Dwyer's View

Australia, Ireland & New Zealand Winners in the Top-Ranking Clashes.

28^th November, 2009.

This weekend marks the end of the autumn tours of the Northern Hemisphere. There has been a feast of rugby over the last few weekends, with the “big three” of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia being joined by Argentina, Fiji and Samoa in various matches against the Six Nations teams of Europe. The rugby has been intriguing and results have not always gone with the favourites. This final week, however, culminates in the Nos. 1,2 and 3 teams from the south against the Nos. 1,2 and 3 teams from last season’s Six Nations.

The ‘form’ teams, France and New Zealand, meet in Marseille; World and Tri-Nations’ champions, South Africa, take on Grand Slam champions, Ireland; and Australia are desperate for absolution after their “indiscretions” in recent matches.

The weekend promises much.

Wales v Australia.  Millennium Stadium.

Score. 12-33.

The Wallabies presented a completely different face this week-end. In a display that bore no resemblance whatsoever to their last outing against Scotland, the Australia attack (i) ran straight, (ii) threw short passes, generally, (iii) supported accurately and with urgency and, (iv) importantly, realigned also with urgency.

Gone were the interminable delays in recycling phase ball. Continuity in attack was the order of the day. This caused continuous pressure on the Welsh defence and they were well short of the task. An old adage, “There is no defence to perfect attack”, remains true!

Four (4) tries to nil against Wales in Cardiff is a great result in any language. We now have some real “take home” from the tour. A number of young players have either shown their class at this level – Genia, Pocock, Cooper, Beale – or added have added to what we had already seen – Polotu-Nau, Alexander, Ashley-Cooper. We have world class players in Giteau, Barnes, Elsom and Robinson, and Palu still has more to offer.

The game began with the Wallabies immediately showing their intent to attack with the ball in hand; to attack the line with subtle changes in line and to recycle and realign with urgency. As always, the shorter passes and straighter running brought the forwards into the tackle contest with strong leg-drive increasing the pressure on the Welsh defence. Strangely, the Welsh defence, with their “up-and-in” strategy trying, it seemed, to double team the ball-carrier, never came to terms with the task.

They were somewhat disrupted before the commencement by the forced withdrawal of captain Ryan Jones, and again after five minutes , by the injury to star attacking wing, Shane Williams. Indeed, they suffered other injuries during the match, and this caused some adjustments, which must have disrupted them, but the night belonged to the Wallabies. What, we must all ask, has caused this massive turn-around in their tactics? I spoke last week about the absence of virtually all components of “attack with the ball in hand”, and this week we show an ability in most – at least in the first half!

The Wallabies’ scrum was far superior and I counted four scrum infringements awarded against Wales. This is a significant contribution by the Wallaby forwards. Their lineout was better, and Dean Mumm’s inclusion helped here also, whilst not appearing to weaken the scrum. At the tackle contest, the Wallaby forward drive also won the day over the Welsh, yet we have much room for improvement here with the accuracy of our clean-out. There is a pervading thought that arriving players must sight opposition players around the tackle and remove them. I am not of this opinion. As always, “the BALL is the threat and the opportunity”, and I want arriving players to target the BALL and to clear the area around it, allowing for a long place and clean access for the scrum-half. Defenders standing to the edge are no threat; don’t waste your time with them. Check out the All Blacks at the tackle contest; right in on, and generally over, the BALL!

During the TV commentary, ex-Wallaby Rod Kafer made the remark that “Matt Giteau is a genuine runner of the football”, and this was certainly in evidence last night. I agree with Rod’s further plea that we must see Matt a little wider where he can run straighter and put even more pressure on defences.

The only thing that kept Wales in the match, on the score-board, were a steady stream of penalty goals and when two were missed, one not so difficult, early in the second half, there was no way out for them. Indeed, I thought that referee Wayne Barnes made some strange decisions in Wales’ favour at the tackle contest. Allowing the tackled player to bury the ball under his stomach, thus denying the defenders access, and then penalising those defenders who finish on the ground with the arriving drive from behind, cannot be the intent of the law. Equal access must be allowed to both teams!

For Australia, Giteau and Genia were excellent, whilst in the forwards, Pocock, and then Smith, ruled the roost at the tackle contest. Adam Ashley-Cooper was his normal quality self and gave real assurance at the back. The Wallaby scrum was a huge contributor to the win.

There has been some concern voiced of late in Wales that their mid-field lacks creativity. This was certainly the case yesterday, and, although the whole team toiled manfully, they could threaten only once or twice. The realty of the match was that Australia’s attack got much the better of the Welsh defence, whereas the Wallaby defence was more than capable of stemming the Welsh attack. That’s the contest!

By the end, the Wallabies were out on their feet, courtesy, no doubt, of them being forced to make 102 tackles to Wales’ 46. I hope that this realisation will prevent them from again making the half-time decision  to abandon their massively successful first half tactic of “attack with the ball in hand”, for the once again unsuccessful tactic of “field position” at all cost. There is certainly a cost!

Robbie Deans would do well to have a look at the approach of his native New Zealanders in their  match against France in Marseille, on the same night.

France v New Zealand, Marseille.

Score. 12-39.

Up until now, I had thought that France had looked the form team of all of those currently in Europe – all twelve of them. South Africa (ranked #1) were but a shadow of their earlier season form; New Zealand (ranked #2) had looked way off the pace; and Australia (ranked #3) had given every indication that they were headed for the #6 spot.

France, on the other hand, had shown all of its traditional vision and running and handling skills. They had shown against the top-ranked South Africans an added power and ferocity to their game, and were way too good for the Springboks on that occasion. All looked rosy in the garden of French rugby and we had begun to think of perhaps a tilting of the balance towards the Northern Hemisphere, but the game, as always, is about the moment.

