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Spiro Zevros spins Saturday's loss

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
Some Wallabies just not fit for the job
Spiro Zavos | August 25, 2009

"WE'RE going to lose, we're going to lose," a journalist in the press box wailed as Daniel Carter lined up his final and decisive penalty kick at the end of a dramatic Test at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

Amid a wind storm of home-crowd noise, Carter duly kicked the penalty. The Wallabies failed to drop kick a goal after the final whistle, even though Matt Giteau could have thrown the ball over the bar. Why wasn't the call made? Too much physical and mental tiredness, perhaps?

And, once again, the Wallabies had snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory.

What is going on here with the Wallabies? They get strong leads against the All Blacks and the Springboks. But, slowly and surely, the lead is overtaken by their relentless opponents who roll forward in surges of energy that the fading Wallabies just cannot seem to contain. In the second half, the All Blacks had something like 80 per cent of possession and field position. The Wallabies played like a team whose batteries had run down.

This is not a new condition for the team. Greg Clarke, in his call of the Test on Fox Sports, pointed out that in the past five Tests against the All Blacks the Wallabies have conceded 74 points to 23 in the second half of play. On Saturday night, they were leading 12-3 at half-time. As a general rule in Tests, the team that is in front at half-time will get up and win the match. Why are the Wallabies defying this general rule?

In my view, the players are not as fit as New Zealand and South Africa. On Saturday night, the All Blacks substituted only two forwards and two backs (both injured). Brad Thorn said he felt like a "walking carcass" after the Test. But it was a carcass that made his tackles, hit the rucks and mauls hard, took the ball up and chased purposefully on defence right to the final whistle. The Wallabies forwards, except for Benn Robinson and Rocky Elsom, just do not seem to have the same hard-bodied commitment to a work rate that does not flag as the match progresses.

The fault lies with the Australian Super rugby coaches who (and I expect a blast from RUPA for saying this) are far too lenient and tolerant of player power. When Rod Macqueen took over the Wallabies he identified a lack of fitness and general sense of too much player entitlement in the Australian squad. The players were inclined to be lazy in mind and body, and this translated to sloppy and losing play on the field. Sound familiar? He hired a fitness coach, Steve Nance, from the Brisbane Broncos. Nance had the players vomiting after his first training sessions. In time Macqueen's squad was the fittest in world rugby.

The fitness and the capacity to make good decisions under pressure paid off. Macqueen's Wallabies won the 1999 Rugby World Cup with 13 players from a side that had conceded more than 60 points to the Springboks two years earlier.

They won the Bledisloe Cup from the All Blacks, and retained it with last-minute victories. In 2000 John Eales kicked a penalty late into injury time to give the Wallabies a 24-23 victory. In 2001 Toutai Kefu scored a try on time to give the Wallabies a 29-26 victory in Sydney. Then in 2002, again in injury time, Matt Burke kicked a penalty to give the Wallabies a 16-14 triumph.

Next year's campaign to win the Tri Nations must start with a Nance-type regime to make the Wallabies fit enough. If the Super coaches won't do this, then Robbie Deans has to.[/b]

Could it perhaps be the 2009 version of the Wallabies aren't as good as those earlier teams? For sure the ABs look a weaker outfit over the last couple of years as they scramble to cover major player loses. Troughs and highs I reckon. What I would like to see just once this year is an Aussie rugby journalist acknowledge his team loss on the day due to the other guys actually playing better rugby, not just turning up on the day for the Wooblies to lose to.

For Oz supporters I feel your pain, the ABs went a session dropping every T3 game as well :(
 
Spiro outdone by Stephen Jones who clearly was watching another game in an alternative reality where the Lions won their last two series down south

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
All Blacks breathe life into Tri-Nations

NEW ZEALAND kept the 2009 Tri-Nations alive when Dan Carter, returning to the team six months after suffering injury in a French club game, kicked the All Blacks to victory with less than three minutes remaining in what was another thoroughly disappointing match in an increasingly feeble 2009 series.

