Cheika: Wallabies can beat All Blacks
were asking about technical issues. Some of the conversations seemed a great deal more heated than that. The big scrum that the All Blacks had in the second half was clearly the result of an illegal angle from Wyatt Crockett, but it was one of many things that Peyper predictably got wrong.
The Lions also desperately need to slow down the pace of the game. At times they were sucking in huge gulps. Some of them, such as Alun Wyn Jones, were even gasping after a quarter of the match.
When Ireland beat the All Blacks they were able to play the game at their pace. Hansen observed after Saturday’s match that people make mistakes when they are tired. The Lions do not have the same sort of anaerobic, lung-busting fitness as the All Blacks and it was exposed.
The Lions also need some luck. It’s a part of sport. Two bounces went the All Blacks way when the Lions were still in the match late in the half. George Kruis’ chargedown near the line went into touch when it could have gone the Lions way. And seconds later when Liam Williams dropped TJ Perenara’s kick, the ball bounced into Rieko Ioane’s hands when it could have gone the way of any one of three covering Lions.
But the Lions need to concentrate on the stuff they can fix. Should Maro Itoje start ahead of Wyn Jones who was not
impressive. They also need more flexibility because they were slow to adapt to the All Blacks negating their rush defence. And the big question, who starts at 10 for the second test.
Owen Farrell talked beforehand about playing the match and not the occasion, but he did not have his finest night. Should Johnny Sexton now come in?
Above all the Lions have to slow the game down. Two of the All Blacks three tries came from tempo. The Lions were only outscored by three tries to two and created a ton of other chances. I have always thought the second test represents their best chance of victory, due to the venue and the nationality of the referee.
For the sake of the game, there are many heretics in New Zealand who are fervently hoping that the Lions can turn the series and the All Blacks around. Wallabies coach Michael Cheika believes Australia can end their 14-year Bledisloe Cup drought - even if he knows the thought alone will trigger belly-laughs on both sides of the Tasman.
The Wallabies have eight weeks to get things right after a flattering 40-27 win over Italy on Saturday which did nothing to allay fears they will be cannon fodder for New Zealand in their next clash in Sydney on August 19.
A candid Karmichael Hunt said what many fans would have been thinking when he said after the final whistle: ‘‘We just can’t afford to do that against the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship because they’ll kill us.’’
Cheika took a moment to ponder when that quote was later put to him.
‘‘The idea for me as a coach is not to make that kind of assumption because it’s a nice statement for the paper,’’ he said.
‘‘The performance wasn’t up to winning that match, for sure, but we’ve got to get our work right in the next six to eight weeks that’s left before that first test so we don’t play like that, we play much better.’’
Cheika’s players now return to Super Rugby for the last two weeks of the regular season and it is here that they must deliver for his hopeful outlook to be rooted in any sort of reality.
It is the franchises who will be expected to train their test players harder after complaints from Cheika they were not at the level required when they first came into camp.
He suggested maybe some of the reason why they were so flat against Scotland and Italy was because of the extra work pumped into them.
‘‘To be at the level we need to be to defeat New Zealand ... I know everyone’s having a laugh when I say that, everyone at home,’’ he said.
‘‘But I believe with that clear goal, we can go up there and do that.
‘‘We’ve got to work extra hard and we’ve got to be prepared to work even harder once we come out of Super Rugby for that little (training) block to be ready because at least the fitness base can let us be in the hunt.
‘‘Whichever way you spin it, it’s a key element to staying in the game. You’ve got to play for 80 and you’ve got to play hard for 80.
‘‘Then from there it’ll be how good a footballers we are.’’