After an extremely impressive start to the Bledisloe Cup, I was looking forward to the second Test with anticipation and trepidation.
My trepidation increased when my old teammate and good friend David Campese suggested a few days prior to the second Test that the All Blacks had lost their aura – My God Campo – what were you thinking? Only a back would say such a thing!
So, what went wrong?
No. 1: Australia did not take penalty kicks for goal when they were on offer.
This is a schoolboy error and is what one would euphemistically call a triumph of hope over experience. What happened? The Wallabies kicked for the sideline and lost the ball from the ensuing lineout.
Again, the impact of gaining three points is not to be underestimated. It obviously shortens any deficit but also gives the players a much-needed rest, and confidence. The buck stops with the captain on this one.
The fact of the matter is that when the first kickable penalty in the All Blacks half was awarded to Australia, the Wallabies were right in the game. The sad thing is that this error in failing to kick for goal was made more than once.
No. 2: The omission of Reece Hodge from the starting XV.
While in no way denigrating Tom Banks, the simple fact is that Reece Hodge is our best (and possibly only) long-range kicker.
In the dim mists of time, I was playing in a series against the All Blacks when I gave a penalty away (yes I was cheating but, in my defence, I was an openside flanker) well inside All Black territory. While disappointed in giving away a penalty, I was not overly perturbed until a skinny bloke called Allen Hewson, No. 15 for the All Blacks, stepped up to take a long-range kick at goal.
Yes, he kicked the damn goal and made it look easy. From memory, I think we lost the game by a point.
The impact of such kicks and the benefit of long-range accurate kickers cannot be understated. Suddenly, the temptation to get an added advantage becomes less attractive when you know that you are likely to give three points away.
No. 3: Substituting Taniela Tupou.
Unlike the All Blacks, the Wallabies do not have the same amount of game-breakers or depth. Tupou is such a weapon. He is an excellent scrummager and one of the few forwards in Australia who actually run onto the ball at pace when it is passed to him. We cannot afford to take such a dynamic runner off the field.
No 4: The Wallabies are getting beaten at the breakdown. If the Wallabies cannot rectify this, Australia cannot hope to win the Bledisloe Cup.
No. 5: The aggressive, co-ordinated and targeted rush defence that the Wallabies employed so effectively in the first Test (reminiscent of England’s efforts in the last Rugby World Cup semi-final against New Zealand) was absent.
Overall, the Wallabies tackling was very poor but was a consequence of being on the back foot.
No 6: The Wallabies support play is too slow and simply not good enough.
This contributes to the turnover rate and must be improved significantly if the Wallabies are to win the next test.
So, what are Australia’s chances in the third Test?
I am optimistic. Our backs are against the wall and I would not write these Wallabies off. They showed tremendous character in the first Test so we know that it is within them.
No doubt David Rennie and co. will be working overtime to remedy the deficiencies exposed by the All Blacks in the second Test.
At the end of the day, the enemy is within and how each and every player will deal with that enemy will be the key.
pm
Roar Rookie
He doesn't impress much as a captain does he. But I don't see an obvious successor. Allalatoa maybe?
Gun Dog
Roar Rookie
Hi..my take on his article is that the AB's are not that good ﾆ. Any crowing by my fellow kiwis is bollocks..the Wallabies gifted the AB's the win thru appalling defense (and also sub standard skills )..Bidwell is correct. Ireland and England shut the AB'S down thru brutal defence..Foster and Plumtree promised that they would rectify the AB'S lack of physicality ..They haven't done that yet.. I have lived in Aus for 40 yrs and followed Union and League for longer. I do not think that Aussies are soft.Quite the contrary. It all depends on your terms of reference. And my understanding is that the feedback in the poll referred to re Aussies being soft came from Australians... defence is about mental toughness.Rennie can fix this. He knows how to beat the AB's.."know your enemy" He is getting to know the Wallabies. The Wallabies can become a very good side. As for the AB'S..I want them make up for the hiding that Eng gave them. Nothing else will do! Cheers :stoked: :thumbup:
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Nicko Of course we don't know if pre-game instructions were given by Rennie on this issue. These days the captain is often given licence to make on field decisions. All I'm saying is that this has been Hooper's policy in every game he's captained for the WBs. And also every game I've seen him captain the waratahs. In more than a few games WBs have ended up losing by 3 or 6 points after 3-6 shots at goal were declined. Expect to see more of it while Hooper remains captain.
