Waste of time: How would we feel if it happened to us?
Six talking points from the All Blacks’ controversial 39-37 Bledisloe Cup first-test victory over the Wallabies in Melbourne
Was the referee right?
“How would you feel,” Justin Marshall asked, “if it had happened to us?”
And the answer, if we’re being honest, is that we’d feel as outraged as Wallabies great Tim Horan.
He called Mathieu Raynal’s lastminute decision “ridiculous” after the referee cancelled Australia’s penalty and awarded the All Blacks a scrum because he felt Bernard Foley was taking too long to kick the ball out.
When Jordie Barrett then scored the winning try, cue rugby fans forming two implacably opposed groups.
Backing the Aussies were those who felt another damned French referee had made a terrible error.
On this side of the Tasman were those, like me, who felt tough luck sucker, when Foley thought he could ignore the Frenchman’s demands to hurry up.
The problem really is that for too long, referees have been pathetically weak when it comes to time wasting.
In July, we saw the cynicism of an Irish team dawdling to lineouts in the second test in Dunedin, making sure their beefy forwards had plenty of time to get their breath back.
At the time, it was infuriating to see South African referee Jaco Peyper just yapping at them like a Bichon Frise in footy boots.
Was it unfortunate that the first international referee to get tough with time wasters did so at a moment when it decided the match? Yes.
Should every test ref now steer clear of speeding up things at less vital moments in the game? Please let that answer be no.
Did the All Blacks deserve to win?
Sure, just as the Wallabies would have deserved a victory if their defence had held in the last minute. This was the craziest see-saw Bledisloe match since the greatest test I’ve ever seen, the classic 39-35 All Blacks win in Sydney in 2000, which even losing captain John Eales said was “the most extraordinary game I’ve ever played in”.
Dealing with losing captain Sam Cane and midfield general David Havili so early in Melbourne was impressive from the All Blacks, but so was how Australia clawed back from being 31-13 down after 54 minutes.
The controversy at the death shouldn’t obscure the excitement of a match where the passion of both teams meant victory was never assured.
The area of All Blacks concern
As has happened too many times this year, the All Blacks backline defence was wrecked by players running out of the line, which leaves inviting gaps for the opposition.
Not all the lapses in Melbourne can be attributed to the injuries to Havili and Quinn Tupaea.
Caleb Clarke is a fantastic runner with the ball, but Thursday night wasn’t the first time this season he was caught out of position when desperately needed on defence.
This week will be a busy time for All Blacks defensive coach Scott McLeod, as he works to drill more discipline into his gifted but occasionally wayward backs.
When the card should be red Wallabies forward Darcy Swain has deservedly been cited for an act that had the potential to end Tupaea’s career.
There’s a law that specifically forbids attacking a player’s legs in a maul. As referee Raynal and television match official Ben Whitehouse said at the time, it was crystal clear that was exactly what Swain did. A red card and a lengthy ban would be appropriate.
Man of the match
Seeing Pete Samu fight his way from being a bit player at the Crusaders in 2016 to being a key loose forward in 2017 and 2018, we knew he was a class act. But his stunning play at No 7 for Australia in Melbourne was a step up again. The brilliant try he initiated and then finished off in the 72nd minute was the perfect illustration of his speed, aggressiveness and rugby smarts.
Try of the match
A toss-up between Samu’s and the return of Will Jordan to the scoring circle in the 54th minute. The longer Jordan’s test career runs, the more he shows why he deserves to be ranked with greats of the game such as Christian Cullen and Jeff Wilson.
His 20th and latest All Blacks try included one spell-binding moment when his gaze flicked from the ball, still in the air from a Beauden Barrett kick, to Australian fullback Andrew Kellaway. In less than a heartbeat, Jordan had the skill and composure to catch the ball cleanly and swerve past Kellaway. Genius.