What a belter of a game. England are out and we’ve set up an enticing showdown with the Welsh for Pool A glory.
A top way to start your Sunday if there ever was one. And here I am, making my first appearance for the Cup on G&GR. After my laptop was ruled out of the cup with a broken screen (1-2 weeks recovery time after minor surgery), my housemates iPad has been brought in as emergency cover, and has now been thrown in the deep end on a big occasion. Will it step up to the plate? Only time will tell…
But back to the game – here are a few things that caught my eye:
1. Ladies and gentlemen… Bernard Foley.
Take a bow my friend. When we needed it most Bernie (seems a fitting nickname) stepped up to the plate, delivering the finest performance from a Wallaby 10 in years. His two tries were brilliantly taken, his kicking from hand and tee was long and accurate, and he directed the game with aplomb. If he keeps this form up we can win the World Cup. It’s a big ‘if’, sure, but let’s take nothing away from what he did against England – it was simply brilliant.
2. The scrum!!
My favourite part of that game was, unsurprisingly, the last ten minutes. Not for the goals, or the try, or the general winning glow (though all were bloody nice), but that our response to an English back being sent to the bin was to SCRUM THEM INTO THE FUCKING GROUND.
I was worried when Romain Poite blew the first scrum as an English penalty, as it seemed the lottery was well and truly on and the Poms had most of the tickets. But we weathered the storm, and made Poite’s decisions easier as the game went on. It was a sweet sweet feeling, and augurs well for the rest of the tournament.
3. The turning point
The play that summed up everything wrong with England, and almost handed the game to the Wallabies wasn’t Farrell’s yellow card. It happened just before. The Poms had a scrum 30m from their own line, with all the momentum in their favour and the crowd in full voice. With a solid platform they decided to pass to their blind winger Watson, who attempted a chip and chase but shanked it out on the full. It was a low percentage play that backfired brutally. Farrell was carded from the ensuing line out. A shocking option in a tight World Cup game, and they were duly punished.
4. England’s opportunities
This game was closer than the scoreline suggested. At 13-20 with 15 to go and a big home crowd at their backs, England were right in the game. And they had plenty of chances through the full 80 to score tries, but we’re hideously poor at taking them. On so many occasions they caught our defence napping and created a 4 on 2, or a 3 on 1, but their basic skills let them down time and time again.
Our defence around the fringes was fantastic, but we were at times too enthusiastic to get up and shut down the English runners, and made bad reads- Kane Douglas was lucky to avoid a card for a bad guess in defence, while Israel Folau (injured at that point, it turned out) was culpable in England’s try after rushing up but failing to make the smothering tackle. The rush defence giveth, and the rush defence taketh away. We rattled the Poms brilliantly, and if we tighten it up a tad it will be a thing of beauty.
5. The coaching staff
The biggest winners of all. Cheika’s selections were all spot on. The much maligned Kane Douglas was the epitomy of the method in Cheika’s madness – he revelled in the game’s brutality and was one of our best. Likewise Mat Giteau, whose maturity under pressure was key in both attack and defence. I winced when Kurtley Beale was brought onto the wing after 10 minutes, but he played a belter (yes he missed the tackle on Watson, but made plenty of other big ones so I can forgive one error).
We’ve found our best team, and I cannot see one selection even the most rabid local fan would debate now.
Mario Ledesma has continued on the good work done by Andrew Blades and Ewen McKenzie before him, and has turned our scrum into one of the World’s best. It was no fluke, and had been coming for some time. Bernie Larkham has the backs playing a structured game that stood up to England well. And Nathan Grey has turned our defence into something special.
6. David Pocock
Beast. Genius. Enough said.
7. The halfbacks
Nick Phipps is probably going to cop it this week, because we are so desperate for someone to put the boot into even when we win in style. He threw one bad pass- the second I blame on the gaggle of forwards who should have been better organised. Both were costly, but not deserving of particular scorn. Equally costly were Will Genia’s box kicks, both of which were charged down and handed England golden opportunities. Sanchez was OK, but this is a part of his game he needs to either improve or avoid altogether.
8. The referee
i though Romain Poite had a belter of a game. The object of a good referee is to enhance the game and allow it to flow, to breath. Romain did everything right in this regard, and barely put a foot wrong. His instinct was to let the game play, and allow the 30 blokes in gold or white jerseys to decide the result. Well played sir.
England were unlucky with the yellow card. It was a 50/50 call (made by the TMO, not Poite) and I’ve seen that let go before. With 10 to play it had a seismic effect on the game, which is never what you want to see. Australia still would have won the game as the three points from the ensuing penalty would have put it beyond England’s reach, so I don’t think it effected the result.
9. Can we win the cup?
I’m still not sure. The basics are there, which certainly wasn’t the case in 2011. Can we put in five good performances back to back against top opposition? We will soon find out. It’s going to be a fun ride.
For now I’m going to enjoy the moment and not look too far ahead. In fact I’m going to look back- at the game replay, which I will watch seven or eight times over the next 24 hours. It’s going to be fun. How good is beating the Poms! At their own World Cup!! Suffer in your jocks boys!!
10. Next week
Its going to be a physical tussle with plenty to play for. Huge local interest, and a massive crowd expected. It’s going to be bloody close and both teams look evenly matched, but I’m tipping…
Uruguay by 3.
There we go. What a game. Thought the iPad played a belter, certainly put its name in the frame for selection in the final stages.
Have at it guys. What did I miss?
