Happy Monday fellow G&GRs. Brissy is off overseas and asked me to step in. Sorry! The start of another week of pain as we rehash what was a pretty poor weekend of rugby for the southern hemisphere teams where the myth of the superiority of the rugby down this end of the world is well and truly dead. Yes the Boks still won to show that we aren’t completely useless but, even their game wasn’t great; with another straight red card they’re struggling to keep 15 on the field. In every other game where a NH team played a SH team, the NH teams came out on top and in some cases well on top with not a lot to look forward to for the coming games this week.
Ireland v Australia
If you want to have a great read of the game then go to Sully’s review here, it’s not easy reading and may induce sadness and anger so be careful. There isn’t that much to say about this game that hasn’t already been said elsewhere. The Irish started well and just kept going strong all game beating the Wallabies in almost every area and coming out on top by 46 to 19. In the first 10 minutes of each half the Wallabies competed well and even counter rucked a few times to win possession from the Irish who had taken the ball into contact. There was certainly a lot of passion from the Wallabies and while there are issues, the lack of desire and intent is not one of them. Just maybe a bit misdirected.
For me the first two Irish tries were telling. After a couple of hit ups in close they went wide and the “ex-not good enough to be a Brumby” Hansen scored twice without a hand laid on him. In both cases the Wallaby backline had closed in on the contest area as though waiting for the next 25 hit ups that they would have to defend in close. However, no one told the Irish that was how it was done and so they went wide where there was no defence. Compare that to the Wallaby plan close to the line where the in close hits seem to be the only thing they can do. Sure McReight got a great try after about 30 of them, but it just seems like a lot of effort for a very small reward.
Five things that went wrong:
- When you get a lineout close to the goal line in attack, winning it is paramount and it’s not the time to do fancy over the top throws or anything else. The ball has to be taken by the catcher.
- If we want our backline (and forwards) to have momentum the ball needs to be passed in front of the player and not to him so he has to stop to catch it. Gordon is terrible with this but he’s not the only one by far.
- If we kick the ball either kick it very long or have chasers if it is short. Either way we need players chasing the ball and putting pressure on the opposition.
- If we are going to contest the ball in the air, then do it properly. Get high and take the ball in. Slapping it back and hoping someone else from our side will be there is not acceptable, especially if you have been given millions to catch these balls. AND! if you are close to the contest, wake up and follow the ball so if it isn’t caught you can attack it.
- Have a Plan B so that when Plan A doesn’t work for the 44th time there’s something else you can do.
With only one game to go this year I don’t see a lot of things changing. I’m sure the team will “train well” this week and be “hurting” from the result, I think there needs to be some changes if we want to move forward. While I think Joe has done a lot for this team after the disaster of RWC2023 there are a couple of things that haven’t gone right and I think Kiss has got a big job ahead of him. Personally, I don’t buy the “fatigue” story and think that maybe they need to look at a few other areas. For me there are too many players in this team who seem to be getting a free run with no accountability for crap performances and while that’s unlikely to change in a week, I think it is something Kiss needs to address.
Other games
England v All Blacks. This was a great game by England who won 33 to 19. They wanted it more, played better and with more intent and deserved the win. The All Blacks did well getting the first two scores but for me England looked stronger from the first whistle and were only held out by some very good individual defence. Personally I thought the English team was stronger in every area, had a better game plan and the ABs were lucky to not lose by more. The All Blacks have struggled all year and wins against Argentina, the Wallabies, Ireland and Scotland just covered up what are some very deep cracks in this team. England took advantage of this outscoring the ABs four tries to three and kicking two conversions, one penalty and two drop goals for a comfortable win.
As with the Wallabies there’s no issue with the players desire and intent; however, execution, leadership and game tactics aren’t working. Players who looked good in Super Rugby seem to have lost their skills and are making dumb mistakes that just doesn’t click with how they played in other teams. While there’s been some great play at times, it’s been moments of individual brilliance rather than a clear plan to create space that good players can then use.
