WALES STAY AT NO.2 IN WORLD
Seventeen points were left out on the field, something that would have infuriated coach Michael Cheika.
First, Samu Kerevi threw out a forward pass to Lukhan Salakaio-Loto, all 6ft 6in and 19st 5lb of him, meaning the Aussies were denied what should have been a try. Then Dane Haylett-Petty made a pig’s ear of a scoring chance when he failed to gather and dab down with the line beckoning.
And there was a questionable captaincy call when Hooper failed to take a kick from in front of the posts which could have made the interval score 1413. Instead, he opted for a scrum which saw No. 8 Isa Naisarani reeled in, with the Wallabies penalised a moment after.
All told, there were 13 clean breaks and 26 home defenders beaten for two tries. Clinical Australia weren’t. Any side who can afford the luxury of naming Kurtley Beale among their replacements must have something to offer behind, unless you take the view that the call to bench him isn’t the soundest.
It’s probably based on the thinking that the Waratah can do major damage if introduced against a tiring defence.
Against the Springboks, he set up a try by running a lovely angle and unleashing a sublime pass to put Bernard Foley over, the highlight of a cameo that saw him include two clean breaks and beat four defenders in six runs over 22 minutes. WALES remain second in the official world rankings after New Zealand clung on for a 20-16 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Warren Gatland’s Wales would have moved to the top of them for the first time in history if the All Blacks had lost by more than 15 points in their Rugby Championship opener.
But the back-to-back world champions never looked like being beaten by that many, although they were under the pump for much of a second half in which they failed to notch up a point.
They had been the better side in the opening 40 minutes, with
Does a player of his quality deserve more time on the field? That’s the big call for coach Cheika.
Samu Kerevi also had a strong match in midfield, half-backs Foley and Nic White mixed their play up nicely, while Dane Haylett-Petty was more good than bad. It was a strange one, all right. Some thought the decision to card Australia prop Taniela Tupou for a poorly timed ruck cleanout perfectly justified.
Others, like former Wallaby captain Phil Kearns held back on the cheers.
“I just think it was a disgraceful decision,” lock Brodie Retallick’s interception try on the stroke of half-time, converted by outside-half Beauden Barrett, giving them a 20-9 lead.
Full-back Emilliano Boffelli’s try seven minutes into the secondhalf, converted by No. 10 Nicolas Sanchez, offered Argentina hope of defeating the All Blacks for the first time.
But Sanchez pushed what should have been an easy penalty wide and they made handling errors to cough up possession on a number of occasions in the New Zealand 22.
It meant Steve Hansen’s side extended its 10-year-old grip on the number one spot.
said Kearns in his capacity as a Fox Sports pundit.
“So many times we put referees that are out of their depth into these games.
“We’ve all talked privately about the World Cup referees and there’s a whole bunch of guys there that are totally out of their depth. And big games like that – that is a game-changing moment.”
It was certainly costly for Australia, with South Africa punishing them with 14 points while Tupou served out his 10 minutes in the cooler. Australia were game enough in defence despite being under the pump for long periods in the second half.
But they still leaked five tries against an understrength Springbok side shorn of a stack of big names who had been sent to New Zealand to prepare for next week’s match against the All Blacks.
Foley fell off five tackles, while Kerevi missed Cobus Reinach as he crossed towards the end and the Wallabies blindside defence took a holiday when the outstanding Herschel Jantjies crossed on the hour.
It was an incomplete defensive display by Australia, then.
Australia have lost 10 of their last 13 games, conceding 40 tries along the way.
But history reminds us of the perils of writing off gold-shirted teams in any sport.
Indeed, the rugby players are often at their most dangerous when under fire, and Warren Gatland will not need to be told as much.
That said, this lot need a win badly. Cheika will hope it comes at home to Argentina this Saturday, because there are back-to-back games with New Zealand to follow.
If the Pumas succeed in Brisbane, the Wallaby coach will face a major challenge to restore confidence heading into the World Cup.
And that, of course, would spell good news for Gatland and Wales.
Topping the group will give what looks an easier route through the knockout stages.