Let’s be very clear from the top. Australia did not lose to Wales in Tokyo because of Romain Poite.
The Wallabies did a lot of things poorly, just as the Welsh did a lot of things very, very well in their thrilling 29-25 win, which has well and truly set them up to top Pool D and making them every bit of a contender to reach the tournament’s semi-finals and beyond.
There can be no question that the Welsh played the perfect game of Cup rugby, taking points whenever they were on offer, even if that offer arrived within 40 seconds of kick-off.
Wales forced Australia to play a game they didn’t want to play, made the most of their opportunities, and defended the maul astutely in the final half an hour as the Wallabies chased the game.
That Bernard Foley was hooked just four minutes into the second half was illustrative both of the curiosity that surrounded his inclusion to begin with, and for the thinking that he could somehow have done something to change the coach’s mind in just four minutes.
Use of the bench in modern rugby is generally formulaic. It’s really only injury or a red card that forces coaches away from the ground-in template that generally sees forwards replaced in the 50-to-60-minute range, and backs usually in the last 20 minutes.
When your halves are both benched ten minutes before your starting front row, it’s a bit more than just a rough night for the individuals. Time will soon tell if Foley and Will Genia’s surprise promotion is what costs Australia the knockout path they had put themselves on.
And Wallabies coach Michael Cheika obviously had the thought early to send Matt Toomua into the contest for Foley, but it does beg the question why he didn’t just pull that rein at half time.
What could Foley possibly have done in four minutes to make the impact that he never looked like making in the first 40? Why put Toomua through the stress of knowing he’s going on way earlier that planned, but still at a yet-to-be-determined point in the second half?
Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on how you want to look at it – most of the Wallabies’ urgent remedial work can now be done under the radar, with the talking points from the game in Tokyo completely dominated by the performance of referee Poite and television match official Ben Skeen.
(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
I have a lot of sympathy for the both of them. They’re professionals and earn a living doing what they love within the game that has given them so much.
They have ambition like any player or coach, and the Rugby World Cup is every bit as life-defining for them as it is for the blokes on the field or up in the coach’s box.
So when World Rugby comes out after the first week of the tournament and declares that “the match officials team recognise that performances were not consistently of the standards set by World Rugby and themselves,” everyone knew what was coming.
The motivation behind such a damning statement is frankly mind-blowing.
It’s one thing to hand down this kind of assessment to the referees and match officials through the normal review process that goes on behind closed doors, but what could possibly be gained by making that kind of statement publicly?
And why on earth would you force them to put their own name to such a public stoning?
‘The officials admit they haven’t been as good as we need them to be and they’d like to be’. Who does that to their employees?
So, of course, with their own forced admission of dud performances and underwhelming KPIs still ringing in their ears, and already knowing that players have copped big suspensions for things that didn’t earn yellow cards on the field, Poite and Skeen went into a big game determined to get everything right to the letter of the law.
And so they did.
I had every intention of including all kind of quotes and tweets and posts from commentators and pundits from all over the world made during and in the aftermath of the Australia-Wales game, but I really don’t have to.
You’ve undoubtedly seen them already, and the message in all of them is the same.
That game in Tokyo was officiated so meticulously, so pedantically, so don’t-dare-make-a-bloody-mistaking-ingly because of World Rugby’s sheer and absolute stupidity.
This Rugby World Cup has had so many wonderful moments already: the astonishing opening ceremony, Uruguay’s superb win over Fiji, the host nation’s Miracle of Shizuoka, and the incredible atmosphere at every ground among them.
But all of that is being quickly eroded by the governing body’s own assurance that this RWC is remembered only for the officiating.
