Tricks, treats: A fright night for Wallabies
Your eyes did not deceive you. That was rugby of the highest order from the All Blacks for 40 pulsating minutes as they tucked away the Bledisloe Cup for an 18th successive year in exhilarating fashion.
If a fortnight ago at
Eden Park had been an emphatic response to an unconvincing season kickoff, Bledisloe III at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium was confirmation that nothing has really changed with the coaching changes either side of the Tasman – the proverbial daylight remains between these sides.
The All Blacks produced a sensational first 40 minutes at ANZ Stadium to effectively put the contest to bed by halftime – running in four dazzling tries for a 26-0 lead. The sad fact of the matter is they could have – should have – had two or three more. Dane Coles, back to his x-factor best, was unlucky to be denied a first try in the 11th minute for a grounding infraction; Caleb Clarke went very, very close soon after and Richie Mo’unga looked in for his hat-trick in the shadow of halftime, only to be clipped when he’d done all the hard work.
But still, it was very, very good rugby from these All Blacks, led by Mo’unga’s outstanding display of skill, speed and deft touches. There has been plenty of discussion about coach Ian Foster’s decision to continue with the dual playmakers setup of Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett (at fullback) but it is impossible to fault it on what we’ve seen over the course of Bledisloes II and III.
However, before we get too carried away, let’s pause for a little bit of a reality check amid the fanfare of a record margin of victory, 43-5.
The Wallabies were atrocious
over the first 40 in Sydney and all but handed the Bledisloe to their rivals with an abject display of handling woes and defensive ineptitude. You don’t gift opportunities to a side as good as the All Blacks with the sort of regularity the Australians did last night and expect to remain in the contest.
They did. And they didn’t. So, of course we should rejoice over the display of the All Blacks. The skill and speed of Mo’unga in full flight was a delight, Clarke remains a threat whenever he’s around the ball, Barrett oozes class with the freedom of the second receiver’s role and Anton Lienert-Brown is an absolute class act who might be in the process of becoming the team’s premier midfielder. Jordie Barrett, too, continues to excel at this level – even out of position on the wing.
The forwards are humming along nicely too. The set piece is getting better with every outing, Sam Cane is thriving with the captaincy and Hoskins Sotutu tucked away a very tidy starting
debut to add to the options in the loose.
It is all very promising indeed: a misstep first up in Wellington; but then two very decisive strides down the pathway of excellence. Normal service has been resumed, you could say.
But there have to be some major question marks about the quality of the opposition. The Wallabies were pretty impressive at the Cake Tin where they brought all the energy and intent.
Thereafter they have been sub-par. They missed 40 tackles in Auckland and were chasing black shadows for much of the night. At ANZ Stadium they simply did not show up in the first 40 and Dave Rennie’s bold gamble of selecting two debutants at 10 and 12 backfired horribly.
They were much, much more competitive after halftime, but the reality is the second spell in Sydney was nothing more than extended garbage time. And even then the All Blacks romped home, six tries to one overall.
So, assuredly we need to see these All Blacks against more rigid opposition before we can make anything resembling definitive judgments on this. It’s doubtful, all things considered, that Argentina will provide that later this Tri-Nations.
For now, we must be content that, as expected, the Ian Foster era has hit its stride and that the All Blacks remain a very, very good rugby team.
Their time to reach for greatness will come. Just not this year.