It would be easy for the Wallabies to dismiss their record loss to Scotland as an aberration, having played under-manned for 41 minutes, but they would be foolish to do so.
The Wallabies’ 53-24 loss exposed flaws in their character and style of play, which has arguably undone all the progress they made during the course of the Bledisloe Cup series and the Rugby Championship.
Besieged Wallabies coach Michael Cheika accepted French referee Pascal Gauzere’s decision to red-card prop Sekope Kepu for a dangerous shoulder charge and claimed they could still have won with 14 men.
Sometimes the sending off of player galvanizes a team. The All Blacks played for 56 minutes with 14 men in the second Test against the British and Irish Lions in June after Sonny Bill Williams was red-carded for a shoulder charge, going down in a tight 24-21 contest.
Conversely, the Wallabies were stimulated into action for all of two minutes, resulting in a try to fullback Kurtley Beale just after halftime. After five-eighth Bernard Foley’s shocking attempt at conversion the score was level at a respectable 17-all. But the Wallabies then capitulated, just as they did in the last 12 minutes of their record 30-6 loss to England the previous week.
That was the biggest cause for concern to come out of the British tour, which began with the lofty ambition of going through undefeated, but ended in losing two of the three Tests – with just a win against Wales to their credit.
The Wallabies are a talented but foolish team. On Sunday they made silly decisions and errors at crucial times, in a match which occasionally descended into chaos.
For one, the decision to start retiring hooker Stephen Moore ahead of the in-form Tatafu Polota-Nau was an act of sentimental foolery. Sure, it was nice to try to give the 129-test veteran a fitting farewell, but there is no room for sentiment in the cut-throat world of Test rugby. To make matters worse, Moore stayed on the field for 60 minutes, taken off after the Wallabies’ front-row was penalized for standing up in a scrum, the game already beyond reach at 34-17. There was little Polota-Nau could do then to turn the tide.
The Wallabies were ahead 12-10 when Kepu was sent off, coming back from a 10-0 deficit after centre Tevita Kuridrani scored two tries in the space of three minutes, but Scotland had the best of the play in the first half and deserved to be in front 17-12 at the break.
Interestingly, the television camera panned to Cheika in the coach’s box when Kepu was red-carded, perhaps hoping to capture another blow-up from the volatile coach. But after Cheika was censured by World Rugby for his foul-mouthed rant during the England Test, he was virtually expressionless. It is questionable whether he was on his best behaviour or displaying some form of passive aggression.
Then, when the Scots were penalized three times in a row for offside midway through the second-half, Wallabies captain Michael Hooper did not appear to ask the referee if a yellow card was warranted. Perhaps this is no surprise, given Hooper was sin-binned for repeated infringements against England.
Taken together, however, these examples appear to speak to the perception that the world is against the Wallabies; what’s the point of complaining if no one listens?
Yet, it was the Wallabies’ ill-discipline that was the issue once again, finishing the game with 13 men two weeks in a row after Beale deliberately knocked the ball dead in the 78th minute. It may not have made a difference to the result, but it is a bad habit to get into.
In the absence of star fullback Stuart Hogg, who injured his groin in the warm-up, the Scots were determined to follow up their good performance against the All Blacks the previous week, putting eight tries on the Wallabies.
Tactically, the Scottish forwards put the Wallabies under pressure with their step and drive move in general play, the kind of footwork injured Australian backrower Jack Dempsey had used so effectively in the win against All Blacks in Brisbane. The Scots also found space out wide with winger Byron McGuigan, called up to start after Hogg’s withdrawal, scoring two tries and winning the player of the match award.
Ultimately, Scotland was able to adjust to adversity, while the Wallabies weren’t. That was the difference.
The Wallabies have ended a roller-coaster year ranked third in the world after winning seven of their 14 Tests with two draws. This should barely earn a pass mark, and one they would certainly be foolish to ignore.
