Wallabies assistant coach Scott Wisemantel has questioned just how good the All Blacks in fact were during their victory in Bledisloe II and demanded that his side simply be more accurate ahead of Saturday’s do-or-die third Test at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
The common theory went that the All Blacks responded with vengeance following their slow start in Wellington and that the Wallabies just simply could stick with their trans-Tasman rivals during their 27-7 defeat at Eden Park a week later.
But Wismantel, who was Eddie Jones’ assistant at England and helped mastermind the All Blacks’ World Cup semi-final loss in 2019, wasn’t so convinced that Ian Foster's men were as clinical and bullish as they were made out to be during a straight-shooting press conference.
“Did they take it up a notch or were we inaccurate?” Wisemantel responded to a New Zealand journalist.
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Inaccuracy was a theme that Wisemantel spoke about from the outset of his swift media appearance.
Asked what needed to be different in Sydney to turn around the result, Wisemantel was blunt as an instrument.
“Just need to be far more accurate,” the Wallabies attack coach said, before expanding on his initial comments after a follow-up question.
“Defence, attack, our whole all-round game, we’ve got to be more accurate,” he said.
“We spoke about accuracy and we’ve just got to get that right.”
All week the Wallabies have spoken of the need to take their opportunities.
Had the Wallabies taken two golden tryscoring opportunities around the 50-minute mark at Eden Park, they could have closed to within a converted try. Instead, they were kept scoreless in the second half and were guilty of forcing passes as they tried to chase their tails.
But Wisemantel disagreed that there was a “significant drop-off” between the two opening Tests, again pointing to the need of being accurate.
“No, no. There wasn’t a drop off,” he said.
“The intensity, the intent was good. You saw the intent. We went out there to score tries, we went out there to smash them. The problem was that we didn’t control the game.
“We were inaccurate and that’s what cost us. If you’re inaccurate against New Zealand, who many say are the best team in the world, you get punished and that’s what happened.”
Nor do you get the feeling that Wisemantel believes the All Blacks are the unstoppable beast many, including Australians, have made them out to be. After all, it was his English-coached side that denied the All Blacks a three-peat in 2019.
So when another Kiwi journalist followed up and asked whether he thought the All Blacks were the best team in the world, Wisemantel was in no mood to blow smoke up their opponents.
“If you look at the rankings, they’re not [No.1],” Wisemantel said.
“Do you think they’re the best side in the world? The No.1 team in the world or not?
“I don’t know because South Africa isn’t playing. I don’t do the world ratings, so I don’t know all that works, but I know they’re a damn good side.”
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The Wallabies have been forced to tweak their side ahead of Saturday’s first Test on home soil, with Matt To’omua set to miss the match with a groin injury.
While the Wallabies will miss To’omua’s experience and the structure he brings the side in both attack and defence, Wisemantel said they wouldn’t need to change how they attack despite his absence.
“No, not necessarily,” he said.
“When you look at that attacking shape we can chop and change within that shape as well and that’s the beauty of the system that we’re playing. Whoever jumps into that role, we expect them to do the job and do it well, with good skills.”
Wisemantel was giving nothing away with who might replace To’omua either, but said that training form remained vital for selection under Dave Rennie's watch.
“Jerseys are up for grabs, so they have to prove at training that they’re worthy of the shirt,” he said.
“So some of the selections have been based on training performances.
“When Dave came in he said ‘selection would be based on form’. Now that Super (Rugby’s) finished and they’re not playing games regularly, it has to be training. So shirts have been rewarded or given out on the basis of training performance. On that basis, it means that everyone’s a chance.”
