As we all sat back and exhaled deeply at another marginal loss it wasn’t just the scoreline that had us all frustrated. Although brilliant in moments, the Wallabies failed in key parts of the game.
Here are four things the Wallabies need to change.
1. Too wide, too early
At the 30-second mark, after a box kick reception, the Wallabies decided to go wide from their first breakdown of the game. An out-the-back play from James Slipper saw Matt To’omua throw a cutout pass to find Marika Koroibete on the sideline.
The move saw Hunter Paisami 25 metres away from the ad line. Australia failed to exploit a gaping hole in the midfield and it left the Wallabies exposed to a turnover in the phases that followed: a game plan Wallabies supporters have seen all too often in recent history.
The saying ‘earn the right to go wide’ rings in the ears of anyone that has played the game. Why do the Wallabies insist on abandoning this logic?
(Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
An extra phase off Jake Gordon or a forward runner on either side of Noah Lolesio could have provided clean ball and options to To’omua, Lolesio and Tom Banks on both sides of the ruck against a scrambling French defence.
2. Adjusting tempo based on-field position
The Wallabies seem to have one pace when playing in all areas of the field and that’s 100 miles an hour. This has been a factor since the 2015 World Cup (the last time it truly worked) when we had an incredibly experienced and predominantly Waratahs back line that had played thousands of minutes of footy together.
If you found yourself frustrated at the unforced errors in Game 2, this one’s for you.
Structure stems from the speed a team is playing at. Eighty per cent of rugby is chipping away until there is an opportunity to throw the ball around, something our All Blacks rivals do incredibly well.
Quick ball and fast passes every phase will lead to sideways running, turnovers, knock-ons and it makes teams very susceptible to counter attacks, hence a few of our questionable scorelines over the past years.
The Wallabies need to slow down, control the pace of the game, win in the basic areas of the ruck and use quick ball as a way to exploit defensive lapses by our opposition.
3. Accuracy at set piece, especially in big moments
Although there is a lot to praise in the Australian forward pack, buckling in big moments is resulting in big consequences.
Our front-row efforts at scrum time led by Taniela Tupou and some great driving mauls set up by the whole pack are overshadowed by three overthrows at the lineout in Game 1, two lineout losses on the French try line in Game 2, and a scrum pushed over, which decided the game on Tuesday night.
We need our specialist forwards to be better in big moments. Scrum penalties and lineout losses can be forgiven from time to time as they are a part of the game.
However, when we need to be accurate, we are not. These areas clearly just need more work, it’s as simple as that.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
4. Pressure at the ruck
Refereeing and ruck infringements aside for a moment, the Wallabies are leaving too much space between the ball runner and the cleanout. This can be the result of playing too wide, but the Wallabies consistently struggled to secure the breakdown throughout the game.
When the ball is being run by forwards close to the ruck the space between defenders is very tight, providing the opposing side with opportunities to steal the ball. Our forward running pods need to ensure there is no space when cleaning out. A few firm Australian shoulders against French bodies will ensure a second thought when considering a steal in Game 3.
If the Wallabies can start winning the contest at the breakdown our playmakers (nine, ten, 12 and 15) can return tempo to the game and ensure Australia play the style of footy we all know and love.
Although improvement starts internally and the Wallabies need to be better in these areas, it is hard to completely overlook the poor officiating.
The French executed technical infringements continuously throughout the game that went un-policed and heavily impacted Australia’s fluidity: rolling into the ruck entry, not releasing tackled players and being offside to name a few.
The repetition of these infringements indicates it was part of the French game plan, and the less it was noticed the more it occurred. Here is a snippet of Australian phase play at the 18th minute mark, which highlights this law-bending masterclass perfectly.
If the Wallabies can improve in these four areas, our talent will do the rest.
Fair Dinkum
Roar Rookie
In that passage of play, there's really nothing wrong. I wouldn't penalise the French either - and yes, I'm a qualified referee. And, don't be too hasty highlighting the French, Hooper does exactly the same thing.
Tooly
Roar Rookie
True but we have half back covered with two.
Short Arm
Roar Rookie
Thanks Taylor, I too thought Doleman was very lenient on French players loitering on wrong side of ruck. How come we scored a 2nd stringer like Doleman as a ref, we should've got Ben O'K or Fraser? He was too shy to call much out. He was very poor in the Chiefs/ Rebels game (I think) which should have ruled him out of handling a test match.
Aiden
Guest
100 mile an hour!!
Aiden
Guest
They certainly looked more impressive running with the ball, until they hit the advantage line. Maybe its the things that fans don't see that lose them the game, or at least makes life harder. We all wonder, year after year, why WBs don;t follow players who make good breaks (they are running into no-man's land we cry ... nonsense, other nations manage to have players running with them, why can't we). We all wonder, year after year, why WBs don't chase kicks. We all wonder, why the forwards seem half a step slower at getting to the breakdown, no matter which opposition they are playing. As you say, we can't expect perfection. But we increase the prospect of errors and tire players out if their coaches insist on them racing around with these 11 mile an hour elaborate back line moves, full of these lovely cut out passes and decoy runners haring off in every direction. Only for ... no result. Why don't we try something different?
Gepetto
Roar Rookie
Tupou threw the best long pass of the game.
