TRC round four and WRWC quarterfinals

As last week we had TRC matches on Saturday, 5am and 8am, so I watched in the wrong order. Then we were down to two matches a day in the WRWC.

TRC

New Zealand v South Africa

Where last week’s game started with all the momentum on the All Blacks' side, this game started just as strongly with the Bokke camped deep in All Blacks' territory. However, where the Kiwis scored early, the same was not true for the South Africans, a brilliant tackle by Jordie dislodged the ball from Kolbe's hands over the line then a knock on by Reinarch and two chances went begging.

A penalty from that scrum to the ABs, and suddenly there was a fluid attack, first on the right, then a cross-field kick, then a sweeping move back to the other side to be finished by Carter on debut. It’s possible that not every AB touched the ball in the move, but it was the epitome of a team try.

Despite that early pressure, and improved defensive pressure from the men in green, their frailties from last week remain. Lineouts were going astray, they were not keeping hold of the ball and their breakdown work was inconsistent - sometimes good but too often sloppy. However, when they managed to keep the ball and get their new backs into the game they often looked dangerous. However, their issues at breakdowns and occasionally their inexperience meant they never really developed into real threats.

With the AB hard on attack, Kolbe intercepted a pass and ran it in. Now, there are interceptions and interceptions. Kolbe basically scraped his arm along Parker's chest, stole it from his hands, it stuck and instead of a penalty try he scored. Yes, Proctor threw an interception but it’s really Kolbe doing star things.

The first half was also carnage. Five players left the field injured - several failed HIAs, an ankle or two - really no love lost.

The half finished 10-7 to New Zealand. That felt pretty fair overall, but the Kiwis have really looked like the only team likely to score from building an attack. The Bokke have looked pretty but not really threatening.

The second half opened with an early scrum, the South Africans changed their props and finally got real scrum dominance which turned into a big run from Kolisi and a try in the corner by Kolbe. Shortly after they added a penalty. The Boks had come out with a roar. Their replacement props were going to town on the AB replacements and everyone seemed to buzz off that. However, their AB started to work their way back in, at least until back-to-back lineout errors, first an obstruction penalty on attack, then a poor throw and a steal 5m out led to another try and a 14 point lead. The AB kept scrambling to try and get back into the game but a try to Kwagga Smith ended that, and made it a bonus point for the Springboks. We know the AB can score three tries in ten minutes, but it doesn’t look likely. Snyman roared through for another try.

It’s not only one thing, but the decline in AB lineout throwing with the replacement hooker was dramatic and cost them a good chance and gave the Springboks a try which really built their confidence. On reflection, they slightly shortened a lot of their kicks too, and that shifted them from being easy AB possession with SA chasers trying to spoil into easy SA possession with AB defenders trying to spoil, at least overall, it wasn’t perfect, but it probably went from 80% NZ ball to 80% SA ball, and that put the SA forwards on the front foot, and that was all she wrote.

The half effectively finished with Jordan charging for the line and Williams just making a tackle to force a knock on. It actually finished a bit later with Esterhuizen scoring a try. The previous biggest defeat for the AB at home was by 19 points, 43-10 kind of blows that out of the water.

This result will paper over some cracks for South Africa. Their lineout was still poor, their breakdown work wasn’t good enough and their starting props had an edge over their opponents in the scrum without real dominance. The ABs have a surprising weakness in the front row at third choice hooker, although that can change fairly quickly, more worryingly at second choice props. It might only be exposed against the Boks and France, but that’s enough to lose a RWC.

Australia v Argentina

Unlike the later game, which was always gripping even though I’d have preferred a final score the other way, this game was not exciting overall, although it did have its moments.

A lot of that was down to the Wallabies and their lack of discipline. They conceded eight penalties in the first half, and a yellow card, and that gave Los Pumas 12 of their 19 points. The Wallabies scored a try with Suaali'i powering through some tackles, so 19-7.

