Beware streetwise Wallabies’ habit of hustling for victory
Will Greenwood Forget the form book – Australia relish the organised chaos of a Test and thrive on several cunning plays
Whenever I am asked about Australia and their rugby, I always think of the Blackadder quote: “As cunning as a fox who’s just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.”
The Wallabies have been like this since the 1984 Grand Slam tour. Their form does not suggest they are boxing clever, but they are manipulating, exploring, testing defensive boundaries with the aim of being ready for the World Cup.
Michael Cheika is building a squad who will be happy and comfortable in the chaos of Test matches. His team, and back line especially, will be able to fill in anywhere when the pressure comes on.
Forget their form in terms of wins and losses. These Wallabies have shown more than enough to suggest nothing has changed in terms of their ability to innovate and adapt. Here are three of the most striking examples.
Making wholesale changes
The Australia back line that started the game against South Africa in Port Elizabeth on Sept 29 was different to the back line that ran attacking plays in the second half. Not one player was in the same position he started in.
There is always some reshuffling in a Test match, but not all seven positions. If you are trying to build and nurture players who are comfortable no matter the scenario, this is the way to do it.
New Zealand lost the World Cups of 1999, 2003, 2007 because they only had plan A in their back line. The Aussies are the kings of adaptability, so were not afraid of delivering total rotation during a Test match that involved players switching positions mid-game in order to stress-test key men with certain plays. It makes my head spin just thinking about it.
Channel surfing
Defensively Australia are always prepared to shuffle the deck – although, in fairness, most sides are. England, for example, had Sam Underhill defending the first channel in the fly-half position from the All Blacks line-out.
The Aussies are never to be outdone. Against Wales, they had Kurtley Beale defending in the five-metre channel at a line-out, next to the Welsh hooker. That is not the surprise or the revelation. The key is why. First, it allows David Pocock – injured today, but the point stands no matter who is playing – to sit at inside centre and wait for the lads who want to smash it up from a line-out, win an easy gain line, and play off that.
But when a flanker is lurking in midfield, what does that do to your mindset? It makes you think twice, run a slightly different attack line, run an alternative option.
The second point is all about Beale – or, in his absence today, Bernard Foley – and the five-metre channel. Should their opponents manage to win the gain line and get quick ball, despite the “jackaler”, the attack team then switch back to the short side and Beale/foley is there to look after the Australian tight five.
Wheels on the inside
This is a variant of the inside ball that is so clever and uses Michael Hooper, who has the pace of an outside back over 10metres and the power of a back-row forward. The move is the mirror version of the classic “slice”. The first receiver or fly-half stands flat to the gain line. His inside centre starts close and runs a diagonal line away from him towards the opposition corner flag. The man in the outside centre channel, just outside the diagonal runner, runs pretty straight and close to the fly-half and receives the ball (the inside centre on the diagonal line would have run across and in front of him).
The purpose of this is that the inside centre drags the second defender wide and the hard runner either hits the weak shoulder of the second defender, who had followed the inside centre wide, or attacks so hard and close to the first defender, who is fixed on the fly-half, that the bust or gain line is won.
The Aussies today just mirror this to the inside of the fly-half. My example again includes the missing Beale – but it is the theme that is important. Beale runs inside Foley – the regular 10 – and immediately the danger alarm goes off.
Beale runs the diagonal away from his fly-half, back towards the ruck, attracting the attention of the defender inside the fly-half. Everyone follows Beale. It is the natural thing to do as a defender.
Hooper, meanwhile, hides inside Beale closer to the ruck. As Beale heads back to the ruck, Hooper appears from behind him running a hard inside line off Foley.
The premise is the same as the “slice” going wide – pick off a weak inside shoulder of the inside cover or burst through on the edge of the fly-half.
It leaves England with a number of areas to focus on. They will need to be vigilant at the breakdown, although Pocock’s absence helps on that score. The line-outs have been competitive and England must be pinpoint accurate.
When England get turnovers, they need to exploit the Australian transition from attack to defence, which is far from seamless. If England get the chance, they must look downfield, identify the space and go for the jugular. Today will be about putting control on the chaos, because if England’s game plan shows cracks, the Australians will be all over them, from one to 23.