Ex-All Blacks boss Steve Hansen has delivered his verdict on the Wallabies following their latest Bledisloe Cup hammering and suggested Ben Donaldson isn’t a good enough Test-level No.10.
Australia flew across the Tasman last week full of optimism that they could defeat New Zealand at Eden Park for the first time since 1986.
They travelled on the back of a six-match unbeaten run and had high hopes of keeping alive the two-game Bledisloe Cup series heading into next weekend’s finale in Sydney.
However, they were blown away in the second half in Auckland, losing 50-19 and ending their chance of winning back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002.
Former New Zealand head and assistant coach Hansen has plenty of experience in beating up hopeful Wallaby teams, and he wasn’t surprised by last weekend’s 31-point victory as he always felt that the All Blacks would solve the aerial weaknesses that were exploited by South Africa in the Greatest Rivalry series.
“Shut them out…”
Appearing in the latest episode of Rugby Unity, Hansen explained: “We talked a lot beforehand that the All Blacks would have to improve their high ball catch. They did that. They took away.
“Australia clearly went into the game with that as a target and a tactic and straight away that bounced back at them because New Zealand tidied that; they only lost one, so that was good improvement.
“We’ve been talking about that for a while, that it will take a bit for them [New Zealand] to get to where they want to get to, but when they get there, someone’s going to get punished. We talked about their maul defence and that improved.
“And early on, Australia turned away points to go for that driving maul, so that shut them out. We talked about their lineout having to improve and that didn’t happen until after half-time, but they did get there eventually.
“Australia still had the wood on them there, so they have got a bit of work to do there. Their attack was good and their breakdown was very good like that. They knew that Australia would be very, very strong over the ball, so they made sure they had people there supporting the ball carrier who wasn’t going to ground too early.
“So, they [the All Blacks] did most things really, really well around the areas that we thought Australia would attack them in and that shut the door on Australia. They just didn’t seem to have plan B and then the speed of the game – both teams played the game at a hell of a speed and eventually they just ran out of steam, Australia, and it became too easy for the All Blacks to score points.”
The win reinforced New Zealand’s status as the world’s No.2 ranked team, but Hansen added that the No.6 ranked Australia shouldn’t be too disappointed with the loss. “You play the sixth team, you’d expect them, if they turn up and play, or the seventh team, to have a bit of a margin in the game and that’s what happened.
“Australia, I don’t think you want to be too disappointed. Like, it’s happened many times, performances like this. Like, Australia roll in and everyone’s cock-a-hoop and then you get one good smack in the face…
“I’m picking there will be a stronger performance next weekend because maybe New Zealand might drop off a little bit if they don’t turn up with the right attitude and Australia will definitely turn up with a good one.
“But there is a gap between the two teams and that’s where we got to look. You’ve got to look, is the gap closing? In some areas it is and in some areas it’s not. Like, tactically they went in with a strategy of testing New Zealand under the high ball because New Zealand had been poor at it.
“They just got the wrong night because New Zealand decided to be good at it. They have obviously started to get some reward for the work that New Zealand’s doing. They have been working hard in that area.
“They have come off three big Test matches against South Africa where they have had a lot of brutality around the ruck and close to the ruck and ball carrying and that’s one of Australia’s big weapons, so they were able to shut that down.
“They improved their defensive maul, which you could clearly see. Against South Africa, they [Australia] went straight for the points. Against New Zealand they went straight to the sideline but once that shut down, what did they have next?
“They’ll be scratching their head a wee bit and thinking, ‘S***, we got some of the strategies wrong and let’s see what they come up with this week’. If they get them right, I don’t think they’re that far away.”
One issue that Hansen felt must be resolved if the Wallabies are to fulfil their potential is getting Carter Gordon fit to play at No.10, as he doesn’t feel that Donaldson is up to scratch at Test level.
“The other thing at the moment, 10 is a big problem,” he said. “You just can’t get consistent and it has been (a problem) for a long time. Carter Gordon is the solution, but they can’t seem to keep him on the park.
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“He was either injured, went and played league, got injured, came back, played and now he is injured again, so there is somebody there that can do the job. You just got to get a run of games into him and then support him with someone else underneath.
“Donaldson’s a good foil to have on your bench because he can play full-back and 10, but you wouldn’t, in my opinion, pick him at 10 in too many of the Test teams that are ranked above you. Like, he wouldn’t make too many of those sides as a straight-out 10.
“It’s such a pivotal position because he gets to touch the ball more than most people and he is making decisions based on what he is told from outside him and what he is seeing himself.
“So getting Carter Gordon back and getting him a run of games where he can play week in week out and really develop into the player we all think he can be is going to be important.”