ref's then he makes his skippers job that little bit harder to win the charm war with the man holding the whistle. Phipps needs to lose this aspect of his game as it provides no benefit. White, well he can kick long range goals but he too can be a hot-head but we did not see it on Saturday night. I thought the All Blacks look most dangerous when keeping it tight, pick and go coupled with short passing up through the centre. If it were not for a couple of stray passes they could have well gone onto score. The Wallabies did tighten up that area as the game progressed. I would not be surprised to see Palu come into the side via the bench, as with Quade Cooper allowing Toomua to start. I would also give James Slipper a rest and give Toby Smith a go from the bench.