are still three full rounds to go and anything can happen, but
Customized Jersey the law of probability strongly suggests the Wallabies have already done their dash in this year’s Rugby Championship. Saturday’s frustrating 23-all draw with South Africa in Perth means the All Blacks and Springboks are likely to compete for the title, leaving Australia and Argentina to battle it out for third and fourth. Wallabies draw with Springboks in Western Force protest Test Read more In a home and away format, a draw at home is as good as a loss. To give themselves a chance of maintaining their second-place ranking in the championship behind the All Blacks, the Wallabies will need to beat the Springboks in their return game in Bloemfontein on September 30 and defeat Argentina. The Wallabies have lost their last four Tests in South Africa under coach Michael Cheika and his predecessor Ewen McKenzie. You have to go back to the Robbie Deans coached Wallabies to find an Australian win in the Republic, which was in Durban in 2011. You would have to question whether this Wallabies team was capable of winning in South Africa and thus avoid a battle of the also-rans with the Pumas. Since the World Cup final in 2015 the Wallabies have won only eight of 21 Tests, struggling to beat teams ranked in the top four. At times they do not seem that far away and yet at other times they are nowhere near where they need to be. The Wallabies are a team that appear to be progressing and regressing simultaneously. As soon as their coaching staff fixes one problem another arises. In the opening Test against the All Blacks in Sydney it was the Wallabies’ defence; in the second Test in Dunedin it was their set-pieces, particularly the restarts; then in Perth on Saturday night it was cleaning out at the breakdown. For all of the Wallabies’ inconsistencies, there is one fundamental flaw in their game, which is becoming an alarming constant – the inability to defend a lead. The Wallabies were never in the game against the All Blacks in
http://www.officialdallasstars.com/Hoodie Sydney, but they led 17-0 in Dunedin and 23-10 in Perth only to be run down on both occasions. Advertisement Even though the Wallabies managed to hang on for a draw against South Africa, the Springboks finished the game stronger and put themselves in a position to win with an attempted field goal by five-eighth Elton Jantjies, which was charged down by who else, but Australia captain Michael Hooper. Unlike the 2015 World Cup campaign where the Wallabies had world class players on their bench, they just do not have the same finishing capacity now. The crucial period in the game was between the 52nd and 67th minutes when the Springboks scored 13 unanswered points to lead 23-20. So much of the Wallabies’ wounds were self-inflicted. Silly little things like a poor kick-off, getting the numbers wrong in a lineout or a crooked throw. The turning point was a massive hit by Springboks flanker Siya Kolisi on Wallabies enforcer Adam Coleman in the 50th minute, which led to a big midfield break by centre Jan Serfontein, who was only stopped from scoring by magnificent cover defence by Hooper. The Springboks were on the front-foot for most of the rest of the game, driving through the Wallabies, collapsing their scrum and beating defenders. While it was 3-all for the last 11 minutes there was no doubt which was the dominant team. Guardian
Hats Jersey Australia sport newsletter: subscribe by email Read more The Wallabies’ Test against Argentina in Canberra on Saturday night now looms as their most important of the year. If they lose, they will probably have to beat the Pumas in Mendoza on 7 October to avoid the humiliation of finishing last in the championship. Two weeks ago the Wallabies were only minutes away from causing a major boil over against the All Blacks and now once again they are fighting for their reputations. The All Blacks scored six tries to one in their 39-22 win against Argentina in New Plymouth, but the Pumas pushed them and they will be targeting the Wallabies game as the one they can win in this championship. It is a
http://www.officialsstlouisblues.com/Hoodie game the Wallabies simply cannot afford to lose or they run the risk of licking the bitter taste of the wooden spoon
