since when is defence a secondary consideration in test footy? after you sort your lineout and scrum (and even if you don't sort those things out), defence and kicking are the most important things.
We will never win a shootout with these guys. Of the 159 tests we've played, and the 42 wins, we've beaten them when they've scored more than 20 (their average: 12.7)on four occasions. October 2010 (24) , September 2001 (26) , Aug 2000 (23) and Aug 98 (23). Obviously if you go back far enough, trys were worth less etc, but surely we can see that they need to be kept to ~16 or less for us to realistically win (their pro-era average when losing to is 17.5).
If we really want to win (at all legal costs), we need to play the game in their half and defend well. They aren't perfect and will fuckup. Sometimes those opportunities will give as a chance to score 3, and sometimes 5 or 7. But we aren't gonna beat them playing their helter-skelter game, that's certain.
Part of our problem is that we like to see ourselves as fit, fast and capable of playing wild and loose. But at least relative to the ABs, we aren't those things anymore and haven't been for more than a decade. The only answer for us to slow it down, play it tight and grind it out.