France were without their most influential and biggest backrow forwards, Imanol Harinordoquy and Louis Picamoles, and they were never going to be the same team without them, but, given New Zealand’s comprehensive all round display, I doubt that it would have made a huge difference.

New Zealand, as is their wont, have spent the last four or five months solving most of their problems. Their scrum is much better; Tony Woodcock even gets his left hand off the ground sometimes now. Tom Donnelly, and to a lesser extent Keiran Read, have made a massive difference to their lineout. Their forwards, in true All Black tradition, are now chasing the ball into the ruck and driving fiercely past the ball – now, if we can now just get them to stay on their feet and not on the ground over the ball!

New Zealand were full of ambition right from the kickoff, but their scrum was in serious trouble from the start and we thought that this might shackle them. Not so, and in the seventh minute, Carter faked to go short, but shot wide to put Sivivatu through a gap. He showed electric pace and went over untouched. This was to be the start of Carter’s night and he showed us his full repertoire. His kicking game was immaculate – wide and long, short and delicate, high and pin-point accurate. His running game was most productive, when he chose it, and his passing game was as immaculate as always. 

Outside of him, in the centres, Conrad Smith showed his usual class, especially in the second half, and Ma’a Nonu must be the most improved player in world rugby. I once thought that the step up to international standard was one step too many for him, that his ‘bash and crash’ approach could never bring him the success that it enjoyed in the Super 14. How wrong I was! He has added finesse and a real appreciation of the ways to ‘fix’ defenders and is now a far more difficult proposition altogether. Add the brilliant and aggressive Corey Jane and Mils Juliana, and you have one eluvia backline.

France had their moments and put together some wonderful attacks which seemed certain to get them over the line, but somehow the All Black defence scrambled and contained them. It was not always legal, mind you, and when one early promising attack left them with a clear run to the right hand corner, Richie McCaw’s “lazy running” blocked the final pass. This is normally a yellow card, but Alain Rolland thought somehow that it was ok! A poor return for some great enterprise and skill from the French!

Such moments for the French were fewer and fewer the longer the game went, and New Zealand gradually sorted out their scrum problems, to the extent that they even turned over one French defensive scrum and grabbed the try for themselves. New Zealand is now playing the style of rugby that I love. It is ambitious, confident and accurate in its execution – shorter passes, straight running, finding opportunity on the outside or, when closed off, picking up a support player on the “natural loop”. Beautiful in its simplicity and effective in its outcome! Add the quality of the individual players and you’ve got a great side in the making.

Tactically, New Zealand frequently exposed the French in the 9-10 channel and this paid great dividends for them. It has always been true that, for an attack to make opportunities out wide, they must, from time to time threaten, or appear to threaten, in this channel. The All Black brains trust may have reasoned that, without Harinordoquy and Picamoles, they would be vulnerable here. Whatever the reasoning the tactic certainly worked and New Zealand were clear winners.

Richie McCaw was man-of-the-match, but it could just as easily have been Dan Carter. McCaw is this year’s IRB International Player of the Year, but it could just as easily have been Dan Carter.

Ireland v South Africa. Croke Park, Dublin.

Score. 15-10.

South Africa came on tour without a number of their Super 14 champion team. Francois Steyn, Jean de Villiers, Pierre Spies and Juan Smith were all unavailable for one reason or another and when Bakkies Botha was forced to withdraw on the morning of the match, the Springbok side had a distinctly less menacing look about it.

And just how different a performance this was! Consider the opening minutes of the match. In the first minute, Morne Steyn misses a drop-goal – for him a simple one – and then, a minute or two later, South Africa lose their own lineout throw – and, remarkably, to Victor Matfield! Someone must have torn up the Springbok script, because Steyn went on to miss kicks that he could normally “throw over”, and their lineout was anything but secure.

This was not a great game. South Africa showed no ambition at all and perhaps the fact that their game has fallen away drastically, will deter other teams from copying their tactical approach. I certainly hope so. The laws of the game offer scope to play a thrilling, ambitious and attractive game, in fact, a style well suited to the big, strong, fast, committed South African players. I want success at this highest level to go to the ambitious, skillful teams. We will then have our younger players wanting to copy Dan Carter, or Leigh Byrne, or Brian O’Driscoll and the game will be so much the better for it.

Anyway back to the match! South Africa went to an early lead after Johnny Sexton’s early goal, when Schalk Burger scored a soft try of a Jaques Fourie pass after Fourie du Preez had taken a quick tap kick.  Morne Steyn followed with a drop-goal about seven or eight minutes later and that was about it for the world champions. For the next hour they seemed content with ‘punt high and chase”. What an abomination!

Thank goodness, Rob Kearney was more than equal to the task and his ‘leap and catch’ skills were right out of the top drawer. This successfully defused South Africa’s most potent weapon, indeed, perhaps their only weapon, until Jean de Villiers came on with about 15 mins left. Then, with the game all but lost, the Springboks decided to keep the ball in hand in an effort to snatch victory back. In this period, Jean de Villiers was almost through on two occasions and Tendai Mtawarira, The Beast, almost scored down the right wing. Sadly these were virtually the only attack that we had seen since Burger’s early try.

Ireland looked more and more assured as time went on and continued pressure, often with ball run back at them by Rob Kearney and others, gave them a steady supply of penalties. Sexton was up to the task until the last quarter, when he missed with two kickable penalties.

In the end Ireland deserved their victory to cap off a memorable undefeated year. They were well served by the “usual suspects” – Heaslip, O’Connell, O’Driscoll and Kearney – and a couple of newer ones – O’Leary and Sexton. Ambition got its just reward.

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