As Bernard Foley’s try saw the Wallabies jump out to their 22-point lead early in the second half, my thoughts went straight to the ‘What changes would you make?’ post-mortems that have followed Wallabies Tests this season.
For the first time in I can’t remember how long, I honestly can’t think of any changes I would want to make to the side that beat Wales 32-8 in Cardiff. And more is the point, the Wallabies XV that started the game at the Millennium deserve to hold their place for the Murrayfield Test against Scotland next weekend.
The Wallabies’ schedule this Spring is just about perfect. Wales have given them a really good hitout to kick the tour off, and Scotland and France will provide the perfect opportunity to tune-up before taking on Ireland and England to finish the tour.
On the display in Cardiff, and even with Ireland recording their outstanding and historic win over New Zealand in Chicago, the Wallabies now have to take the mindset that there isn’t any reason why they can’t go into the final Test at Twickenham unbeaten.
Some Wallabies played better than others, but that’s not to say any of them were poor. And that’s where I’m coming from in saying I’d quite like to see an unchanged XV named for next weekend’s Test against the Scots.
David Pocock was said to be fuming when he failed a concussion test at halftime, and even if he sails through the return to play protocols this week, you do wonder if he might sit the game out anyway. The Scotland game is probably the opportunity to get some game time into other players in the squad, too, and as much as I’d love to see that side build on their momentum further, I won’t at all be surprised to see a completely new side named.
It was interesting listening to Jonathan Davies and Brian Moore in commentary. Davies couldn’t rap the Wallabies attack enough. Moore was emphatic in declaring that the superior quality of rhe Rugby Championship as opposed to the Six Nations – and the lessons learned from the thumpings at the hands of the All Blacks – meant that Australia’s dominance over the Welsh was inevitable.
And that’s not to say the Wallabies were perfect; they certainly weren’t, and their execution at times was well short of the mark. The Wallabies led by 17 at the break, and it probably should’ve been closer to thirty. They bombed at least two tries while Dan Biggar was in the bin, and Bernard Foley is now worryingly missing conversions from his statistically ‘good’ side.
(As an aside, why was Biggar allowed to serve his ten minutes in the middle of the Wales bench? Where was the naughty chair? Just me?)
In all probability, this was the Wallabies’ best performance since the Rugby World Cup, and the twin pool wins against England and Wales more specifically. There were elements of both those crucial games in this most recent win in Cardiff too.
Australia’s defence was very good, for the most part, though no doubt aided by the fact they had only about half a dozen tackle attempts in the first half an hour of the game. But generally speaking, the Wallabies’ defensive and breakdown pressure forced plenty of Welsh turnovers. From there, the attack was good enough to make them pay.
But there was much more to the attack than just capitalising on turnovers, and like that England game at the Rugby World Cup, Bernard Foley, for the second Test in succession – happily – played a lot flatter in attack, a lot more direct, and was able to create opportunities for the abundance of inside- and outside-running options that – again, happily – presented themselves a lot more regularly than we’ve seen in 2016.
Those option runners picked the right lines, the offloads were sought out and executed well, and the general promotion of the ball in traffic was once again a much-improved skill that shows that the Michael Byrne influence is starting to emerge.
The three or four early cross-field kicks was also a new Byrne inclusion, and that some kicks worked better than others shows that it is still very much a work in progress, both for the kickers and the kickees. Their use created immediate doubt in the minds of the Welsh midfield and outside defenders; doubt that prevailed throughout the game, and doubt which the Wallabies were more than happy to test and exploit.
But of course, there was a major reason the Wallabies attack looked so good, and why Davies sounded like a Wallabies fan for 80 minutes.
The performance of locks Rory Arnold and Adam Coleman, and No.8 Lopeti Timani cannot, and should not be understated.
Coleman has already had an excellent debut international season, albeit beginning in less than auspicious circumstances in his first start, but he probably topped all his 2016 performances in the gold jersey with a powerhouse display of focused aggression and power-carrying.
Arnold, I don’t mind admitting, played a game that only a few months ago I didn’t think he was capable of. There were numerous times toward the end of Super Rugby where I wondered why he was starting for the Brumbies at all. I was quite sure that reputation and potential won him Wallabies squad selection rather than form. I just didn’t think he was playing that well.
