Sitting up until the wee hours of the morning on Sunday was well worth it. The Wallabies certainly turned up in Bloemfontein and the Springboks threw everything they had at Australia, in what turned out to be an enthralling test match.
Neither side were playing for a 27 v 27 draw, but that’s how it ended up. There has been nothing between these teams in both their 2017 test matches so it’s probably fitting that both camps again shared the spoils. Both coaches would have to be happy with the urgency shown by their teams in this contest.
In this article, we’re going to look at the best 4 tries in detail so if you’re a budding coaches or student of the game get out your note book.
Try 1 – Red Zone Scrum
The Wallabies opening try was an absolute peach.
The scrum was on the right hand side of the pitch and there was a 15-20m blind side. On the blind side the Wallabies parked their left winger Reece Hodge, and behind the scrum sat Israel Folau. With these players poised to strike on the right edge, the Springboks put Elton Jantjies behind the scrum.
As the picture shows Will Genia did a good job fixing Ross Cronje, which helped Tevita Kuridrani steam into the gap bewteen Cronje and Jan Serfontein. Bernard Foley thus popped out the back of Kuridrani’s hard line, and when Jesse Kriel blitzed Foley, Foley dropped a well timed inside-ball to Izzy Folau. Folau then cut through the line like a hot knife.
Nice job Coach Larkham, what a way to start the test match.
Try 2 – Red Zone Lineout
A feature of this test match was both team’s ability to strike back shortly after conceding points. The Springboks started the test match with so much urgency, it was not surprising when they converted this red zone drive play.
If you look at the defenders around the maul you’ll see Kurtley Beale, Genia and Foley defending the fringes., leaving Marika Koroibete was commissioned to defend in midfield. The clips will show that Koroibete only had eyes for Siya Kolisi when his job was to defend Ruan Dreyer – Koroibete was clearly a little bit lost when Dreyer scored.
All defence coaches will tell you they want their players defending in 3s with their hips all in the same direction (square). Coach Grey will have some work to do with his team’s try line defence for next week.
Try 3 – Coast to Coast
South Africa were next to score just after half time. They showed a great appetite to play from sideline to sideline throughout the game, and they were rewarded on this occasion as they ran a block play with Franco Mostert acting as ball player for Jantjies.
Despite the good work from Michael Hooper blitzing Jantjies, the flyhalf was able to fire a pass to Serfontein who in turn released Kolisi down the right edge. To be fair, Beale could have shut the gate faster and he needed to make his tackle.
Instead Kolisi found Dillyn Leyds, who in turn got a dodgy pass back inside for Serfontein to score. It was a well deserved try – despite the possible forward pass – and it’s great to see South Africa playing with a ball-playing 12 rather than a crash-ball 12.
Try 4 – Front Foot Ball
The Wallabies struck back within minutes, thanks in part to a strong carry from Scott Sio that got his team on the front foot and gave the halfbacks quick ball. Foley flattened up nicely with options on either side as he brushed off Kolisi and released Koroibete to score on debut.
The support from Beale is worthy of a mention, as is the cleanout from Tatafu Polota-Nau. Rugby is a simple game and this clip is a great example of what can happen when the forwards generate go-forward ball and the first receiver is a running threat.
Summary
The Wallabies can be proud of their effort in Bloemfontein – Michael Cheika in particular will be happy with the strike power of his attack, and his team’s ability to respond when the opposition score.
There’s still a bit of work to do to tidy up the defensive issues but it must not be forgotten that there were 3 new caps playing in this test match. The Wallabies are off to Argentina next, and that will pose a challenge as the Pumas are a difficult team to play at home. However, if the Wallabies can play with the urgency they displayed in this match they will be a real handful for their hosts.
