Rows A-J of the East Stand of the suddenly sun drenched Adelaide Oval were baking hot.
A tall and chiseled South African rugby fan in Row F, just behind us, had a springbok painted perfectly on each perfect cheek.
After ten minutes, his cheek art had melted and blurred into a Goyalike mess, he had turned into a swearing machine, and the Bok team had bequeathed a 10-0 lead to the Wallabies.
Adelaide is not a rugby haven. On the flight from Sydney, a salaryman behind me was talking to his partner: “Apparently the Wallabies are playing someone this weekend?”
After the Springboks lost, we tried to catch the All Blacks match on a TV screen in the one hundred TV casino or an 8-screen ‘sports bar’ near our hotel. No-one had Stan Sport. We just used my phone to watch, propped on a flimsy pizza box.
Even the pizza was annoying to me. It folded like Lood de Jager on Malcolm Marx’s shoulders. Lood spent more of the match upside down than right side up.
But inside the Oval, the sound of Wallaby support was a swell of national pride and fury. That type of Australian start, built on crisp passes, direct running lines, and zealous tackling (as well as superb goalkicking by Noah Lolesio) kept the crowd loud.
Roar rugby experts Brett McKay, Jim Tucker and Harry Jones and editor Tony Harper come together for the post-mortem after the Wallabies’ incredible 25-17 win over South Africa as well as Argentina’s historic 25-18 win over New Zealand in Christchurch
In the first half, I sarcastically lost my mind applauding the lone penalty slotted by Handre Pollard. The profligate visitors had 11 chances to score points in the first 40 and took only one. The hosts had three and took two. A 10-3 scoreline felt both fair and also a bit misleading; at the very same time.
In warmups, Pollard’s strikes were as pure as Joseph Dweba’s throws were not. But he shanked his first effort and shaved the second. In a Test which swung in momentum, it was deflating to have to work so hard and long for just three points.
If the Wallabies were surgical, the Boks were pre-Nightingale medics just chopping limbs without antiseptic. If the Wallabies were a space shuttle, the Boks were a coal train. If the Wallabies were laser-guided missiles, the Boks were a bazooka. Even if the penalty count was 15-9 in the Boks’ favour, there was never a sense of the visitors taking this match after Makazole Mapimpi failed to slide early and in to make it 10-10.
The Wallabies were up for it: from the first kickoff, James Slipper took his lessons from San Juan, Matt Philip outworked all forwards, Fraser McReight was a livewire and Noah Lolesio was a metronomic kicker and a clever passer.
Everything Marika Koroibete did came off perfectly; even if his suggestion of an arm might not have sufficed for some referees. He is the most improved Wallaby over the last two years, I think.
A blemish on this great win in he sunshine at the Oval on a brilliant afternoon was the soccer antics of Nic White. He is better than that.
Who is NOT better: Duane Vermeulen did not look any better than he did at Ellis Park. Frans Steyn is lumbering; even if his boot is still a key Bok weapon. Dweba is the third player who needs to go get game time at the club level, first.
But it is coach Jacques Nienaber who is not getting better, at all.
Siya Kolisi of the Springboks looks dejected. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
He needs a new attack coach, and he needs new ideas, and he needs the humility to admit that.
Watching Argentina beat New Zealand at Christchurch, I saw a new, fresh coaching unit making better use of their talent.
Ian Foster, like Nienaber, may have been promoted prematurely.
A wonderful set of wins for Australia and Argentina.
Adelaide flowed with love and joy after the victory; casinos were full and there was dancing in the streets.
WINSTON
Roar Rookie
.... and Boks need a new 10
Ulrich
Roar Rookie
Frans Steyn was in very good form for the Cheetahs. He had a bit of an injury and a lengthy spell of not playing. He is certainly nearing the end but I wouldn't go so far as to say he's done after one look at him. He deserves a few more cracks. Just last year he almost singlehandedly turned the game for the Boks against the All Blacks.
Ulrich
Roar Rookie
Mallet's Boks were a joy to watch.
Dusty10
Roar Rookie
Disagree. I just expect more from my 15 than you.
Nicholas Bishop
Expert
You are looking for the wrong things. :rugby:
Dusty10
Roar Rookie
I think we are probably always going to disagree on this. I'm not talking about X-factor, I'm simply talking about abilities and strengths. Hodge has few. I used to think about Nathan Sharpe in a similar way. I know many people will jump to Sharpe's defence, "natural leader" and "lineout calling" etc etc, but Sharpe was never a danger on the field and simply died with the ball whenever he ran it. My mates and I used to refer to him as 'slug-like' the way he ran. Now, I LIKE Sharpe, he's a fantastic guy and he bleeds gold, he just didn't offer any threats. He was a passenger. Hodge is also a passenger. I did not see the turnovers you speak of, but I do know he didn't threaten the line, he didn't create anything, he can't ball-play, he's slow and, like Sharpe, if he ever decides to run he just dies in the tackle. It's VERY rare to see Hodge beat a first defender, and I'd love to see his post-tackle metres. I think they'd almost be in the negatives...
