So here’s a review of the game from Keith. I’ll be doing a NZ view tomorrow after I watch it as I was on referee duty today and still haven’t seen the game. Enjoy and thank you Keith for the work.
The AB may have made a load of changes but with a run on team that has the best second row pairing in world rugby, Sam Cane and Ardie as well as the worlds best half back pair on the bench, they are no mugs.
The Wallabies come into the game missing their two best tight heads but do they blow it completely ? No they bloody don’t. What a difference a week makes. Easily the best game the Wallabies have played this RC but definitely a game of two halves.First Half
Almost an identical start to the game with MK dotting down but this time the score stood and Carter Gordon got a real confidence boost by nailing the kick. We also saw an intelligent kicking game for a change denying the ABs the ball and putting them under pressure at the breakdown. A really solid front row in the scrum with Bell and Pone carrying well. Fassler doing well on debut. Frost and Arnold putting in a decent shift. Our back row had a much better balance. McReight doing the business at the breakdown with Hooper playing as a proper 6 should. Robby V being Robby V. Great. TM. Half backs worked well together and our back play in general was a notch or two above last weeks effort. It’s hard to find fault with our intent or execution in defence and especially in attack. Well worth a 17-3 lead.
Second Half
Talk about a game of two halves. The ABs came out firing. Having been dominant in the first half the Wallabies lost control of the game and always seemed to be under pressure. I still don’t get the changes that Eddie made. Arnold and McReight both get pulled when they are playing well. Pone played well but looked like he was carrying an injury that affected his scrum. We gave away a few pens in that area. McReight was standout at the breakdown in the first half but as soon as he went our breakdown suffered. Leota another 6 comes on and our speed and numbers in support drop. We are forced to play on the back foot and as a result our attack suffers. We may have let in a couple of tries but generally our defence was strong particularly holding the ABs out through over 20 phases at one stage. Positive signs
Summary
We were exceptional in the first half but as soon as the ABs upped their intensity errors crept into our game none more so than at the breakdown. Is there something wrong with Eddie’s replacement policy? In the second half we gave away more penalties and a couple of skill errors were costly. OK Carter Gordon missed a penalty so what, QC fumbled a catchable pass but won’t get lambasted for it. CG more than redeemed himself with a good around display. Kicked a lot better and ran the line well. I was expecting our scrum to get mullered from the get go but the front row stood up well until Pone was injured so I reckon that if Tupou is fit for the RWC we’ll be OK. Our back row has some balance at last but we do need a specialist 7. Our breakdown suffered when McReight was replaced. Tate led the team well but I’m still slightly puzzled as to why he was replaced. White added nothing. TMc and QC for our next game please. No changes needed to our backline either except maybe Icky at 13 when fit.
We may have dropped the ball in second half but I’m more that happy with this performance. A few more weeks together to iron out wrinkles at the breakdown and we’ll be good to go.
