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Some things changed and some stayed the same when the Wallabies won their third match of the season, overcoming the Pumas in England on the weekend.
A 33-21 victory looks good, feels good and was needed to make sure the Wallabies finished second in the Rugby Championship. It would have taken a lot of effort and professionalism to keep the train on the track when the Wallabies were whitewashed by England and lost two in a row to New Zealand.
You wouldn’t call their performance since then excellent. There are signs some things have changed and some things have remained the same.
Changed: Composure was improved
It would have been easy for the Wallabies to fold as they fought through two yellow cards in the Argentina game. But they stayed in the game, fought hard and didn’t let the Pumas run away.
In fact, one of Samu Kerevi’s tries came when Adam Coleman was in the sin bin. What an All Blacks-like move!
They held their composure so well, it appears belief is creeping back into the team – at least in certain situations.
That belief will be immediately tested in their next match, against New Zealand. If they don’t continue to display better composure, the All Blacks will have it over them mentally.
The same: Not an 80-minute performance
It’s a massive cliché in sport – the notion of the 80-minute performance – but there’s truth behind the repetition. The Wallabies have shown in flashes this year that they can play with speed, accuracy and power. But they haven’t come close to showcasing that across an entire match.
That didn’t change against Argentina, as they played very well at stages, but for portions of the match still fell into bad habits of one-out running and repeated mistakes.
The Pumas are a second or third level team right now. For Australia to regularly perform on that first-tier level and beat the All Blacks or England away, they’re going to have to play consistently better for the whole 80 minutes. Fast starts or bursts of excellence won’t get that job done.
Changed: The lineout is making strides
No, the lineout isn’t perfect. This isn’t a Nathan Sharpe or John Eales-quality outfit yet.
However, the Wallabies again won more than 80 per cent of their own lineout throws and forced the Pumas into mistakes on a number of theirs.
Another strong part of the Aussie lineout display was the ability to sack mauls or form quickly to stop their progress. It will take another step up to see the same results against the All Blacks. Despite getting over for a try while their opponents were a man down, the Pumas’ mauling was very disrupted at other times.
The same: Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley still have a long way to go to develop their midfield partnership
At this point, Michael Cheika should continue to select Cooper and Foley together where possible for the remainder of the season. The team needs some continuity – there have been a lot of changes recently, whether due to injury or form.
That said, Cooper and Foley are still playing some of their best rugby when not paired together in the midfield. It often comes from turnovers, when one or the other is in a fortunate position, when they are split to opposite sides like rugby league pivots, or when one or the other is back receiving kicks.
In pure backline moves, they still have a tendency to crowd each other out. And their indecision has led to some handling errors.
One area they have improved since their first outing there is around the ruck. They are supporting each other’s runs more closely.
Changed: They overcame the oddest medico situation in history
Okay, this doesn’t quite fit the formula I was going for here, but seeing the Pumas medic tumbling after Nick Phipps pushed him onto the Twickenham turf was one of the oddest things I’ve seen on a rugby pitch.
But as the commentary pointed out that the medic may have appeared to Phipps to be going for the ball, which was awarded to Australia at the stop, I remembered something that furrowed my brow earlier in the match: the same medic appeared to touch players immediately after the Pumas scored their first try.
Matias Alemanno had barely crashed over when the medic was in the fray and looked to pull players off the pile. It was an odd sight.
That same medic becoming involved in play again later in the game is a pattern, not an aberration. (Click to Tweet)
It was the right decision not to take more serious action against Phipps. But I have to wonder whether the players were on the lookout for the medic after he got so obviously involved at the first try. Did anyone at the ground notice him involved with the players at odd times the cameras missed?
The Wallabies still have a long way to go. But winning games makes it easier to be content to dwell on the incremental improvements and ponder the repeated mistakes without veering into gloom.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.