Who can save the northern hemisphere in this World Cup? It looks like either France or Ireland, but neither has had a remotely reassuring start to the Rugby World Cup tournament. The three Tri-Nations teams look safe bets for places in the semifinals, and most neutral observers would back Argentina to join them there.
Australia’s victory over Wales was as much a demonstration as South Africa’s demolition of England. The Australians showed organisation, power and, most surprisingly, pleasure in playing the game.
It’s been a good while since I’ve seen a Wallaby side enjoy itself so much. I’ve always felt the main strengths of Australian sport in general are a professional approach and competitive spirit, but they seemed to lack flamboyance and didn’t seem to be deriving much pleasure from what they were doing. Yet when you see the way Chris Latham runs after 50-50 kicks and the way Stirling Mortlock keeps the side going forward, it’s clear that the balance between rigour and pleasure is just about right.
Before this season Australia had a fairly stereotypical look to them. They were organised — over-organised? — and based their game on power. If they weren’t dominant physically, they were in trouble. They were an ageing team, had long-term injuries to major players like Mortlock and Latham, and the forwards were not well organised.
On Saturday’s first-half showing they have built on what they achieved this summer when they overcame the All Blacks, but is it that much of a surprise?
Since the World Cup began in 1987 they have been the most consistent performers. They have the best track record in the event of any nation. The Australia of 2007 is a different vintage from the 1991 and 1999 World Cup-winning sides. In 1991 they won without panache, with a defence-based, low-risk game. In 1999 defence was again the key. As we saw last Saturday, however, they are now making things happen all over the field.
At the Millennium Stadium there was so much movement in their game that they made the pitch seem 50m wide at times. The ball was going wide, the angles of attack changed constantly, they played with depth, moved quickly, the 50-50 passes were always under control and they were off-loading the ball from the tackle. George Gregan, Mortlock, Latham and Matt Giteau all played their part, but the most heartening sight was that of the debutant flyhalf Berrick Barnes, called upon to stand in for Larkham in an intimidating environment. He is an amazing discovery for them, like Stuart Barnes in his heyday but without the tummy.
Drew Mitchell stood out on the wing as well, handing off Shane Williams with ease at one point. Like Barnes, he could be a revelation. Wales took a half to wake up and show hints of their potential. They were brave and tried everything they had, but I’m not sure they will do any better against a Tri-Nations side in this tournament. But at least they offered more than England did.
It’s hard for a Frenchman to feel pity for the English, but it was sad to see the way they played on Friday night. It was a pathetic sight. Currently, you feel England could play for four hours against a top side and still not score anything. It was a matter of “I’ll give you the ball, you do what you like with it”. They held their own up front, but that’s all the comfort they can take from Friday night.
Jonny Wilkinson and Olly Barkley are not easily replaced at flyhalf — although if you look at Australia they were without Larkham on Saturday and didn’t do too badly — but there was a total lack of speed across the board, apart from Jason Robinson. I felt that England were trying to talk themselves into the match beforehand. They wanted to persuade themselves that they had a chance, even though it was merely fiction. The way they played told me that they were too damaged before the match even started.
The only comfort, oddly enough, came from Cardiff. The side that beat Wales looked nothing like the Australia team of two years ago: it’s mainly the same players, but they are transformed. Perhaps there is hope there for England, in the medium term if not the next few weeks. — Â