TRC: Round 3 Recap

The 2015 Rugby Championship is in the books, and what a way for it to wrap up. Two massive upsets, making the storylines that much more interesting come September when the World Cup gets underway. Firstly, the Wallabies stunning battle with the All Blacks, that saw them claim the title and put themselves in the right place for a Bledisloe cup win for the first time in over a decade. Meanwhile, Argentina showed just how far they have developed, celebrating the 50th anniversary of their first tour of South Africa, with a phenomenal 37- 25 win over the Springboks.

Scores:

Australia 27- New Zealand 19

South Africa 25- Argentina 37

Australia vs New Zealand:

The Wallabies put in an outstanding performance, sending a clear warning to England and Wales as they seemed to play a complete game. The All Blacks really have no excuses, as they simply came off second best in this encounter.

The first takeaway from the match for me was the immense physicality of both sides, especially in the forwards. David Pocock was the only forward to make more than 34 meters total in the entire match, and the game featured a plethora of bone jarring impacts. This should be a clear warning sign for England and Wales, as the Wallabies clearly showed that they can win a physical battle in the forwards. The Pooper combination was devastating for the Wallabies, and it slowed down the All Blacks to a very manageable pace. Pocock played a key role in killing the All Blacks momentum and winning turnovers, while Michael Hooper was a tackling machine, making 11 tackles, and missing none. The only change I might make to the back row would be to consider bringing the likes of Scott Higginbotham or Sean McMahon in at 6 to add a little more attacking danger.

Matt Toomua needs to start for the Wallabies in the future. Foley and Giteau are excellent players, but they have a tendency to run sideways, and that kept the Wallabies on the back foot fairly frequently. Toomua entrance to the match saw the Wallabies find another gear in attack and definitely swung the momentum in the Wallabies favor. Nick Phipps played very poorly. He looked frantic on the field, and I don’t mean played the game at a high pace frantic, I mean small child after drinking a 2 liter bottle of soda frantic. We saw more of the aimless passing that gifted Tommy Bowe a try in last years November tests, and he put his team under unnecessary pressure throughout the match. Nic White brought a more assured presence, and led the Wallabies back from the brink.

Nehe Milner-Skudder was phenomenal for the All Blacks. His double put them back in the lead, and he showed no issues getting himself involved throughout the match. He was the only All Black to go past 100 meters, with 113 in total. He beat 4 defenders and had 4 clean breaks, and tormented the Wallabies all day long. On the other hand, Sonny Bill Williams was unusually quiet, and failed to really make any sort of impact in the game. He may have just lost out to Ma’a Nonu for the 12 shirt, barring any unexpected circumstances ahead.

The tone for the match was set by Michael Hooper’s hit on Julian Savea. How many times have we seen Savea finish in that exact same situation, simply bumping off the covering defender and diving into the corner. Hooper was having none of it however, and he sent a physical and mental message to his teammates and to his opposition. Individual performances like that can change the course of matches, and if Hooper and co. continue to play as they have been, they will be hard to stop come the World Cup.

South Africa vs Argentina:

This one hurt Springbok fans. Nothing went the way of the Boks, and it seemed that everything that they had done right all season long blew up right in their face. The Pumas played a very good game, executing fundamentals and playing with unending commitment. Heyneke Meyer will have a lot to consider ahead of announcing his final World Cup squad, and may need to once again consider life without Jean De Villiers, who suffered a broken jaw.

I think the Boks will want to go back to their De Allende and Kriel center pairing, as that brought much more success for the side. Kriel struggled to have an impact on the match from the wing, although he did set up Willie Le Roux’s try with an outstanding offload and good step. Kriel has a lot of potential, and when paired with De Allende gives Springboks have a very dynamic attacking three quarter line. De Allende was very quiet as well during the match, and threw an unnecessary pass 5 meters out from the line, blowing the Springboks best scoring chance. He also missed 3 of his 7 attempted tackles.

Argentina were dominant for much of the match, controlling the breakdown seemingly at will, and their line speed meant that the Springbok backline was virtually silent for much of the match. Handre Pollard really struggled from 10, perhaps showing his youth (something he has managed very well) missing a kick for touch late in the game and frequently suffering from lapses in concentration with his passing. Argentina’s back row were everywhere, and created havoc for the Springbok pack, while Ruan Pienaar was constantly under pressure. No.8 Leonardo Senatore produced an outstanding offload to set up Juan Imhoff for his second try, capping an outstanding game for the Pumas pack.

Marcos Ayerza and co. were sublime, winning an abundance of penalties, which certainly disrupted the Springbok’s game plan. Having said that, there were several uncharacteristic performances from the green and gold. Bismarck Du Plessis appeared to forget what a ruck was, and lost the use of his hands, while Schalk Burger just could not get any go forward ball. Have no doubt that this Springbok team will bounce back, but you have to wonder if teams like Scotland and Samoa will smell a whiff of blood in the water.

I can’t say enough about the great play of Marcelo Bosch and Agustin Creevy, who have built a foundation for success, that will see Argentina be a thorn in the side of New Zealand in Pool C of this years World Cup.

Marcos Ayerza 2. Agustin Creevy 3. Sekope Kepu 4. Brodie Retallick 5. Lood De Jager 6. Pablo Matera 7. Michael Hooper 8. David Pocock 9. Tomas Cubelli 10. Matt Toomua 11. Juan Imhoff 12. Matt Giteau 13. Marcelo Bosch 14. Nehe Milner- Skudder 15. Willie Le Roux