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Australia prove class apart
Stephen Jones July 27, 2008
Australia prove class apart - Times Online
THE CHARMED life of Robbie Deans continued in Sydney yesterday when Australia won their fifth game under his charge, beating the team that many New Zealanders believe Deans should now be coaching. This win made it two from two in the TriNations, was richly deserved and the margin could have been much higher. They are on their way back to respectability and perhaps even hegemony in world rugby.
New Zealand were once again revealed as possessing terrific effort and commitment, yet very little in terms of true world class. They were also shown to be a one-trick pony, as all they had was a game of endless passing and movement without reference points. Once Australia had learned how to slow them down in the second half, the visitors had absolutely nowhere to go and their incoherence in some parts of the second half was an embarrassment.
To add to their woes, they will also be investigated by the International Rugby Board. Andy Ellis, their scrum-half, was replaced immediately after scoring a try in the 45th minute. Yet around the hour, when Jimmy Cowan, the replacement at No 9, was injured, we saw Ellis come back on to the field. He would only be allowed to return if he had been replaced temporarily for a blood injury yet television pictures showed him sitting on the bench receiving no treatment whatsoever, just after he had left the field.
On a happier note, Australia will be absolutely thrilled by the combination of Luke Burgess and Matt Giteau at half-back and the buccaneering of full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper. They were driven onwards by James Horwill and Nathan Sharpe up front and while they were often second best for possession, they had far more creative ability and footballing sense than the heads-down All Blacks.
Yet again, we had total vindication for the stance of rugby in Europe and in many other parts of the world in standing out strongly against the grisly experimental laws that grant free kicks for a raft of offenses and that provide a cheats’ charter. The experiments were meant to remove some of the random elements of refereeing but yesterday we saw the horrendous randomness of it all. Referees are meant to give a tap penalty if they judge that the offense was not deliberate. How are they meant to know? The game was littered with a stream of penalties at the breakdown, and considering the crooked throwing to the line-out and the shambles of the scrummaging, we were also left with precious few areas of contest for possession.
That didn’t seem to bother the Wallabies as they calmed any prematch nerves with two tries in the opening stages. Lote Tuqiri set up the first with a splendid counter-attack and after Sharpe had secured possession, Giteau moved the ball to the left for centre Ryan Cross to score. Giteau had already kicked a penalty and his conversion made it 10-0.
Mils Muliaina hit back for the All Blacks after a move that appeared to contain any number of offences but then, after outstanding work by Giteau and Ashley-Cooper, who split the New Zealand defence with a chip ahead, wing Peter Hynes made it 17-5 approaching half-time.
Just before the break, with New Zealand in urgent need of a score, Australia captain George Smith turned over the ball in a tackle. He was brought to ground by an All Black lying on the deck and bizarrely the referee, who struggled throughout, penalised Smith. New Zealand drove on and Andrew Hore forced his way over after a series of attacks to reduce the deficit to five at half-time.
Soon after it got worse for Australia. Dan Carter made a splendid break, was backed up by Ma’a Nonu, and Ellis forced his way over. Carter’s conversion made it 19-17 to New Zealand. However, the home side absolutely dominated the final quarter. They resorted to the pick-and-drive on several occasions to tie in the All Blacks’ defence and after a thrilling passage of play, in which Tuqiri could easily have scored a brilliant individual try, flanker Rocky Elsom provided the finishing burst.
Giteau dropped a goal to take Australia two scores ahead and then Horwill sealed victory with a powerful charge up the side of a ruck for his third try in just five Tests. Australia will need to win away to become credible title contenders, but the resurgence is very much launched.
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Originally Posted by PerthGirl
