Was it the most important Test loss in the history of Australian men’s rugby? The Wallabies’ brave 35-29 loss to the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup-deciding Test in Dunedin on Saturday night regained the respect of their great Trans-Tasman rivals and restored the faith of long-suffering Australian rugby fans. Could you imagine the reaction if the Wallabies had capitulated the way they did in their record 54-34 loss to the All Blacks in Sydney the week before? It could have been terminal for Australian rugby. Instead, the Wallabies showed they can compete with the best team in the world, giving hope where previously there was only despair.
For all that, it was still a loss, yet another at the hands of the men in black in a record 15-year run of Bledisloe Cup dominance. Like the Golden Wallabies of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the All Blacks found a way to win when it looked like all was lost, while the Australians found new ways to lose.
The big difference between the Wallabies’ pitiful performance in Sydney and their stunning form reversal in Dunedin was their competitiveness at the advantage line; the imaginary combat zone where the game is so often won and lost. If you can dominate, or even compete, at the advantage-line, you will always give yourself a chance of winning. The Wallabies did this in Dunedin and came oh so close to causing the biggest upset in Bledisloe Cup history, even more meritorious because they did it without injured enforcer Adam Coleman.
But it was not quite enough. With the inclusion of Dane Haylett-Petty, Tevita Kuridrani and Rob Simmons in the run-on side and Kurtley Beale defending in the front-line, the Wallabies’ defence improved on their woeful effort in Sydney, but it was still not all it could be. The All Blacks and the Wallabies scored five tries apiece, but the New Zealanders had three tries disallowed and made many more line-breaks than Australia. Eight tries to five would have been close to the eight tries to four the Kiwis scored in Sydney.
The Wallabies’ scrum was also a major weakness, which the All Blacks exploited, although their dominance actually backfired on them occasionally. Former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore was hooked in the 38th minute for Tatafu Polota-Nau - regarded as Australia’s strongest scrummaging hooker - but the scrum still went backwards. It was only the Australians’ ability to somehow keep the scrum up that saved them from being whistled off the ground.
And what a time for Wallabies five-eighth Bernard Foley to leave his kicking boots at home. Foley kicked only two from six attempts, three times hitting the post, while his opposite number Beauden Barrett landed a perfect five from five.
Ultimately, the Wallabies’ Achilles’ heel was the re-start. Australia messed up the first two kick-offs of the game, which would be a portent of doom. When Beale scored between the posts in the 76th minute it looked as if the Wallabies had performed a minor miracle. All they had to do was secure the ball from the kick-off and play down the clock for three minutes and victory was theirs. But fullback Israel Folau, the safest player under the high ball in the Wallabies team, spilt the ball from the kick-off and the All Blacks regained possession, launching one last attacking raid which ended with Barrett scoring the match-winning try.
An emotional Wallabies coach Michael Cheika claimed the team had deserved to win, and made a cryptic criticism of referee Nigel Owens, suggesting the outcome was “scripted.” Rather than blaming the referee, Cheika would be better off trying to figure out how the Wallabies failed to defend a 17-0 lead, which they held after just 14 minutes. You could understand Cheika’s frustration. The All Blacks will have the home-ground advantage in two of the three Tests next year, while there will be only two home and away Tests in the 2019 World Cup year, which means the Wallabies will have to win both to win the series. The Wallabies will also not have the home-ground advantage in the Bledisloe Cup again until 2020 – 18 years after Australia last held the trophy. Yes, it was an important loss in Dunedin.
