The Wallabies have to resolve their tackle heights, the breakdown is a mess and Jordy Petaia keeps impressing.
What are we talking about after the Wallabies' win over Uruguay?
TACKLE SMARTS NEEDED
When Reece Hodge was banned, the Wallabies responded to allegations they weren’t across the high tackle framework by saying they didn’t need to know the framework inside-out. That’s a document for referees, they argued. Coach and players stressed: 'We aren’t taught to tackle high, we get taught to tackle in the middle.’
Four penalties and two yellow cards for high tackles later, the Wallabies are doing a good impression of a team who need to have a read of the Decision Making Framework for high contact. And adapt accordingly.
Yes it is a decision-making guideline but it has to be a live document for rugby players, too, if for nothing else than to understand why they’re getting penalised. And how to avoid that outcome.
The guys with whistles and flags and TMO catering are literally citing the thing as they penalise or sin-bin players.
Contact that may start in middle or on the arm, for example, but ends up near the neck is going to get pinged. Seat belt tackles - always going to get pinged.
There is now ample evidence about what NOT to do.
But the Wallabies seem to be among the slowest learners.
Like it or not, as seen in the Argentina-England game, this World Rugby push isn’t going away. So it's adapt or perish.
If Australia gets a reputation as a team with bad discipline around tackle height, the problem could quickly become a compounding one.
Referee Mathieu Raynel said to Michael Hooper before he binned Lukhan Salakaia-Loto for cumulative high tackles: “Your players have to change their behaviour”.
Summed it up pretty well.
BREAKDOWN IS BROKEN DOWN
The diligence with which referees have been cracking down on high contact has been in inverse proportion to their policing of the breakdown at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Put simply, the breakdown has been a hot mess. There’ve been burning dumpsters that look better than the some of the rucks at the 2019 World Cup.
Players coming from the side in both attack and defence, players off their feet playing the ball, players lazing around like basking seals near the halfback. Offsides at the edge of the ruck.
Hands knocking the ball from the halfback. Playing the halfback.
You name it and you’ll probably get away with it in Japan.
The fact TMO Ben Skeen had to explain what an offside looked like to referee Mathieu Raynel on halftime was just a touch alarming.
"What I am looking for?”, Raynel asked when shown a replay of the Uruguay forward picking up the ball from an offside position.
“The man was never onside,” came Skeen’s tutorial.
A lack of tidiness and law-enforcement affects the Wallabies more than many others. They like to play up-tempo footy and want to recycle with speed.
They often don’t send many men to the breakdown, and bank on the halfback getting the ball away too fast.
That can turn sour very quickly when the halfback isn’t there, or the breakdown is one of those aforementioned flaming skip bins and there’s not enough protection for the halfback.
Hooper sidestepped a question on the breakdown post-game, to avoid another week of ref chat, but the Wallabies will have to plan for a wild west breakdown for the big games coming up.
IF THE SLIPPER FITS
The jubilation with which the Wallabies team celebrated James Slipper’s try was a perfect illustration the saying good things come to those who wait. And wait and wait.
Slipper had played in 93 Tests before Oita and not scored in one of them.
It had gone on for so long, said Slipper post-game, that “it's been a bit of a running joke for about five years now.”
"The more games I played, the pressure was getting higher. Everyone knew. IT was a bit of a try for everyone. That’s what it felt like,” Slipper said.
How far? "I’d like to say I ran 20 metres,” Slipper said. “But it was about two was it? Give it a few years, it’ll get longer."
Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper said: "He was talking up all week that he wanted to get a try, telling everyone: 'I will be there, I will be supporting’,” Hooper said.
"He is a great guy and everyone was really happy to see him get one.”
JORDAN'S JUMP
The amazing part about Jordan Petaia is that, apart from being kept out of the media duties rotation at Queensland last year when aged 18, there hasn’t been any real attempt to hose down hype and expectation about the talented teenager.
It is quite common for teenage phenoms to be come with a warning from a coach or a CEO: “Don’t put too much pressure on the kid”.
But no-one is bothering to try the smother with Petaia.
And why would you? Every time Petaia gets put on the main stage, he lives up to the billing.
In limited involvements in Oita, Petaia turned in yet another assured performance; looking right at home at Test level.
He didn’t get a touch for 23 minutes but he stayed patient, put himself in all the right places and eventually started getting involved in the game.
The try was a well-finished close range effort off Kurtley Beale (and kudos to Beale for the obvious mentoring he’s doing with Petaia) and the youngster’s try-assist for Tevita Kuridrani was no catch-pass. He had composure to keep in traffic and work to do, and he unlocked the space.
Cheika was just as happy he took the right option when near the sideline and chose to come in field and play another phase.
What is all the more impressive is that Petaia had every reason to be over-anxious. He’d spent the whole year out with injury, and twice missed Test debuts with a late injury.
But he didn’t appear to be nervous at all. In his uncomplicated way, Petaia just went and did his thing.
Don’t be surprised if the rookie plays a role in the quarter-final.
POOR TACKLE
I’m afraid there wasn’t much to tackle... https://t.co/siNQlzkrAP
— Kurtley Beale (@kurtley_beale) October 5, 2019
Japan clearly doesn’t come across streakers all that often.
One guy in a green and gold kimono jumped onto the field at Oita Stadium and skirted past a very shocked Kurtley Beale, before running back to the fence past a dozen unmoved security guards. He then ran unchallenged back up into the stands.
The game didn’t even stop.
Beale - who admitted he’d got “spooked” when the streaker snuck up on him - was the subject of a FoxSports tweet asking whether it went down as a missed tackle?
Beale quote-tweeted with a nasty burn. “I’m afraid there wasn’t much to tackle”.
Ouch.
World Rugby have also said the streaker faces a ban and possible police action.
Reports on Saturday night said the man had been taken into custody.
