Sir John Kirwan believes that the Wallabies have a ‘big problem’ which was the key difference between them and the All Blacks in the first Bledisloe Cup clash.
After a hard-fought first half between New Zealand and Australia, which saw the two teams head into the sheds level at 14-apiece, the All Blacks dominated the second half, romping to a 50-19 victory at Eden Park.
Dave Rennie selected a more experienced bench for the clash in Auckland, with Shannon Frizell and Rieko Ioane bolstering the cap tally while the Wallabies named a vastly inexperienced eight among the replacements.
The Wallabies’ problem
The experience and quality off the bench was the major difference in the first Bledisloe Cup Test, according to Kirwan, who added that it’s a major problem for the Wallabies while the All Blacks‘ depth has been given a shot in the arm with Frizell’s return and Scott Barrett being fit again.
“Everyone has been asking me since I’ve been home about what I thought of South Africa and New Zealand. How I sum it up is I think the South African side is like we were from 2011 to 2015, really mature, lots of players,” he said on the Rugby Rivals podcast.
“One of the nicest things for the All Blacks on the weekend was obviously getting that win, which was important, but all of a sudden we’ve got Scott Barrett back, Tupou Vaa’i had another really good game, Frizell is coming back into the side, and we’ve got Fabian Holland who was a little bit injured last weekend. So all of a sudden we are starting to get the depth.
“The biggest problem for Australia: I thought they did some great things on attack in the first half, but I just don’t know if they’ve got depth in the squad. Especially on their bench, whereas I thought our bench came on the weekend and continued to raise the level, which is what South Africa does when their bench comes on. Australia’s bench is probably not as good as they probably need it to be.”
The All Blacks produced a far better performance under the high ball against Australia, a facet of the game that troubled New Zealand during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. It was also where many felt that the Wallabies could put Rennie’s team under pressure.
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The All Blacks’ aerial game
However, that was not the case with the All Blacks managing to get the upper hand in the aerial game and much of that stemmed from the Wallabies’ errors, Kirwan believes. He added that Rennie’s side also kicked more smartly against Australia, mostly through scrum-half Cam Roigard.
“We were dominating [the air], and so we had the scrums because of their mistakes, and we were kicking, whereas in South Africa it was the other way around,” he added.
“Receiving that high ball is really hard. Attacking it is a lot easier. I think New Zealand improved on both sides of that, but I just think when you’re dominating a wee bit with possession like we were, it’s a lot easier for that kick.
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“But I think the thing I liked about our kicking game was actually winning the field position stuff. So the kicks were smart, especially from Roigard, and just continued to put Australia under pressure.
“The trouble with Australia is that they’re making those little errors, which means they’re always under the pump. We’re getting it back and then bashing them back down the field.
“They put a good sequence together, showed some really nice stuff on defence, made a mistake, we’d get it back, and they’re back under the pump.
“One of the hardest things when you play South Africa is that constant pressure where you’re defending, defending, defending, and you need to get out of your half and win some field possession. I think the kicking game was way better. And I think it was way better because we’re also on attack a lot of the time and dominating.”
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