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Say it quietly, but there was enough in that first half performance against New Zealand which suggested everything Eddie Jones has been speaking about so far might have some substance. Ultimately Australia fell short and that’s the memorable point. Australia still haven’t won under Eddie Jones and it’s likely they won’t before the World Cup. But the green shoots of something are there. In this article I’ll have a look at the moments that made me think Australia might be onto something.
The first try is a great example of how far this Australia backline have come. I believe that the starting seven from Saturday have now nailed down their positions barring injury. This is a huge weight off for Jones who inherited an incredibly unsettled back line. The first try ticked a lot of boxes when it comes to looking for a well-functioning backline. Australia set-up the lineout maul and then Samu Kerevi tears in on a hardline to hit the defence back. His next involvement is the delicate pass to put Marika Koroibete through for the try.
That is what you want from your centre. They need to put you on the front foot with their carrying but they can’t become one dimensional. They need to maintain that threat out wide. Kerevi is one of the best in the business but up until now the game plan has been so reduced that he hasn’t been able to show it.
Angus Bell and Pone Fa’amausili of Australia. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
In Jones’ first game in charge, the only Aussie with more carries than tackles was Koroibete. This week, it was only Tate McDermott and Carter Gordon who tackled more than they carried. Nick Frost, Tom Hooper, Rob Valetini, James Slipper, and Matt Faessler all made double figures numbers of tackles. Australia still made more tackles than their opponents, as they have in every Eddie Jones coached game. But the backs were largely saved that excess workload and allowed to show more attacking flair.
We are also seeing more workrate and more accuracy. Australia only had three clean breaks in this match. That is something they will need to work on ahead of the World Cup. Although they had a high rate of success on those clean breaks, the fact is that only managing three a match forces you to convert them at a rate which is unsustainable long-term. Even with that as a background, Australia are doing enough to suggest that progress is being made.
In this example, you can see the great initial break by Mark Nawaqanitawase and the support line by Andrew Kellaway. But the really impressive effort is from Fraser McReight who charges through to get to the ruck and secure the ball. This is something I felt was missing in Jones’ previous games. Not only were there structural issues but there were also individual errors and examples where it looked like the effort fell away. At least in the first half on Saturday, Australia were able to combine these factors together.
Carter Gordon has the keys to the Australian attack but he’s not expected to do it all himself. That was never more clear than when Australia turned this line break into a Tom Hooper try in the corner. Nawaqanitawase and Jordan Petaia all jumped in to be first receiver as Gordon floats around waiting to put his stamp on the attack. Gordon is inexperienced at leading any back line, let alone an international one. By sharing the load, Australia are able to give their fly-half a more relaxed introduction to international rugby. Plus, using the likes of Nawaqanitawase, Petaia, and Kerevi as first receivers allows you to attack right the way across the pitch with numerous different attacking shapes.
It is clear that Eddie Jones has a more complicated attacking plan in mind. We are starting to see the early shoots of that plan coming out. It won’t be complete by the time the World Cup comes around but it might be enough to take the Wallabies on a run.
Let’s be clear though. Yes, there are reasons to be cheerful but this is yet another game which Australia lost. They’ve not won under Eddie Jones and they probably won’t win until the World Cup. There are glaring holes that need to be fixed.
The above clip is one of them. Australia got closer to possessional parity against the All Blacks than they have against any other team under Jones. But they will kick and they will kick a lot. That means that they can’t gift kick return opportunities like this one, which ultimately led to a penalty to the All Blacks.
The transition, what happens when the ball changes hands, is going to be a key. These are the moments where a poorly prepared team can flop and gift opportunities or fail to take them. This is a good kick and Australia would expect to pressure New Zealand. Instead, they bring all that pressure on themselves. I don’t expect Australia to kick quite as much as they did in the matches before Saturday, but they will kick more than their opponents. If you can’t stop the kick returns then you’re just gifting chances.
The other issue is more obvious. Australia led 17-3 at the break. They were dominating the match. They were winning the turnover battle and they were winning the carrying battle. But they lost the second half 20-3 and ran out of gas. All of the positives in this article came in that first half. That’s obviously not good enough to be competitive overall.
Eddie Jones and Wallaby fans should take heart from this performance. We’re finally seeing something approaching a coherent plan and that trendline, which was point downwards, is now showing signs of life. It’s not the finished article. It’s not even close. But there is now some hope.
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.