Lara
Guest
Dumber n Dumber….so who is dumber ? The Boks have not evolved for over 60 years. Bash them , bash them again n kick the crap out of the ball. The formula has worked for them n their coaches just keep using it…..3 RWC thank you very much. Nienaber is not one to change the formula n has admitted it….that’s how we play n I make no apologies. The ABs is a little bit more complicated, there are more moving part . However ,Foster has done a fine job in putting sand down the fuel tank ….so there you have it….Dumber n Dumber.
Nicholas Bishop
Expert
see Wednesday, he won four turnovers and took all of the contestable kicks that came his way. Pretty good start for an Aussie 15 after San Juan. And he's clearly a leader in the backline. There is a place who a guy who makes few mistakes, is reliable, kicks well and wins you ball. Thinking X-factor all the time is the mistake.
Olly
Roar Rookie
It is the game now. Every team is doing it.
Biltong
Guest
Must have seen something inWhite's nose, and decided to help him out.
MaxP
Roar Rookie
As I’ve said repeatedly, I’ve no problem with the card. I’ve the problem with the dive. If you can’t see why it is a bad look, consider the consequences if the referee had looked at it and decided there wasn’t a penalty or a card? Five metre scrum Boks.
Olly
Roar Rookie
You can't slap the ball out of the half hands, it is a yellow card. What is with people and this. You can step out in front of the pass as long as you come from an onside position, yes and this is what 9s do, but you can not slap the ball out of his hands. If the 9 has cleared the ruck zone so in open play then you can grab his passing arm as this is what they do, but still can not slap the ball down. Everything he was doing there was going to be a yellow card. Simple as that, Faf stuffed up. I am also not a fan of playing it up but that is the game now. Refs are so hot and cold with picking up things that it has forced this into the game. White just needs to get better at it as per what is going on in teams like....SA, the masters of the fake injury. Next time White needs to take the fall immediately like everyone else as he almost played on.
Machooka
Roar Guru
Thanks Harry... very late to reply to this effort. And bravo for the effort... an arvo Test match, an attempt to watch a 2nd Test match (the mental imagine of you and a familiar fellow rugby tragic hunched over your phone propped up on a pizza box was delicious... unlike the pizza), then this article, and finished off by downing and doing the pod. Bravo, indeed sir! :thumbup: :rugby: :happy:
Harry Jones
Expert
Good stat (bad for SA).
Harry Jones
Expert
I think Pollard is carrying an injury.
Malo
Guest
Rugby is more brutal in collisions due to the increase in players from 15 to 23 and the big breaks for scrums and lineouts so you get your breath back. Now with the card system , acting is another new required skill to benefit your team. Rugby has changed so move with the times. White is a legend who adapted for his team
Hazel Nutt
Roar Rookie
I agree that Hill and White's reactions were not comparable FB, but it kinda reinforces that White's terrible acting shouldn't be the focus of the media and all the comments. Swain headbutted someone, and that's a red card under the laws every day of the week, it doesn't matter if Hill was still standing afterwards or not. I'm willing to bet that if the headbutt occurred in the middle of a crowd we'd have seen a much stronger reaction from Hill, but he didn't have to because Swain did it out in the open directly in front of an assistant ref. People whinged about how he was baited into it, but no one was in any doubt that Swain committed a stupid act of foul play. I wonder if Swain had folded after Hill struck him in the face, would this be a very different conversation? As it stands, White may have looked stupid, but Faf actually did something stupid by swinging wildly and recklessly and striking White in the face, and the laws were correctly applied regardless of what White did next. The ref cannot and should not apply the laws based on how the victim of the reckless foul play reacts. And frankly I don't think White has anything to apologise for, because as a spectator there are few things more frustrating than obvious acts of foul play being allowed just because the person on the receiving end recovers. That's the true slippery slope Harry mentioned above.
Rob9
Roar Guru
‘Gamesmanship’ is on the 9 JD. And while this certainly represents a new flavour of it (and yea, it’s a bit cringy)- players doing things on the field that are outside ‘playing the game’ in order to achieve some sort of advantageous outcome for their team is as old as the game itself. Playing the ‘turtle on it’s back’ when a player steps into your line chasing a kick. Niggling a player to prompt a physical response (common place in those ‘hard’ days that you yearn for when cameras weren’t everywhere). Carrying on like a gala in a defensive lineout. Throwing your opponents misplaced boot away. The list goes on…
MaxP
Roar Rookie
And I fully support that. I don’t really have much of a problem with the card. I get the emphasis on protecting the head, even if it remains frustratingly inconsistent in application. I just don’t like diving. It has no place in rugby or any sport really. You respect the ref and play to the whistle. Nic White and any other professional player should be confident that the TMO will pull it up if there was something untoward. Gee, the TMO will pull it up even after the ref says “knocked back. Play on”. The players are responsible for playing. The refs are responsible for refereeing. So called “gamesmanship” blurs that line and is an increasing blight on the game. But we clearly will not agree on that.
Rob9
Roar Guru
You’re taking this up a long inference ladder to draw some conclusions that I find fanciful. You know what else players might learn from the weekend’s episode- adjust your game to minimise the risk of making contact to your opponent’s head…