ON RUGBY:How is it that, when the European teams head south they seem to be running on empty, whereas when Southern Hemisphere teams come north they finish as fresh as proverbial daisies?
AS IRELAND retreated from the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last June after just a one-score defeat against the Wallabies, the feeling lingered that come the World Cup when the sides met again it could be a highly competitive clash. That feeling has abated. It’s not that Ireland aren’t making strides. It’s just that Australia, along with New Zealand, are accelerating away.
Granted, Ireland were missing 14 players through injury, suspension or unavailability that day and should have led at half-time before the well ran dry in a gutsy but scoreless second period.
How is it that, when the European teams head south in summer they always seem to be running on empty, whereas when Southern Hemisphere teams come to the north they finish as fresh as proverbial daisies? The Euro teams are even a little weary after three or four home games.
On Saturday, the All Blacks and Australia were playing their fifth successive Tests after stopping off in Hong Kong en route, while the Springboks were playing their fourth. Yet they managed to round of their seasons by scoring 14 tries to a combined three by England, Wales and France – one of which was a late consolation, another a late consolation intercept and the third a penalty try!
Even Italy couldn’t manage a solitary try in their desultory win over Fiji, founded largely on their scrum, while the Scots managed one in just about beating Samoa.
This November window was almost as grim for Europe as two years ago, when only Wales, on the final Sunday of the month, managed a win for the Six Nations countries in 11 meetings with their Tri-Nations counterparts.
Last year it appeared the north was on the up, with France and Ireland beating South Africa and Scotland scalping Australia.
Alas, in the last four weeks, the Tri-Nations teams won 10 of their dozen matches away to teams from the Six Nations. And it’s not just the defeats. It’s the manner of them.
It’s the way the All Blacks and the Wallabies play at such a higher tempo, with a higher skills set from one to 15, exploring and finding space, offloading, working off the ball to counter from anywhere on the pitch and, most of all, the way they just make try-scoring look so much easier.
In those dozen games the try count was 39-15 to the Tri-Nations.
The All Blacks were a pleasure to behold at the Aviva and throughout the month. Playing rugby like that, they’d be the country any true, neutral rugby fan would want to see win the World Cup. Now that they have Sonny Bill Williams in the mix, they arguably have the three best centres in the world to choose from, outside of Brian O’Driscoll.
They remain dependant on Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, but they were also missing several frontliners. Imagine when Ali Williams or, say, Israel Dagg (who could light up the World Cup) re-enter this potent mix?
Similarly, the Boks have even more to come back into their mix – you think of Fourie du Preez alone – while if the Wallabies can manage to get their scrum sorted Rocky Elsom, David Pocock and their brilliant backs can make hay. Undoubtedly the high point for the Six Nations was England’s win over Australia, even if the reaction was predictably over the top – did Sky Sports’ various channels achieve a world record in replaying one try, namely Chris Ashton’s length-of-the-pitch effort in that match?
England are clearly making strides under Martin Johnson, not least in their greater confidence on the ball, and are entitled to go into the Six Nations as favourites. But their limp failure against South Africa prevented them from generating the kind of momentum they might have had going into the New Year.
Scotland had the other win, ultimately denying the Boks a Grand Slam where Ireland, Wales and England all failed. But the same old problems remain: witness one try in three games, and that against Samoa.
Wales remain the biggest riddle, capable of some sublime running rugby yet also beginning to look both predictable and mentally frail when in with a chance of winning – hence a winless November which extends their winless run to seven Tests.
Italy remain rugged and as tough and spirited as ever, but also heavily dependant on their scrum, and are chronically short of real quality at nine, 10 and 12.
But however bad the rest of Europe might feel, they cannot be as low as French rugby right now. This, after all, was the country who clinched a Grand Slam last March, though even the nervy manner in which they eventually beat England in their finale was far from grand and revealed chinks in their mental armour.In three of their five games since they have conceded 142 points in defeats to South Africa, Argentina and Australia. Saturday’s shameful, embarrassing collapse against the Wallabies possibly represented an all-time low. It could be the best thing that happened them, but only if the French Federation remove Marc Lievrement.
Think of any other team in the world’s top-10 and you could make a pretty good stab at their first-choice XV if you thought enough about it. After three years at the helm, you wouldn’t have a notion what Lievrement’s first team is or what brand of rugby they are trying to play. Yet were, say, Fabien Galthie to replace him, they’ve enough talent to still be a force at the World Cup.
By comparison, Ireland are in great nick. They have Paul O’Connell and Jerry Flannery to come back, and though the series was perceived as ho-hum, that was partly because of the IRFU’s disastrous ticketing strategy and the limp Aviva homecoming.
You could make a case for many players feeling reasonably happy with themselves at the end of the month, eg, Saturday’s entire frontrow, Stephen Ferris, Jamie Heaslip, Jonathan Sexton, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll. And the likes of Peter Stringer, Andrew Trimble and Geordan Murphy provided timely reminders their talents remain undimmed and as valuable as ever.
Furthermore, you could make a case for Ireland’s results against South Africa and Samoa not being as bad as they first looked, given what South Africa did to England on Saturday and how Samoa extended both England and Scotland, while the win and performance against Argentina compared favourably with France and Italy.
It’s just that when you compare what the Tri-Nations teams have achieved, and the heights they have reached – especially Australia – you become a little demoralised.
TEAM OF THE MONTH: Mils Muliaina (Nzl); James O'Connor (Aus), Conrad Smith (Nzl), Sonny Bill Williams (Nzl), Hosea Gear (Nzl); Dan Carter (Nzl), Ben Youngs (Eng); Tony Woodcock (Nzl), Bismarck du Plessis (Rsa), Dan Cole (Eng), Courtney Lawes (Eng), Victor Matfield (Rsa), Jerome Kaino (Nzl), Richie McCaw (Nzl), Kieran Read (Nzl).
