It probably won’t be remembered quite as well as Justin Harrison’s famous lineout steal on debut against the British and Irish Lions in 2001, but Darcy Swain’s ability to contest a French lineout just seconds away from winning the first Test will certainly go down in second-row folklore.
In truth the game was gone. Time was already up and the siren had already sounded. The French were one last play away from securing their first win on Australian soil in the professional era. They just had to win their own throw, kick the ball out and pop the champers.
The clock read 80:15 when the ball was thrown in.
French backrower Dylan Cretin got up quickly and won the ball, but Swain’s aerial presence just in front put enough pressure on Cretin that his delivery to the floor was compromised.
The ball was loose. Replacement scrumhalf Teddy Iribaren had to run backwards toward his tryline to get a hand on the ball and was instantly pursued by Taniela Tupou – 140 kilograms versus 85 ringing wet. I don’t mind admitting that for a brief moment I thought the fraternity was going to lose a member.
Iribaren got the ball away just as Tupou got a hand on him, but the ball went to fullback Melvyn Jaminet, who as Tupou got hold of him too hurriedly threw the ball to right winger Damian Penaud. But Penaud was going in the opposite direction the ball, and it became loose again.
Tate McDermott didn’t have the best first five or ten minutes on entry to the match, but here he was, Johnny on the spot, in the right place at the right time as the Gilbert bounced up into his hands, with nothing between him and the north-west corner of Suncorp Stadium.
(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)
Only four seconds have passed since the lineout throw, and Wallabies fans’ breath was being collectively and nationally and probably even internationally held.
McDermott was brought to ground ten metres short of the French line, inside the tram tracks as the cavalry arrived.
And the cavalry did arrive. First Angus Bell, then Lachie Lonergan, who might’ve arrived somewhat adjacent to the gate. Rob Valetini, Swain and Tupou aren’t far behind, and Tupou quickly picks and goes for another metre.
Think about that par you’ve just read. Think about how many times the Wallabies missed their attacking cleanout during the game. But they were there in numbers, and the clock reads 80:25.
There’s patience. There’s order. There are pods forming with carriers and drivers and cleaner-outerers. They’re pointing to where they need to go, towards the posts another 20 metres infield.
More picking, more driving, centring the ball to where they need it. Seven phases since the Wallabies somehow got their hands on the ball in a game that was seconds away from being lost.
Penalty advantage, referee Brendon Pickerill says. They’re still well left of the posts.
Another seven phases and they’re in front of the posts. “Advantage, offside again,” Pickerill screams as his arm goes back up.
The clock reads 82:04. I’m pausing and playing and writing this as I go, and I can feel the nerves building again.
McDermott has a crack, goes close. Marika Koroibete does the same thing under the black dot for the same result. That’s 16 phases gone.
Two more phases right of the posts, advantage still in the air, and McDermott’s pass to Noah Lolesio in the pocket isn’t great. The drop goal attempt – his second for the night – is charged down by three French defenders.
Pickerill blows the whistle. It’s a knock-on. Runs to the spot, five metres out and right in front. The Wallabies bench erupts. There’s just under 18,000 in and Suncorp sounds like Queensland have won State of Origin.
The 84th minute begins. Hooper points to the posts for the third time in the match. Lolesio kicks the penalty.
The Wallabies have won a Test match they should’ve lost four minutes ago. Wallabies fans – now much greyer and much older – are left to wonder where this guts and grit and will and desperation have come from.
Because it was a far from polished performance. It was a performance that looked like 23 blokes had been part of a bigger squad training their arses off for the last month and were just desperate to play a game.
They still coughed up far too much ball. They’d missed eight first-half tackles and conceded six turnovers to trail 15-7 at the break despite dominating possession and territory from pretty much the 15-minute mark. They ended the match missing every fifth tackle attempted.
But they won. They bloody won.
In four nerve-racking minutes they showed a quality of character that’s gone missing all too many times in Wallabies teams for as far back as you want to recall, and they found a way to get this job done.
It’s got to work wonders for their confidence and self-belief going into Tuesday’s second Test in Melbourne.
And that is now their biggest challenge. They will be only as good as their next game.
Long-term Roarers will have seen me repeat that adage of the Wallabies a lot over the last decade, and it remains as true as ever.
It wasn’t a perfect performance, but there was so much to like. There is still plenty to work on, but it’s a whole lot easier to hook into that work after a win like that.
And the best part is this compressed series brings a funny silver lining: the next match is now only six days away.
boredofstudents
Roar Rookie
So promising that there has been a massive revamp of Tuesday night's side!
Colvin Brown
Roar Guru
Haha, we'll have to wait and see. Hooper turned down 3 relatively easy kicks at goal, 9 points. There were a number of unforced errors (by the same people mainly) that need to be eliminated, one of which cancelled out a great try. And the WB's were a little outplayed at the breakdown at times which is a coaching matter. But definitely promising.
boredofstudents
Roar Rookie
Did Tuesday's game answer your question: "How much better can the WB’s become over the next couple of years?"?
Davico
Roar Pro
Formal or Informal definitions allowed??
Colvin Brown
Roar Guru
What was it then?
Rhys
Roar Rookie
That is on the touchie for me, they should be communicating to the ref if they cannot see it. It happens a lot though. Reckon the French pulled it off twice (though cant remember if they threw straight or not).
