The penultimate game of the Rugby Championship and two teams playing to avoid the wooden spoon for the tournament. This is a place the All Blacks have never been and certainly the change from Foster to Razor hasn’t been the smooth transition that many had hoped for. In Bledisloe 1 in Sydney the All Blacks were very lucky to come away with a win. Racing out to three converted tries before the Wallabies scored and going to the half time break with a big lead, the second half saw the Wallabies gradually reduce that lead to only 3 points and be very unlucky not to have taken the game.
So this weekend. Were the Wallabies going to continue their rise? Would the “Cake Tin jinx” bite the All Blacks? And which team would hold the wooden spoon at the end of the match?
I’ve been quite critical of the All Black coaches leading into this match. I think they’ve been struggling with the jump from Super Rugby to international matches. Their selections, game plan and use of reserves haven’t given me a lot of confidence in their ability to step up and continue the All Black tradition. On the other hand Joe Schmidt and his team seem to’ve been making small but consistent changes to the Wallabies that have demonstrated a slow but steady improvement in so much of their play. After the utter disaster that was Eddie Jones and his team of AFL and NRL wannabes, it’s been great to see how the rugby IP from the coaches has been inculcated into the team.
The All Blacks made some small, but important changes leading into this game. Beauden Barrett replaced DMac at 10 with a straight swap, ALB replaced the injured Jordie Barrett and Havili came into the reserves. The Wallabies also made some changes. White was replaced with Gordon, Pietsch came into the side to replace an injured Koroibete and Kailea, Donaldson and Flook came onto the bench. I felt a bit sorry for Lynagh being replaced without actually taking the field last week but overall Joe and Razor both made minimal changes.
The Match
Both teams started this game well with Australia determined not to repeat the slow start of Bledisloe 1. They applied themselves well and really took it to the ABs with some good hard running and innovative play that saw them score first with a great try to McReight. This was converted and Australia led. The ABs responded with an unconverted try before the Wallabies increased their lead with a penalty. Two more converted tries by the ABs to another penalty to the Wallabies and at half time the ABs were leading 19 to 13.
Australia were playing well with some good hard running across the field and it was only the ABs very strong defensive effort keeping them out. While the forwards in particular were making some big solid runs the backs were trying hard but making mistakes on attack that was costing them. For me there was still far too much inaccurate passing that had receivers catching the ball above or behind them and this was killing the momentum. The defence of the Wallabies appeared to be a bit fractured and while individuals like Valetini and McReight were making some good hits, they seemed to be scrambling a lot and holes were appearing.
The changes to the ABs backline was working out well. BB was standing a bit deep, but this was giving him the time he needed and the passing between the forwards and backs was changing the attack lines and creating holes in the Wallaby defence that could be exploited. Both BB and ALB were playing very well and the ball was being used well. The Wallabies gave Jordan, Reece and Clarke too much room that they took advantage of and scored tries. The AB defence was excellent, especially in the red zone where they held out multiple phases of Wallaby attacks with only a few penalties. Individual players were stepping up and they all seemed aligned on what was required.
The AB coaches had obviously worked hard all week because this was the first game this year where the ABs continued to play well and score in the 2nd half. I felt a big part of this was the way the substitutes were brought on where they came on in groups who worked together rather than in bits and pieces that forces players to adapt each time to the new person. The replacement players seemed to slip well into the game plan and continued to pressure Australia into mistakes. The AB forwards were dominating the contest and this gave freedom to the backs who could then use the ball that was offered. DMac took the attack up a gear when he came on and was able to pressure the tired Wallaby inside backs with some fast play and changes of direction. The replacement tight forwards continued this theme and were dominating at crucial times.
The Wallabies struggled in the 2nd half as the players who did so well in the first started to tire with the workload. Valetini, Wilson and McReight all made small errors at crucial times that the ABs were able to take advantage of. The backline play of the Wallabies was also a bit fractured and they just didn’t seem as aligned as the ABs were. Certainly the 12/13/wing/15 links struggled at times and while they made some good breaks, small mistakes at crucial times handed the game back to the ABs. In the end the All Blacks scoring two more tries and taking the match 33 to 13.
The Game Changer
The lineout on half time that ended up in a converted try to the ABs was a game changer. Up until then the Wallabies were close and both defending and attacking well. Not taking an easy kick option could have gone wrong. However, the result gave the ABs the lead and they never looked back.
The other game changer was the way the ABs were able to continue the dominance throughout the 2nd half, especially as the Wallaby forwards started to tire. The inability to score in the later stages of a match has been a worry this year for the ABs and while they only scored two tries, it was a big change and would have given the coaches and players some confidence that things were working.
In this game the Wallaby replacements weren’t able to make the impact they did in Bledisloe 1. BPA in particular seemed to have difficulty with his throwing and Alaalatoa was struggling to hold his own in the scrums. While McDermott, Gleeson and LSL all made the odd run, they didn’t have the freedom they had in the 2nd half of last week’s match. How much of that was due to AB pressure and how much was due to unforced errors is up for grabs, but it certainly hurt the Wallabies.
The Man of the Match/Stand out players
MotM for me was Wallace Sititi. He didn’t score any points but he troubled the Wallaby defence every time he got the ball. Strong hard running and some good defence. Tupou Vaa’i also stepped up in this game with some good lineout steals and strong defence. The AB backline was a lot better this week and I think this was due to Beauden Barrett’s calmer approach to the game.
For the Wallabies I thought Harry Wilson played well until he got tired. I thought his captaincy was very good and he certainly worked well with the referee (Nic White take note). Angus Bell was very good and while Faessler received a couple of penalties his play was good in both attack and defence. Tom Wright made some good runs, but ruined them with poor finishing.
Conclusion
This was a good game for both teams and both demonstrated the improvements that the coaches are making to the teams. The Wallabies were let down a bit with some small mistakes that the ABs were able to take advantage of but they do need to work out how to get the most of their attack. I think Joe Schmidt is making some good changes and is bringing the team along well. If the improvements they are showing continue then next year they will do well against the lions.
The ABs demonstrated a lot of positives in this match. They still have an issue getting the ball into space on the outside and while with Reece, Clarke and Jordan they have very good players who can make things happen, they still lack that clear distribution that will create the space for them. The forwards are playing well and the tight five are demonstrating that they are up with the best in World rugby. The coaches still seem to be struggling with the jump to international level but they clearly have a game plan that the players are starting to align with.
Both teams have demonstrated that they have the ability to win against good opposition and while the Wallabies are struggling more than the ABs, they are clearly showing incremental improvements each time they play. This bodes well for both teams on their Northern tours later in the year.
