Twickers ticker
After the performance against England many may have thought the Wallabies would steamroll Wales. Far from it. From the kick-off the Welsh harried Australia, battering them in defence and stealing the ball repeatedly at the breakdown. They gave it everything they had and were much tougher opponents than the English, who were rabbits in the headlights last weekend. It caught the Wallabies off guard at times, but they recovered to take a slim 9-6 lead at the break thanks to Bernard Foley’s boot.
It was in the second half when Australia’s World Cup chances were really put under the microscope. With Wales camped on the Wallabies’ line, Will Genia and Dean Mumm were both marched from the field in quick succession with yellow cards. Wales smelled blood in the water. They went for a try and surely with a two-man advantage it would come. But it did not as the Wallabies, who have been guilty of folding in the past when the intensity rose, held out wave after wave of Welsh attacks. It was heroic stuff. Wales were held over the try-line several times, Ben McCalman pulled off a try-saving hit and Adam Ashley-Cooper brilliantly raced off his line to stop a Welsh shift to the left wing at one point. It was a backs-to-the-wall, body-battering, physically-demanding effort but somehow Australia stayed in the game, kept their nerve and got the vital win.
After four games at this World Cup the Wallabies have conceded just two tries. In 1999, when Australia claimed their second world crown, they let in just one try during the whole tournament. Defence is what wins you World Cups, not brilliant attack or dynamic backs, and on this display the Wallabies have an outstanding defence that can cope under huge pressure.
Fallible Folau
Israel Folau might be the star of this Australian team, a code-hopping, try-scoring athletic machine, but he is not superhuman. The fullback came into the Wales game nursing an ankle injury and he didn’t look his usual best at Twickenham. He fumbled some bombs and struggled to get involved as much as usual. At times during his rugby union career, both with the Waratahs and Wallabies, he has carried those teams with his ability to break the line and create opportunities when needed. But this Wallaby side is no longer as one-dimensional and has other weapons, in the forward pack and the rest of the backline, to call on.
Folau admitted he wasn’t 100% after the match. Australian supporters will be hoping the former NRL star is right for the Scotland quarter-final. The Wallabies got away with fielding him on Sunday despite his fitness concerns. They won’t be so lucky in the future, with the likes of Ireland, France and New Zealand lying in wait.
Dangerous depth
Australia went into the game without winger Rob Horne and suspended flanker Michael Hooper. They have already lost forwards Will Skelton and Wycliff Palu, who have been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with injury. In the past depth has been an issue for the Wallabies. Considering rugby is the fourth-string code in Australia, the sport hasn’t been always able to call on the cream of Australian footballers.
But this World Cup is proving that the Wallabies’ pool of players is deeper than in previous years. Sean McMahon came in to replace Hooper and gave a typically physical and ferocious display, ripping in to everything in front of him. McCalman was introduced off the bench and saved a try, ran hard and smashed men in red shirts with the ball. Drew Mitchell, Australia’s record World Cup try-scorer, had limited space but did not look out of place on Horne’s wing. The same can be said for the bench with Greg Holmes, Tatafu Polota-Nau and James Slipper doing a good job as the back-up front row trio to Scott Sio, Stephen Moore and Sekope Kepu. Rob Simmons is rotating well with fellow locks Dean Mumm and Kane Douglas, while Matt Toomua and Kurtley Beale were solid as the backline replacements. With the likes of Quade Cooper and Joe Tomane waiting in the wings, there is healthy competition for places and the impression that fresh troops are ready to come in and fill any hole properly.
Scotland showdown
Now it’s on to the quarters with a showdown with Scotland at Twickenham in a week’s time. Australia haven’t had the best record against the Scots in recent times, with Scotland grabbing a famous 9-6 victory at a rain-soaked Newcastle in 2012 and a gritty 9-8 win at home at Murrayfield in 2009. These were both games where goal-kicking, and Australia’s ability to play in bad weather, were called into question. Will we see the same next Sunday (Monday morning AEDT)? On the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign so far, probably not.
The weather has been relatively mild for the first three weeks of the tournament, which considering the English climate in October has been a blessing. The conditions have been perfect for open matches and running rugby but this can change at any moment. Michael Cheika will know this and have his team prepared for another brutal assault up front and a tense contest. Scotland will look to the Welsh game-plan – slow the Wallabies’ attacking ball down, frustrate them with suffocating defence and employ the choke tackle. Keep the match tight, close the space off and force the Australians into errors. Australia’s attack was flakey against Wales, far less clinical than it was against England or Uruguay, and the Scots will have noted the possession Wales enjoyed and the success of their high-kicking game. Rain, hail or shine, the Wallabies have to play to the conditions, back their skills and give another perfect defensive display. Do that and they’ll be on their way to a World Cup semi-final.
