I was at the game and have not watched a replay yet, so I have not been able to confirm my thoughts.
Yes, the Wallabies won. Yay us. Just reflect for a second on the fact that the Welsh had what can only be described as a brain fart and kicked the ball away with 90 seconds on the clock. We managed to get back for the penalty and Harris did the business. Yay us again.
We were 90 seconds away from having a whole different discussion on these boards. I note that even the Darkness nearly came unstuck but I remain utterly unconvinced that this Wallaby side will bring me any silverware this year. Real silverware; you know, like maybe the Bledisloe.
Frankly, I spent most of the game sitting in agonised silence with my teeth clenched. I'm not going to go into details lest I regurgitate points previously made, but I will say this:
At what point did we even look like having potency in attack?
At what point did we think about how to counter the Welsh rushing up? Did the Ireland game last year not give us advanced notice we are vulnerable in that area?
I thought Barnes was very ordinary in the first half. There, I said it. Bad kicks, bad passes and off-loading to piggies who were just standing still. Flat. Flat. Flat.
I semi-cheekily tweeted during the game that there was more atmosphere to be found in deep space than at Etihad Stadium. Maybe the 33K audience were also sitting with their teeth clenched.
The place was just under half empty. I know the reasons why it was at Etihad (AAMI park would have not been able to handle all ticket payers), but still, not a good look.
I fucking hate, yes hate, watching rugby at an AFL ground. Admittedly it is better than watching at Perth (Etihad has more vertical seating than Pattersons) but it is just too far removed from the action.
Maybe I am being harsh and maybe I should just be happy that we won. I should be happy, I know, but IMO Wales managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. My reality is that the best team lost.
Am I being overly negative?
I don't expect to win every game by 50 points, but I wonder if it is too much to ask if we could have an after match presser where the coach and captain look slightly smug at a job well done, rather than desperately relieved we got away with it?