They strutted in but staggered out.
With an unbeaten record under new coach Joe Schmidt and a formidable history at Fortress Suncorp, Australia were quietly confident of flexing their newfound muscle in a clash with world champions South Africa.
But the chastening near-complete 33-7 annihilation by the Springboks will leave serious scars for the Wallabies.
Impotent in attack, dismantled in defence and embarrassed at set-piece, the Wallabies got a painful lesson in rugby basics from Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks and looked every inch the number nine-ranked contender against rugby’s heavyweight champs. Worst of all, the scoreline flattered neither side, with South Africa far from their clinical best.
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Schmidt took the long view post-match, calling the defeat “a starting point up against the really big boys” and pinpointed experience and confidence as the true difference.
“They’re at a different stage of their evolution, with so much experience and players who’ve played at the top level for a long time and successfully,” Schmidt said of the Boks.
“We have quite a youthful side, a side that is still coming together . . . but we’ve got to come together better than we did today and accelerate some of the learning [because] you don’t suddenly solve the South African conundrum.”
True, but his side needs to find some discipline and dynamism fast if they’re to avoid a wipeout in the next Test.
The gloss of victories against Wales (ranked 11) and Georgia (12) – who both scored 28 points or more against Australia – hid glaring Wallabies’ deficiencies. TheSpringboks ruthlessly exposed them, running harder and further (543m to 284m) despite only marginally more carries (139 to 114) and missing fewer tackles (29 to 18).
The most damning metrics were the 15 penalties Australia gave away and the 33 points they conceded, with only try-saving tackles by Jake Gordon, Andrew Kellaway and Rob Valetini preventing a 50+ Springbok scoreline. And although the stats say the Wallabies held their own in the scrum and lineout, they were blown away in both.
Equally worrying was the Wallabies’ anaemic attack which Schmidt himself looks after. Halfbacks Noah Lolesio and Jake Gordon kicked too early, too often and too poorly, denying their centres and back three a chance to impact the game early in the match. The only points the Wallabies registered came in the 75th minute – too late to matter.
Now comes the reckoning.
How does Schmidt rebuild his shocked young squad for the rematch this weekend at Optus Stadium in Perth, a venue where South African support will be even greater than it was at Suncorp? The challenge is as much mental as it is physical, and as stern a test of Australia’s coaching team as its players.
Mike Cron’s scrum must find forward gear after going backwards in Brisbane, while Geoff Parling’s lineout was humiliated by Springbok trick plays. With Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams out with concussion, Taniela Tupou in Tonga for his father’s funeral and Allan Allalatoa badly out of form, Australia’s engine room must repair on the run.
Young Reds Josh Canham and Angus Blyth, Force heavies Tom Robertson and Sam Carter and mongrel Brumby Tom Hooper will likely be called in as reinforcements. Star Waratah Angus Bell is reportedly 50-50 but should play if his dodgy foot allows. Debutant Carlo Tizzano, after 20 tackles and no misses, deserves another chance.
The backline is equally battered. Filipo Daugunu has a fractured fibula and will miss the next five Tests. Two-time John Eales medallist and full-time wrecking ball Marika Koroibete “wasn’t ready” for the first Test but must be unleashed as a weapon in the second. Gordon’s bullet passes and brave tackling should retain his spot at halfback.
Of all Schmidt’s problems, his biggest might be who to install as Wallabies playmaker. After 21 hot-and-cold Tests, Lolesio sustained serious fractures to his confidence at Suncorp. With Carter Gordon lost to the NRL, Ben Donaldson poor against Georgia and veteran James O’Connor on the outer, Schmidt must break the emergency glass.
Joe Schmidt knows how good Reds outhalf Tom Lynagh is – and also how young he is. But at 21, Lynagh has poise, courage and playmaking potential up the wazoo. Since arriving at the Reds from Italy at age 18 he has blossomed in the shadow of his father, Michael, who played his 72 Tests in a dinner suit, racking up a then-record 911 points.
So far, Schmidt has kept his kid dynamite in cotton wool, blooding him off the bench in two Tests. But the flickers Lynagh has shown so far need oxygen to burn brighter. Now the Wallabies know how far behind the world they are, it might be time to roll the dice on Generation Next. Throw Tom in the furnace and watch him light it up.