And though publicly the Wallabies coaching team are seething about said officiating and not without good reason, privately they will be relieved that their own performance in this game won’t get the scrutiny it really deserves.
joeb
Roar Rookie
:happy:
Drobe
Roar Rookie
What has happened to our game??! There was a time if you went into a tackle that high you would have been yoked by my coach or at best got a “serves em right, that’ll learn em...round the legs son”!. Cant we see the irony? Hodge gets 3 weeks for the Tackle against Fiji, arms, no arms, whatever he was high and aledgy did damage to his adversary. fast forward we wasted 5GB and nearly missed Les Norton whilst the ref massaged his ego to decide if an offending high tackler was hit by a legal ball carrying arm to wit he did lube up the acme thunderer and villify a player playing the game and at the same time arbitrate a ruling that has all the hallmarks of a teacher waling in late to a playground tiff and awarding detention to the biggest kid who was just trying to eat his lunch. And thats just the start Seconds later whilst the Wallabies were thinking WTF a ball runner just got penalised, and the faithful few back in Australia had ducked off to refill a beer and relieve themselves after such an in comprehendible interlude after what was up until that point was a gritty, free flowing game of Rugby, the ref was either bathing in the afterglow of his moment of inordinate power exorcised on the world stage, or was in fact pondering his actions and thinking that well maybe he did get a bit carried away, caught up n the intoxicating beverage of World Cup fever. Whatever his reasoning the fact that he missed a blatant offside and proceeded to blow the pea on a controversial try without a moments hesitation, consult with his cohorts or so much as a TMO (to be fair they were catching their breath) is a disgrace. Granted Wales and that cheeky bloody 1/2 Back had the nouse to put it all on red when they were on a roll and it worked. All the rugby world craves is consistency. I have had consistently good refs in my time and endured consistently bad refs. Either of them I will take over incinsistent arbitaries. It ruins the game. Consistency, good or bad can let the players and the game find a rhythm and a momentum of its own. Inconsistency is the assasin of our game. It promotes all that is bad in Rugby. An inconsistent team will pay the price when the season gets to the pointy end, they cant hide. But what of the Referee. Its a thankless job. If a ref has a great game rest assured no one is talking about his performance on the field. To that end this profession is a paradox of human nature . Aus v Wales case in point. Wales went out with a plan to win and they worked it to their potential. Australia did also. What swayed the decision in the end was a a man in the middle whom, if he had a good game we would struggle to remember his name. PS Love this Game
Alex
Guest
If Poite was over cautious, why didn’t he or the AR review the intercept? Instead they spend 4 mins reviewing a ball carry. Just bizarre...
Gepetto
Roar Rookie
500 + posts : that's more people than would go to watch Bernaaard play at Lang Park.
MitchO
Guest
I thought Genia/Foley would be okay. In hindsight it didn't work - but no outrage from me. I don't think they cost us the game but we did look a lot better with Toomua trucking the crap ball up at 10. Nick B seems to be blaming the selection of Genia for the loss. I think that's a bit harsh. Hands up who thinks Genia cannot be trusted to play 60 minutes of a test match? Our ball control was poor all day. What if Kerevi hadn't switched the ball back to his inside arm and he just bumped off the cover? I reckon his momentum would have got him there and that's 5 points. The tackler just had to hit is arm to knock the ball out. Should not happen. Did happen. Not Genia's fault or Foley's. What really surprised me is how well the Wallabies contained Liam Williams. Surely he should have carved us up. How come he didn't?
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yeah I looked at it on the first morning and didnt see 'outrage' as such, some actually thought it was the strongest they could put out.Guess it went downhill from there...
Chris
Guest
No comment on why Cheika dropped your best 10 for a crucial game and replace him with the inferior Bernard Foley Machooka? That was a massive error.I feel for the other 22 players.
JP
Guest
You just weren't looking hard enough ,there was plenty of outrage with Foleys inclusion, if you actually looked at the article when the team was announced you know.Go have a look and get back to us. I`ll give you 5 days.