But he also played his best Test, and maybe even his best game in the last two seasons. His lineout work was great, his defence solid, and he carried with plenty of purpose throughout the game. And I was impressed he came back on after going off as a blood substitution because there have been plenty of occasions even this season when he hasn’t looked overly fussed when replaced.
Perhaps the best compliment for Arnold and Coleman’s game was the noticeable difference when they were off the field. And that’s not to suggest the Rob Simmons played poorly, just he didn’t have near the impact on the field than either of the starting locks.
And that just leaves Timani. In the first half of the NRC, I spoke to Melbourne Rising coach Zane Hilton in the same week Timani was released from Wallabies camp to get some game time. Hilton told me that no ‘Timani must play 8′ directive came with the big man’s release, but that it made sense that that was where he played, given that was where he was increasing likely to play for the Wallabies.
“I’ve got no doubt he’ll be a quality Test No.8,” Hilton said, a comment that would draw broad agreement. I wouldn’t mind betting that even Hilton was surprised at just how quickly Timani has looked at home at the back of the Wallabies scrum.
To turn out that performance, to carry and defend with such intensity, and display the scrummaging he did despite playing precious little No.8 in 2016, well that’s the sign of a special player.
Timani may not have been the best Wallabies player on the field in Cardiff, but his performance in time might be the most important for the future of a rebuilding side.
KTinHK
Roar Pro
Agree totally that Naiyaravoro should be in the Wallies team, especially as Speight has been out of form for a very long time.
Marto
Guest
Riddler you aren't a born and bred Queenslander mate..Trust me ,we Queenslanders know a fake when we hear or see one..
KTinHK
Roar Pro
Nobody who watched the SA-Bah Bah's game could argue that Speight should be on the wing instead of Naiyaravoro. He is currently the most destructive winger in world rugby.
ChrisG
Guest
Michael Cheika made a comment in the press recently where he said he favoured 'neighbours over northerners'. As an All Blacks supporter I believe this to be the case for a majority of southern hemisphere rugby supporters. Like Bazza I also enjoyed the Wallabies win, and I thought all Wallabies supporters might also enjoy a good result! At least the North didn't have it all their own way on the weekend.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Thanks Soap. Either way, I was taken to task for what I thought was a correct percentage, I apologized to Riddler, thinking I had gotten it wrong, based on the way he attacked me, and then it turns out I was right, and he was only basing his % on last year, saying that made Foley an 80% + kicker? That is completely inaccurate. I don't know anyone who measures just recent kicks when talking about a kicker.
soapit
Guest
hoy that websites quite informative. it ranks people taking into account the difficulty of their kicks. the result it has foley ranked at 97th in 2016, below barrett as his difficulty of shot is low enough to overcome barretts low success rate. all depends how you weight the difficulties tho i suppose.
Doubles
Guest
Derek , Dropped to the bench ( PHIPPS) is different to being dropped to the NRC..(Alot of Wallabies) Poorly researched response.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Macca, my 2 bob. Cheika and the Wallas need to win games on this tour. He would be mad to tinker much with the starting lineup and I don't think he will, they played well in Cardiff and deserve to stay in tact. That said I would make one change, I would bring in Genia. Phipps generally backs up a good game wth a poor one. Plus the Scots love to spoil the breakdown which will really fluster Phipps. Genia was superb against the Scots last time and I would go with him for this one. If there are one or two changes on the bench that's fine, as long as it's strengthening the squad.
Hoy
Roar Guru
Riddler, this is old, but I thought you are kidding aren't you? Golf handicap is not the same as a career kicking percentage... I can't believe you attacked me like that and then pop up saying you are cherry picking stats... How about this Riddler: In my last game, I kicked 1 from 1. Therefore, despite my normal kicking rate being 10%, it is most recently 100%, so I am going to take the 100%? Is that how it works? Give me a break. I can't believe you were seriously having a go at me, I apologized, thinking I was well wrong, was proved right by other posters, and this is how you respond? You take the career percentage, and if he improves, then that percentage improves... don't just pick the last 12 months. That is disappointing given how you spoke to me.
