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Junior Wallabies head coach Nathan Grey has slammed officials for failing to act on blatant high tackles during his side’s 30-10 defeat to Ireland last Thursday, labelling it a “disgrace”.
While Rory Telfer was initially shown a yellow card for his high hit on Darby Lancaster in the dying minutes, no action was taken on two earlier moments.
The first occurred in the 35th minute as Irish loose-forward James McNabney blatantly hit Junior Wallabies winger high on a kick-chase. The tackle was later deemed by the citing commissioner to have met the red card threshold.
The second occurred when Irish forward Ruadhan Quinn dipped his head into contact, which left Junior Wallabies skipper vice-captain Ned Slack-Smith dazed.
“The red cards should’ve happened and there should’ve been 45 minutes where we’re playing against 13 or 14 men,” Grey said.
“It’s a disgrace. It shouldn’t happen.”
“I’ve got a squad of 30 guys led by Teddy (Wilson) who work their absolute arses off to put ourselves in position and then these things happen.”
Nathan Grey has slammed officials for failing to act on high tackles during his side’s loss to Ireland. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
The Junior Wallabies were also left perplexed as to why Ryan’s earlier effort to score wasn’t sent to the TMO, with replays suggesting the winger was anything but “clearly in touch”.
Later, Ireland were also awarded a try in the second half despite replays not showing a grounding.
Despite being raw over the lack of protection his players were afforded during their loss, Grey says all their attention has now turned to their crucial clash with England on Tuesday.
“We will just concentrate on what we can control… how we prepare and how we play, and we’re going to back ourselves,” he said.
And back themselves they must, as they deal with three injuries and a suspension to their starting forward pack.
Lock Jhy Legg hobbled off with an ankle injury on Thursday, while inspirational openside flanker Slack-Smith has also been ruled out following the Irishmen’s late dip into his tackle.
But the real blow comes up front with prop Massimo Lutis sidelined with a hamstring injury he picked up against Ireland.
Ireland was too good in the wet for the Junior Wallabies, running away with it in Paarl on June 29, 2023. (Photo by World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
Making matters worse, Western Force young-gun Marley Pearce is still under a three-match suspension for a high-tackle against Fiji in game one of the tournament.
It’s an ominous situation, particularly after England got the better of the men from the emerald Isle in their round one clash.
To combat this, Grey has called in two Waratah Academy players into the wider squad and placed his faith into his remaining propping stock.
“We’ve got full confidence in those guys, and from a technical perspective it’s around making sure we’re hitting as a eight, maintaining our positioning, our technical aggression and getting on the front foot in our scrummaging,” he said.
Australia got a taste of the northern hemisphere’s best last week and it was a step-up in physicality up front.
England will bring much of the same, their threats are littered throughout the team with hulking props Afolabi Fasogbon (London Irish) and Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale Sharks) being two of the competition’s most damaging ball runners.
In the backrow Chandler Cunningham-South (London Irish) and Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs) were immense in their clash against Ireland and will be the go-to men when England want go-forward.
“We just got to make sure our defensive structures are set nice and early, we know they’re very direct and they got big ball runners so the important thing for us is to… back our tackle technique and to get those ball runners on the ground and look to force some turnovers,” Grey said.
“Around our ruck-defence, they’re going to pick and go a lot and we’ve got to keep showing up for each other.”
The backs have also been forced into a little reshuffle, with the concussed Lancaster replaced by fleet-footed Ronan Leahy (Western Force).
“We’ve got two or three players who are just as fast as Darby so in terms of his experience we lose a little bit but in terms of speed we don’t lose a lot,” Grey said.
“It shouldn’t be an issue for us.”
Grey has opted for stability and consistency in the halves with childhood friends Wilson and Jack Bowen reprising their duet in the No.9 and .10 jerseys respectively.
Wilson knows England will be well regimented but says there are opportunities to be taken.
“There’s definitely some opportunities we see in their defence … they’re pretty tight in their defence so we feel we can exploit them out-wide… we’ve got a clear plan of what we need to do; stick to our process,” Wilson said.
With the Junior Wallabies needing points to remain a mathematical chance of making the final four, Wilson said he was hoping the weather gods in Cape Town came to the party.
“We prefer to play on a dry pitch… I think it will definitely help our style of play,” the rising halfback said.
The Aussie centres have been a rock for the backline with the three players having filled the positions all having strong performances.
Round one Man of the Match David Vaihu moves to the bench with Taj Annan getting a start in the No.12 jersey, having previously started at outside and coming-on from the bench last week. Waratah Henry O’Donnell retains his spot at outside.
The change could indicate Grey would like to see his team play a little more territory. Having Annan who has Super Rugby Pacific experience outside young-gun Bowen may just allow the young flyhalf more time on the ball.
Having Vaihu off the bench offers genuine 12 to 14 cover as well as a damaging ball runner against a tired defence.
Klayton Thorn (ACT Brumbies) and Harry McLaughlin-Phillips (Qld Reds) round out the matchday 23.
The forwards have a huge task ahead of them with the likes of mobile players like Daniel Maiava-Tapusoa (Melbourne Rebels), Lachlan Hooper (ACT Brumbies) and Nick Blomfield (Qld Reds) having their work cut-out for them against a larger pack.
It’s make or break for the Australians who need a big win on Tuesday as well as a favourable result in the Ireland-Fiji game for their finals hopes to stay alive.
The Junior Wallabies kick-off at 10pm (AEST) at Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa.
Junior Wallabies team:
1. Jack Barrett (NSW Waratahs, Randwick)
2. Max Craig (QLD Reds, Easts Tigers)
3. Nick Bloomfield (QLD Reds, Easts Tigers)
4. Toby Macpherson (ACT Brumbies, Uni-Norths Owls)
5. Daniel Maiava-Tapusoa (Melbourne Rebels, Wests Bulldogs)
6. Lachlan Hooper (ACT Brumbies, Vikings Rugby)
7. Nick Baker (QLD Reds, GPS Rugby Club)
8. Leafi Heka Talataina (Melbourne Rebels, Endeavour Hills)
9. Teddy Wilson (c) (NSW Waratahs, Eastern Suburbs)
10. Jack Bowen (NSW Waratahs, Eastern Suburbs)
11. Ronan Leahy (Western Force, Sydney University)
12. Taj Annan (QLD Reds, Souths Magpies)
13. Henry O’Donnell (NSW Waratahs, Northern Suburbs)
14. Tim Ryan (QLD Reds, Brothers Rugby Club)
15. Mason Gordon (Melbourne Rebels, Wests Bulldogs)
Reserves
16. Liam Bowron (ACT Brumbies, Canberra Royals)
17. Harrison Usher (QLD Reds, Bond University)
18. Trevor King (QLD Reds, Souths Magpies)
19. Ollie McCrea (NSW Waratahs, Eastern Suburbs)
20. John Bryant (QLD Reds, Souths Magpies)
21. Klayton Thorn (ACT Brumbies, Gungahlin Eagles)
22. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips (QLD Reds, Souths Magpies)
23. David Vaihu (Melbourne Rebels, Wests Bulldogs)
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.