And yet again, a major rugby match has been decided with a seemingly random refereeing decision in rugby’s nightmare area â€" the breakdown. New Zealand were showing signs of panic as they trailed in the dying moments but then Carter, who kicked magnificently, put in a wicked long kick to the corner. Drew Mitchell went back to gather, passed the ball to Lachie Turner out of a tackle and then Turner was submerged by opposition chasers. Indeed, the All Black tackler Isaac Ross lay on the Australian side of the ball after the tackle.

Turner clearly extended his hands to play the ball but it was difficult for him to clear it because of the prone New Zealand body. Amazingly, referee Jonathan Kaplan penalised the Wallaby wing for holding on and Carter kicked a nerveless penalty.

New Zealand held on to retain the Bledisloe Cup, when a defeat would have almost guaranteed the unbeaten South African team the Tri-Nations ***le. And any neutral observer would have noted that at no stage during this tournament has any of the three competing teams produced rugby of remotely the same quality and attacking bite as the Lions produced in South Africa on their recent tour.

The match also raises the first question marks over the coaching regime of Robbie Deans in Australia. When the season began, it was widely reckoned that Deans was bringing forward a new generation of Wallabies. Australia, however, are now rooted to the bottom of the table, out of contention, and they will bitterly regret the chances that they missed and the lack of composure they showed in the second half. The fine form of Berrick Barnes in midfield and Stephen Moore up front will not mollify them â€" they should have scored near half-time, when a break by Barnes and a thundering run by Nathan Sharpe would almost certainly have brought a try were it not for a cynical offence by Jimmy Cowan. Apart from that Australia, who looked on paper an enterprising team, had to make do with penalties from Matt Giteau, who kicked all 18 of their points.

At least the win will relieve the growing pressure on Graham Henry, the New Zealand coach. There was only one try in the match, Ma’a Nonu bursting down the left on an overlapping run to take a superb pass from Sitiveni Sivivatu. A brilliant conversion from near the touchline by Carter put New Zealand in front, although Giteau’s final penalty seemed to re-establish Australian supremacy.

New Zealand looked far more comfortable in midfield, with Carter returned and with Luke McAlister alongside him at inside-centre. That gave the All Blacks a balance and footballing ability they have lacked of late.

Up front, there was promising play from Owen Franks, the latest New Zealander to be given the task of filling the jersey of the departed Carl Hayman. But the man of the match for many was probably Brad Thorn, a rumbustious lock. He has no great ability in the lineout, which leaves New Zealand denuded in that department, but his power at close quarters and in the rucks adds a superb dimension.

South Africa probably need to win only one of their away matches in the tournament to take the ***le but at least New Zealand have a desperate urgency to avenge the emphatic defeats they suffered at the hands of the Springboks in South Africa.

And for the moment, New Zealand will be grateful for the return of their talismanic fly-half, and for the cool kick he produced at the end, to breathe new life into a season that was on its last legs.[/b]

Strangely even the Aussie Channel 7 Commentators were stating how badly the ABs were getting done by the Ref in the first quarter. Maybe Mr Jones watched a league game instead and got confused by all the ball running, something he's not use to clearly.
 
Zavos did a very good article of the game yesterday, this ones aint bad either. Top writer he is.
 
Spiros is a plank and clearly has a dislike for Saffas. I can understand that but at least wite balanced articles.
 
I think Zavos is a great journalist. He always comes up with an interesting angle. Jones is just an idiot, I never ever read his stuff. It is just way too biased.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (William18 @ Aug 26 2009, 12:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>
I think Zavos is a great journalist. He always comes up with an interesting angle. Jones is just an idiot, I never ever read his stuff. It is just way too biased.[/b]

Zavos is the SH Jones.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>
All Blacks breathe life into Tri-Nations

And any neutral observer would have noted that at no stage during this tournament has any of the three competing teams produced rugby of remotely the same quality and attacking bite as the Lions produced in South Africa on their recent tour.[/b]

I was waiting for this one to pop up...
 

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