What a year for Australian Rugby...is their resurgence tribute to Reds rugby being on the ascendancy or is it a function of Robbie Deans influence in the Wallaby setup???
This Tri-Nations was a bit of a mixed bag, the only team that really gave it the full respect that it deserved was Australia. In all 4 games it fielded its best possible teams and the results were clear for all to see last saturday. The momentum is definitely there with them and the confidence is overflowing, Robbie Deans will not let them get complacent. Anyone who ever doubted the coaching credentials of this man must just look at the last 3 years or so with Australia, he has taken a group of talented backs and big forwards and given them a purpose. A few years ago a friend of mine Refiloe Ramogase and myself were speaking about it, just when Robbie took over and we were both convinced that this Aussie team was not just the dark horse of the tournament, but they were darn right favourites for the cup and their win this weekend cemented it. first win over the ABs in the tri-nations in 10 years, thats a massive drought to break. 2nd win in 3 outings. Id forget the previous 12 or so unbeaten outings that the ABs held because thats soo long gone, we want to be discussing the more recent past and the stats are 2 from 3.
I am not trying to deflect from the ABs, but the Australians are a hot side. Let me break it down for you. their pack as a scrumming force can be competitive and step up their game if needed, ask the Boks 3 weeks ago, and the ABs in the first couple of scrums. In Horwill, Vickerman and Sharpe, have 3 ogres who have plenty mongrel in the the former more than the latter. In the back we have the sulkingly angry Rocky, Pocock the thief and Anyone else out of (Higginbotham, Samo, Palu) and then there is Poloto-Nau to return still....sheet.
In the backs there is the genius of Genia, how smart was his play? all their tries they ran into the Refs channel and the ABs were very disorganised in close and he exploited it hard, we wont even mention that his pass to Digby was forward because after that first half we deserved to lose that game ;) then there is the talented yet sometimes uneccessarily silly Quade Cooper, this unknown yet talented Pat McCabe, then O'Conor, Ionae, Beale, MItchell, Ashley-Cooper, all multi-tallented and skilled and capable of playing any position in that backline. That my good people their versatility, and ability to adapt and their skill thats what sets them apart from any team out there at the moment.
The Boks, many have written off, but i am not one such person, on the one hand i would want them to win it so that i dont have to hear that hero worship of Jake White ever and also so that all the PdV haters can sit on it, but that desire is not enoug to make me endure another 4 years of hearing that choker word and also the label the world champions bandied around a talented bunch of people who together compose a rather average team devoid of any creativity. Its not a new thing, in recent times its been the Springbok way, well outside of Nick Mallets reign. Lets go back to the team. PdV selected a very capable team. We all know John isnt the best hooker in the country by a country mile, but Bismarks dissent when substituted wasnt a good advert for the team at all. That being said, you can understand the man's disappointment. I know the SA world see FdP as the messiah, but he is not quite up to it and his play in my mind is still quite archaic! Id sooner select Francois Hougaard over him, he has an excitement and mongrel about him, akin to that of Ricky Januarie, coupled with the finesse of a seasoned rugby player. I am a tad concerned with Jean De Villiers' new found love of the crashball, he used to be one of the finest inside centres in the business but, now he seems to resemble De Wet Barry!!
To be honest nothing new and exciting was shown to me during this tri-nations, it was a bit of more of the same, coupled with a little scrambled defence. BUTTTTT dont mock it, thats the kind of things that win you rugby world cups not so? One has to feel for a guy like Mvovo, but unfortunately the man could only pick 30 players and i guess its Odwa's experience that carried him through. The Boks have the game plan, as boring as it might be that will win the RWC. TIts funny how the Bok supporter is. PdV came and said we will try something new, we will get running rugby back to SA, lost a few games and the SA rugby public is down his throat about losing, its what was going to happen, you will lose if you try something new that the team isnt accustomed to. Point worth noting, the Boks only won 1 Tri-Nations game in 2007 as well, that was against Oz in Newlands.
My beloved All Blacks, I shoudl be panicking after that loss, and lets not kid anyone, I wanted us to win against the Aussies, especially after QC started getting silly with Richie for nooo reason!! But ey the boys were totally off their game in the first half, a little complacency had set in and Ausies brought a physicality that the Blacks didnt expect nor did they really know how to cope with. Dissapointing for me was the fact that they were unable to react after 5 minutes during the game when ish was tough, but i guess after loosing Kieran in the first 12 minutes and Adam injuring his arm didnt help matters much. But they started to settle a little more in the end of the game and then in the second half we saw the value of coaching. the boys came out more determined and focused...only to give away a soft try which the Aussies managed to defend. The game was a loss and so too the game before against the Boks but the manner in which we lost was heartening. Against the Boks last week it was an excited side that could have done with a few old heads ala the past weekend 27phases before scoring one try. in both games up until the dying minutes, a revival was not out of the question, yes the games were both lost, the revival never came to pass, because the defences shut the boys out and credit to them BUTTTTT....
Butt is the games have come now when the 3 wise men can still work on them. Will we give away silly penalties against SA next time we meet them more than likely not...will we be bullied upfront by Australia agan or defend soo poorly around the fringes, not too likely...if we do then we definitely deserve to lose, simple as that.
As a rugby viewer i dont really like the RWC as a tournament, because it gives dull/uninspiring teams like England and SA (no disrespect) bragging rights for 4 years, yes truth of the matter is they have to go out there and win it and the Blacks have not been able to do that so I take off my hat to them. Anyway I should be concerned after these 2 losses, but I am not at all, yes the other teams have gained some confidence and good on them, the ABs have had a proper reality check. The land of the long white cloud isnt at tranquil, the ground is trembling a wee bit and its not a Christchurch quake. There is a little uncertainty thrown in. Belief is there, pressure is there aplenty, confidence is there, complacency...that devil...she is gone, its not like being a hot guy thrown amongst a group of 30 horny women... guys know they have to work for it!!! its a beautiful thing. Hope Kieran and Adam are fully healed though, would be such a blow for them!!
The thing about this world cup though, is that there are a few teams that can win it, NZ because they are home and they are good enough , OZ, because they are just s#%t hot at the moment, France for the same reason, England and SA because they play the kind of rugby that wins these things.
But cometh the 9th September all I know is Kia Kaha Kapa O Pango
Happy viewing
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