Kieran Read looks to his players after Australia scored a try during the test in Perth on Saturday. Photo / AP
Kieran Read looks to his players after Australia scored a try during the test in Perth on Saturday. Photo / AP
EDITORIAL:
How good was that? Good for rugby. Good for Australian rugby. Good for the Rugby World Cup. Good for the All Blacks too, probably.
They are no longer runaway favourites for the World Cup. This was a game that mattered. When he declared the World Cup and the BledisloeCup were his goals for the season, coach Steve Hansen took some pressure off the first two matches in the Rugby Championship, giving himself room for more squad development.
After a bumbling win over Argentina when resting most of his Canterbury players, followed by a drawn defensive contest with South Africa, this was to be his full dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
Australia, barely competitive in Super Rugby these days, was expected to offer little more than a stage for the All Black's star cast to strut their stuff. We had Ardie Savea off the back of the scrum and the double playmakers, Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo'unga would likely have more room to move against the Wallabies.
New Zealand's Beauden Barrett escapes the clutches of Australia's James O'Connor during the test match in Perth on Saturday. Photo / AP
How wrong that turned out to be. Australian coach Michael Cheika did not resort to the rushed defence that has kept lesser teams in the game. His team took on the All Blacks at their own game, keeping possession, winning breakdowns, moving the ball wide, maintaining a cracking pace.
Many times we have seen Wallaby teams start like this, putting the All Blacks on the back foot and running up some early points before the All Blacks hit their stride. This time the Australians did not fade. Even when the ABs gained some momentum with two good tries, the Wallabies were able to strike back.
It is hard to overstate how good this is for rugby. Hopefully all the top-tier nations have seen that they do not have to slow the game down and rely on rushed defence to have a chance against New Zealand.
The Wallabies have seldom used those tactics. They have long helped New Zealand keep the flame of running rugby alive. If both can reach the final of this year's World Cup it could make the game's pinnacle event a fine spectacle. Maybe as good as the one on Saturday night, with a different result, of course.
But New Zealanders cannot be as confident of the result now. South Africa, Ireland and Australia have all beaten us in recent encounters, and England would have beaten us but for a marginal offside ruling that cancelled a try.
Saturday night was a timely reminder of what can happen in the knock-out phase of a World Cup. The favourites in any sport can be beaten by rivals playing out of their skin on the day.
Australian players celebrate a try against the All Blacks on Saturday night. Photo / AP
The match also brought a reminder that rugby often uses its World Cup to make a refereeing statement. The game is rightly trying to reduce its head injuries and the red card that reduced the All Blacks to 14 for the second half demonstrated how strict the instructions to referees may be this year.
But the All Blacks can bounce back quickly. They will want to do so at Eden Park this weekend. Game on.
