As the Black Widow Natasha Romanoff said: “pain only makes you stronger.” We, as Australian rugby fans, must be very strong.
As mentioned last week, rankings can be more than a bit misleading and are not a real reflection of where teams are at. The 36-10 result on the weekend emphasised that in spades.
Credit where credit is due. The Irish played very well and looked good. They seemed to play faster and executed better than the Wallaroos. Six tries to two is significant. Also, it cannot be ignored, their rugby sevens women were introduced into the game seamlessly.
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I also really enjoyed the Irish commentators. They were balanced and well-researched about the Wallaroos.
So, what of the Wallaroos? A lot of their issues were self-inflicted. The wayward pass right on half-time was a killer, going into the break down 17-5 instead of 12-5. Arguably it is their least impressive game of the season, okay, their poorest performance.
The forwards brought some physicality and matched the Irish in the collisions. Generally, despite letting in six tries, the defence was pretty solid. An issue was getting caught a few times not rolling away and being penalised. The Wallaroos conceded nine penalties which is a good number but six were in their own half.
Despite the juggling of the front row, the scrum performed very well; 100 per cent success. Even when the subs came on, it held its own. Ash Marsters is going to be sore. She was twisting and stretching early in the second half after a scrum. Kudos to Bridie O’Gorman who put in a mighty 70-minute shift. Often in Australian rugby, you can point to the scrum but not in this match.
While there were a couple of handling errors, the backs showed enough with the ball they can do the job. Both Desiree Miller and Maya Stewart looked dangerous. But there was some poor handling in the backs. Generally, Faitala Moleka had a reasonable game for possibly her first start at No.10 – remember she is just 19 years old.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The lineout was seriously off: 53 per cent success rate, only winning eight of 15. Not good enough. There was a bit of wind blowing but Ireland only lost two of their 15 line outs. It really means the backs are missing the opportunity to get ball from a set piece.
Talking of lineouts, the maul defence continues to be a serious issue. Even the commentators mentioned following the Pacific Four Series, Ireland would be going for touch and a rolling maul. They did. All made worse by the fact six of the nine penalties were in their own half.
Kicking. Tala Moleka does not, as yet, have the length in her kicks. The Irish made the same number of kicks but added an extra 25 per cent in distance.
There was a marked difference when Arabella McKenzie came on. Similarly, some of the box kicks and chips were not well executed.
While it was no doubt of value to give Natalie Wright a start at halfback, even the commentators noted she was, at times, too slow to some rucks. When on attack, we were too slow releasing the ball from the ruck. Again, even the commentators mentioned this.
Australia also need to get more from their fullback Lori Cramer. She was busy and saved a lot of precarious situations but never looked dangerous with ball in hand.
Anyway, next week they go again. This time it is Wales at 4am AEST on Saturday 21 September (broadcast not confirmed as yet).
Will there be changes for next week against Wales? The first question is, are there better options in the squad? There is no point in making changes for the sake of it. Yes and no.
Australian players react following the loss to Ireland at Kingspan Stadium. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
In the backs, Layne Morgan and McKenzie should come on back, although they could roll out Moleka at No.10 and McKenzie at No.12. It would be tempting to give Halse or Moleka a go at fullback and have Lori Cramer on the bench. Noting these sort of changes are not game-changing.
The forward pack probably self-selects itself again. One could juggle the locks around, although I’m not sure it would make a significant difference.
Not sure why Atasi Lafai was not in the 23 but she could come back in either at lock or in the back row. The back row is solid and has size. But again the question remains, is there another option that will make the team better? We will see.
At least with the pain we are stronger and ready to go again.
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