Here’s a look at some of the key indicators from Saturday’s test at Twickenham
Carries
| Carries | Forwards | Backs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First half | 26 | 27 | 53 |
| Second half | 25 | 30 | 55 |
| Total | 51 | 57 | 108 |
| Forwards | Backs |
|---|---|
| Wycliff Palu – 14 | Digby Ioane – 11 |
| James Horwill – 7 | Matt Giteau – 10 |
| Steven Moore – 7 | Quade Cooper – 10 |
| Rocky Elsom – 6 | Will Genia – 7 |
| Ben Robinson – 4 | Adam Ashley Cooper – 7 |
| George Smith – 4 | Peter Hynes – 6 |
| Ben Alexander – 4 | Drew Mitchell – 5 |
We should really take two off Giteau, 1 off Elsom, 1 off Ioane and 1 off Palu for carrying the ball instead of passing when we looked certain to score. Not sure about deducting 1 off Robinson – notice that Bannahan runs interference against Horwill who was looming up in support – the referee saw it and that was the reason for playing advantage, not Elsom getting caught up with Gerahty. I thought Robinson made the right choice to hold on and recycle the ball.
However, it was really pleasing to see the workload shared around this week. The forwards were much more involved than in Tokyo.
Tackles
| Tackles | Forwards | Backs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Half | 25 | 10 | 35 |
| Second Half | 43 | 24 | 67 |
| Total | 68 | 34 | 102 |
| Rocky Elsom – 11 | Ben Robinson – 6 |
| Peter Hynes – 10 | Tatafu Polota-Nau – 6 |
| Wycliff Palu – 9 | Ben Alexander – 5 |
| George Smith – 8 | Digby Ioane – 5 |
| Matt Giteau – 8 | Steven Moore – 4 |
| James Horwill – 6 | Mark Chisolm – 4 |
The defence was excellent and nullified most of what England threw at them. Again a good sharing of the workload.
Missed Tackles
| Missed tackles | Forwards | Backs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Half | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Second Half | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| Total | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| George Smith – 3 | Mark Chisolm – 1 |
| Drew Mitchell – 3 | Ben Alexander – 1 |
| Digby Ioane – 2 | Ben Robinson – 1 |
| Peter Hynes – 2 | Quade Cooper – 1 |
| Ryan Cross – 2 | Will Genia – 1 |
George Smith’s three missed tackles all came from a step back inside by England backs when he raced out of the line. Drew Mitchell and Peter Hynes and one of those for Ryan Cross might be considered tough marking as they were coming across in cover when they were beaten. I also marked Will Genia hard when he only got finger tips on Haskell as he broke away from loose ball. Quade Cooper’s one miss came from that same run when Haskell ran over him like Lomu used to run over players. Apart from that Cooper and Ioane seemed to work well as a defensive unit.
Breakdowns
| Breakdowns | First Half | Second Half | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallabies took in | 38 | 45 | 83 |
| Wallabis won | 34 | 41 | 75 (90%) |
| Poms took in | 36 | 63 | 99 |
| Poms won | 35 | 60 | 95 (96%) |
Of the Wallabies 8 lost balls in the breakdown, 5 were penalties for the Wallabies holding on or entering from the side. I can’t argue about the referee’s interpretation with any of them. Two of the others were balls stolen as they popped out the back of rucks and one was a steal in a maul from a lineout.
What was really impressive was the speed of the ball coming back at most of the rucks. I know England aren’t the All Blacks but the difference from one week to the next was incredible and that allowed the Wallabies to get on the front foot. Genia played really well but with that sort of ball he should have.
Lineouts
I’ll list the stats for England first as it’s here you can really see a pattern developing.
England
1st Half
1 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 5 – Won by England – Wallabies didn’t compete
2 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Elsom
3 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 4 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster but at same height as Chisolm
4 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Elsom
5 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 4 – Won by Australia on the tap down – Jumper was up faster but Chisolm disrupted and loose tap down from England
6 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 4 – Won by England – Jumper was up just in front of Chisolm – much better
7 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Jumper was up at same time and height as Chisolm – much better
8 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Elsom
9 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Elsom
10 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 6 – Won by Australia – England communication failed – no jumpers
2nd Half
1 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Elsom
2 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Chisolm
3 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Horwill
4 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by England – Jumper was up faster and higher than Chisolm
5 – 6 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Wallabies didn’t compete on own line
6 – 6 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Wallabies didn’t compete on own line
Our jumpers were much slower getting into the air and on most occasions they didn’t get to the same height as England’s jumpers. If this was for one jumper only, it would suggest that the jumper was not dynamic enough but it was happening with all jumpers, which suggests to me that our lifters are the problem.
Australia
1st Half
1 – Won by Australia – Channel 10 footage missed lineout
2 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 4 – Won by England – Throw was straight but England got jumpers up at #2 and #3 with one lifter each and got in front of Chisolm
3 – 4 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by England – Throw was straight but England got jumper up in front of Horwill
4 – Hynes took quick throw – Won by Australia
5 – 7 in lineout – thrown to # 4 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Elsom
6 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Elsom
7 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Chisolm
2nd Half
1 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Elsom
2 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 4 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Horwill
3 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Elsom
4 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by Australia – Throw was good – clean ball to Elsom
5 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by Australia – Throw was good by TPN – clean ball to Chisolm
6 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 3 – Won by England – Throw was good by TPN – England got a jumper in front of Chisolm
7 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by England – Throw was good by TPN – Pressure by England – loose tap down by Elsom
8 – 5 in lineout – thrown to # 2 – Won by Australia – Throw was good by TPN – clean ball to Chisolm
The 2nd and 3rd lineouts in the game on the Australian throw were terrible. England clearly out jumped us. Was this a timing issue, not enough dynamics from the jumpers or a problem with the lifters again? Or was it poor calling? Not sure but at least they fixed it pretty quickly, which suggests to me that it was a calling issue again as for the rest of the game we clearly out thought or out jumped England.
The good news was that all our throws looked were straight.
Overall, England won 14 from 16 (87.50%) and the Wallabies won 11 from 15 (73.33%) so still plenty of work to do on our own ball and we need to do much better defensively.
Overall
I was impressed with the work rate of Elsom and Horwill who, although I wasn’t measuring involvements at the breakdown, appeared to me to be everywhere.
The speed of the ball coming back from the ruck was obviously vital.
I also liked Ioane’s running lines at #13 – he straightened the attack much like Mortlock used to.
