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Perth and Auckland trying to outdo each other in the rain stakes probably ended up a draw. On the field, however, things were far more conclusive; the Springboks comfortably handling the Wallabies 30-12, and the All Blacks powering out of the blocks to overwhelm the Pumas, 42-10.
Given difficult conditions, fans at each venue got good value. Both referees, Andrea Piardi and Paul Williams, were consistently accurate and keen to keep play moving. How refreshing was it to see Williams admonish a South African trainer and issue a nuisance warning to their bench as early as the seventh minute? And, on other occasions, insist that the game continue while non-critically injured players were treated behind play.
Things got a little murkier after second-half replacement James Slipper joined starter Allan Alaalatoa on the sidelines, both having failed HIAs, with Australia forced to play a man down until sideline officials realised that they had things wrong.
What followed was uncontested scrums for the final half hour; an unfortunate necessity, which probably didn’t upset the Wallabies pack too much, but also served to provide a useful contribution to the debate about the way rugby is played and its attractiveness to audiences.
Tom Wright. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Of the fans lost to the game over the last decade, I’d wager many would quote tedium around scrums and scrum resets as a major reason for them turning off. Leveraging scrums as a means to obtain penalties is also a sore point for many.
The use of scrums merely as a device to restart play, such as in rugby league, is obviously popular. ‘Stop the messing around with the fat guys and get on with the game’, and so on.
But on the evidence of this thirty minutes, it was clear that the game lost something. Something that is inherently rugby. The absence of a genuine contest.
Forwards born to push and wrestle were simply going through the motions and leaning in. There was a numbing predictability to the outcome.
There can only be one path forward. Long live the scrum! Because when you de-power rugby, something is lost. Something far more important than anything that might potentially be gained.
The Springboks have so many weapons that, even with this avenue shut down, they simply shifted focus to their lineout. Without too much bother, they scored three close-range tries against a Wallabies maul defence that was high in energy but low on identifying where the ball was.
Two of those strikes were made easier by the Wallabies’ ill-discipline: Seru Uru’s unsubtle attempt to stop one drive leaving his side a man short for the next one; and some needless Nic White antics seeing the home side marched by Williams to a point where a penalty touch-finder, that may have gone close to the corner, definitely did.
Despite the Boks closing things out comfortably enough, the Wallabies hung tough in the first half and, despite conceding a territorial advantage, scrambled effectively, and were in fact only a kickable penalty away from taking a 12-11 lead to the sheds.
Aside from a shelled pass in the second half, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto had a strong match; Tom Wright was skilful and assured; the Wallabies got great value from the return of Angus Bell and Marika Koroibete, and there was a tempting little amuse-bouche later on, in the form of debutant Max Jorgensen.
Wright’s cover tackle on Makazole Mapimpi was a highlight; targeting the ball-carrying arm and hitting with force. Mapimpi must be wondering what he has to do to score in the corner in Australia, but what on Earth was he doing in the first place, tucking the ball under the inside rather than outside arm, giving Wright a target to aim at?
Coming on top of Willie le Roux’s butchery last week, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s inexplicable drop in the tenth minute, South Africa have been far less clinical in the red zone than one might expect of a world number-one ranked side.
It’s not hurting them at the moment because they have so many tricks up their sleeve and players to burn, and Australia does not have the armoury to make them pay for their laxity.
When the lineout maul is firing and proven match-winners like Cheslin Kolbe and Pieter-Steph du Toit are at the top of their game, it’s easy to fob off the flaws. But Rassie Erasmus is too smart to know that they can’t continue to leave easy points on the field with the All Blacks on the near horizon.
With the All Blacks back to Eden Park, coming off a disappointing loss, it was no surprise to see the Pumas have a far tougher time of it this week. And it didn’t take long to confirm that the All Blacks’ key failings from Wellington had been attended to.
Prominent was a change in tactics; gone was the over-confident messing around behind the advantage line, replaced by more direct running and a staunch desire to win the territory battle.
That’s all obvious enough, particularly on a wet and slippery night, but narrowing their focus to fewer and more simple objectives isn’t something that All Blacks sides of recent times have embraced easily.
The return of scrums was the key to the All Blacks laying a solid platform for victory. Once a result is etched into the record books, asking ‘what if?’ is mostly pointless and, as noted in last week’s column, the Pumas were comprehensive in victory in Wellington.
Nevertheless, it was difficult to avoid wondering how differently things might have worked last week, had three-quarters of the match not gone by without a scrum.
As ever, Pablo Matera never let up, but instead of having the Pumas loose forwards rampaging towards them, this time it was the All Blacks returning the favour.
Notably, players under a spotlight after last week were this week among the home side’s best. TJ Perenara’s blindside dart and hook pass for Will Jordan’s first try; Tupou Vaa’i’s athleticism and heads-up interception; Ethan Blackadder holding up two mauls for turnovers; Damian McKenzie’s long-kicking game and faultless display from the tee; each one of them important contributors.
Also warmly welcomed were Will Jordan – back in the try-scoring business – and Rieko Ioane; still not everyone’s cup of tea at centre, but offering a welcome presence in attack and defence.
The flow of points dropped away after half-time, but for the most part, the All Blacks didn’t loosen up and lose their shape in the last half hour. If that’s the price to be paid for sticking to the script and playing conservatively, that’s an outcome Scott Robertson will take, every time.
The win took the All Blacks out to 50 matches at Eden Park without defeat; something that if we hadn’t all got used to the idea of this modest, motley suburban ground being an impenetrable fortress, might otherwise be regarded as something truly remarkable.
Beauden Barrett breaks away for a try. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
It’s hard to decipher a reason why any one ground should offer the All Blacks – or any team for that matter – such a distinct advantage. Perhaps it’s something as simple as a kind message from God to Aucklanders; a little sweetener for them in return for suffering through their traffic.
One thing that might not be long for this world is the new lineout law variation allowing for play to continue from a crooked feed, if the defending team doesn’t contest the jump.
In the second half, Argentina threw short to a prop standing on the 5m line; clearly crooked, but allowed because there was no contest from a New Zealand player. The problem is that there is almost never a contest for this kind of sharp, low throw; these are not the jumping contests envisaged by the lawmakers.
Expect some kind of clarification or law variation to follow. If not, there’s nothing to stop any side helping themselves to free ball through the front channel all day long.
At least if World Rugby is kept busy fixing this, we can be confident they won’t be tempted to mess around anymore with the scrum.