So much talk of Taps bombing a try when Beales air swing attempting a grubber with an overlap goes unmentioned. By the time Taps was around his opposite (a feat in itself for a wob 13) there wasn't enough space for the two players on the line and one could have come in. Where improvement is needed is not all of a sudden getting impatient but just taking the ball to ground and building the next phase. Any missed half chance at the moment sees the players (and fans?) lose focus and invariably turn the ball over at that point or on next phase.
And who else thinks the whole bombing a try call by commentators is way overstated generally?
I think you are right about the impatience aspect. However, in regards to Taps 'bombing the try', I have to differ. From my initial viewing, I am of the opinion that Taps had run the outside guys out of space. I thought the reason Harris didn't cut back in was that he was expecting the ball much earlier.
I was just pondering over the qualities of Beale at flyhalf though. I tend to agree with Jiggles to an extent, he did show some uncertainty at times. In relation to the set move try, I thought he played on the conceptions of what the opposition expected him to do.
I once read somewhere that Dan Carter is so dangerous because he creates doubt in the opposition. Rather than his outside men being uncertain of his intentions, a Wallaby trait in recent times, they know exactly what he will be doing at all times. How he creates doubt in the opposition goes something like:
He will shovel the ball on for a few phases. Lets say that Carter gets the ball 6 times, and passes everytime. On the 7th occasion, he will take on the line. He will take on the line as he has observed the opposition defence slide outwards, as they think he will simply pass the ball again. He spots the gap through the patterns he has created, and exploits it. Then the opposition has to be mindful that he could then either
pass or
run. He has created uncertainty in defensive patterns. Lets say that he then settles back into passing mode. After about 4 possessions, rather than running, he pops a deft kick in behind the defensive line to Cory Jane. The phase after, he runs again at the line.
By this stage you would imagine that he has the opposition defence at sixes and sevens. They have no idea what he going to do. His runners constantly work off of him, as they know what he will always do. He will always measure and communicate these options.
The set play move leading to the Diggers try was a result of something similar. Diggers had taken the ball up in contact all night. Beale didn't have much to work on, but had either gone quite wide or looked for a single runner up until that point. Where he created doubt was in the Taps/McCabe line. The two inside men fully thought that Taps was the advantage line runner, as that was what the Wallabies had been dishing up most of the night. McCabe on the outside was in order to confuse the outside men, who would slide out to cover McCabe, Cummins and Harris. Therefore, with the inside men committed by Taps (and Beale through taking on the line) and the outside men worrying about McCabe and Co. Diggers slotted through the gap unmolested for the try.
Beale's best quality is that he constantly keeps the opposition in 2 defensive minds. What he needs to work on is keeping his boys in the loop, so they know his intention and are able to provide options. Ways to go, but there is evidence that he really working on it.