The best thing about rugby is that there’s always another game.
Dave Rennie and his men won’t have much time to dwell on the great escape before planning for the next Test.
Some notable mentions are that Michael Hooper did exactly as expected. He had a big shift, and it was great to see him back in the fold. Hunter Paisami the hitman was probably the only back who looked like a genuine threat. His timing was rusty but will improve in the coming days.
My concerns are around Matt To’omua and Tom Banks. I think the halves will remain the same for the next Test, which means they will likely keep 12 there as well. I can hardly remember seeing him out there last night, and that’s not due to the whiskey. He is the most experienced back and needs to show it.
Once again Banks has been given another opportunity and turned in another average performance. Not making touch in the first minutes of the game is unforgivable. His days are numbered, and I fully expect Reece Hodge to don the No. 15 jersey when he’s fit.
In a similar way, Rob Valetini didn’t seem to show any of his Super Rugby form. Expectations were high from his dominant performances, particularly against kiwi opponents, yet he failed to deliver.
Jake Gordon and Noah Lolesio showed no signs of being a threatening combination. Both will likely get the nod to start again in the next Test but need to sharpen up if they expect to see more game time. Lolesio was often caught too flat; he needs to open up the angle of Gordon’s pass by sitting deeper. This makes the service from No. 9 more consistent and means the runners off No. 10 can still be flat while getting clean ball.
It’s always good to see a young No. 10 backing his ability, but Dave Rennie will likely have a word about the drop goal attempt – with the forwards parked on the tryline and penalty advantage in hand, it’s time to let the big men rumble. Credit to Lolesio for putting his hand up to take control, but being the general doesn’t mean going alone.
The bench performed well, both Taniela Tupou and Tate McDermott added value in the dying minutes, although some of McDermott’s skills will likely keep him on the bench. For his development as a Test No. 9, the No. 21 jersey is a good spot to be. He can take confidence from more running opportunities late in the game and will have less pressure on executing from the ruck.
All in all, the Wallabies showed they have some way to go before climbing back into the top three, but a win against a plucky French outfit is a decent starting point.
One from one in 2021. Let’s look forward to seeing a more complete and perhaps less stressful performance in Melbourne.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Hooper Haters Chronic over-rating of Hooper has been rife in Aust ever since he appeared on scene imo. Against France he was just ok in reality and largely ineffective at breakdown. He got 1 good pilfer I saw, and scored a smart try. He made some good tackles and did zero in attack. Add on some good cleanouts, plus several inaccurate ones. His captainsy was not as bad as usual but he did refuse 2 kicks at goal in 1st half. I gave him 5 out of 10 :thumbup: Now with a world class player you get outstanding man of the match performances from them regularly. In tight games like this French one they often win you the game outright. Pocock did this often. When was last time Hooper did that? When was last time he was man of the match?
blerp
Roar Rookie
Failing to find the line is far less excusable than missing a crossfield kick that would have led to a try by a few inches. Toomua serviceable? we clearly watched a different game.
Poco Loco
Roar Rookie
And Tate has a much longer way to go with the wayward pass!!!!!
Wallabies124
Roar Rookie
Hooper had a total of zero errors so that’s interesting
Zero_Cool
Roar Rookie
Completely disagree regarding 9/10. Lolo is growing, but Gordon was genuinely bad. If JOC is fit he starts no question. If you start JOC then you start Tate.
FrancisF
Roar Pro
I agree. LSL showed he has balls to do what needs to do to win games. Its called Initiative, Inventiveness, and Presence of Mind.Never mind he missed both. In rugby, that is what counts. Not to play rugby like a turned on robot. LSL should be given more match exposure to refine his mental game.
Old One Eye
Guest
Indeed Thorny's. The French tighthead packed on an angle most scrums and managed to draw a penalty from Slipper who just followed him in. When he packed straight, voila, the scrum was stable. Angles are all part of the business for front rowers but try explaining that to the hair stylists in the backs.
Hazel Nutt
Roar Rookie
After the match, Lolesio said he wasn't quite ready for the drop goal and was expecting another phase or two. I think this said a lot about how Rennie runs the team, with the scrum half dictating the play. Similarly I think everyone has been pretty harsh on Toomua because he was muted on attack, but who do you think was running the backline defence? Paisami? With JOC injured and White not running the sweeper role, the Wallabies defensive line would be porous at best without Toomua, and no one would be drawing the French defence on first or second phase play to give Paisami the space to do something on the second or third phase. The Wallabies are missing a lot of experience, and it was really exposed in some of the decision making from both scrum halves and could be a hell of a lot worse with two inexperienced centres, as we saw against NZ last year.
smoothy
Roar Rookie
Mo'unga does the same - and the 'fans' rave when they put the ball near the 5-metre line for a try-scoring opportunity! But if they happen to make a human error while attempting to make a big play for their team... Pathetic! :laughing:
Guess
Roar Rookie
They're just looking for excuse. Easy to say os players are better cause it can't be tested. It IS the best Wallabies side. They are young though and hopefully will improve
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
MK was outstanding. So involved
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I thought Paisami was very good - direct with the ball and strong shouldered in defence - in the first half but then started kicking way too much.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Very few.
Pogo
Roar Rookie
KellAway in for Wright makes no sense based on a season of SR rugby. None of the wingers for either side got many options to shine
Phillip J C Caro
Guest
In the first 5 min Jake Gordon let the French 9 pick up the ball from our scrum to set up a try, sent a forward pass to Paisami, and in 40 years of watching Rugby I have never seen a halfback so switched off as to knock the ball forward in that manner. Conversely McDermott changed the whole dynamic of the team and it was McDermott who secured the ball when the French fumbled at the end. If you want a half that wins matches play McDermott if you want Gordon you must have another agenda
Malo
Guest
Who was the Kiwi reserve 18 for France who came on and made about 3 crucial knock ons. He was an ANZAC spy who handed us victory .
Hooper haters are morons
Guest
What exactly could Hooper have done more to earn your praises? He forced a couple of turnovers (one forced penalty and holding a player up to force a maul) and scored the crucial try that got us within reach of the win. We had the bulk of possession. Of course they are going to win more breakdown turnovers and make more tackles when the total tackle count is 157 to 60. We won 102/107 rucks and mauls for 95.3% retained possession and they were 41/44 for 93.2%. Of that, Hooper caused two of those three rucks and mauls they didn't win.
Bourkos
Roar Rookie
Neither for me. It was telegraphed a mile away and the execution suffered greatly because of it. So simple to fake the kick and avoid contact then ignite the backline.
Big Dave
Roar Rookie
How many players are England not able to select because they are chasing the $ overseas, out of interest?
blerp
Roar Rookie
‘not chasing the $ overseas’ – well with that strange caveat not many besides the significant amount of injuries to key backline players like White, JOC, Petaia, etc. But that’s not the point. The international player market has made the salaries we can offer at home uncompetitive at the top end, meaning all our best players will at some point take a contract overseas. This was by no means a ‘full strength’ Wallabies. In fact, we havn’t had a full strength side in many years.