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In the wake of Mohammad Ali’s death much was spoken about the epic 1974 fight in Zaire where undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman was outboxed by a triumphant Ali.
After starting strongly, Ali realised that his best tactic was to cover up and let Foreman throw everything at him, work himself into a lather, and then, strike a killer blow only after he knew his opponent had nothing left in the tank, mentally and physically.
And so it was in Melbourne; England, after opening better than they did in the first Test, offering nothing with the ball for the final 60 minutes, content to let the Wallabies make all the play, confident enough in their own tactics, ability and defensive heart to soak it all up.
The Wallabies, just like Foreman, simply punched themselves out until they ran out of ideas and collapsed. Maybe not as dramatic as Meatloaf kissing the canvas in Edmonton on Friday night, but spectacular enough; Scott Fardy’s tired carry and spill in the 75th minute and Owen Farrell’s sucker punch try, merely the logical manifestation of all that had gone before.
In total, England made 215 tackles to Australia’s 70. They secured 32% possession to Australia’s 68%. Statistics that might ordinarily suggest trouble but which, on a slightly greasy surface, against a side that had already telegraphed the way it was going to play, fully justified England’s ‘rope-a-dope’ approach.
Reaction from frustrated fans about the inability of (insert Wallabies player name here) to show penetration and calls for their replacement by (insert Wallabies player name here) totally miss the point.
Learning from the four tries they conceded in Brisbane, England refused to commit to the breakdown and worked hard at maintaining a staunch defensive line, with little lateral airspace between defenders in the line. They gave the Wallabies plenty to run at, but nothing to run around or through.
Yet the Wallabies, tactically deficient, kept at it, either unable or unwilling to vary their play, until a handling or discipline error, or untidy scrum would invariably halt them in their tracks.
What these frustrated fans are really calling for, as much as anything, are for players of a particular type – not necessarily specific, like-for-like replacements. Players who in some cases, maybe most, don’t actually exist in Australian rugby. A genuine, multi-faceted number 8 like Kieran Read, a sharp passing halfback like Aaron Smith, a fleet-footed winger like Liam Williams, or a line-out stealing forward who influences games like Eben Etzebeth.
Stephen Moore, by contrast to his opposite Dylan Hartley, seemed to lead without confidence and inspiration, and the decision in the 64th minute by Michael Hooper to turn down an easy penalty, when trailing by only 6 points, in favour of more brick-wall head bashing, was incomprehensible.
Hartley by the way, is a revelation, his transformation from obnoxious, loathsome thug to composed, mature Test match captain under Eddie Jones quite astounding.
So, without an assembly line of world-beaters in the wings, and England’s defensive line clearly up to the task, what is it that the Wallabies should have done different?
Certainly build pressure through the scoreboard. The spurned penalty at 64 minutes, perhaps a drop goal, something to force England to play some rugby to ensure that they weren’t at risk of losing the match to a late penalty.
The run of play was also crying out for some dynamic pick and go, some punch through the middle where England’s defence often did not have depth beyond the first man. There were yards to be made here and, from that, a contraction of the defensive line as players are kept honest and dragged in closer to the breakdown.
Also inexplicable was Australia’s reluctance to use Israel Folau, surely the best exponent of the overhead catch in world rugby, as an attacking, cross-kick option. England winger Jack Nowell is not a tall man, he should have been tested by Bernard Foley landing the ball on his head with Folau on hand to leap above him.
After the anxiety associated with last week’s French referee Romain Poite, the Wallabies didn’t fare any better under Craig Joubert, who seemed to forget about a Wallabies’ penalty advantage right on half-time. And you know you’re having a rough night when a TMO intervention premised on the Wallabies receiving a penalty for an England shoulder charge actually results in a penalty for England, for illegally blocking the running line!
But beyond the what ifs, there can only be credit to Jones and his side; not the complete rugby package by a long shot, but too secure at set piece, too keen to defend their line in a junkyard scrap, and too disciplined to play to their strengths for Cheika and this Wallabies side.
Jones may have missed out on this Queens Birthday round of honours citations, but he is fast becoming England’s favourite son; the grin he was wearing after the match that of a fair-dinkum Cheshire Cat.
Fans looking for something or someone to blame post match, took fair aim at the AAMI pitch that, despite guarded optimism beforehand, failed to stand up to the scrummaging test. It was sub-standard to be sure, and needs to be fixed, but a little more rational perspective should be applied before Melbourne is struck off the rugby calendar, as some would have it.
The problem is new to AAMI this season, all Super Rugby matches have been affected to a degree, and while some turf replacement took place in the last few weeks, accounts from other stadiums around the world show that these problems can usually only be fixed off-season, or when favourable climatic conditions apply.
Other notable rugby grounds to have suffered in the same way (or worse) include Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, Stade de France, Ellis Park, and Murrayfield in Edinburgh, which has solved their issue only through a 1.25m pounds investment in a new hybrid surface.
Closer to home, carping fans may have conveniently forgotten that Suncorp Stadium in 2007 and the Sydney Football Stadium in 1999 were closed while restoration was made after the turf was peeling away during matches.
In truth the problem had far less impact on the match itself than on the viewing aesthetics. Regardless of the surface these two sides seem determined to scrum in a niggly way which requires a high number of re-sets, and Joubert sensibly allowed the ball to be cleared where it was available.
It must also be said that the turf damage appeared mostly on the Wallabies side of the scrum; as good an indicator as any, apart from one notable outlier, as to where the dominance lay.
Earlier, in Wellington, the New Zealand versus Wales match tracked a familiar path; Wales assertive in defence and inventive in attack, giving the All Blacks as good as they got for 40 minutes, before succumbing to the inevitable.
This was a better performance from the All Blacks than in Auckland, but still far from what they are looking for. That they can counter-punch from distance and lay on a try out of nothing is a given, but they will be frustrated by their inability to maintain possession, and thus build pressure, for longer periods.
This was a match for individuals; Beauden Barrett allowed a lengthy run at flyhalf after Aaron Cruden suffered a neck injury in a seemingly innocuous tackle, and taking his opportunity to blow the game open spectacularly well.
That Ardie Savea would follow in his footsteps, also in front of his home crowd, was a given, bringing the house down with his side-step and 35m dash for his maiden Test try. A try which began with the superb Dane Coles snaffling a loose ball near the All Blacks line, and somehow finding an offload to Savea in contact; risky perhaps but, with a nod to Melbourne, that’s how a defence is broken down, by doing the unexpected.
And what about my favourite rugby moment of the weekend; no not Ryan Crotty’s cock-eyed cross-kick, but an athletically audacious pilfer by Patrick Tuipolotu, so slick and skillful for a man of his size, it almost defied belief?
The ‘supreme being’ however, by some distance, was once again skipper Read. When on-song, the range of skills he has at his disposal, his work in the collision, tackle, passing, catching and lineout, is captivating. Captaincy obviously agrees with him.
Wales may have parked the bus early in Hamilton but not here, and they deserved their two late tries. Although this may work against them in Dunedin, serving to rub out any All Blacks complacency.
Referee Jaco Peyper made an interesting ruling worthy of discussion; against Waisake Naholo, for interfering with the excellent Liam Williams in the air. This happened while the All Blacks were under penalty advantage – which probably prompted Barrett to try a cross-kick in the first place.
Peyper was right to penalise Naholo for the challenge, but awarding Wales the penalty at the point of this foul was the wrong call; he should have instead ruled that New Zealand’s advantage no longer applied, and gone back to award the original penalty.
It seemed as if Peyper was blinded by the injuries to both players and somehow felt that a penalty for taking a player out in the air is worth more than a penalty for offside at the ruck. It isn’t.
For 60 minutes the South Africa versus Ireland Test match also followed a familiar path to the first Test, until a combination of South Africa finally finding some vitality in their play and Ireland running out of juice, gave the home team a late comeback win, 32-26.
Although Ireland fans may disagree, it was a relief to finally see players like Ruan Combrinck, Warren Whiteley and Damian de Allende steaming onto the ball and running over players on their way to the try-line like they meant it. Perhaps there is life and hope in the Springbok yet?
Footnote: For anyone wondering about the absence of Allanthus from this week’s wrap, the real Allanthus, a Street Cry gelding who started 56 times for eight wins and a second in the Group 2, 3yo Autumn Classic at Caulfield, is happily enjoying retirement in a nice pasture – the same pasture where his owner’s pen name has been permanently laid to rest.