This is becoming too familiar.
Another game, another agonising Wallaby loss. I’m a bit calmer than last week, but nonetheless here is what I picked up from last night’s match.
Photos courtesy of Keith McInnes photography.
Another great game
Though the results haven’t gone our way, this has been a cracking series. Both teams have played aggressive, attacking rugby with an intent to score points. The skills have been great, with plenty of ‘highlight reel’ moments on either side.
I was at the game last night and it’s one of the best test matches I have seen. It was pulsating, punch-and-counterpunch stuff that came right down to the wire. I usually hate rewatching Wallaby losses, but I saw the game again this morning and stand by my view- it was a belter. Which is why it’s hard to be too angry about our guys efforts.
Congratulations England
What a historic series, possibly the greatest by a touring Northern Hemisphere side. Australia didn’t give you an inch- you took everything yourselves and were the worthiest of winners. Eddie Jones devised a brilliant yet simple game plan that stuck to every strength, and you played to it with unnerving focus.
And though there was a bit of harmless niggle, it was a clean series played in the right spirit. Plenty of feeling, but that never got in the way of the rugby, which as discussed above was brilliant.
Congratulations to England and all their supporters. Buy the DVD box set of this series guys- if anything it will give you something to watch during the knock-out phase of the next World Cup as the other teams compete for glory ;)
Why we lost
It wasn’t our attack. Our attack was good. We scored 40 points, which is excellent. Our shape was much better and we scored some great tries and created plenty of chances. Nick Phipps was much better – when he takes the ball to the line our attack improves out of sight, and he finally discovered this game last night. Matt Toomua made a huge difference. Our forward ball-runners were good too, especially McMahon, Fardy and Kepu.
We lost the game for three main reasons:
- Discipline in the middle third. We gave away too many soft penalties. Collapsing mauls. Ruck penalties. Scrum penalties. Nothing was out-and-out horrible, but you just can’t afford to do that with a kicker like Farrell. We let England have way too many cheap points, and they didn’t give us one. Their discipline was superb, as it was all series.
- Clearance kicking. We just couldn’t get out of our own half. Both Foley and Toomua were sub-par, and didn’t give us the distance we needed. There is no easy answer here, as we don’t have some mythical Lance Franklin figure waiting in the wings- they are the best two we have.
- The lineout. The English were allowed to win their lineout with no pressure, and launch driving mauls. On the other hand we were under the pump every throw, and botched a couple too. The biggest villain, sadly, was Stephen Moore. His throwing failed at key moments, none more so than the overthrow that lead to Billy Vunipola’s try.
That was the winning and losing of the game. Outside those areas we played well, and I can’t cope with people haranguing specific players for attacking flaws. That wasn’t a factor in the game.
No scapegoats
And that’s why this series has been so hard. No-one has had a shocker. There hasn’t been a ‘clanger’ moment we can point to in each game, or an easy answer like ‘our scrum was horrible’. We scored plenty of tries and created plenty of chances.
We were just beaten by a better team, one that played to all our weaknesses. England are our kryptonite in terms of playing style – when they are on, we have ALWAYS struggled to deal with them. Their mix of physicality, set piece strength and great kicking just hits all of our buttons. In a weird way we might match up better with the All Blacks, who play a faster, looser style we can match (well, sometimes).
We’ve lost 3-0 and can’t be happy, sure. Our coaching, our leadership, our play needs to be better. But there are no glaring weaknesses in our game at the moment. Yeah our lineout could be better, and our kicking needs to improve. But these aren’t massive structural flaws.
Fine margins
This series has shown just how fine the margins are at top level rugby. You take a few key players out of our World Cup side (Giteau, AAC, Douglas, Beale, Pocock) and add some good players to England’s side (Itoje, Kruis, Haskall, Hartley, Vunipola) and it’s a whole new ball game.
And then the little things in the game itself. I feel like the Spidercam cable summed up the whole series. A kick goes up and looks to be travelling straight into the breadbasket of DHP, who will have space and time. But then it hits the Spidercam cable and drops straight into the hands of an English player. With our back 3 out of position (understandably, as they were getting ready to receive the kick), Ben Youngs spots the gap and plugs a pinpoint kick into the corner. We botch the lineout and England score a minute later. Great execution from England, tinged with bloody horrible luck for us.
I can’t buy the view that our team is now struggling, or not in the World’s top sides. With a few of these guys back I can see us giving the Rugby Championship a real shake. We’ve just crashed head first into a really good England team who barely made an error all series. The bastards!!
At the ground
A packed Allianz Stadium is a thing of beauty. The stadium is in a great spot and the surrounding bars and restaurants come to life when a Test is on. It’s a great experience and I recommend it to anyone from outside Sydney.
Inside the ground, though, can be a different story. The SCG Trust needs to lift it’s game in a big way. The food was slow, and of very poor quality (I’ve never had a chicken burger in my life where the dominant flavour was ‘bread’… until last night). The bar near me was even slower, and decided not to tell anyone it was ‘cash only’, which is unforgiveable in 2016. So people got to the front of the line after 20 minutes and then had to leave to find an ATM.
The ground is good enough that people will be back next time. But it’s a shit-show in the food and drink department, as has always been the case. I have no idea why no-one has ever tried to fix it.
Moving forward
There are plenty of positives to take out of this series. Dane Haylett-Petty has been a revelation, and one of only two Aussies I would pick in a combined England-Australia team (Izzy the other). He is a seriously good player, and will be a Wallaby for many years to come.
Sean McMahon was outstanding last night, and creates a real selection dilemma in the back row. It was the most dominant #8 performance I have seen in gold for a long time- his combative ball-running is a thing of beauty. Michael Hooper was again outstanding, but maybe McMahon’s style gives us a structure in attack we might want to keep. So a backrow of Fardy, Pocock and McMahon maybe, with Hooper on the bench? I can’t see it happening, but I’d like to.
I think our best two locks are Rory Arnold and Rob Simmons. Adam Coleman looks a good prospect, and while Will Skelton was industrious enough I think he has fallen down the pecking order. I didn’t see enough from him in attack, he was too static and dealt with easily by England.
Our scrum was much more stable last night, and maybe unlucky not to have another penalty or two. The backs looked good, and found plenty of space. With Genia, Giteau, AAC and Mitchell back this can only improve.
So it’s kind of a weird empty feeling. We are still a good team, but just got swept at home. By England.
There are no easy answers here, and anyone that claims there are is lying.
