In their continual quest to secure their first Bledisloe Cup series since 2002, Australia suffered their eighth successive defeat to New Zealand at Accor Stadium, Sydney, losing 31-28 amidst a 68,061 strong audience. Despite the close scoring, Australia found themselves flattered as New Zealand squandered five potential tries.
Australian coach, Joe Schmidt, encouraged his team to fight hard and stay united against New Zealand. His calls were dismantled as the Wallabies commenced with significant errors. New Zealand’s Jordie Barrett pierced through the shaky defence to let Will Jordan attain an untouched 7-0 score barely minutes into the match.
Australia’s string of blunders like fumbling the kick-off and dropping a bomb in the chaotic opening significantly shook the nation’s supporters’ faith. Compounding was the loss of the ball in the maul and a frustrated kick that got blocked. New Zealand’s Rieko Ioane completed a fast backline sweep, leaving the Wallabies scrambling merely trying to catch their shadows.
New Zealand took a commanding 14-0 lead inside the first nine minutes of the match, raising the fear of a devastating hundred-plus score by the end. Had it not been for Tom Wright intercepting Ioane’s long toss and a forward throw by Ardie Savea, the score could have surged past 150. Generally, the home side laments the quietening of their supporters- but on this day, the majority of the crowd were New Zealand supporters.
Despite their resilience in Sydney, the Wallabies still fall short against the All Blacks. Leo Cullen speaks out, addressing the seemingly insurmountable rivals with respect. All eyes are turning to Graham Rowntree’s leadership at Munster as they aim for a deep European play. The recent victory of URC: Leinster overcoming Edinburgh in Scotland demonstrates their resourcefulness. Questions are arising regarding the true impact of the Emerging Ireland tour on Irish rugby.
The first time Emerging Ireland toured South Africa in 2022 it led to a stir, with provinces losing key players during the initial stages of the URC season. Now that a new team has been chosen, has the IRFU taken a better approach? On the latest episode of The Counter Ruck, Nathan Johns is joined by Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan as they discuss the tour’s value, highlight promising players, question certain decisions, and define what would make it a successful tour. John Casey is the episode producer.
Reveling soon followed as a third try was achieved; Caleb Clarke edged out two players and stretched an arm over the line, which resulted in a 21-0 lead at the 15-minute mark. Contrastingly, the New Zealand backline was unable to score even one try in Cape Town the previous week. But on a warm day in Sydney, they were a force to be reckoned with, cutting through the Wallabies like a hot knife through butter.
Australia finally lent some excitement when they made their first significant move into New Zealand’s territory where Rob Valetini collected a wayward lineout ball and swiftly passed it to Nic White. White then sparked a scoring opportunity for Fraser McReight, leading to a 21-7 first shot for Australia. McReight followed this up by boosting hopes with a powerful thrust and an unexpected 40-22.
Regrettably, Australia fumbled the lineout as a rushed tap-on pass from Hunter Paisami hit the ground. Sevu Reece saw the opportunity and made his move, steering Savea beneath the posts for a 28-7 scoreline. The Aussies fought back, however, with a lineout from a mere five meters away; hooker Matt Faessler broke away and crushed Sam Cane to bring the scoreline to 28-14.
A four to two try and a 14-point lead may have seemed to favour the Wallabies, but the facts suggested otherwise. The All Blacks held 61% possession and outperformed the Aussies in several key areas, such as carries (84-36), broken tackles (23-7), clean breaks (7-2), and offloads (9-2). The Wallabies also lost three of their lineouts and were visibly exhausted after making 92 tackles to the Kiwi’s 36.
Following a dismal performance in Santa Fe where Wallabies conceded 78 points in the last 80 minutes of Test rugby, they opened up the second half in Sydney with a shaky start. Koroibete, in particular, was off to a poor start, misplacing a pass within the first minute of play. The All Blacks’ Damian McKenzie used this opportunity to score a penalty goal, extending the New Zealander’s lead to 31-14.
However, despite multiple scoring opportunities, the All Blacks failed to capitalise due to a series of TMO decisions that preserved the scoreline. The likes of McKenzie’s attempted flick pass and Savea’s try were all invalidated, while Ratima’s attempt was nullified due to a forward pass from McKenzie to Jordan.
This bleak picture was in stark contrast to the previous week when Wallabies suffered a disastrous match losing 50 points in 30 minutes. Despite the odds this time, the Australian team decided to make a determined stand. James Slipper joined the game in record-breaking 140th Test, and his presence energised his teammates. Subsequent breakthroughs from Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Paisami narrowed the gap to 31-21, raising Australian hopes with just a quarter hour left.
With Lienert Brown’s ejection from the field for a rough tackle on Andrew Kellaway, the Wallabies found themselves in a favourable 15 on 14 situation. TJ Perenara from the All Blacks narrowly escaped his own dismissal for a severe tackle on Tate McDermott. Nonetheless, Clarke was eventually red carded for intentionally intercepting a Wallabies’ attack.
Dreams of a surprise victory spread amongst the Australians as Paisami scored in the 73rd minute, only to be thwarted again by the TMO that detected a previous knock on by Kellaway. Another scoring opportunity was lost due to a forward pass from Wilson to McDermott. But the 78th minute saw a moment of glory with Tom Wright’s touchdown making the score 31-28.
As the game reached its climax, the Wallabies used every ounce of energy left in an attempt to secure a final few points. However, despite their best efforts, their comeback fell short due to earlier mistakes and defensive shortcomings. Once again, the Bledisloe Cup was out of reach. Although the margin was only three points, it might as well have been a million, according to the Guardian.