Red Kev
Guest
Riddler why did you not include the poor periods like the mid year tests and last 2 tests in your sample size? Surely they are just as relevant as the 2015 RWC. Maybe even more relevant because they are more recent. That total kicks of 331 is since 2013.
soapit
Guest
i disagree that he was good for 50 minutes.
soapit
Guest
according to red kevs website foley is slightly down on his career stats this year overall (including matches outside your cherry pick sample i assume). theres no point using a large sample size if ur still going to compile that sample selectively. foley is a 75% kicker and no stats suggest that will change anytime soon. there will be periods that he kicks higher such as the selections youve included but they have always been balanced by period where he has kicked lower. perhaps that will change in the future but theres no evidence it will other than a new coach being around.
cookie
Roar Guru
Too true... Gregan for years and years stood at the back of the ruck mesmerised by the ball whilst the opposition realigned their defence... then when he finally woke up he would pick up the ball ever so slowly take a few crabbing steps before pulling the ball back in then finally chucking it.. Foley had a break out 2014 season and if memory serves me correctly pretty much all roarers where saying he must be the wallabies 5/8... The last few years at the Tah's he's been mediocre... This is a reflection of how dominant the 2014 Tah's pack was and how far they have fallen since. I'd love to see how a NZ backline goes with out their usual dominant forward pack.. Hang on .. we saw that on the weekend !
riddler
Guest
was sad about the stadium not being full.. not sure if that was a reflection on us or on their team.. but was very surprised.. missing those sam, toby, awj and davies hurt them.. like us in oz we lose our 4 best players (whoever they are) we would struggle.. only the french seem to be able trot out a completely different xv and still play more or less the same.. remarkable..
Timbo
Guest
An important point about the Welsh, Carlos. As the midweek game against the Chiefs on their NZ tour showed, once you get beyond the first 23 the depth falls off alarmingly. Given that they were without probably their 5 best players (Alan Wyn Jones; Faletau; Warburton; Williams, and Davies just before kick-off, with North clearly carrying an injury) I was confident the WBs would win this one. I thought the WBs were really good in the first half and simply took their foot off the gas in the 2nd. What shocked me, though, was the manner of the capitulation. It's the worst performance I've seen from a Welsh side since long before Gatland took over. Clive Woodward wrote an article before the game criticising the Welsh for their attitude to the November internationals. His point was that provided they beat the English in the 6 Nations they don't seem to care. The stadium was only 70% full, and subdued, and the players looked like it was some sort of training run. The Welsh fans have gone berserk in the press and are calling for heads to roll. I was surprised to learn that the Welsh haven't won the first game of the November series since they beat Romania 14 years ago. That's disgraceful. The frustrating thing for an England fan, though, is that England are due to play them next in the 6 Nations in 3 months. The game will be at night, the stadium will be sold out and throbbing with noise and hostility, and the Welsh will run out with eyes bulging ready to create mayhem. Players who couldn't stop Foley getting over the gain line will be knocking back Billy Vunipola. If they beat England all will be forgiven and the cycle will just repeat next year. That, in a nutshell, is Wales's problem
Nicholas Bishop
Expert
Fundamentally, lack of leadership Carlos. All the big leaders were out - but that does still not excuse such a limp performance....
riddler
Guest
he is not mid 70's.. that is not correct.. i started playing golf and my handicap was +36.. now my handicap is 5.. i don't say my handicap is average of over the whole time.. it is of the latest x amount of tournaments.. i have included a sample size of 112 kicks from his last year.. which is more than enough.. considering since 2011 his total kicks for the tahs and wallasbies is only 331.. the guy has improved and hopefully will continue to imporve.. marto.. not even worth responding to your bias.. i am a qlder and u and keyboard warriors like you embarrass me.. the game and oz team is bigger than the states.. cooper never kicked for qld till mckenzie started giving him a chance over harris to enhance his wallaby prospects.. which for a qlder i found disturbing because harris was atleast an 82% kicker and cooper hadn't got into the 70%..
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
Nick, what happened to the Welsh? Why didn't they show up to play?
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
Oh well, didn't get to your comment before I posted the same thing above. Apologies.
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
What was that yuuuuge Welsh flag covering the stands behind an end zone? I was expecting fans there.