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Opinion
So close, but not really that far away. That was the general feeling among Wallabies fans in the aftermath of the 33-25 loss in the first Bledisloe Cup Test in Auckland.
Yes, there should be plenty of recognition that the better side won on the night, but there were more than enough signs to know that this wasn’t like a lot of opening Bledisloe losses in recent years. My immediate feeling is that plenty of Wallabies sides of the not-too-distant past would’ve lost that match 54-8, and nothing I’ve seen since changes my mind on that.
But it’s in taking a closer look at where it went south that should leave Wallabies fans in a better place, because though the scoreboard reads 24-0 in that 25-minute period, it becomes obvious that there’s nothing that can’t quickly turn around in the space of a week.
38:29 – Michael Hooper penalised for being in front of Len Ikitau’s clearing kick inside the Wallabies 22
He was in front, no question, as Ikitau’s kick was from reasonably deep in the territory. Damian McKenzie did well to keep the kick in play, flirting dangerously with the touchline in his own half, and from there the All Blacks played immediately to the other side of the ground, where Paul Williams announced the penalty advantage in play.
New Zealand played six phases from the point of McKenzie’s touchline balancing act, but interestingly the mark was given well outside the Wallabies 22 when Hooper was at least three metres inside the 22 when he started his advance in front of the kick.
It makes you wonder if Richie Mo’unga might not have just opted for the (much easier) three points instead of kicking for the corner had Williams gone to the actual mark much more within comfortable kicking range.
It was a sliding doors moment just before halftime, and no doubt there’d have been a different feel in the Wallabies rooms with the score reading 12-8 instead of 16-8.
(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
44:34 – Harry Wilson gets up too quickly on Richie Mo’unga in front of the New Zealand posts
Probably thinking Mo’unga would kick, Wilson invited the All Blacks No. 10 around him with some simple footwork.
And getting around Wilson then dragged Noah Lolesio off Anton Lienert-Brown, who Mo’unga found with a simple offload, which then found McKenzie, and he threw a questionable pass to Rieko Ioane in space.
Ioane made it nearly to halfway before throwing a pretty ordinary pass behind Cody Taylor, which Aaron Smith had to stop and catch behind him. It was this loss of momentum and a need to spin a full 360 degrees that led to Smith’s pass to Brodie Retallick being thrown forward, ultimately killing off a certain international try of the year candidate.
It was a misreading from Wilson, but it was his move to the openside initially that allowed Lolesio and the backs to mark up correctly on the All Blacks backs. Once he’d initiated that correction, Wilson really needed to make the tackle.
49:15 – Lolesio misses a penalty attempt from halfway
Surprisingly, length was not an issue here for Lolesio despite Rob Valetini holding the ball in place for him while lying on the halfway line.
Without the swirling wind inside the stadium, I’ve got no doubt the different flight characteristics of the New Zealand Adidas ball – they’re lighter and fly further than the Gilbert – convinced Lolesio he had the range, which was proven by the fact McKenzie caught the ball just inside the dead-ball line.
But the fact the ball needed holding in the first place might have been a red flag. For one thing, while they were setting up, you can see Lolesio getting Valetini to change his touchpoint from the top of the ball to the side.
Once in flight the ball moves pretty much immediately to the left, but then McKenzie was actually back behind the left-hand upright when he made the catch, the ball having swung back in toward the posts after swinging well outside to start with.
They were rough conditions to kick in coupled with the lack of familiarity of both Lolesio kicking with a finger on the ball and of Valetini supplying the finger.
(Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
50:48 – Hunter Paisami pass is intercepted by Mo’unga
Much of the Australian broadcast commentary in the replays centred on Mo’unga seemingly coming from nowhere to swoop on Paisami’s pass, but the wide shot the phase previous showed the No. 10 coming up into the line having been back defending in the corner, possibly expecting the cross-field kick.
You can see why Paisami thought the pass was on. He had Lolesio trailing behind and Tom Banks on his outside, and Taylor, Lienert-Brown and Ioane all squeezed way in.
Jordan Petaia was out wide on his own from this view. But so was Mo’unga, and it’s fair to say he saw the pass coming well before Paisami or even Petaia saw him.
Initially I wondered why there was a need for the cut-out pass and thought that putting the ball through the hands might have put Banks in space, but I don’t know that would’ve been the case now with the benefit of several rewinds.
Maybe if Lolesio was closer, but even getting the ball to him would have invited Ioane to slide out on Banks.
Perhaps, if Mo’unga had have been seen, a little grubber in behind the line might have put Petaia in space.
(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
53:38 – Paisami loses ball in contact from attacking maul
The five-metre lineout hadn’t gone well for the Wallabies, with the All Blacks winning the shove and forcing the maul back nearly ten metres.
Then Tate McDermott delayed the pass while holding the ball in the maul, allowing the New Zealand line more time to set, before sending it off to Paisami, who unfortunately was stripped by the second man into the tackle.
A quicker abandoning of the maul when it first started going backwards was in order, and the ball certainly needs to come out quicker regardless.
56th min – Taniela Tupou loses footing in scrum, is then caught offside when McKenzie takes quick tap
A bit of a mix-up between Tupou and Hooper sees the Wallabies pack pinged for losing their bind, and Tupou concedes the offside penalty rather than let McKenzie run past.
The All Blacks played nine phases from a lineout in Australian territory before going left for David Havili to stretch out and put the ball on the line.
62:02 – Darcy Swain picks up the ball in the ruck from a clear offside position
This was pretty clear, one of those ‘oh no’ moments that Swain has had in his game coming up through the ranks.
From the lineout the All Blacks played another eight or nine phases before McKenzie scored in the corner with penalty advantage to make it 33-8.
And we all know what happened from there.
The point about highlighting these moments is to show there was no one element in particular that let the Wallabies down. Most if not all of these little moments are relatively easily addressed, and it’s also worth noting that with the exception of Hooper being in front of Ikitau’s kick before halftime, all of them happened within New Zealand territory.
The Wallabies were asking questions of the All Blacks defence, and they were making plenty of ground to start applying pressure.
The opposition will make the necessary adjustments for Game 2, but there’s no reason to suggest the Wallabies won’t also be much improved for holding their nerve and staying disciplined in the return match next weekend.
There was plenty to like about the Wallabies performance, not least of which their continued and growing ability to play out the full 80 minutes, as they did throughout the France series.
It makes Bledisloe 2 all the more mouth-watering.