The Wallabies have surprised almost everyone by pushing the All Blacks all the way in the second Bledisloe Cup game. Here are five talking points.
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1. One of the greatest games ever?
Phew. Have we caught our breath yet? By every metric, Bledisloe 2 in Dunedin was an absolute classic. There were ebbs and flows, multiple lead changes, scintillating attack, bruising defence, and a nail-biting finish.
If you needed any further convincing about the physicality on show, three All Blacks left the field for concussion Tests, though only Sam Cane was forced to stay off.
The 35-29 loss was heartbreaking for the Wallabies who threw absolutely everything into the contest. Australia may have lost the Bledisloe Cup again, but you suspect this game was just the tonic for thousands of fans who may have lost the faith. What a spectacle.
It was clear this was a different Wallabies side from the outset. We’d barely settled on the sofa when Israel Folau plucked an intercept and ran 80 metres to score in the first minute.
While that try might have been against the run of play, Australia dictated the next 20 minutes. Michael Cheika’s men were committed in defence, disrupting the All Blacks rhythm and forcing mistakes.
Their own handling was more precise than we’ve seen in recent times, stringing passes together and swooping on any loose ball.
In the 11th minute, Michael Hooper wriggled out of a Kieran Read tackle to score. A few minutes later, Will Genia broke clear to link with Hooper who sent Bernard Foley over. If 0-17 after 15 minutes was a plausible score prediction, no one picked the Wallabies to be the ones in front.
2. The Wallabies’ scrum is still an issue
Despite the Wallabies momentum, there were warning signs at scrum time. The Aussie pack was under heavy pressure but largely managed to retain their own ball.
It was from one such messy scrum that Genia made the break for the third try. The sheer force of the Kiwi shove meant that space opened up ahead of the halfback. He took full advantage.
There was a question mark over a potential knock-on but the officials were satisfied it came off his knee. It was the veteran’s best international performance for several years ‒ clean distribution, strong running, and minimal kicking. Perfect.
The real Test came late in the first-half as the All Blacks wrestled back the ascendancy. They camped down in the 22 and set consecutive scrums. Sensing the danger, Cheika hooked Stephen Moore off in the 37th minute for Tatafu Polota-Nau. The replacement steadied the ship somewhat, but the cumulative pressure eventually told. It was back to 14-17 at the break.
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
3. Nigel Owens has a tendency to get himself in a muddle
The Welsh referee is renowned for his communication skills. He certainly makes an effort to consult clearly with his assistants and keep each captain in the loop. However, this doesn’t mean he always gets things right. There were pivotal calls that went against both teams.
There was a strong case in the first-half to award the All Blacks a penalty try and yellow card Ned Hanigan for lazy offside running that prevented a certain try for Rieko Ioane.
Hanigan was involved in another incident, this time tipped upside down by Brodie Retallick. The nearside assistant flagged for foul play, though on review (admittedly with no close-up angles available) Owens saw nothing in it. It was certainly not an incidental tangle of bodies. There may not have been much force in it, but by the letter of the law, it was at least a penalty.
The biggest headscratcher came in the second-half when Owens seemingly awarded a try to Brodie Retallick amid a heap of bodies. Everyone walked back for the conversion, before Owens belatedly checked with the TMO who deemed there was no clear grounding. In an attempt to save face, Owens claimed he had only signalled for a penalty, not a try. Righto, Nige.
4. Beauden Barrett is the most complete player in world rugby
If we didn’t know it already, Beauden Barrett is bloody good. He has all the tools to dominate games. He has the requisite vision, handling, composure and tactical kicking at flyhalf. He popped up at crucial times in Dunedin to score two tries, one of which clinched the game in the 78th minute.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Perhaps his greatest attribute though is his blinding speed. His shuffling stride doesn’t look like much, but just watch him next time he’s chasing in cover defence. The bloke’s got serious wheels.
The only question mark at times has been his goalkicking, but these past two weeks he’s had his kicking boots well and truly on. All Blacks fans will have been holding their breath when Barrett briefly left the field for a concussion Test. No player on the field had a greater influence.
5. Goal-kicking was the difference
Speaking of kicking boots, Foley clearly left his on the team bus. There’s always an unfair amount of emphasis placed on goalkickers. While 29 players on the pitch have a breather and a drink, one has to slow his heart rate and summon pinpoint precision from his weary legs.
Yet in seesawing games like this one, you need all the points you can get. In total, Foley missed three conversions and one penalty attempt. That’s nine kickable points left out on the field in a game decided by a margin of six. You can call him unlucky for striking the post a few times, but the posts don’t move.
There was so many positives for the Wallabies tonight, it’s unfortunate the result was decided by the only unopposed element of the game. Double practice this week, Bernie.
pKitovitz
Guest
NZ are lethal once field position is established. Hence the 9 consecutive penalties awarded to the ABs at 0-17 allowed them to get ahead on the scoreboard. Their tight scrum was infinitly superior. In spite of Hansen's remarks am amazed Retallick remained on the field.Still so did Umaga! Twice NO awarded tries to NZ which were overturned by the TMO.Of course there are no referals to marginal calls made in midfield,allowing NZ to establish field position. The final try was not refered upstairs.Not surprisingly as a scum to Oz would have been called. Interestingly Garces was initially appointed to do this game.Now we see NO is also doing NZv SA. Love watching the superb skills of NZ.But as a KIWI supporter am deeply embarrassed at these Joubert type repetitions.
