WALLABIES ALMOST 'BOKSED IN DURING SYDNEY SNOOZE-FEST
August 17th 2006 10:43
If the first half of the Tri Nations test match between Australia and South Africa in Sydney on the weekend was an advertisement for rugby union, it would have been a late-night infomercial that nobody wanted to see. Although the second half saw a marked improvement in the quality of play there is no denying that this was a truly terrible game of football.
Aside from a free flowing and attacking final ten minutes, this was an ugly, error-ridden game of rugby and the South African's near victory was based upon a basic and crude approach as both 'Bok forwards and backs concentrated on brute strength and simple through-the-hands passing to inch forward. The Wallabies, whilst the better team, were like a bunch of fat kids at McDonalds, unsure of what to choose and ultimately ending up confused and unhappy. The Australians couldn't decide on a style of play, unsure of their own game, and were sucked into the swamp of South African style rugby. It was almost painful to watch one of the best backlines in world rugby being strangled out of the game as the Wallabies chose to ignore Giteau, Tuqiri, Gerrard and Latham in favour of an aimless kicking game. This strategy was made to look all the more foolish as many of the kicks failed to find touch and when they did, the South African lineout predictably dominated.
In a game that was characterised by poor options, weak execution and far too much kicking in general play, the Australians came out on top by virtue of simply making one or two less diabolical mistakes than their opposition. The most obvious example of this was the opening try of the game as Wallaby winger Mark Gerrard pounced on a poor 'Bok cross-field kick to go over in the 31st minute. Percy Montgomery, the most capped South African player in history, played one of the worst games of his career, and it would not be an over-reaction to place a large part of the blame for South Africa's loss at his feet. He missed all his shots at goal, dropped high balls, fell off tackles and contributed almost nothing to the Springbok attack. If one incident summed up his night, it was when he yet again ignored his backline support to kick for territory. The decision was a bad one and he only compounded the misery by punting the ball straight into the back of one of his own players.
Percy wasn't the only offender however. Strangely enough, whilst none were awful, the winning team had the greater number of under-performing players. An unusually flustered and riled-up Stephen Larkham couldn't seem to handle the extra attention afforded him by the 'Bok's inside backs, Wycliff Palu made some good breaks, but for the main was simply clumsy, particularly around the base at scrum time. The first Springbok try resulted directly from Palu fumbling a pass to Gregan at the back of the scrum which was snapped up by South African halfback Fourie du Preez, who then unleashed his centre Jacque Fourie to score.
Tai McIsaac appeared nervous and was wayward at lineout time, also copping a hard time in the scrums and was replaced by Jeremy Paul early in the second half. Lote Tuqiri was apprehensive, making a number of uncharacteristic mistakes whilst Mark Gerrard seemed frustrated at his lack of opportunities, which was illustrated when he fumbled over the try-line attempting what should have been a fairly straightforward try. Although not playing badly, George Smith, Matt Giteau, and Chris Latham all failed to fire and this was undoubtedly due to the lack of ball they received in attacking opportunities. Rocky Elsom produced a belligerent display and was probably the most effective player from either team at the breakdown, but couldn't really get enough going to decisively turn the game in the Wallabies favour.
On the Springbok side, wingers Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane both tried hard but, like Gerrard, had few chances. This created a type of frustration that visibly filtered through to their play. Aside from this, most of the 'Boks put in reasonable performances which undoubtedly makes the loss all the more painful for them. Although obviously gaining confidence from the opposition mistakes more effectively than the Wallabies, the 'Boks simply weren't as dangerous as the Australians with the ball in hand which is what ultimately rescued the Wallabies. The South African backline also suffered a similar starvation of ball that mired their Australian counterparts and most of the genuine Springbok attacking raids can be credited to the occasional adventurous play of centres Wynand Olivier and Jaque Fourie and openside flanker Juan Smith, who at times found gaps easily in the Wallaby midfield, only to see their efforts come to naught with the lack of any meaningful continuity of phases.
The same muscular approach from South African five-eighth Butch James also created potential to attack and when combined with du Preez's quick, flat passing also brought opportunities that were all too rare. The Springbok try in the 67th minute was a direct result of quick phase ball, and an intelligent cut out pass from du Preez to Montgomery which allowed Percy to make his one positive contribution as his strong run beat Larkham's tackle. The try was scored as the two smallest Boks, Habana and Ndungane, obviously inspired by the brute force of their loose forwards, combined to drive over the top of Tuqiri and Latham and allow Montgomery to dot down. This was the final act in an unhappy night for Larkham, who was replaced by Mat Rogers after the try was scored. The new five-eighth had a much better night, scoring the winning try in the 74th minute. The try brought the scores level at 18-18 and the near-sideline conversion bounced over off the post, gutting the South Africans and giving the Wallabies what could be argued was an undeserved two point win.
In a game dominated by both teams' apprehension in attack and lack of confidence in their own game plan, it became apparent why "He who dares wins". All Black coach Graham Henry undoubtedly watched this game with great interest and would be buoyed by the fact that Australia's experience seemed to count for little when the pressure is on and if there is a Wallaby plan B, they don't know how to carry it out. As for the Springboks, given that their game is based on nothing more than fire and brimstone, they better hope that the support of their home fans will give them the extra boost they need. That is assuming they don't all stay home to watch a better infomercial on T.V.
