A 20-point win over a spirited Portugal is no Mt Everest in rugby but winning vibes for the Wallabies were a welcome tonic in Saint Etienne at the Rugby World Cup.
The Wallabies’ 34-14 victory came with a four-try bonus point and there was definite character when the team had to scramble hard with just 13 men for eight minutes in the second half.
Watch every game of the Rugby World Cup LIVE on Stan Sport. Start watching Stan Sport now.
The Portuguese proved they are real improvers in world rugby. The No.16-ranked side in the world played with adventure throughout and their boisterous fans reflected it.
What did we learn from what is likely to be the last sighting of the Wallabies in 2023?
1 ANGUS BELL
There was a distinct improvement in the ball-carrying from the Wallabies forwards in the opening 40 minutes and prop Angus Bell was at the forefront in that facet and other areas.
He made a strong, direct run from a lineout 15 minutes into the game. Backrower Rob Valetini kept the play rolling with more of the same and popped the ball to Richie Arnold for the opening try.
Bell smashed his way over with the same purpose for his own try midway through the first half and had another rumble late in the half.
He got over the ball to earn a penalty which was the impetus for a 5m lineout position and the Dave Porecki try.
It’s easy to forget Bell isn’t turning 23 until this week. His influence as a Test prop is just beginning and he certainly has earned this after the frustrating foot injury that derailed him earlier in the year.
Bell, lock Nick Frost and winger Mark Nawaqanitawase have clearly been the best and most consistent of the Wallabies youth brigade at the tournament.
2 CENTRE PARTNERSHIP
The Wallabies have rarely backed established combinations during this failed World Cup campaign, not by design but certainly that has affected cohesion.
The Lalakai Foketi-Izaia Perese pairing in the centres worked and they played outside a third 2023 NSW Waratah in flyhalf Ben Donaldson.
Perese’s physical, direct style paid dividends. He split the defence with a 45m run off a Foketi short ball late in the first half, was strong on his feet on other occasions and made a forceful tackle close to his own tryline.
In hindsight, Perese’s punch on the ball was probably what the Wallabies had hoped from Samu Kerevi, whose World Cup was muted because leg injuries sapped his traditional oomph.
Foketi is an understated inside centre who always seems to find a moment in every game to shake free of the defence as he did down the right touchline with a stutter-step into open space to provide the momentum for the Bell try.
Donaldson’s play was improved and putting Kerevi into a hole with a good pass was a blink of what he has to show far more often.
3 PORTUGAL PROMISE
The Portuguese have certainly entertained with their style of play at this World Cup and players like flanker Nicholas Martin and winger Raffaele Storti again showed they are high class.
The Portuguese scored two tries, a brilliant Andrew Kellaway tackle denied them a third and the men in red lost the ball on the line when a fourth was in reach from a mauling drive.
Os Lobos put together some neat passing rushes, outmauled the Wallabies at time and always played to score tries.
4 FIGHT WITH 13 MEN
It doesn’t matter if you are playing Mongolia or the All Blacks, when a team is down to 13 men you have to dig deep to show your fighting heart.
The Wallabies did when hooker Matt Faessler and centre Kerevi were in the sin bin together midway through the second half.
During that eight minutes with just 13 men, the Wallabies had to resist several mauls close to their tryline, skipper Porecki had to make a super tackle on a winger in open play and winger Marika Koroibete chose to defend like two men. The Wallabies gave up a single try in this testing period.
Koroibete played as if he was tired of waiting for the ball to be directed his way. He went chasing for it and scored a well-deserved try from a pick-and-go to go with his intensity in roaming defence.
5 LACK OF KILLER IN THE SECOND HALF
With a 24-7 half-time lead, this was a game where the Wallabies could really have found the accelerator like previous World Cup teams have done to put the likes of Romania (1999 and 2003) to the sword.
Most often, the Wallabies have fielded their second-string team against minnows at the World Cup for big wins against Namibia (2003), Russia (2011), Uruguay (2015) and so on.
Don’t forget, the Wallabies picked their best possible side for this match and only won by 20. They lacked a killer edge to go on with it in the second half and gave Os Lobos too many chances to play themselves.
The Wallabies grabbed a bonus point win and must pray for Portugal to upset Fiji, without a bonus point, to advance from here. The Portuguese just don’t match-up well enough against Fiji to make that possible...they don’t have the Georgian forward muscle or size to restrict the Fijians.