Puff
Roar Rookie
As rugby enthusiasts, we quickly become critical and continually demand perfection. Sadly flawless excellence is very seldom achieved in any code and in rugby where there are numerous technicalities and over 150 rules I believe. A test match can turn and be won or lost in a spit second, if not managed efficiently. In my opinion the Wallabies played an improved more in your face brand of rugby but struggled with close contact support and communication. Allowing the French continual infringement opportunities that they manipulated and took advantage of. Further, the Wallabies need to control the pace of the game, their set peace, as leaking cheap early points has no reward. If the Wallabies commence by controlling the scoreboard, Saturdays match will have a different feel.
potsie
Guest
I also am not convinced. They were just tackling low, so they are going to end up at that end of the breakdown. They all rolled away promptly and can't just vanish. The tactic wasn't interference, it was to chop and jackle which is legal if the timing is right. The argument about the tackle assist not releasing or the jackler latching on too early maybe has more to it. The Fijians did the same and were effective whether legally or illegally. But I think the fault was with the Wallabies (and the All Blacks) ball carriers. They couldn't fight the low tackles for that half second more to advantage the cleaners over the first arriving defender. Not illegal play by France or bad refereeing, just bad ball carrying and presentation.
Robbo
Roar Rookie
Another area where I believe the Wallabies need improvement is chasing those kicks. The French were seldom under pressure from box kicks or shorter kick offs. We just don't seem to challenge for the ball in the air,.....or are the kicks poor...1 of the 2 Robbo
Obes
Guest
Hooper should not be in a pod. It doesn`t work for for his role,We need him to do his core role of following the ball on attack and defence especially on attack. We had 9 turnovers because of his negligence at the breakdown on attack.
mzilikazi
Roar Pro
"Forward, premature, floating passes by To’omua were disappointing." Yes, Gepetto, those passes are too speculative. The better teams in NH esp. are now throwing those passes earlier, and flatter and harder, giving the wide player more time and space to attack. Esp. important for Koroibete, I would say.
jameswm
Roar Guru
There's no way they interfered with our half back once from that clip. Our halfback had to pause and avoid them most times. He only really directly blocked the half once (and where's the penalty?).
jameswm
Roar Guru
Yeah that push - because the French were standing on our side to interfere with our guys clearing out. Nice article, agree. The ref was far too soft. But we need to be better - control what we can.
Crusher_13
Roar Rookie
I think it is evident that Nic White will come back into the team when fit. He lets the ref know, and will throw a pass into that player at least once to make a point. The ref might call him for milking it, but its now in his mind that the defenders are lingering around the back of the ruck limiting options for the 9 and space for the backs. The video did show the 9 having to move around that player to get to the ball, or to pass the ball. Both of these are penalties as they are offside, Gordon in these examples needed to ensure the ref saw them as being offside.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Taylor - your 4 issues are 2ndary ones imo The 2 main reasons for the loss imo were..... 1) Losing 9 breakdowns when on full attack. This has been the WB achilles heel for at least 5 years and has got worse ever since Pocock retired. It’s a chronic problem. It's related to your no 4 but mine is more specific. 2) Hooper again refusing 2 very kickable penalty goals and going for the line with a misfiring lineout = 6 points refused. One of them immediately became a 6 point turnaround when France won the lineout in their own red zone, then went 80m, got their own penalty and what did they do …. kicked the goal of course. Why Aussies continually ignore issue 2 baffles me. Hooper has now lost WBs more than 10 Tests over past 5 yrs with his poor captainsy. Geoff Parks last week had an article here showing that Hoopers decisions had resulted in WBs converting points on only 3.6% of occasions when presented with this option.
JC
Roar Rookie
There’s a lot of commonsense here, Taylor. I’d like to add exit strategy to the list. It seemed to me that the Wallabies were (again!) intent on running the ball from everywhere. Sometimes it worked — and it did help make for an entertaining game — but they must beware of playing too much rugby in their own half.
mzilikazi
Roar Pro
A very good dissection of the Wallabies game in the this great French series, and areas that can be improved. Thanks Brett. If any one had any illusions that this would be an easy series, they must now be well and truly in the bin. This is a good French side, sometimes even a very good French side. And I feel the WB’s lifted their game a lot in the second test….but so did the French. I would suggest that one area where the WB’s must improve is in the area of “mental strength”. Earlier this week, I watched in fascination as the excellent Karolína Plíšková put pressure on Ash Barty in the Wimbledon womens final. I had earlier listened to a podcast featuring Ben Crowe, a mindset coach of some repute. He has worked with Ash Barty for some time now. His success in mentoring and helping Ash Barty was clear to see in this final. In moments where mistakes were made, where Karolina was playing so well, Ash remained calm, and worked through all these crisis moments. The work of her tennis coach, Craig Tyzzer, giving her a rock solid base game, complimented by the work of Ben Crowe, saw her achieve an emotional win, only the third women in history to have won both the junior girls title and the Open Championship at Wimbledon. The Wallabies would do well to learn for this great Australian sportswoman. Begin the game well, put your opponent immediately under pressure, physical and mental. Winning the toss and opting to kick deep into a red zone corner would be a good beginning. Use any ball gifted well, such as poorly executed kicks. Ofc, France will be thinking exactly this way. This could be a really epic game ! Wonder who Dave Rennie will selct for his 23 ? Will he freeze and stay with the same as the past two games, or take this chance to give more players their chance to show what they can do ?
The Yabbie
Roar Rookie
Fumblers have a look at game one and then game two again. There was a clear game plan to disrupt and distract the Australian 9 while he's trying make split second decisions, then in attack to do the same to our defence. Must be a product of ref analysis and a tactic. It is crystal clear and obvious on replay.
JC
Roar Rookie
A good point, Stu. Neither McDermott nor Gordon is a shrinking violet but they do need to find their voice quickly at this level.
Stu
Roar Rookie
Gordon and MacDermott might need to start chiding the ref a lot more like Will Genia and Aaron Smith did/do so fantastically well.. Genia was constantly able to persuade the ref he was in the process of being infringed, and it made the refs watch the other team a lot more.. a handy equaliser when it worked.