Aside from a free flowing and attacking final ten minutes, this was an ugly, error-ridden game of rugby and the South African's near victory was based upon a basic and crude approach as both 'Bok forwards and backs concentrated on brute strength and simple through-the-hands passing to inch forward. The Wallabies, whilst the better team, were like a bunch of fat kids at McDonalds, unsure of what to choose and ultimately ending up confused and unhappy. The Australians couldn't decide on a style of play, unsure of their own game, and were sucked into the swamp of South African style rugby. It was almost painful to watch one of the best backlines in world rugby being strangled out of the game as the Wallabies chose to ignore Giteau, Tuqiri, Gerrard and Latham in favour of an aimless kicking game. This strategy was made to look all the more foolish as many of the kicks failed to find touch and when they did, the South African lineout predictably dominated.
In a game that was characterised by poor options, weak execution and far too much kicking in general play, the Australians came out on top by virtue of simply making one or two less diabolical mistakes than their opposition. The most obvious example of this was the opening try of the game as Wallaby winger Mark Gerrard pounced on a poor 'Bok cross-field kick to go over in the 31st minute. Percy Montgomery, the most capped South African player in history, played one of the worst games of his career, and it would not be an over-reaction to place a large part of the blame for South Africa's loss at his feet. He missed all his shots at goal, dropped high balls, fell off tackles and contributed almost nothing to the Springbok attack. If one incident summed up his night, it was when he yet again ignored his backline support to kick for territory. The decision was a bad one and he only compounded the misery by punting the ball straight into the back of one of his own players.
Percy wasn't the only offender however. Strangely enough, whilst none were awful, the winning team had the greater number of under-performing players. An unusually flustered and riled-up Stephen Larkham couldn't seem to handle the extra attention afforded him by the 'Bok's inside backs, Wycliff Palu made some good breaks, but for the main was simply clumsy, particularly around the base at scrum time. The first Springbok try resulted directly from Palu fumbling a pass to Gregan at the back of the scrum which was snapped up by South African halfback Fourie du Preez, who then unleashed his centre Jacque Fourie to score.
Tai McIsaac appeared nervous and was wayward at lineout time, also copping a hard time in the scrums and was replaced by Jeremy Paul early in the second half. Lote Tuqiri was apprehensive, making a number of uncharacteristic mistakes whilst Mark Gerrard seemed frustrated at his lack of opportunities, which was illustrated when he fumbled over the try-line attempting what should have been a fairly straightforward try. Although not playing badly, George Smith, Matt Giteau, and Chris Latham all failed to fire and this was undoubtedly due to the lack of ball they received in attacking opportunities. Rocky Elsom produced a belligerent display and was probably the most effective player from either team at the breakdown, but couldn't really get enough going to decisively turn the game in the Wallabies favour.
On the Springbok side, wingers Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane both tried hard but, like Gerrard, had few chances. This created a type of frustration that visibly filtered through to their play. Aside from this, most of the 'Boks put in reasonable performances which undoubtedly makes the loss all the more painful for them. Although obviously gaining confidence from the opposition mistakes more effectively than the Wallabies, the 'Boks simply weren't as dangerous as the Australians with the ball in hand which is what ultimately rescued the Wallabies. The South African backline also suffered a similar starvation of ball that mired their Australian counterparts and most of the genuine Springbok attacking raids can be credited to the occasional adventurous play of centres Wynand Olivier and Jaque Fourie and openside flanker Juan Smith, who at times found gaps easily in the Wallaby midfield, only to see their efforts come to naught with the lack of any meaningful continuity of phases.
The same muscular approach from South African five-eighth Butch James also created potential to attack and when combined with du Preez's quick, flat passing also brought opportunities that were all too rare. The Springbok try in the 67th minute was a direct result of quick phase ball, and an intelligent cut out pass from du Preez to Montgomery which allowed Percy to make his one positive contribution as his strong run beat Larkham's tackle. The try was scored as the two smallest Boks, Habana and Ndungane, obviously inspired by the brute force of their loose forwards, combined to drive over the top of Tuqiri and Latham and allow Montgomery to dot down. This was the final act in an unhappy night for Larkham, who was replaced by Mat Rogers after the try was scored. The new five-eighth had a much better night, scoring the winning try in the 74th minute. The try brought the scores level at 18-18 and the near-sideline conversion bounced over off the post, gutting the South Africans and giving the Wallabies what could be argued was an undeserved two point win.
In a game dominated by both teams' apprehension in attack and lack of confidence in their own game plan, it became apparent why "He who dares wins". All Black coach Graham Henry undoubtedly watched this game with great interest and would be buoyed by the fact that Australia's experience seemed to count for little when the pressure is on and if there is a Wallaby plan B, they don't know how to carry it out. As for the Springboks, given that their game is based on nothing more than fire and brimstone, they better hope that the support of their home fans will give them the extra boost they need. That is assuming they don't all stay home to watch a better infomercial on T.V.
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