Rhys
Roar Rookie
Agreed Sheek, a good, balanced, comment and interesting that the last mid week test was decided by a similar final second (and hate to say, as Gregan's tackle was tremendous, but potentially fortuitous) incident, the world works in mysterious ways. No one will be kidding themselves just yet, neither will the team I would hope, as the Wallabies are on a long long journey and they are still beginning. It was good they came back from plenty down, as this side was in many ways as raw and young as the French side (sadly, that is the nature of top provincial Northern Hemisphere rugby clubs undermining the international game by taking the best players at will). But they need to improve a lot. Cut the errors, make your bloody tackles and play your game plan - not theirs. These are lessons the Wallabies must take and immediately improve upon if they want to win this series, let alone one against the All Blacks.
sheek
Roar Guru
There's a lot of excitement around the dramatic win by the Wallabies against the French. But what does it really mean? In effect, it is just one step on the very long, long road back to international respectability & sustained success. In an article last week, Brett McKay mentioned the first mid-week prime test in Australia, back in 1994, otherwise known as the 'Gregan's Tackle' test. That test (won by the Wallabies 20-16) ended up having a profoundly opposite effect on the fortunes of both the Wallabies & All Blacks at the following world cup in South Africa in 1995. I recall coach Bob Dwyer musing after the test if the 1st half (won by Wallabies 17-3) or the 2nd half (won by ABs 13-3) reflected the true position of each team. "I guess we'll find out next year", continued Dwyer, partly answering his own question. The Wallabies dodged a bullet when George Gregan knocked the ball out of Jeff Wilson's arms as he was in the process of diving for a try, in the very final minute of the game. It would have been a fantastic comeback by the ABs if Wilson had scored. In the aftermath perhaps the Wallabies were more relieved than shaken that they needed to do more if they wanted to win back to back world cups. On the other hand, the defeat spurred the ABs to work harder to achieve excellence. In 1995, ABs captain Sean Fitzpatrick, watching on TV, remarked that the Wallabies looked like rock stars as they faced the media after arriving in Johannesburg. Perhaps unintentionally, a fatal hubris had affected the Wallabies, & it showed throughout their dismal world cup campaign. The ABs, on the other hand, were the outstanding team of the tournament apart from the final, where a combination of suspicious intrigue, luck & a once in a lifetime team effort delivered the Springboks their first world cup win. So back to Wednesday's test, are the Wallabies the real deal, or did they just get lucky against a rapidly tiring French team? One test is encouraging, but the performance was uneven, indeed shoddy in many parts. I don't know how experienced the French team was, or how close it was to their best. The Wallabies have made an encouraging start, but it is a long, long journey. And this has been just one somewhat shaky first step on that journey.
Cassandra
Roar Rookie
It was a performance that looked like 23 blokes had been part of a bigger squad training their arses off They actually looked pretty flat to me, particularly in the opening 20. Having read those stories of how hard they were training, made me wonder if they hadn't got the taper right for this game? Guess we'll find out next week.
PeterK
Roar Guru
So you can't point out any errors then. Also no mention of his correct decision making. I would rather a prop who does his core role of scrumming at world class level than a grinder.
PeterK
Roar Guru
Hodge isn't slow
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@PeterK I saw 1 pilfer for Hooper. I saw France own the breakdown everywhere. He didn't turn over much ball cos he made very few runs. I saw many inaccurate clean outs from Hooper too. Tupou broke the line then butchered it by not passing inside. Tupou did well to pressure the lineout ball and balance that against the fact he doesn't tackle. I'd rather have a tackling prop with a good work rate.
Long Retired Lock
Roar Rookie
Wilsons work rate is impressive. Someone commented on the live game feed that he looked gassed early in the game but that’s how he always looks! Reminds me a bit of Ardie Savea in that regard. Ardie often looks like he is gasping for breath but just keeps on trucking!
FunBus
Roar Rookie
‘How many times would an Australian team have lost that?’ Very rarely - assuming that the opponent misdirected the lineout knockdown to the scrum half; threw panicked misdirected passes to no-one in particular until the Wallabies are presented with the ball five metres from the line, requiring them only to do a series of one out charges up the middle until the opponent falls offside in front of the posts.
Faith
Roar Rookie
Hodge or Banks - tough choices. One's a slow carthorse and the other is skittery but quick pony.
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
Paragraph formatting on The Roar's coding base is an art to learn.
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
Correct PK. Banks’ technique is consistent. He continually pulls the ball from right to left. Sadly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him kick off his left foot. Good to have a strong foot, but you should also have a safe “off” foot as well.
BledisloeAsUsual
Guest
Sometimes I think, how great to be a Wallabies. You never know what you are going to get. Who knows what will happen on the day, and there is no solution. Improving one area makes another get worse. The last match is never an indication of how they will play next. The Wallaby rollercoaster. How boring to be an All Blacks supporter. May we live in interesting times...well at least they are interesting
Tooly
Roar Rookie
No one did much wrong and no one was brilliant. We are equal to the French Thirds who are are more mobile in the forwards . Was that Pickerill or was it Berry ? Missed two forward passes and Kelloway was five metres off side.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
“ pretty poor video clip titles” - one of my few criticisms of the Roar.