Rennie blasts ‘dumb errors’
Sydney – Frustrated Wallabies coach Dave Rennie (above) blasted his team’s “dumb errors” after another erratic, ill-disciplined performance against Argentina left Australia with just one win from six this year and the Tri-Nations wooden spoon.
They rallied from 13-6 down at the break in pouring rain in Sydney on Saturday to salvage a 16-16 draw, but sloppy ball handling and poor execution again blighted their game.
It followed a 15-15 stalemate against the Pumas a fortnight ago, when they threw away a 15-6 advantage.
“We’re a work in progress. We’re good men who have worked hard and come together well, but, as I’ve said, we need to see that reflected in performance,” said Rennie.
“There’s no lack of heart or effort, but we’ve got to be way more clinical. Discipline was disappointing and we made some dumb errors.”
Ill-discipline has been a recurring problem with too many silly penalties handed to the opposition.
On Saturday, skipper Michael Hooper was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle in the first half, with the Pumas scoring 10 of their points while he was off. Then Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was red-carded with 20 minutes left for dangerous play.
Despite being down to 14 men, the Wallabies managed to claw their way back into the game and could have won had Reece Hodge converted a late penalty.
The stalemate didn’t go down well with the Australian media.
Broadsheet The Australian said it sent the team “almost back to where it started from” while the Sydney Morning Herald bemoaned a “depressing and sour” end to the year.
Sydney’s Daily Telegraph was even more brutal.
“The Wallabies have been in camp together for months now but were so out of sorts they looked like they were meeting on a Tinder date for the first time,” it blasted.
New Zealander Rennie was recruited after Michael Cheika – now working with Argentina – was axed after a poor showing at the World Cup last year and his reign began on a promising note with an unexpected 16-16 draw against the All Blacks in Wellington in October.
The Wallabies then got hammered twice by their trans-Tasman rivals before upsetting Ian Foster’s men 24-22 in Brisbane. –