If Michael Hooper could have turned back time, perhaps he would have revised his decision-making in the closing stages of the opening half of last night’s saturated Bledisloe Cup stalemate in Sydney.
Instead, as he reflected on a 12-12 draw that at least ended the All Blacks 17-test winning run, the Wallabies captain and influential openside flanker had to concede: “We’re in the same position as we were two hours ago.”
That means the Wallabies must win at Eden Park for the first time since 1986, in seven days time, to maintain any hope of reclaiming the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby supremacy at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in October.
Denying the All Blacks an unprecedented 18th straight victory for a top-tier nation was scant consolation for Hooper and his teammates who, in the cold and wet light of today, might consider the Rugby Championship opener as a gilt-edged, lost opportunity at ANZ Stadium.
“It feels a little bit like a loss, the boys in the changing room are a bit down,” said Hooper, as he pondered the Wallabies inability to set up Bernard Foley – the Super Rugby final’s match-winner at the same ground a fortnight ago – for a deadlock-breaking dropped goal.
The reserve first five-eighth was in position in from of the posts in the dying stages, but the All Blacks managed to turnover the ball from a scrum to avoid what could have been their first loss to Australia since the 2011 Tri-Nations decider.
“It was mentioned (a dropped goal),” said Hooper.
Coach Ewen McKenzie was anticipating it too.
“It was a good position for that but in the end they turned the ball over on first phase. Dreams and reality,” the coach mused.
In reality, had the Wallabies – who played a team reduced to 14 men for 20 minutes – been more clinical on attack and more pragmatic when turning down a succession of kickable penalties then they could be heading to Auckland on Thursday with even greater confidence.
Hooper and playmaker Kurtley Beale collectively spurned nine possible points either side of Wyatt Crockett’s yellow card for offside – although the captain tried in vain to amend his decision to set a close range scrum, likely after instructions from McKenzie.
Sanity finally prevailed after the halftime siren but Beale, who provided all of the Wallabies points, hit an upright to preserve the All Blacks’ 9-3 lead.
”We felt like we started to get the upper hand. They had a (yellow) card,” Hooper explained.
”I felt we could get the ascendancy there. So you look around at the boys there and ‘Swoop’ (vice captain Adam Ashley-Cooper) and myself had a discussion about how we are feeling.”
“We felt like our tails were up then and (we) started to get close. There were a few instances there where we were a few metres out. Different things could have happened. If you can get that try there it’s a whole different game.”
McKenzie backed Hooper’s initial decision to push for a try as he sat alongside his skipper during the post-match wrap.
“In the end… you appoint game leaders to manage the game. They’re out there feeling it.”
”I send messages and the like but you don’t get to control it from the coach’s box. We talk about things and what we want to do.”
“What we did say is that we want to go out there and take a few risks. It’s no easy task beating them.”
Since McKenzie started his reign at the start of last year’s Rugby Championship he has witnessed losses by 18, 11 and eight points to the All Blacks – a draw was not a morale victory.
“We wanted to win the game. All our preparation is about winning. We don’t go out there to have draws… it’s a bit of a hollow outcome.”
“There is some good stuff we can take out of it, and it wasn’t a loss; but we are out there to try and win games.”
McKenzie was coy when asked if his team had closed the gap on the world champions.
“The conditions were a bit of a leveller out there but I thought we were in the game the whole way,” he said.
“Last year we narrowed the scoreline but we haven’t beaten them. For us to win the Bledisloe you’ve got to win two games. The formula for us, and the equation hasn’t changed.”
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The identity of the Wallabies’ first five-eighth (flyhalf) again looms as the intriguing element to Ewen McKenzie’s selection for the second Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday.
Choosing Kurtley Beale ahead of his Waratahs’ teammate Bernard Foley created debate when the Wallabies head coach opted for the utility’s game-breaking prowess rather than the stability offered by the squad’s first choice goal kicker.
Ultimately a 12-12 draw played under incessant rain at ANZ Stadium last night did not provide a definitive answer to what was the selectors’ conundrum.
