MONDAY MAUL – Greg Growden surprised me with this article. I thought everything he says is pro Australia and he never criticize his own team. Well read this article by him. He makes a few very debatable statements and hits the nail on the head with some others. Enjoy it..

What a waste! After such encouraging signs in Hong Kong and Cardiff, the Wallabies came to Twickenham and showed they are well short of the finished product when their many inadequacies – and in particular an inability to win the physical contest – enabled England to beat them at their own game.

Again the Australians got ahead of themselves by reading their own press and believing they were the magicians of the world stage, but didn’t have the grunt, leadership or Plan B to work their way out of trouble when it got tough.

A triumph at Twickenham in front of a sell-out crowd would have been a defining moment for the tourists. However, an audience expecting entertainment from the Wallabies instead witnessed their soft underbelly, as England won the big collisions and advanced over the gain line almost every time they were in possession, and knocked Australia back when they were in attack.

A win would have confirmed the Wallabies were adaptable enough to overcome all types of conditions, and could treat themselves as serious World Cup threats. Instead, it was the most hollow of nights. While elsewhere the Springboks showed the finishing skills to chug along past Wales, and the All Blacks toyed with Scotland, the Wallabies gave the northern hemisphere hope.

Admittedly, England were exceptional, producing their best performance for many years, playing the type of game the Wallabies were expected to produce – opting for power football when required and marvellous, mistake-free attacking play as opportunities arose. But the Wallabies gave them a piggyback ride.

The prime reason England won was that they held on to the ball, and knew where they could expose the Wallabies. They threw it around at times, but when they wanted to make ground they often ran straight for five-eighth Quade Cooper.

They made headway there, as Cooper was often flicked away. England knew Cooper was Australia’s defensive weak link, but he was not the only culprit, with other Wallabies also forgetting the basic elements of defence. When England found themselves in open space they discovered that several Wallabies could be made to look silly with an elementary bob and weave.

England worked diligently at the breakdown, and again the Wallabies let them out of jail by being overexuberant, rushing their options and often losing possession at the tackle.

Leadership, composure and discipline were also lacking. At times, it appeared as if not too many in the Australian colours knew exactly what they were doing. That showed early in the second half when they ignored penalty shots and instead opted for quick taps. Each time they lost the ball.

Then Matt Giteau was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul, and with the Wallabies down a man, England tallied 13 points. That’s not all. Goal kicking remains a big problem. While England’s Toby Flood kicked everything on offer for a personal tally of 25 points, his counterpart James O’Connor struggled, missing four of his seven shots. Also exasperating is that O’Connor is taking forever to complete his kick. You could hear a whole Justin Bieber CD in the time it takes between O’Connor lining up the ball and missing the target. There goes about 10 minutes of the game.

So it is time to make changes. Berrick Barnes deserves to get a start in the midfield. Lachie Turner deserves game time off the bench, after not being used against Wales or England. And Scott Higginbotham, after his penetrative performance against Leicester last Tuesday night, warrants a spot on the bench. If Wallabies coach Robbie Deans sticks with the same line-up for the third Test running, he is having everyone on because it’s time to give everyone a shake-up by altering his line-up. That usually has the effect of stopping players from thinking they’re superstars.