John R
Roar Guru
About as happy as NZ fans would be when Reado made a similar snarky comment about the Faumuina penalty for tackling in the air during the BIL series.
taylorman
Roar Guru
So could Hannigan in stopping the try.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Harsh? Offside is offside. He played the ball, knowingly or not by moving into a tight area being used for attack and directly foiled a certain try. Its up to you not to interfere, not for legally positioned players to work around you.
Wal
Roar Guru
Straight from the Law book "There are two ways a player can ground the ball: (a) Player touches the ground with the ball. A player grounds the ball by holding the ball and touching the ground with it, in in-goal. ‘Holding’ means holding in the hand or hands, or in the arm or arms. No downward pressure is required.12 (b) Player presses down on the ball. A player grounds the ball when it is on the ground in the in-goal and the player presses down on it with a hand or hands, arm or arms, or the front of the player’s body from waist to neck inclusive." Ben Smith would appear to still be holding the ball when the ball touches the ground. He certainly doesn't bounce it or drop it, so by the Law it perhaps should have been a try. It's just one of those 50/50 calls
Timbo (L)
Roar Guru
I think you are wrong about the penalty try. If you listen to Nigel's commentary (Heard on FTA but not on Fox) "You passed the ball forward" [to hit him]. If you look closely at the footage, you see Whitelock standing on the Wallabies try line, unbound, clearly not behind the last feet, impeding Neds return to the defensive line. It is a shifty play where the offside loitering player becomes a blocker for the attacking runner. It is all smoke and mirrors. Smith is the Cheat, Not Hanigan. I think he made the right call for the Retallick "Ned-Flip" - there was no clear evidence. I am not saying he didn't do it, but he shouldn't have been penalized without supporting proof. As much as I like to see Hoops get thrown about, Retallick's shoulder hit on a non ball carrier later deserved some attention. Many players have seen 10 for this sort of thing and given the earlier questionable action, would have been justified. The ones that got me were the MacMahon turnovers. He had his hands on thae ball and as he got cleaned out, dragged the player on the ground not releasing the ball. A second one had Crotty off his feet cleaning him out. I am sure Roarers will look at the stats and proclaim him a penalty magnet. I see him as the Hero and the #7 we should have.
Tommy
Guest
Rubbish 17 nil up an they loss
ozinsa
Guest
Nailed in Soapit. Cheika's commentary box drama queen performance is something he can't control. He played rugby like that - on the edge - and it provides great fillers for TV producers. What he can/should control is his moaning post match. This was a cracker game with 50:50 calls almost every minute. If a few were wrong they were shared between the teams and didn't affect the result. It can be no coincidence that Owens seems to consistently be in the middle for high quality games. His style makes them possible. I'll take the few errors that must inevitably come from a super-fast game ahead of an error free referee performance in a game blown to pieces by a super-officious zealot.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Guest
Moa, it was 24 nil in 6 minutes, 240 seconds! And the crowd was 106k or 108k from memory. I was there -fantastic banter between the two mobs of fans. I was there with Kiwi gent who enjoyed the game only slightly more than I. Last nights game was up there but not quite at that level, imho.
Piru
Guest
"downward pressure” is in the law book, but it applies to a loose ball being grounded, not one a player is carrying
Piru
Guest
downward pressure only applies to a ball sitting in the in goal, not one in the possession of a player. Commentators always repeat this and it drives me nuts.
Deon
Guest
I have a couple of questions. Immediately prior to the foul play stoppage (why would a referee even stop play?) I thought that Owens was signalling a penalty advantage to Australia. If nothing was deemed to need to occur from the alleged foul play, shouldn't the penalty have stood? Or was he signalling an advantage because of the foul play call from the assistant? Either way, the dealing with that whole incident was a complete balls up! Secondly, I have seen a few references to this, but nobody is talking about it. Was there a knock on at the kick off, immediately prior to Barratt scoring the winning try? It looked a little like the ball came off the hand of Retallick or Reid, not sure which one, and onto the chest, I think, of Israel Folau.
ethan
Guest
ABs are king at little off the ball tactics like holding players down on the ground out of play. Yet I've never seen a WB tip an AB on their head when getting up. It was a tangle, sure, but Retallick could have avoided doing what he did.
ethan
Guest
Why wouldn't he just pass to his unmarked winger - to get a try legit without having to milk a penalty? Get a clue.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
The 'The World is Against Us' attitude.
Jimbuk
Guest
The point about where the wallabies scored their 3rd try and all the talk being around genia knocking it on.they watched replays over and over again and failed to pick up that once the all blacks got the shove on,the wallabies 6 broke from the scrum and had his back turned to the all blacks.
Jameswm
Guest
So you're happy with how Hooper reacted?
Philomena Curtin
Guest
Great improvement by our Wallabies. Looking forward to seeing them here in Perth, The Force State and the forgotten Rugby state by the ARU or as call it now the ERU. We will be wearing our Force colours on September 9th Wallabies V Sth Africa as we cheer our national team. So sad that Rugby is the loser by letting our team, our Future Force Academy, our fans from our international immigrants to our Australian boys and girls. In this great country where I live for the past 31 years it is so unfair to treat Western Australia like we don't belong. We live in hope. We love our Force.
taylorman
Roar Guru
My answer? Ive no idea.
RobC
Roar Guru
Thanks Charlie, nice summary: 1. Was great to watch. Look forward to more 2. I think they can fix the scrum. The quality at SR level is there 3. Nigel did alright. Let the game and players do their thing 4. BB is great. The other NZ 10s are not far off imo. 5. Goal kicking may be a big issue for future games. esp v SA. Maybe ARG