sheek
Roar Guru
Gun Dog, The article I read also alluded to no hard men in the Wallabies. Kiwis need to do some context. Apart from the ABs, the Kiwis are soft in many sports. Rugby draws the best talent. Australia is much tougher, talented & smarter in rugby league. That sport draws our best athletic talent (as well as Australian football). But we're also the ones developing Kiwi league talent. Unless Australian rugby does something drastic, like think better & beyond anything they've ever done previously, the game is stuffed in this country. Rugby league & Australian football have sailed away, & rugby union is left stranded at the docks. Anyway chance of revisiting the high-water mark of circa 2003 in terms of talent, success & popularity is now just a wild fantasy. Soccer is also struggling, but unlike rugby, they have much more participants & fanbase. They can bounce back better than rugby. The ABs are consistently good because that country's small resources go to rugby first, & every other sport fights for scraps. Good for them, but I would rather be Australia, which can compete on many other sporting levels other than rugby, & pretty well besides. However, we won't be able to call ourselves a big sporting country until we win a soccer world cup. And NZ have even less hope of ever achieving that. But as the saying goes, if you're going to be good at anything, concentrate on being the best at one thing. Rugby is the sport NZ channels all its talent & energy into, & they are therefore acknowledged as the consistently best rugby nation on earth.
MaxP
Roar Rookie
Yep, agree although we seem to be in the minority. 3 points would have made the score 3 points closer but wouldn’t have helped win the game. By that stage, the damage was done and only tries would have helped victory. I also think a lot of comments about the Wallabies reverting to type with ball handling/pushed passes a bit misguided. The Wallabies were chasing a big margin for the last 30 minutes and had to throw everything at it. It didn’t work and perhaps they should have shown more patience. But I am confident they can learn these things, fix up the defence and the ruck, and stay a bit more patient next match
Brian Westlake
Roar Rookie
I'd rather Hodge than Paisami. He was a deadset turnstile. An embarrassment
Agree paulo. he looks to have a good attitude so far so lets hope he keeps that and becomes the best verson of himself that he can be. he does remind me of Inga in the body statue tho....But like most modern atheletes he looks to be better skilled and have better involvement than those of yesteryear..
I like his work ethic Goldeneye. If he keeps working that hard and keeps his fitness levels up he will be great no matter who we compare him to. maybe in 20 years time we will see the "Next" Caleb Clark.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
Waxy, surely in this day and age this is a strategic decision taken pre-game by the Coach not tactically during the game by the Captain? I didn't see or hear a presser after this game, was the question put to Dave Rennie? If this is against Rennie's plan he wont stay Captain for long!
GJ
Roar Rookie
Agreed. Particularly on Hodge. Combined with his kicking in general play which was missed when MT went off. The biggest problem though is the lack of ball runners who are able to break the line. That’s TT and Loto. Need more in the forwards, eg Naisirani. And have a think about using the OS player slots to bring back Kerevi and Skelton if they are available. If they aren’t then need to look at Latu and Palotu- Nau types. And in the backs a Simone, Kurindrani or Foketi type who can make some gain line and more competitive D. With not much to lose I’d also give Faamisili a run in the last 20 minutes with Bell. They have done well in general play. Much easier to win the breakdown if you are going forward. That’s the real problem.
Bingo
Roar Rookie
We are never going to beat the ABs going up in 3’s. Fix the line out and fix the tackling.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Caleb Clarke is a Caleb Clarke. He is at the very start of his career, Campo had a long career a lifetime ago in a different age, and Lomu, whose career was shorter than it should have been, played in a different era also. I agree he isn’t either of them and I wish we wouldn’t be writing kids up to legendary status before their time.
timber
Guest
Given TT's tackle success rate was 50% I would have thought he was an obvious target for runners.
Mungbean74
Roar Rookie
Good points Chris! Hopefully we will come out hard as nails in Sydney.
HiKa
Roar Rookie
True but you have to consider that some part of his low tackle stats is the fact that the AB ball runners are smart enough not to truck it up into TT. They run at other players and I certainly would not do it any other way.
Harry Jones
Expert
I so much agree — vehemently and hard
HiKa
Roar Rookie
If you have a dominant LO and are winning the physical contest in the forwards, you can *think* about dotting it into the corner for a 5m LO. We had near parity in the LO and were not anywhere near getting on top in the physical contest, so I don't understand the basis for the optimism in the choices to try attacking LO drives. +3 and go again.
Muglair
Roar Rookie
There is widespread comparisons with Jonah. Just making the point that the ABs totally destroyed our defensive line. Comparison with Jonah on the basis of Caleb's performance, no matter how good is silly. Just noting that I think Campo would have caused a lot more damage, would not have had to crash through so many tackles either. Right now Caleb is certainly one of the best wingers over a couple of seasons of super rugby. We will need to do a better job of cutting down his space in future.
Gun Dog
Roar Rookie
Not many people can tackle him :stoked:
Bobwire
Guest
The AB’s weren’t that good. Wallabies were badly beaten at the breakdown, this caused all sorts of problems and must be fixed. If the two try’s had been awarded, it could have been very close. Wallabies can do it. Not too many selection changes I hope. Campo you succeeded in stirring up the Kiwi’s (and the Aussies)