The weather effectively curbed Beale’s running game, though he was reliable from the kicking tee with four penalties from five attempts matching Aaron Cruden’s return for the All Blacks.
Beale’s general play was diminished by handling errors, an impetuous tap-and-go penalty and an intercept pass, yet those indiscretions were rarely seized upon by an All Black side that was fortunate to hold on for a draw after Foley was denied an opportunity to take a last-minute field goal.
McKenzie would not be drawn on whether Beale would retain his starting role or switch with Foley and aim to add impact during the second half in Auckland.
Beale’s inclusion in the first test “dumbfounded” McKenzie’s counterpart Steve Hansen and the All Blacks head coach will no doubt be interested to see who has been fitted for the No 10 jersey when the team is unveiled on Tuesday.
McKenzie gave Beale a pass mark for his 70-minute shift but would not guarantee his retention for a test the Wallabies must win to keep their quest for the Bledisloe Cup alive.
“I thought he was trying to make things happen, which is what we wanted, and he goal-kicked at 80 %,” McKenzie said.
“It wasn’t ideal conditions. It doesn’t matter who you would have played, it was a difficult game.”
“I thought there was a lot a lot of good intent out there and there were errors too, but everyone was guilty of that. We’ll see. I thought there was some good stuff.”
Beale was also unsure if he would be persevered with following his first start for the Wallabies since the British and Irish Lions series last year.
“I felt comfortable, but I couldn’t tell you,” he said, before offering a definitive: “I’ll be trying to do everything I can to put my case forward.”
And if he was back on the bench he would happily assist Foley, despite being annoyed to only make the game-day squad in three tests against France in June.
“At the end of the day it’s important that everyone’s just playing their role for the team,” he said.
Cruden, meanwhile, thought Beale performed well given the circumstances over head and under foot.
“The conditions probably didn’t suit the style they were hoping to play but I thought he played really well and controlled things, especially in that second half where the Australians put us under a lot of pressure,” he said.
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As the most experienced prop in the current Wallabies squad, James Slipper knew he was going to be engaged on a familiar topic after the drawn Bledisloe Cup clash in Sydney last night, and for once he discussed the set piece battle with confidence.
“There’s always a fair bit of talk about the Wallabies’ scrum. I guess that comes with the label of being the Wallabies’ scrum,” Slipper smiled, who faced an inquisition with the security of being named man-of-the-match after a tense 12-12 slugfest at ANZ Stadium.
The outcome obviously ensured his 52nd cap was not entirely satisfying but Australia’s leading loosehead was mightily encouraged by his team’s scrummaging effort.
Frequently pinpointed as a weakness, the Wallabies’ eight at least gained parity with their more experienced counterparts – a welcome boost ahead of the return match at Eden Park on Saturday.
“We’ve been working pretty hard on that throughout the last year and we feel we’ve definitely improved and (the test) was just another example of how far we’ve come,” he said.
Although it was sodden underfoot, the Wallabies scrum held firm to such an extent that South African referee Jaco Peyper enthused about their power following one engagement.
That assessment is a stark contrast to French match official Romain Poite, who basically declared the scrum battle in the deciding British and Irish Lions test in Sydney last year on the strength of Alex Corbisiero’s manhandling of Ben Alexander at the opening set piece.
“It was a real tough encounter, a gruelling, rainy test match. With that in mind I thought we definitely improved on where we have been against the All Blacks,” he said, after a willing match-up with Owen Franks.
“The one positive we can take forward from is confidence into next weekend.”
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie, a World Cup-winning prop in 1991, was also impressed with a pack that featured a hooker, Nathan Charles, making his first start and two-test lock Sam Carter.
Charles did give away a free kick when being in front of the kicker at a restart – and he should have timed a potentially try-scoring pass to Pat McCabe better but his scrum and lineout work was efficient.
“I was quietly confident Nathan Charles would do a good job,” McKenzie said.
“I thought the scrum was good, it was the obvious area they were going to take us on. In the last couple of games they’ve definitely shaded us at times and that wasn’t the case.”