In the reign of every All Blacks coach, there comes a time when arrogance sets in, resulting in the thinking that “any of our 15 can beat the other 15”.
That happened early in the career of Ian Foster, making so many changes to a well-oiled operation in his fourth Test in charge that his team lost to the Wallabies.
I have seen it happen with John Mitchell, Graham Henry and Steve Hansen too.
Credit must go to Australia for realising that New Zealand were not firing on all cylinders and harassing the life out of their opponents. This was all the more praiseworthy given the erratic refereeing and the fact that the Aussies were hit with two cards, one red and one yellow (even if their opponents got the same number).
First, to the victors. Reece Hodge is not a great playmaker, so his first move – to lob the ball over the All Blacks’ defensive line and give Tom Banks the opportunity to flick the ball to Tom Wright – represented quick thinking, something the Wallabies have sorely lacked in all three previous Test this year.
The rest of the time, Hodge did the basics and that was all that he needed to do to give his team the advantage.
Reece Hodge (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
For the first time, the Australian scrum was fired up and got the better of their opponents on more than one occasion; the absence of Joe Moody was really felt by the tourists.
The New Zealand lineout malfunctioned at crucial times, with one instance just before the halftime whistle depriving them of a good chance to go in leading, rather than level at 8-all.
And then there was Marika Koroibete, who was easily the best Australian player on the field. Had he not pulled off that tackle on Damian McKenzie at the end of the game, the wily winger would have taken off and probably created some panic in opposition ranks.
Koroibete not only took care of McKenzie, he also latched onto Jordie Barrett, who received the ball from McKenzie, and basically killed any chance of a move by the All Blacks.
Basically, the Australians were hungry for a win and they thoroughly deserved their victory.
As for the All Blacks, their centre combination of Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue has been working very well; bringing in Ngani Laumape after such a long time meant the coordination needed in that space was lacking.
On the wings, Sevu Reece was terrible, conceding penalty after penalty, while Rieko Ioane showed why he was shunted out of the team by the previous coach, Hansen. He is a shadow of the player he was when he made his debut against the British and Irish Lions in 2017.
Surprisingly, Beauden Barrett was poor at flyhalf, a position which is considered to be a better fit for him than fullback. All his attempts to embark on those turning and twisting runs of his came to naught. More than once, he was the recipient of thunderous tackles.
And finally, despite the good weather, New Zealand were poor under the high ball. Was there too much humidity on the night? One wonders, as this game was played in Brisbane.
Pandemic or not, four games between the two trans-Tasman rivals is a trifle too much, especially one after the other. Three would be about right, with two counting towards the Bledisloe Cup and one towards the Rugby Championship or Tri Nations.
Gloria
Roar Rookie
Drew. So even, then. :stoked:
Loosey
Roar Rookie
Neither were the Wallabies!
Mike B
Guest
I take your point Jibba Jabba but my comment was heavily influenced by coming to work on the Monday and being hit by continual conversations from a couple of Kiwi work mates who simply couldn't accept that NZ lost. They gave no credit to the Wallabies and offered up an alternative universe scenario where the ABs fielded a different team and thrashed us again. I was trying to make the point that I don't care who NZ pick, that's their business, the Wallabies will take on whoever is wearing the All Black outfit. If you lose then you lose - no excuses and that goes for the Wallabies as well. Shake hands, get off the field and let the winner have their time in the sun. My kiwi mates have had so much time in the sun they're sun burnt and they couldn't seem to abide seeing the Wallaby fans get a bit of sunlight on their pale skin! I guess I do need to have a thicker skin, and I think I usually do, but this time I let them get to me.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
I think it is all about the hairdresser.. similar to Giteau, O'Connor & Drew Mitchell when they played for the Western Force, they spent more time at the hairdressers than at training....
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
That should read 15...
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Probably Hodge at 125 because every team including the ABs are scared of his 60 metre boot..
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
They had their chance and nope, they didn't :)
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
But it was not the same team.. poor selections by foster =- the loss is his - the win was the Wallabies and well deserved..
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
What a poor miserable comment ...
Mike B
Guest
The last Bledisloe match played was won by the Wallabies and the ABs were the losers. Fact. End of story. I don't care who NZ want to select or leave out. That's their silly business but the deal is this: if you lose then suck it up and don't offer up excuses. If NZ are the great rugby nation they spruik about then they should cop it and learn. Any "we could've won with our best team" bleating from their fans is just pathetic. In the same vein had Australia lost it would've been pathetic to whinge about injuries and playing with a third string 5/8. This is a battle and the players picked have to do the job. Players sitting in the stands are obsolete. I've heard so much bleating over the years from AB fans about the 1999 loss to France, the 1995 loss to SA, the 2003 and 1991 losses to Aust, and a number of other matches - my eyes glaze over. Yes, the ABs are so very strong but they are also very beatable despite their fans' unreasonable expectations of supreme and constant dominance. The 1990s was a poor decade by ABs standards and I remember it oh so well. Two WCs for the Wallabies followed by a semi-final win in 2003. Awesome! Treat Aust with disrespect again by resting players and expect to get beaten. For me it was arrogance and the ABs were losers - no excuses! Foster lost.
Loosey
Roar Rookie
There better not be any cards - it'll ruin the game!
Loosey
Roar Rookie
How many times has a side won by 38 points one week and then lost the following match to the same team?
Loosey
Roar Rookie
Troll.
Gun Dog
Roar Rookie
What value do you place on pride and self respect? There are no dead rubbers. Rennie is a far better coach than Foster. :laughing:
Gun Dog
Roar Rookie
JB on the wing.. :thumbdown:
Gun Dog
Roar Rookie
Me to... :stoked:
KiwiHaydn
Roar Rookie
Well they are on a winning streak now...
Clifto
Roar Pro
Agreed. Easily the best-refereed match of the 4.
Gloria
Roar Rookie
Yeah, very good team. I reckon the Wallabies could beat them. :stoked:
Gloria
Roar Rookie
Ha, ha, I think someone chest beating and making excuses after a loss is displaying the ‘fragility’. :laughing: