Wallaby and Springbok wins point to epic championship
The bigger goal for the All Blacks this month became clearer following their heavy victory at Eden Park.
Their main objective isn’t just to win the series against France, it is to do so in a manner that prepares them for what is likely to be a difficult and intense Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks produced tidy and effective bursts of rugby in Auckland on Saturday night but the Wallabies were the class act of the weekend.
Australia played particularly well to beat Ireland, and against the odds, they seem to have magically pulled together a supremely good squad from the rubble of Super Rugby.
Maybe the Wallabies don’t have the same depth of personnel as the All Blacks and can’t yet say they play at or close to their potential as consistently as the All Blacks.
But when they have the guts of their squad available, as they currently do, and trust their game plan and natural instincts the way they did at Suncorp against Ireland, they are a worryingly good team.
The emergence of Adam Coleman and Isack Rodda at lock has stiffened the pack — given them genuine grunt in the scrum and presence at the tackle area.
The solidity of those two meant David Pocock was able to play a blindingly good game as an out-andout poacher, while Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau have a brilliant combination going now that allows both to use their full range of skills.
Whatever inadequacies are besetting Australia’s Super Rugby sides, they haven’t been enough to prevent the Wallabies from finding 23 players who can be a serious force.
The situation in South Africa appears equally encouraging as the Boks were also able to ignore their stuttering Super Rugby fortunes to post a good win against England.
South Africa wrenched the first rugby test out of England’s hands by coming from 24-3 down to win 42-39 at Ellis Park, saving Siya Kolisi’s first game as the Springboks’ first black captain.
The Springboks wingers scored tries on their test debuts, two for right wing S’Busiso Nkosi and one for left wing Aphiwe Dyantyi, to help a young South Africa win after looking ragged under an early England onslaught. That onslaught produced three tries and 24 points from the visitors in the first 16 minutes.
After their fightback — racking up 36 points to England’s three in the middle part of the game — the Boks held on grimly at the end as the momentum changed wildly again. England were dominant once more in the last 10 minutes and scored two late tries.
“I thought the first 20 minutes, we were, at times, brilliant,” England coach Eddie Jones said. “Maybe we got seduced by the game and that might have been the cause for some uncharacteristic and costly errors.”
Both teams scored five tries, while South Africa first five-eighth Handre Pollard kicked 17 points, punishing England in the second half for their high penalty count and kicking a final penalty four minutes from fulltime that was ultimately enough to get South Africa home.
South Africa’s change of policy to open test selection to all eligible players based overseas has immediately made them a better team and the All Blacks will know they have two more tests against France to embed their combinations and find greater cohesion than they produced at Eden Park to ready themselves for what could be an epic Rugby Championship.
With that in mind, it is unlikely there will be any change in personnel for the All Blacks this week in Wellington. Hansen hinted he will most likely rubber stamp the same group for Saturday’s second test.
In San Juan, Wales showed efficiency on attack and tenacity on defence to defeat Argentina 23-10 to take a 1-0 lead in the two-test series.
The match turned on a critical passage of play in the middle of the first half when Wales led 7-3. Argentina relentlessly battered the Wales tryline through pick-and-go plays but the defence refused to yield.
Finally, flanker Marcos Cremer hurled himself across the line for what might have been a pivotal try. But after studying the move from several angles, television match official Marius Jonker was unable to confirm the ball was grounded, the try was disallowed and Argentina were awarded a penalty, from which they conceded possession after one phase.