The Wallabies need to make sweeping changes if they are to trouble the far-superior All Blacks
The Wallabies ought not to blame referee Jaco Peyper for their 27-16 Bledisloe Cup (and Rugby Championship) loss in Wellington. Peyper's performance was dreadful, and that's being kind to the South African, but his many blunders ultimately had no bearing on the result. Let's be big enough to face the harsh truth: the All Blacks are quite simply in a different class right now.
In fact, New Zealand might as well be from another planet the way they're playing. Incredibly, they've evolved into a side that no longer need to secure their own ball to win. They use the opposition's instead. Whereas only a few years ago the All Blacks bullied and pounded teams into submission, now they let the opposition punch themselves out first. They take the pain and punishment, keep faith in their defensive systems and wait for errors. And then they strike - bang, bang, you're dead. The All Blacks did exactly that in Sydney last week and then again on Saturday night across the Tasman. It's excruciatingly cruel for the opposition who are left befuddled at having unloaded both barrels and the kitchen sink only to be left spread-eagled when the intended target fires back with a single killshot. Indeed, it would be comical if it were not so infuriating for the Wallabies.
In many ways, Australia would have been more demoralised by the showing in Wellington than last week's bumbling effort as they never once looked like winning despite dominating key statistics ? 60 per cent possession, running metres (611m to 426m), fewer missed tackles (14 to 16), and rucks and mauls (80 to 50). The All Blacks won more turnovers and converted that advantage into six line-breaks for two quick-fire tries; and therein lies the tale of the tape.
The Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie and captain James Horwill cut exasperated figures at the post-match press conference. Peyper's abject display was a part of that. But so too must have been a sense of bewilderment at not being able to beat the All Blacks with a performance that might probably have been enough before New Zealand won the 2011 Rugby World Cup. To think that the All Blacks have progressed since then ? when everyone including history says they should be in decline, as eventually happens to all great teams and players ? has got to be hurting the Wallabies no end. The All Blacks have regenerated brilliantly.
The final Bledisloe match, a dead rubber, is in Dudenin on October 19. What do the Wallabies need to do to close the gap? Well, they arguably have the best players available to catch them. And they can certainly tighten up their play in traditional areas such as the scrum (it was a disgrace last night), general play kicking, and the receipt of high balls. But even with those improvements, winning possession, territory, running metres and rucks still won't be enough to beat the All Blacks. The Wallabies need to re-think their approach to the game and give the All Blacks something different to look at in Dunedin.
Here are a couple of thoughts to get things moving.
As a top priority, the Wallabies need to vary their running lines in attack and improve support for the ball carrier. The attack has been too lateral of late and too easy to defend against. The All Blacks have been largely unperturbed. In fact, coach McKenzie would do well to invite someone like, say, NRL and Queensland Origin playmaker Johnathan Thurston to teach players about inside runners and how to run support options following a line-break ? a facet of play the Wallabies have been very poor at with several clean bursts ending without reward.
Finally, it's time for Australia to get clever again. How about a creating a second half-back role? Say, for example, having a fly-half/half-back interchangeability built into the attack? Or maybe even a winger helping out? The All Blacks contest rucks with such intensity and precision that unless the opposition half-back is immediately on hand for a quick clearance three things tend to happen: (1) The All Blacks see the ball is available at the back of the ruck and simply run around to pick it up; (2) The All Blacks slow down the ball, and; (3) The Wallabies get penalised for not releasing (i.e., the player illegally delays his presentation of the ball because he knows the half-back hasn't arrived yet). How different would the Wallabies attack be with inside runners and two half-backs operating in tandem, clearing ball swiftly from a series of raids stretching the All Blacks left to right, and back the other way? Yes, it's something a bit different all right. But that's the idea - giving the All Blacks something different to look at. That has been McKenzie's mantra at the Queensland Reds. He needs to bring that same mindset to the Wallabies if the Bledisloe Cup has any chance of returning in our lifetime.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/aug/25/rugby-bledisloe-cup-australia-new-zealand
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