Last week we saw an open, free-flowing encounter with flourishing backlines, dynamic forwards and most importantly tries by the bucketful. It seems like a long time ago doesn’t it? Tonight was a scrappy, scraggy, gritty clash where the Wallabies once again found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
A healthy crowd of 70,000 wasn’t enough. The Old Boys Rugby Choir wasn’t enough. Even John Williamson and a cracking rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ couldn’t get them over the line. The forwards were gutsy, the backs showed flashes of what they were capable of. But it just never really clicked, and as expected we tired badly in the last twenty.
I was torn between heart and head when marking tonight. My heart was wanting to give these guys a mighty kick up the arse, Lance Free-style (which coincidentally is a very angry, negative style of rap sweeping the nation), for their inability to finish off games and consistent inconsistency. My head, as it always does, was spouting the whole book of Robbie Deans losing clichés- we were tired after 160 straight minutes, the ABs finished very strongly, we didn’t play THAT badly. In the end I fell somewhere in the middle.
15 Kurtley Beale: Was a class above tonight, and continued his improvement in the 15 jersey. He really only made one mistake- a knock on after breaking the line from a Giteau inside ball. He runs with pace and agility, and has an uncanny knack of beating the first defender and then driving through the tackle. His defence is so far above what it used to be, which gives hope to certain other Wallaby players. His kicking was pinpoint. Above all though it was about the vibe. A few years ago when Beale got the ball I would lean forward in anticipation of a wild pass, errant chip kick or crunching opposition tackle. Now I still lean forward, but it is for very different reasons. – 9 and G&GR Man of the Match.
14 James O’Connor: Up and down. Finished well when set up by McCalman, but made a crucial error late in the game to gift McCaw a try. He lacked the spark he has shown in recent weeks, and struggled to break the line on the few occasions he had the ball in space. Lucky not to be given 10 in the bin after Dagg’s brilliant centre kick in he first half. Looks in need of a rest. – 5.
13 Adam Ashley- Cooper: Once again solid without being spectacular. Made his tackles well, didn’t make any bad errors, finished well for his try. But solid can only cut it for so long. I remember his feats of years gone by, carrying All Black defenders over the line, looking dangerous every time he touched the ball. And the leg drive! But sadly it is all too rare these days. He didn’t have a whole lot of opportunity and had the able Smith opposite but we have come to expect more. – 6.
12 Matt Giteau: Another who had his ups and downs. With ball in hand he was OK. Took the right options, kicked well in general play. Never took the line on though like last week, and never really looked threatening. His place kicking was not the deciding factor in the match, but it was not great. The kicks he missed were tough kicks but he should have potted a few more than he did. – 5.
11 Lachie Turner: Hardly put a foot wrong all night. In fact, he only put one foot wrong, literally, and that was in the opening minutes. Showed why some have been clamouring for his inclusion, with pace and flair mixed in with great defence under pressure. Has a very good rugby brain, and whilst he lacks the ‘excitement factor’ possessed by others you just know he will very rarely make mistakes. Has certainly given the selectors some food for thought, although I think Michael O’Connor will be praying for Drew to come back ASAP – 8.
10 Quade Cooper: How a player can look so good in attack and so poor in defence is beyond me. With ball in hand he was good- his kicking was pinpoint, he took the line on and won on a couple of occasions, and he generally ran the backline well. Not as good as last week, but still easily outplayed Cruden. But as soon as the All Blacks got the ball he turned into a scared little kid with no physical presence whatsoever. He is not a small guy, but by constantly going in to contact bolt upright he is made to look like a fool too often. Another who tired badly late. – 4.
9 Will Genia: I think Sanchez is suffering from a bad bout of second-year syndrome. The crisp pinpoint service we saw last year has been replaced by a slower, less accurate version of the legendary Gregan two-step. Rarely threatened the AB defence, and often took the wrong option (eg passing to a stationary Ma’afu 10m behind the advantage line instead of the nearby Cooper). Had a very poor game, and should have been subbed earlier. Still carrying injury perhaps?– 3.
8 Ben McCalman: Last week we saw the preview. This week we were treated to the whole film, and it was a pretty good one. It isn’t going to win Oscars but you walk away satisfied. He is visibly growing in confidence, and has looked more like a genuine 8 than Brown has all season. Has a bit of mongrel, which this pack desperately needs. Also has pace and skill as evidenced by JOC’s try. – 7.
7 David Pocock: Not his best game, but that is a bit like saying ‘The Wall’ was not Pink Floyd’s best album. Still a standout forward, and worked tirelessly all night. This was best summed up by his Superman impression on Conrad Smith in the closing stages- he just refused to be beaten. Suffered badly at the hands of a very erratic referee, and probably came out on the losing end of his battle with McCaw. Definitely deserves a rest– 7.
6 Rocky Elsom: Another very solid performance from the Rock. He gets through a mountain of work, and was our most dangerous forward with ball in hand. Did very well to almost set up Turner early, and was in all the right places from that point on. He has certainly locked down the number 6 jersey for a long time to come. His captaincy was better than the last couple of weeks, but I think his manner with the referees still needs some work. Every time he talks to them he looks and sounds like he is about to belt them. – 8.
5 Nathan Sharpe: Clarkie best summed it up when he called him ‘Mr Consistency’, because tonight he cemented that nickname. He just delivers so consistently it is hard to say a bad word about him. Always makes the gain line, rarely drops the pill. His work at the restarts was outstanding, as was his leadership at the lineout. However, he really showed his age towards the end and coughed the ball up at a crucial stage. – 7.
4 Mark Chisholm: Apparently he has played 52 tests. He must be close to earning the title ‘least memorable Wallaby’ because, well, he simply doesn’t do much. It was the same story tonight. Jogged off after 55 minutes with one or two carries and a couple of tackles. Needs to do better. – 4.
3 Salesi Ma’afu: Much improved on last week. Did a lot of grunt work and looked OK with the ball in hand. The scrums were a little shaky but certainly got worse once he went off. Has kept the wolves at ay for a few more games it would seem – 6.
2 Stephen Moore: A classic Squeaky Moore performance. Never gave up, did the hard yards, never let the side down. He lacks the dynamism of TPN and will probably never make any ‘Greatest XV’ lineups but jeez you can’t fault him for consistency or effort. Lineout was good. – 6.
1 Benn Robinson: Much like Robinson I can’t help feeling that injury has put him back a bit from what he was. Lacked the punch that he once had, and the scrums were shaky, especially towards the end. Still not a bad effort, but he has definitely lost the mantle of Worlds best loosehead that he held a few seasons ago. – 5.
17 James Slipper: Not as good as last week, conceded a crucial scrum penalty early and didn’t really stand out otherwise. Hardly the worst, but not great either. – 4.
18 Dean Mumm: When Chisolm went off, apparently this guy came on. Was flagging badly at the end, which was odd considering he only had 25 minutes. Can you hear the chant growing louder? Van…the….man……..Van…the…man– 5.
19 Richard Brown: Only had a short amount of time, injected a bit of venom. – 6.
20 Luke Burgess: Not as good as last week, but still added a bit of much needed spark. Is putting his hand up for a promotion. – 6.
21 Berrick Barnes: Didn’t have much time. Conceded the penalty which lead to the first AB try. – 5.
Ratings Scale:
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
