As Australia prepare for Saturday’s opening Bledisloe Cup Test against the All Blacks in Sydney, the recent Super Rugby final between the Crusaders and the Lions should be compulsory viewing in the Wallabies’ team room. The Crusaders’ 37-18 win in Christchurch two weeks ago might just have shown the Wallabies what to do – and what not to do – against the New Zealand national side.
The Crusaders are not the All Blacks, of course, but they are the closest approximation to the men in black in terms of talent, tactics and tenacity. And the first lesson the Wallabies could learn is that possession and field position are only potential advantages, something the Crusaders and the All Blacks, and all Kiwi teams for that matter, innately understand.
The Lions completely dominated possession and territory, but were out-scored four tries to two. They failed to capitalise on their potential advantage because they conceded too many turnovers and missed too many tackles. The Wallabies will need to play with hyper-efficiency in attack and defence if they are to maximise their own opportunities and limit the All Blacks’ chances.
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But perhaps more importantly the Wallabies must play positively for the whole game, which was something the Lions did not do against the Crusaders. The Lions had 88% possession in the first 12 minutes, but came away with only three points after opting for a shot at penalty goal rather than continuing to attack with the ball in hand. This lack of ambition undermined the South Africans’ effort.
You could argue the Crusaders paid the Lions respect and took the three points when they were on offer in the final and the Lions were doing the same. But when faced with teams as potent as the Crusaders and the All Blacks, it’s essential to take every opportunity to score seven points rather than three.
The Crusaders or the All Blacks will not be beaten in increments of three points when they are capable of exploding in attack, turning seven points into 14 points and then into 21 points in a matter of minutes. Just taking three points against the All Blacks is not showing respect, it is showing fear.
Of course, there are times when taking the three is the obvious option – such as when attempting a match-winning penalty on full-time – but by and large to beat the All Blacks points, and plenty of them, must be scored.
The Wallabies must also be super disciplined with their kicking in general play. The Lions started with good intent, but for whatever reason playmaker Elton Jantjies began to kick the ball away, and this was punished severely by the Crusaders. The best example came with Crusaders fullback David Havili’s try in the 34th minute. Richie Mo’unga caught an aimless kick by Jantjies and launched a blistering counter-attack to set up Havili’s try. From the moment Mo’unga caught the ball to the moment Havili touched down a grand total of 14 seconds elapsed.
The Kiwis do not need mountains of possession when they are capable of scoring so quickly from broken play and the best source of broken play possession is poor kicking from the opposition.
In the Wallabies’ 18-9 win against Ireland in the first Test in June, playmakers Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale kicked well tactically, but they didn’t do so in the second Test and Australia lost 26-21. The Wallabies’ kicking has to be up to the standard of that first Irish Test, perhaps even better, or they will pay a heavy price in the shape of All Black counter-attacks.
The Crusaders also demonstrated two classic Kiwi characteristics against the Lions – the ability to turn an opponent’s strength into a weakness and the art of surprise. The Lions had scored more tries from rolling mauls than any team in Super Rugby, but the Crusaders’ defensive lineout took away this major weapon. There was some debate about whether the Crusaders defended the rolling maul legally, but they got the benefit of the doubt and kept doing it.
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The Kiwis will always do what you do not expect them to do. When Crusaders centre Ryan Crotty was sin-binned in the 65th minute the Lions would have expected the under-manned Kiwis to slow down the play until he returned. Instead, lock Scott Barrett scored in the 70th minute after the Crusaders took a quick lineout and increased the tempo of the game, catching the Lions unawares. The try extended the Crusaders’ lead to 19 points, which meant the Lions had to score three converted tries in less than 10 minutes to win. It was a devilishly clever bit of thinking.
If the Wallabies are to upset the All Blacks, they must be positive, efficient and vigilant at all times. Anything less and they will suffer the same fate as the Lions. But in their efforts to avoid going down that road, it’s not too late to watch a replay of the game two weeks ago and maybe, just maybe, discover the key to success.