Wallabies coach Dave Rennie threatened selection changes after a diabolical 40 missed tackles consigned Australia to yet more Bledisloe Cup despair at Eden Park.
The Wallabies came crashing back to earth after last week’s thrilling 16-16 draw in Wellington as the All Blacks piled on four tries to one in a 27-7 rebound rout in Auckland on Sunday.
In chalking up their 20th straight trans-Tasman victory at Eden Park since 1986, no All Black was more destructive in punishing the Wallabies for their defensive deficiencies than rookie winger Caleb Clarke.
The 21-year-old son of former All Blacks centre Eroni Clarke was nigh-on unstoppable on debut, with three line breaks and ten tackle busts from eight runs earning him a standing ovation.
“He was a handful,” said Rennie, who blamed the Wallabies’ horror missed tackle count as the chief reason for their downfall.
“Last week we tackled really well and we made minimal mistakes. We always knew that was important against the All Blacks.
“Today we turned the ball over a lot and then missed too many tackles. The initial tackle was poor and we got put under heat from it.
“You just can’t gift the All Blacks that much ball. They’ve got too many athletes who can hurt you and that’s what we saw today.”
Trailing 10-0 after an early Richie Mo’unga penalty and Aaron Smith try in the 23rd minute, the Wallabies were only down by three points at the break after Marika Koroibete’s reply on the half-hour.
But the loss of midfield playmaker Matt To’omua to a recurring groin injury before halftime and quickfire tries after the resumption to All Blacks Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea turned the game on its head.
Suddenly behind 20-7, the Wallabies lamented Koroibete not being able to ground the ball for a second try and then hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa being penalised for double movement having touched down shortly after.
“We score there – (to make it) 20-14 – and maybe we’re in the match,” Rennie said.
Alas, they weren’t and it was all over when All Blacks skipper Sam Cane crossed for his side’s fourth try in the 53rd minute.
Asked if there was any solace in knowing the Wallabies could turn the series around by solving their defensive problems, Rennie said: “Selection can sometimes fix that, can’t it?”
The no-nonsense first-year Wallabies coach has already shown he’s not afraid to make tough calls, having relegated four players even after last Sunday’s stirring draw – Australia’s closest call in New Zealand in 19 years.
But Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, while disappointed with the result, felt the defensive shortfalls were as much about the All Blacks’ domination of the breakdown and possession.
“They made us pay on our turnovers,” Hooper said.
“When you’re retreating and missing tackles, our line’s going back and they’re coming forward it’s hard.”
Either way, the Wallabies’ 20-point defeat leaves Hooper’s men needing to win the final two games of the the series – in Sydney on 31 October and in Brisbane on 7 November – to get their hands back on the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2003.
While offering no excuse, Rennie revealed the Wallabies’ preparation had been disrupted by dynamic back-rower Harry Wilson being hospitalised for 36 hours last week with a foot infection.
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
>You love him Well, that's quite a projection about what this Highlanders and All Blacks supporter apparently thinks. Dear me. Remarkable. Meantime, back in reality, netiquette is that if you make a claim against something, it's for you to back it up. It's part of how the internet works. Otherwise it becomes five year olds saying "did" "didn't". Over to you to be a bit more articulate than "he's not up to it" and show you're actually better than a troll. Please make the case. After all, there are quite a lot of players who you could point to in the Wallabies team and say, "we keep losing with that bloke in the squad."
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
Please accept my pity
Ex force fan
Guest
He has a strange technique to catch the ball but so did Brain Habana. A lot of these errors were a result of the lack of established combinations. Change for change sake would not reduce these.
Ex force fan
Guest
Coles did a good job of closing his space as second carrier. Wallabies didn’t adapt and therefore TT was less effective. Would have been better to use him as first or third carrier or even for the first carrier to go wider and play inside. It was too predictable and made Coles’ defence easy.
Ex force fan
Guest
There is a correlation between the stock prices of NZ and South Africa and the AB and Bok results. There should not be but there is. Sentiment is a strange animal.
Ex force fan
Guest
I think you are spot on. It is not a time to drop Banks, he should now get comfortable with the level he plays at and play with more confidence. He fielded high kicks well and his kicking to touch is excellent.
Ex force fan
Guest
I agree on Banks. Solid so far, however I would like to see him do more in attack as he is now in his fourth test. JOC kick was not that poor. The height and length was good enough and could have been contested if it was chased. However there was no-one chasing the kick although two players were behind the ball. There was nothing on to pass and the alternative was to take contact with all your support in front of you. I thought it was the right option however #15 and #14 failed to act.
Ex force fan
Guest
Going OS will open a can of worms. You need to agree with the clubs, fly them in, they didn’t train with the squad. It would only be used as a last resort.
Ex force fan
Guest
We will loose by less, but still loose. We need a better balance between attack and defence.
Ex force fan
Guest
Good teams adapt to the referee. The referee has not shown any bias so I don’t think we have anything to complain about.
I doubt Rennie would have accepted the appointment if he wasn’t in charge.
Yep, if you commit to running from the back you must hit the line with pace and confidence, if you don’t hit the line hard you won’t win the contact.
Problem was he had a double movement, first got on his knees and then a second action of placing the ball. If he only tried to place the ball forward he would have been short of the line.
Difficult to read everything by a scoreline, I think the try dominance is a good indicator, 4 tries to 1 doesn’t paint a pretty picture.
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
If you're going OS, why Skelton? Why not Rodda? Not a fan of OS picks. If a young fellow is here trying to break into teams, why should he stay if he can achieve from elsewhere, while on a better payday? When the economies pick up, and they will, it won't just be Europe and Japan looking for players, the US and their MLR (already taking plenty of OS players AND coaches) will be more than just on the look-out for our promising talent. AUS rugby could easily become a bigger feeder union than it already is.
Panana split
Roar Rookie
I don't understand the relevance of your comment or your motivations for making it
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
The sun might still rise in the event of a loss but your economy won't
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
May be from set play. I'm more concerned about his returns on counter-attack from kicks.
GoldenEye
Roar Rookie
Banks just needs Lolesio to unlock him.
Panana split
Roar Rookie
The All Blacks have lost many times before and the sun still rose the next day. Your concern for your cousins across the ditch is touching.