Here I am, back at the computer with a head full of steam and a pocketful of dreams.
Lock the kids in the car and put the dog in the yard, because I’m coming in hot:
Test Rugby Rules Baby
How good is test match footy? Before we get to the result, let’s just sit back and bask in the glow of a bloody ripper of a game of rugby. It had it all, ups and downs, highs and lows, ins and outs, Hayletts and Pettys. Both sides played positive, aggressive rugby and put on a great show. Super Rugby may be an ample distraction, but this is the real deal and I LOVE IT BABY.
I can’t wait for the next two tests, this is going to be a fantastic series.
Congratulations England
Well done to the England team. All the pre-game prognostications were correct- you have come to play. I didn’t expect anything less. What I didn’t expect was to see a wide, expansive game that found us wanting on the fringes and in midfield. I also didn’t expect smart play from the backrow, outpointing us at the breakdown.
It was great coaching from Eddie Jones. The decision to substitute basher Luther Burrell and bring on ball-playing George Ford after 28 minutes was a stroke of genius, as it allowed England to make real gains in the wider channels where Watson, Brown and Yarde were doing great work.
England played with trademark physicality, but they played so damn smart it hurts. They picked their battles at the breakdown perfectly, their discipline was outstanding and their scramble defence may have won them the game. Add in a sharp-shooting kicker, a few strokes of luck (from the Wallabies and the ref) and that’s the game. Well played!
Wallaby positivity
I see nothing to suggest the Wallabies can’t win the next two tests. We were all over England in attack, and didn’t find it hard to make ground both close to the ruck and wider out.
Our debutants all had good games, I thought. The standout of the class was Dane Haylett-Petty, who looks a Wallaby to his bootlaces. He has such a good brain on him, and made the right choice on 100% of occasions. He was penetrating in attack, but great in defence too. Michael Cheika will be thinking long and hard about moving him to fullback and shifting Israel Folau to the wing.
If we can iron out the kinks in our game (discipline, lineout, scramble defence) then we can get back into the series. There is real room for improvement, and I don’t think any player had a particularly poor game.
Composure, or lack thereof
You know who I thought we missed tonight? Not Beale, or Toomua, or Tomane. It was Matt Giteau. For a couple of reasons: we needed a ball-player at 12 to direct the play (more on that later), but also to have a wise old head in the backline when we needed one.
When England went from 0-10 down to 26-13 ahead, we lost our composure. We switched off for 10 minutes, and that was the game. Compare that to the All Blacks against Wales- though they were under the pump and behind on the scoreboard, they exuded a Zen-like calm and weathered the storm (ding ding ding! That’s four straight clichés… why am I giving this away for free?).
Romain giveth, and Romain taketh away
We got the rub of the green from Romain Poite at Twickenham last year, but we didn’t tonight. No decision was particularly outrageous, but almost every 50/50 call went England’s way. That happens, that’s rugby. We needed to be good enough to get past it, but we were not.
I don’t understand the decision to yellow card Scott Sio, though. It was his third conceded penalty in 50 minutes of rugby, and none of those were particularly cynical or in the red zone. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a card given for scrummaging infringements in those circumstances. It didn’t affect the result (it might have actually spurred us into action) but still, it was a head-scratcher.
The blame game
So where did things go wrong? As I said above, I don’t think anyone had a shocker. As much as we love a scapegoat here (just pick one of the ref/Quade/Phipps/Mumm/Berrick Barnes/Al Baxter/Cosmic forces of the universe), I don’t think there is anyone we can feed to the lions tonight to appease our lust for blood.
Our forwards let us down. The lineout was a shambles, and all of it was self inflicted. There were no brilliant steals from Itoje or Kruis, there was just botched calls, bad throws, dropped pills. That is all on us. Losing Rob Simmons certainly didn’t help, but that isn’t an excuse.
In general we were outmuscled by the Poms, and in the middle 40 minutes we allowed them to dictate the game at the breakdown. We needed an inspirational hit from Fardy, or a steal from Pocock, but nothing came and we couldn’t stem the bleeding.
Changes for Melbourne
I would like to see three changes made for our team in Melbourne. James Slipper should come in for Scott Sio, who was found out at the scrum and may be a step behind where he was at the World Cup. I’d like to reward James Horwill’s effort off the bench, and put him in for Rory Arnold. Arnold was OK, but I think we need Kev’s experience out there in the crunch minutes.
The third change is to bring Christian Lealiifano in for Samu Kerevi. I thought Kerevi played well, but Bernard Foley was under too much pressure tonight and we need someone to help him out. A second ball-player will also help us attack those wider channels where England are ripe for the taking, putting Izzy Folau, Kuridrani and the wingers in space.
Bring it on
Get your tickets now, people. This feels like a Lions series, isn’t it bloody great!
I reckon we’ve got what it takes to level the series at 1-1 at AAMI Park. Next Saturday can’t come fast enough!
What do you think? Am I on the money?