Basic skills, such as catching a kick seems to have deserted the team and the players look lost, not knowing where they’re meant to be and what they should do. Like the Wallabies, the supporters are blaming individuals for poor play but I don’t buy this. Personally I think the players are still good, I don’t think they suddenly lose skills just because they are in a different team. For me the issues with the ABs lie at the feet of the coaching group. Both the game play and culture has fallen by the wayside and the coaches seem clueless about how they can get this back. NZRFU are to blame here; one of their criteria for the coach of the ABs is to have international experience and they threw that out to get Razor, which has backfired badly. International rugby is a huge step up from Super Rugby and the AB coaches lack the experience to step up.
While I think they’re more likely to beat Wales than lose, I think the structure of the team and the coaching group needs to make some big changes. Unfortunately, this’ll mean NZRFU admitting they have made a mistake and I’m not sure they’re up to it.
Wales v Japan. This was a good game to watch if, like me, you didn’t have anything riding on it. I like both teams and for me the defining difference was just hoping that Japan would lose, the same as every team that he who cannot be named coaches because of the way he tried to ruin rugby in Australia at the last RWC.
While the game was good to watch, the Welsh performance was miles off of what is expected by the supporters and what I remember from earlier times. Sloppy attack, squandered opportunities and a 20-minute red card for Josh Adams almost handed the win to Eddie Jones’ team; however, a penalty kick after the hooter by Jarrod Evans allowed them to sneak out with a win 24 to 23, the first under Steve Tandy as head coach. There were four cards in the game – Adams’ red and three yellows for Japan. This did cause the game to be a bit of a stop/start affair, but all cards were justified, despite what EJ said after the game and while I can see how people aren’t liking this, it really is up to the players to adapt rather than coaches blaming the referee for enforcing the laws.
Japan played the better of the first half and looked very good at times, but they also left a couple of tries out there and missed kicks that they should’ve got and would’ve won them the game. For Wales, they can relax a bit as they didn’t drop further down the world rankings and while they’ll be unlikely to win against the ABs next week at least they know they’ll stay in the second layer of the RWC list.
France v Fiji. Nicolas Depoortere, playing centre, scored twice as France bounced back from defeat to South Africa by holding off Fiji 34-21. France had led 21-0 after 20 minutes but Fiji came storming back with scores from Kalaveti Ravouvou, Selestino Ravutaumada and Jiuta Wainiqolo, alongside three Simione Kuruvoli conversions, bringing them level just after half-time. However, two penalties and Depoortere’s second try gave France the game, winning with a final score of 34 – 21.
Fiji have improved a lot and when they throw that ball around they can do something special that tests most teams. France had to work hard in defence at times but were able to settle down and take the game when Fiji tired. It was a good game to watch and has certainly given Fabien Galthie some things to think about before next week’s game against the Wallabies. Admittedly, the French didn’t have all their players on the field and will be stronger for the upcoming 6N games; however, they also won’t have a lot of them for next week which may provide enough for the Wallabies to get at least one win in this tour.
Italy v South Africa. A red card for a second straight week that meant playing most of the match with 14 players didn’t stop the Boks from winning 32 to 14 against an enthusiastic Italian team. Lock Franco Mostert was sent off in the 12th minute for a high tackle; as Italy flyhalf Paolo Garbisi was tackled low by Ethan Hooker, Mostert led with his shoulder into Garbisi’s head without using his arms and this was ruled as an immediate red card with no review.
The game itself wasn’t great, although the cards didn’t help the flow and while the Boks outscored Italy four tries to one, they won’t be happy with the way the game went. Italy took the game to the Boks and managed to pin the Saffers back in their own half for much of the first half, forcing errors through their pressure at both the breakdown and scrums. The Boks were forced to make early changes to the front row with the pressure the Italians were creating but in the end they were just too strong despite some lovely play by Manuel Zuliani and captain Nacho Brex.
Typically the Bomb Squad came on and turned the game with Grant Williams and Manie Libbok inspiring in the halfbacks, while Kwagga Smith, who took over the captaincy, was dynamic around the field. The Italians tried hard and demonstrated that they can go well when things go their way, but just couldn’t keep the pressure on.
