Wallabies’ cred dented by more spirited Scots
THE worst collapse against Scotland in 90 years has heaped pressure on coach Michael Cheika to halt the Wallabies’ alarming slide against rugby’s northern powers so an Irish shellacking doesn’t rip the heart out of next season.
The 53-24 belting yesterday cannot simply be explained away by the red card for a dangerous shoulder cleanout to the head from prop Sekope Kepu which left the Wallabies undermanned for 41 minutes.
Cheika didn’t grab for that excuse and said he thought his team could still have dug in to win with 14 men at a dry, yet near-freezing Murrayfield.
“The red card was definitely unfortunate but I don’t think it was a turning point because I thought we still could have won with 14 to be honest,” he said. “If you look at the tries, we gave stupid balls away.”
It turned into an eight-try rout when his Wallabies crumbled with the loose pass errors by Bernard Foley and Reece Hodge for two tries and lapsing in concentration to concede a quick tap score.
As damning was not being patient enough to stick to the tighter, ball-control game that was discussed at halftime to manage Kepu’s loss when the blueprint was set by the superb 20-phase build-up for Kurtley Beale’s try for 17-17 to open the second half.
Debate on whether the northern nations are closing in on rugby’s southern giants, who claimed all four semi-final spots at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, has taken a twist.
“When are the Wallabies going to catch up?” is the worrying question because the Scottish forwards contested more fiercely at the breakdown, ran more powerfully and were part of a more harassing defence. Five losses to England and two to Scotland in six months, mean the Wallabies have won five of their 13 Tests against Six Nations sides since the RWC final.