The second half wasn’t much better. The penalty count fell a bit, but Argentina still scored 9 more points and although the commentators were saying things like the Wallabies shouldn’t be too upset about that one, when it’s a forward who makes a stupid decision at the ruck and the nine bumps into him as part of the passing movement - not throws the ball into him, can’t actually get the ball out of his hands - you have to wonder what he was thinking. Surely the smart move is not to go back, wait a second or two for the ball to be passed, then get back into position?

What Australia did that was different was take their chances better. They made some in both halves but only converted one in the first half. In the second half they managed to score three tries but missed one conversion. And that was the difference in the end.

It’s not often that you out score your opponents four tries to one and lose, but Argentina were ruthless about taking their points, the Wallabies somewhat less so.

Overall

Everyone has won two, lost two. Argentina are last, with only one BP, the others are divided by points difference.

Next week is a rest week, then SA face Argentina and Australia face NZ. I believe they’re both home and away matches rather than these two matches in one country series.

WRWC

New Zealand v South Africa

This match started with almost 20 minutes of constant pressure from SA but no points until the final moment of that. New Zealand got down the other end and applied pressure, scoring two quick tries and then at the end, South Africa struck back.

This was a game of contrasting styles. South Africa rarely went more than two passes away from the ruck, they pulled tricks like 15-women lineouts and mauls, it was all about forward power. The Black Ferns played a much more expansive game. Miller was unlucky not to open the scoring, but it was Steffano (12), and inevitably, Sorensen-McGhee who did score for them.

In earlier rounds we’ve asked if “lesser” teams can keep it up. Last week, against France, and despite their bomb squad, South Africa couldn’t. And the Black Ferns are a brilliant second half team…

From the kickoff, Wakka regathered, some carries and Holmes scored out wide. From that kickoff there was a little blip with a pass into touch, but NZ disrupted the lineout ball, turned it over and passed the ball out to the other side and back in a little, Sorensen-McGhee scores. From that kickoff, SA missed a tackle and scrambled, leaving no one in the backfield, Sorensen-McGhee couldn’t keep her feet trying to regather the kick, but could keep her balance, one phase later and a Black Fern forward scored.

And really that was the story of the half. The Black Ferns scored. Almost at will. Obviously there’s a bit more to it than that, and with 75 minutes on the clock SA finally scored, but the main thing that stood out was the scrums. When the bomb squad in the men's game comes on there is, really clearly, a step up in quality. In the women’s game there’s a step down. The Black Ferns front row that had been struggling badly was suddenly comfortable and their replacements, with fresh legs, were dominating the scrums. That forced SA to play differently, going wider, which NZ defended much more easily, which led to errors at the line or kicks as they failed to advance and that gave the NZ back three open field to run into. Just what you want to give them…

Final score 46-17. New Zealand are looking better, match by match… scary.

Canada v Australia

The Australians I know have high hopes for this game. I don’t think they’ve been watching the same Canadian team as me. Australia have never beaten Canada, and whilst the Wallaroos looked good for 30 minutes against England, the Canucks have been solid for whole games against all their opponents.

Canada scored very quickly, Australia responded almost instantly, but after that the first half was basically one way traffic. Between the TMO and the ref they disallowed I think three tries (I’m not really complaining, there were knocks on and things) but Canada still scored another four. Australia only generated one try-scoring opportunity and were held up. That’s not to say they didn’t have possession, quite a lot of possession, but they mostly went sideways instead of forwards then kicked it away.

The score was 31-5 at halftime and Australia were lucky to be that close.

As with the Black Ferns, Canada have grown into this tournament. But in this game they really clearly looked, on both sides of the ball, looked like the French men. There’s that same fluidity and speed in attack, with players doing all kinds of things, whatever job is needed. In defence, they’re not coached by Shaun Edwards, but they sure look like it.

