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Wallabies' lack of rugby smarts set them up for defeat

Roar Guru
3rd September, 2018
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Roar Guru
3rd September, 2018
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There are any number of reasons why the All Blacks are too good for the Wallabies at the moment. This includes fitness, skills, the coaching at national, Super and pathway level, basic skill errors and a lack of rugby smarts.

This is article will focus on the last two points.

A quick comment on fitness though. The Wallaby management will get a readout every game of how far each player ran, and how far they ran at say aerobic speed (up to 70%), and anaerobic speed (70-90%).

Only with the benefit of this information would we know if the ABs are fitter, or they are playing in a way to minimise running at these levels (and us the reverse). If the NZ players are running the same distances at the same intensities, then yes, they are fitter.

I re-watched the first half of Bledisloe 2 mainly focusing on a lack of game smarts and basic errors. Not only do we keep making silly and unnecessary mistakes, but we keep picking the guys making them.

We have to reward performance, at every level (playing, coaching, management). We need a management structure that has the best interests of the game in Australia and generally running the game, but that’s for a different article.

What I picked up was these issues at the following times in the game.

1. 1:40, Marika Koroibete, Reece Hodge – Will Genia picks up a knock on, hesitates initially, then Koroibete on a run manages to touch the touchline around their quarter and give possession away, without Kieran Read (the tackler) even doing much to cause it. Iz Rodda stole the lineout, but Hodge had a clean drop giving away attacking ball again;

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2. 4:55, Lukhan Tui – we then get another chance 30m out after a forward pass from Jack Goodhue, but Tui doesn’t protect the ball and Brodie Retallick rips it. This is the only one of our lost attacking chances in the first half that involved even above average play by the ABs (Retallick);

3. 12:10, Hodge – turnover ball and we’re badly outnumbered, Hodge races up to shut it down, but he was never going to make it and it leaves a 3 on 1. ABs make 60m (then score);

4. 12:50, Tui, Bernard Foley – four phases later, after bouncing off a tackle a couple of phases earlier, Tui is too slow to re-load and Beauden Barret strolls through the huge gap for the first try. Foley was next to him and failed to sense the danger and cover the gap, or even make the effort;

Bernard Foley

Bernard Foley of the Wallabies (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

5. 15:04, Dane Haylett-Petty – he makes a good break to get near their quarter, then two phases later cleans out Aaron Smith well past the ball, under the touchie’s nose. Smith by contrast showed smarts by making enough noise and arm movement to draw their attention to it;

6. 17:02, Foley – ABs under pressure retrieving a kick on their own quarter, Foley prevents a pass from a man on the deck, relieving the pressure with a silly penalty. This means they kick it 35m downfield and have the lineout. ABs going backwards have about 5 players there, we (going forward) have 2 or 3;

7. 18:57, Adam Coleman – attacking on their quarter, Coleman clears out too far off the ball (like DHP did 4 minutes beforehand). It was the fifth good attacking chance squandered by lack of smarts or poor play;

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8. 37:03, Genia/Kurtley Beale – attacking on their quarter, Genia throws it too hard, or Kurtley should have left it as it was meant for the guy next to him. Attacking chance (6th) gone again;

9. 37:15, most of the side – after that turnover, we end up with both loosies (we only played 2) and our 10, 12, 14 and 15 on the same side, and the front row defending the middle of the field. The ABs see this and go right. Only Kurtley senses danger early enough to do anything about it and puts in some effort.

Hodge makes another mistake trying to shut it down, only four or five Aussies are running at above 50 per cent speed to chase. Genia, Foley, DHP and Hodge all look out of gas;

10. Injury time, Koroibete – attacking on their quarter, Koroibete throws a no look flick pass that goes forward and finishes the half. We were building pressure nicely.

So, what’s the summary? In the first half alone, we:

• Squandered seven attacking chances around their quarter. One (Retallick rip) involved good play from NZ, and the other six were lack of smarts (four) or basic skill errors under little pressure (two);

• Let in two tries. One from a slow re-load (Tui and Hodge) and failure to sense danger and cover (Foley), and the other from getting caught out with front rowers and few backs defending the open side.

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As much as we say the ABs are a lot better (and they are), we stop the silly errors and show a bit of game smarts and urgency, and we’re two to three tries up at half time, instead of 1 down.

What do we do as a result? We keep picking the same guys who make the errors and fail to show urgency or smarts.

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