Can’t tackle, can’t kick, can’t do that much really
Former Wallabies skipper Stirling Mortlock has given a scathing assessment of the current side and can’t see them turning their poor form around for the Bledisloe Cup rematch in Wellington.
The All Blacks thumped the Wallabies 42-8 in Sydney last Saturday to continue a wretched spell for Michael Cheika’s Australian team.
Having comprehensively lost the World Cup final to the All Blacks last year, Australia’s current season now includes four consecutive losses following the 3-0 whitewash at the hands of England in June.
Mortlock, so often a thorn in Kiwi sides, offered an appraisal that brought back memories of the 1986 England Ashes cricket team who were told they only had three things wrong with them: ‘‘They can’t bat, can’t bowl and can’t field.’’
Asked what issues were facing the Wallabies, Mortlock didn’t hold back when speaking to
‘‘There’s set piece issues, there’s defence issues, there’s breakdown issues, there’s kicking issues ... there’s not many good things going on currently,’’ Mortlock said.
He had seen the Wallabies at Sydney airport as they got ready to leave for New Zealand and felt they didn’t have a confident air to them.
‘‘I didn’t get the confidence that they’d turned it around in three days or so. And it’s very difficult when you put up a performance like that ... whether you can turn it around.’’
And Stirling put some perspective on Australian hopes that playing away from their New Zealand graveyard at Eden Park might help their cause.
Mortlock noted the last Wallabies victory against the All Blacks in Wellington was 2000 when a last-gasp penalty from John Eales gave them a 24-23 win.
‘‘I had a full head of hair then,’’ Mortlock joked.
The 39-year-old Mortlock played 80 tests for the Wallabies between 2000 and 2009, a period when they had eight wins over the All Blacks.
There has been heavy criticism of the Wallabies following their Sydney meltdown with Eales saying they will be ‘‘ashamed’’ at their performance. Australian media have labelled the current side ‘‘the worst Wallabies team in a decade’’.