The second half was messy. I’m not sure if Canada took their foot off the pedal, Australia stepped up or if the weather, which gave up a short but heavy thunderstorm part way through the half, perhaps a combination of all three, was to blame but there was a lot of play in the middle third of the pitch, quite a few penalties to both sides and, definitely down to the weather, a period when no one could keep hold of the ball and an endless procession of knocks on and scrums.

Around that, Canada scored a couple of tries and a penalty, running the score out to 46-5.

Next week Canada v NZ should be a belter!

France v Ireland

This match was played, for the most part, in awful conditions and, sadly, with sub-par refereeing. The kicking, for most of the game, in one direction, was 20-30m shorter than you’d expect and in the other direction about 10-20m longer. In the last quarter it died down quite a bit and the kicking became more even. The first half was also plagued by heavy rain and that made handling tricky for both teams.

The ref called penalties unevenly, France were always pinged at the first opportunity, even on really marginal things, Ireland repeatedly got warned and then time to respond or even a second warning. Of course many of her decisions were still correct, but Ireland got all the benefit of the doubt and patience, France got none, and that made a huge difference to the penalty count.

In the first half France could barely escape their own 22, definitely not their own half, but Ireland struggled to score despite being camped in the red zone. A mistake from the kickoff saw an Irish scrum on the 5m line, several phases later that was converted. Then, 20 minutes later, a similar error in open play saw another try. Near the end of the half a penalty out in front went over. The half ended with more Irish pressure, about 40 phases. But resolute French defence and 13-0. With the strength of the wind it never felt like enough.

The second half was really a race. Could France score more than 13 points in a half in bad weather? It didn’t look good for a while, they looked oddly flat, but a penalty gave them a lift, a converted try more belief and a second try from an error when Ireland were deep in the French 22, some nice passes and Grisez away with no one in front of her put the French 15-13 up. Another penalty should have settled French nerves, but the Irish had the ball for the last few minutes, piggy-backed dubious penalties down to the 5m line where a knock on in the lineout ended the game and the French escaped.

For most of my life rugby has been a game about territory, playing the game in the right parts of the pitch. That’s why, although it confuses the Americans, the team scored against kicks off to the team that scored - it gets them down to the right end of the pitch - but in the last few years, maybe a decade, that’s changed and the stats we normally see, possession, territory, tackle success and so on are often not all that important - in games where there’s a big points difference they can reflect that, but even then they don’t always. What matters most is taking your chances. Ireland made far more chances than France, but France were ruthless, they took them all. Ireland were, it feels harsh to say profligate, they were denied, repeatedly, by excellent French defence as well as unforced errors, but they missed a load of chances and they lost. Ultimately that was the difference on the scoreboard too.

England v Scotland

Scotland opened the scoring, a penalty in front of the sticks, but after that it as pretty much one way traffic. Scotland rarely got into the red zone and never stayed there long enough to mount any pressure. Scotland also scored a try with clocking turned red to finish the match. Final score 40-8.

Some of that 75 minutes of dominance was down to the English pack at set piece. It wasn’t absolute but it was certainly strong. The scrum generated penalties and territory for England pretty much at will, lineouts were also stolen at will.

It may seem odd after writing that, but I would suggest that Scotland didn’t actually play badly. A bit like the AB in the second half yesterday, they were just outplayed. The question will be can France stop this mob, or will it be down to the winner of the other semifinal? Sadly I think the latter.

Like the previous match, this one was played in heavy rain, but no wind. I was going to write something about not seeing France or England kick on as we move into the quarterfinals, unlike Canada and New Zealand. That might be true, but two things make me pause. These four teams all know each other well - they play each other every year in the W6N - and today’s games were played in the pouring rain unlike yesterday's and you’d think that no one in France, Ireland or England had ever played rugby in the rain. Their skills were generally terrible and they didn’t seem to adapt to the conditions. That’s not entirely true, Les Bleues changed their kicks to kick low for distance against the wind, and maybe England considered risky passes and knocks on were ok because they’d almost certainly get the ball back from the scrum. But there was no clear improvement from these teams and that was noticeable.