Tom Lynagh was smashed by the Lions in Brisbane. A Wallabies great wanted an immediate response
By Iain Payten
Veteran prop James Slipper said Australia have to meet the Lions “on the edge” of the rule book in the second Test in Melbourne as former Test star Matt Burke questioned why no Wallabies responded with menace to a cheap shot on young five-eighth Tom Lynagh in Brisbane.
Slipper pointed to a more ruthless attitude at the MCG by the Wallabies as key back-rower Rob Valetini confirmed his availability for the must-win clash.
The grunt work of Valetini was missed at Suncorp Stadium, where the Lions physically dominated the Wallabies. Valetini said he felt on track to play after a calf injury but revealed coach Joe Schmidt had made the call not to risk the big back-rower for the first Test.
“I thought I would have been a shoo-in for the first Test but [it was] sort of a smart idea just to have a week off and get through some more training, a bit more loading through the calf,” Valetini said. “It feels good to go.”
The return of Valetini and Will Skelton will go a long way towards helping the Wallabies improve their physicality in the contact zone, and a more street-smart approach to the breakdown as well could help, in the eyes of Slipper.
Slipper, 36, is the only survivor in the Wallabies from the 2013 series, when Australia rallied from a first Test loss in Brisbane to win in Melbourne.
Rob Valetini is ready for action in the second Test.Credit: Getty Images
Slipper said the advice he would pass to the team is about “being composed and relying on your preparation”.
One area the Wallabies need to improve is matching the Lions in pushing the boundaries with the referee. Australian coaches throughout the whole Lions tour have been privately miffed about the sight of tourists repeatedly slowing down or impeding halfbacks by “accidentally” being offside at the ruck, and Curry did it several times in Brisbane as well, without sanction.
Schmidt said post-match: “It was very hard to play with guys standing next to us, sometimes.”
Asked if the Wallabies needed to also push it to the edge with referees, Slipper said: “You’ve just got to match whatever ... you want to meet them on that edge, that’s probably the key there.
“I feel like in areas that we didn’t do enough. It comes back to … that first half, we missed the collision a fair bit, we didn’t win that battle. And then that had a flow-on effect into the breakdown. So we just need to make sure we meet them on that edge that you’re talking about.”
Curry also earned the ire of the crowd when he dangerously tackled Lynagh in midair just before halftime, but escaped a yellow card. Speaking on the Between Two Posts podcast, Burke said Curry should have been sin-binned and Wallabies players should have also rushed in to Lynagh’s defence.
“He’s smiling at the end of it because he [Curry] got a shot on our debutant No.10,” Burke said. “My concern was there was no backing up; our blokes should have gone in there to rip and tear, so to speak. You can’t throw a punch and all the rest of it, but he’s got to know he did the wrong thing. He got up and just got up and walked away, and he thought: ‘We have the tick of the box for physicality there’.
“I know with the repercussions these days for fighting, there’s none of that in the game. But you have to be able to assert some kind of authority, and I don’t think our guys did that. They needed a different response.”
Tom Curry gets away with a midair tackle on Tom Lynagh at Suncorp Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
Players moved quickly to check on Lynagh and get him to his feet, and Curry perhaps escaped due to being under bodies on the ground and with O’Keefe immediately jumping in.
Burke’s comments came to light after the Wallabies’ press conference, but Slipper did respond to criticism from former England coach Clive Woodward, who wrote the Wallabies had a “losing mentality” based on Harry Wilson kicking the ball out after the final siren instead of trying to go 100m to score and potentially make it 27-26.
“I didn’t see that [Woodward comment],” Slipper said. “From memory, the game was over; we were eight points behind. I wouldn’t say it was a losing mentality. I just thought we’d probably put a full stop on that game and crack on with game two.”
Slipper said the key to success in a must-win second Test was blocking out the “do or die” nature of the game and focusing on the process.
Following comments from Schmidt on Saturday that indicated the opening Tests of the Rugby Championship in South Africa were also on his mind, Slipper was asked if the Lions series was not seen as the singular pinnacle event of the year.
“I don’t think Joe would have meant that. He probably came off the wrong way. This is up there with a World Cup final for us as players,” Slipper said. “For a lot of players, it’s a once-in-a-career opportunity.”