After demolishing England 28–14 last Saturday November 15, the Wallabies are heading to Paris – and possibly to greatness.
England knocked Australia out of the world cup last year, and they were expected to win in London. The dour English were to dominate the scrum, and then the match. But no, the much-criticised Wallaby scrum was dominant.
That’s like the tortoise out-sprinting the hare. Further, the English front rower, Andy Sheridan, dominated his Australian opposite, Al Baxter, in the world cup match. In fact, Baxter was sin-binned for his attempts to counter Sheridan. They were due to meet again in the Test – and Sheridan was relishing giving Baxter another, painful lesson in scrummaging.
All week the English media built up the clash of the packs, predicting glory for Queen and country. Baxter was under intense pressure personally. He responded with the quiet confidence of the bullied schoolboy who had been studying karate secretly.
Coach Robbie Deans, himself under pressure after a promising but unrewarding first season, talked confidently about the Australian scrum. But then he would, wouldn’t he?
A Thrashing
But, the scrum dominated. And Australia won. The game was scrappy and un-entertaining. England bumbled. But who cares? Neither analysis nor conjecture will change the score, 28–14. That’s a thrashing.
And at Twickenham –, the home of English rugby –; the home of rugby, according to the English.
Significantly, the game was very English – lumbering, combative, and oriented more towards attrition than elan. Yet Australia still won while playing outside their comfort zone. Perhaps that’s the coach –, Robbie Deans, of Scots ancestry –, from Canterbury in New Zealand, a place as cold and windswept as any Scottish moor.
Perhaps some of the Deans’s history has filtered into the souls of the sun-bronzed Wallabies, allowing them to conceive that basic is brilliant. And it was a basic win. In a boring game, that was more arm-wrestle than fencing duel.
Diversity
But will the fans accept that boring is brilliant? The answer is no. The question is whether Deans can bring them with him long enough to show that basic brilliance is still brilliant. He has that in him too. His Super 14 side, the Crusaders from New Zealand, were basic, pragmatic and brilliant.
The Wallabies haven’t achieved that level yet. But they might. They have before. And Deans is already called a master coach, if not the master coach.
If they want to unleash their brilliance – and if they are capable of it – then this weekend’s match against France is the time. France and Australia are known for their dashing style of play. It’s true, the All Blacks have adopted an excellent running game, but the mantle still belongs to the French and the Australians.
How great it would be to see the two champions of the beautiful game resurrect their illustrious past as a brilliant future on the hallowed Stade de France in Paris. We live in hope. But it’s possible.
Further, France knocked the All Blacks out of the world cup last year. So the game has eminence in southern-versus-northern hemisphere terms as well.
So here’s the tour for the Aussies so far: the Wallabies won badly against Italy, boringly against England...and, hopefully, brilliantly against France. In Paris. On Sunday. If they do, the mantle of greatness will have been glimpsed.
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