There aren’t enough minutes in the day to dissect the ins and outs of that epic game – as the Wallabies snatched a spot in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with an unbelievable game against Scotland.
My heart was pounding when James Slipper’s pass found its way into Scottish hands, and the Scots found themselves in the lead.
They had successfully punished Wallaby errors all night, and while the Wallabies may have run in five very handsome tries, the scoreboard reflected a very tight encounter.
The Wallabies were put under a mountain of pressure throughout the match, and they didn’t always respond well.
>> PUMAS STUN IRELAND
>> WALLABIES SCRAPE PAST SCOTLAND
>> ALL BLACKS CRUSH FRANCE
>> SPRINGBOKS ADVANCE PAST WALES
So, what did you make of the performances? It was sloppier than last week against the Welsh, but very different.
Australia had plenty more ball to work with, but were anything but clinical at set piece, and not very accurate at the breakdown.
They missed David Pocock, and though Michael Hooper did plenty of good things with the ball in hand and in defence, they couldn’t quite get over Scotland’s two openside breakaways at any time in the game.
There were some good performances in the backs, but some sloppy ones too. I’ll be interested to see the ratings in that area.
Rate away Roarers.
For any of your new to DIY player ratings, here’s how it all works.
1. Fill out the form below, giving a player a rating between 1 and 10.
1.5. Tell me why my process sucks, or why my haircut is bad in the comments section.
2. I collate the votes over the day.
3. Tomorrow, the results will be out, and you all get to see exactly how bad our ratings are, and can lambast me for it.
Fun for the whole family.
Due to popular demand, I’ve put together a brief description of what I think the ratings should reflect. Use it as a guide, rather than a set of rules I stand by rigorously.
1. Had he not played, the team would have been better off. Negatively affected the performance of the side. May God have mercy on his soul.
2. Anonymous. Was he even there?
3. Did some things that you expect a player to be able to do, but did a whole bunch of other things that sucked.
4. Was passable in patches, but not up to standard in a squad of such depth.
5. Performed his role without anything really noticeable happening.
6. Good
7. Pretty good, actually
8. Very good
9. Excellent
10. Might as well have been John Eales
Happy voting everyone!
Patrick Effeney
Editor
Yeah I will.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Patrick, at the very least, don't include them in the results, as any ratings given will be spurious.
Bazza
Guest
Slipper was in that postion and threw that Pass because FOLEY went MIA !!!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
EJ I think simply the pressure got to him. Much like it did to Dean's and McKenzie at times
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Without th try from the charge down we finish 2 in front bennalong
fletch
Guest
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/73135525/scottish-greats-roast-ref-craig-joubert-for-costly-penalty-call-in-quarterfinal looks like it came off the Scottish players shoulder. not sure if that's a knock on or not
bennalong
Guest
He gets a 5 for that kick, surely. Without it we were finished. And it would have tested most goalkickers!
fletch
Guest
don't forgot a charge down resulting in a try
Shop
Guest
Feelng a bit bitter this morning RedsKing?
Handles
Roar Guru
So you think that if he moves three times, it is a "double movement", but if he moves twice it is OK?
SOS
Guest
I would also offer - Deduct 4 for chip kicks regardless if they pay off or not - For AAC - Add 2 for each time he passes
LifestyleSpecialist
Roar Rookie
If I was Scottish I'd say this post would be the only thing putting a smile on my face today.
onside
Guest
It's off topic I know, even though he's got a few MID's (mentioned in dispatches). But I think Coach Cheika has been fantastic. How many supporters, even after a few glasses of personality, would have thought last season that the Wallabies would be strutting their stuff in the semi finals. I would not have been surprised if they had not made it out of the pool group. And yet here we are. This World Cup has been a success. Unfinished business ? certainly. But we are still a contender.Thanks Coach.Job well done.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
The Scottish scrum weren't struggling, but they were cheating and they got rewarded for it. The loosehead was boring in on his side, while the South African prop kept a high bind and pushed down while backpedalling to cause the collapses. It was dangerous play and it ended up getting Sio injured. Scotland can count themselves lucky that they had Joubert officiating as the man has no clue about scrummaging. A more perceptive ref would have sent Nel to the bin.
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
You should probably remove McMahon, Cooper & Toomua from the ratings list considering they didn't play. I wasn't sure whether to give them a 1, 5 or 10. Do they deserve a 1 because they didn't contribute to the game? Do they deserve a 5 because they were 100% average? Do they deserve a 10 because nobody could keep the bench as warm as they did?
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
You can have the Silver medal, SP. I'll take Bronze. Unfortunately we'll both still be standing on the podium next to the Gold Medal winner
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
So every time a player is tackled. They must play the ball in the exact position they are tackled in, correct? No, that's incorrect. Wake up to yourself. He didn't move 3 times, once his momentum had stopped, he placed the ball. Go make some lemonade with all those sour juices.
Joey Johns
Roar Guru
Yet he put Phipps on...
Minz
Guest
Wow, couldn't agree more. Firstly, deserved doesn't matter in sport ("it's the score, stupid", as they may say). And then, I also did watch the game. Anyone who wants to go by what a team deserved should note that Australia deserved all 5 tries (from lovely moves and good play) plus one more. And surely, given that they were all deserved, they should all have been converted. So Australia deserved 42 points. Scotland may well have deserved their first try, as they were marching down the field nicely. However, they didn't threaten the try-line of their own accord for the rest of the match. In addition, they probably deserved 3 of their penalties. So, Scotland deserved a total of 16 points. Frankly, I don't buy the brave Scottish defence - Australia got over the line 6 times against that apparently stout defence, and had fast ball throughout the game. By the play on the day. the Scots deserved a big loss and got an honourable close loss. Good on them for taking their opportunities, but they actually got better than they deserved. And yes, all of that is completely hypothetical crap. But so is this "the Scots deserved to win".
Cynical Play
Guest
You come across as a glass half empty kind of person.