You can only play the team in front of you, so it’s not essentially relevant that France were far from full strength.
As well, to lose both our Fijian-Australian wingers, inside the first few minutes of the match, was beyond bizarre
It is to the credit of Australia, and everyone concerned with the team, including coach Dave Rennie, that the Wallabies rallied and found a way to win, playing the match with only six backs.
There is a reason for France’s inability to exploit the 14-man Australian side because, yet again, possession and territory were overwhelmingly in Australia’s favour.
As with the first two Tests, we dominated both, 64 per cent of possession and 67 per cent of the territory.
We made 125 passes to their 69, but only four clean breaks; and we conceded 11 turnovers.
These are disturbing statistics surrounding a courageous win. Much work remains to be done.
Again, Taniela Tupou, world class, stepped up when he had to. He won the scrum penalty that Noah Lolesio kicked to win the game, a courageous kick from the youngster who had shanked a kickable penalty in the second half. Lolesio confronted the pressure and delivered.
Going into the series Rennie suggested that World Rugby needed to revise its red card policy. He is dead right.
Surely Marika Koroibete could have been put on report or made to sit out the match for 20 minutes; with so much riding on the result of Test matches, World Rugby needs to fix these red-card fiascos.
You can debate forever and a day what Koroibete did or did not do. But you won’t bring rugby fans through the turnstiles if you argue that Koroibete’s infringement merited a send-off. In fact, we saw too much of the referee.
As the French Test series ends, there is much to look forward to this weekend with the British and Irish Lions taking on the Springboks. All three Tests will now be played at Cape Town, on successive Saturdays, behind closed doors.
In 2009, the Lions won the series by winning the first two Tests. There is much history between these two teams.
The Springboks’ plan is to wheel out their 2019 World Cup-winning team, despite the fact that some of them have been sick with Covid and others are being rushed back into the Test team after serious injury.
Handre Pollard, the mercurial World Cup-winning fly-half, has had a major knee injury and a bout of Covid.
I tipped South Africa to win the 2019 World Cup because Pollard was the best clutch goalkicker in world rugby. World Cups are won by such players but is Pollard the player he was in 2019 and can he bounce off the back of an horrendous preparation?
Don’t be surprised if the Lions steal a win in the first Test. They have been very impressive in their tour matches and run up some massive scores, though they did lose to South Africa A on July 14, 17-13.
Lions coach Warren Gatland has picked a young but in-form team.
These Lions Tours only happen every four years and while it’s disappointing their fans can’t travel, it’s great that the tour is going ahead.
There is plenty of “needle” in these matches. The Springboks and South Africans, in general, don’t like the Brits, for historical reasons.
The British wanted to control South Africa in the 1700s and 1800s, because it was one of the trade routes to India.
When gold and diamonds were discovered in the 1880s, Britain came into conflict with the Boers who were predominantly Dutch farmers. This led to two Anglo-Boer Wars before South Africa won nominal independence in 1910 and, eventually, became a republic in 1961.
For many South Africans, a rugby series is the sporting theatre in which to continue historic battles.
My South African friends tell me they rate the Springboks beating the Lions far more than they do beating the All Blacks, even in New Zealand.
The Olympics and the Lions – what a weekend!
A couple of other things …
World Rugby needs to ensure that referees stop allowing halfbacks to play the ball in the ruck, with their feet or hands, before launching box kicks.
We should not make it easy to launch box kicks, because they nullify counter-attack.
If teams kick from a first receiver to exit their own half, these kicks are likely to be longer and uncontested and we should see more counter-attack. Our game needs more broken field attack; it’s what the public want.
May I also be bold enough to suggest that the Prime Minister hold a ceremony and present Quade Cooper with an Australian passport. How can we deny the young man citizenship?
Quade Santini Cooper played 70 times for Australia, figured in two Rugby World Cups and made over 110 appearances for Queensland.
He is 33 and came to Australian as a 13-year-old, subsequently representing Australian schoolboys. Give the man a passport.
The ridiculous argument given is that Quade has been out of the country playing rugby and, to be granted citizenship, you can only be out of the country for extended periods if you are “engaging in activities for the benefit of Australia”.
Quade is being regarded, with all his rugby travel, over long periods, and over many years, as having been outside Australia “without valid reason”.
The bureaucratic justification for this is the fact, are you ready for it, rugby isn’t regarded, for the purposes of citizenship, as an activity that allows you absence outside Australia.
Quade does not meet the special residents’ requirement.
Who was it that said that government is peopled by fools? I will see what can be done.
Finally, World Rugby needs to sort out scrum resets.
They are still chewing up over 10 minutes a Test match and only hard-core rugby fans will put up with it.
There should be no resets. If there is an infringement, award a free kick or a penalty.
We need to encourage teams to tap and go and put tempo into the match.
This has all come about because referees, many of whom have never played the game, determine when a scrum is set. That should be determined by the halfback and the pack. If, then, there is any delay or infringement, the referee can intervene.
Get the referee out of the whole business of setting scrums.
Enjoy the Springboks versus the British Lions tomorrow and leave a comment on line. I’m always interested in your thoughts.
More Coverage
Red hot boot, upset, blowouts: Stars, standouts of 1st Colts Rd 1
Two sides cracked 80, a favourite fell, one team kept their rivals scoreless and there were multiple hat tricks in a wacky and wonderful opening round of Sydney Rugby Union 1st Colts.
Suaalii shines on dark day for Tahs
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii produced a performance Rugby Australia officials hoped he’d bring when he signed from rugby league, but it was an otherwise diabolical day for the Waratahs in New Zealand.
Well it was a gutsy performance from the Wallabies to win the final Test against France.