Keilidh
Roar Rookie
Carlos, Hawk-Eye are heavily involved in this WC with camera technology, they’re focussing on camera angles for HIA assessments, and foul play, but hopefully they will get more involved in offsides. TMO has their feeds, don’t know how real-time it is, but it can only get better
Brian Westlake
Roar Rookie
Did so much more than naisarani isi. Isi playing? Isi here? Isi doing anything? Should not play another game in this tournament. Put Dempsey in, at least he has a go An embarrassment
joeb
Roar Rookie
“That Bernard Foley was hooked just four minutes into the second half was illustrative both of the curiosity that surrounded his inclusion to begin with, and for the thinking that he could somehow have done something to change the coach’s mind in just four minutes.” Sorry Brett, dare say he’s our best option currently, with Matt Toomua coming off the bench again for mine. Foley was hooked i s’pose cause he spilt a pass when we were on the front foot. Toomua did admittedly play well when he came on. We’re still in this with a little bit of luck… :happy: but Foley starts for mine (needs some encouragement from Chek, like “We believe in you, son! And we’re countin’ on ya!”).
Olly
Roar Rookie
Reputation my friend. All companies protect their brand and reputation as it is all they have. It literally translate to more baseline players, sponsors and ultimately more money for the game. This is the purpose of the RWC. They are under attack from the media and need to show the evidence to clear the water. It is simply good business and anything that gets this much negative attention on the sports flagship event is not a "Non-event". Also please read my posts, I have not said that he is offside but have highlighted the lack of consistency being the greater issue in the game at the moment.
JP
Guest
As i expected. Watch out for the pigeon it may poop on your Jordie Barratt mobile phone screensaver.
terrykidd
Roar Pro
The only thing I will say about the officiating is that a couple of decisions went against the Wallabies at times that robbed them of momentum. Otherwise the Wallabies did enough to beat themselves despite the good performance by Wales. In the last 20 the Wallabies are chasing the game, we had momentum and had Wales under pressure such they were just hanging on. Then we take a penalty shot at goal rather than going for the corner and the try. Yes we got the points but we immediately allowed Wales to regroup. Then with 3 minutes to go and the Wallabies on the attack 40m out Toomua grubbers for the corner, immediately turning over possession. Surely that is the time to keep the ball .... that was dumb rugby.
Kiwikrs
Roar Rookie
Watch out for the seagulls. They'll be circling for that chip on your shoulder
Richie Walton
Roar Guru
Brett, can i present the frustrations in a different light. Journalists and fans can debate the accuracy of certain calls and referees performances all day, but the bigger problem is that the average punter is utterly confused when they watch Rugby Union nowadays. Are we really more concerned about getting every collision adjudicated correctly and have no concern for the fan and player experience? That game took almost 100 minutes to complete and the ball was in play for ~40 mins. The final scrum took almost 4mins to be fed. I think WR are missing the bigger picture here and that is that the game is becoming harder to play, officiate and certainly watch. Australians in particular with their multiple football codes will switch off. Why would a young player want to adopt a Welsh style of football where your team has 30% of the ball and your 9/10 kick the cover off it every time they get hands to it? I know it's effective and the Wallabies are rightly criticised for having the wrong tactics.. but what other football code rewards teams for giving the ball to the opposition so often?
Zado
Guest
Tend to agree. It was Cheikas fault originally to continually select the underperforming Foley but now it`s all on Bernard imo. He should voluntarily stand down as he has continued to undermine the Wallabies. Absolute passenger.
JP
Guest
It didnt effect Jordie Barrett who smashed Cheslin Kolbe in the face with any elbow whilst carrying the ball .Absolute shocker of a elbow .No sanction.You can lead with the elbow it seems if you are an all black.
Peter Gorman
Guest
The Wallabies lost because of the selectors. Will Genia, a great player on the downward slide. All year he rarely passed from the ground but has shuffled sideways three or four steps and has made mistakes in the final minutes of the first half; last saturday and the last game against the ABs and others. He doesn't appear fit enough or maybe age has caught up on him. Either way its sad. Nic White in his first game this year, waved an opposing player through to the tryline when he should've put him over the side, missed 4 tackles and shuffled sideways before deciding to pass. He was awarded "Man o the match". Looks like he is protected. Nic Phipps is sitting home. He has a better pass, better tackle stats, is fitter than Genia & White and he should be the starting half.
Sage
Roar Rookie
You are the high water mark in sensible commentary around here Jez. Well done you