Victor Matfield and John Kirwan agree that Australian rugby is missing something that would put the Wallabies back among the world’s top five teams.
Speaking on the Rugby Rivals podcast, the legendary duo discussed the Wallabies’ back-to-back Bledisloe Cup defeats to the All Blacks and what it will take for them to climb higher.
They reckon Australia, under the guidance of Les Kiss, are not yet among the best. The two losses were Kiss’ first as head coach, and dropped the Aussies to seventh in the world rankings.
Before that, the Wallabies were unbeaten and with just over a year to go to the World Cup Down Under, Matfield claims Kiss’ troops are “definitely not top four”.
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“I don’t even think in the top five,” said the former Springbok lock and captain, who named South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland and France above them.
“Even in that game against South Africa, once the real guys came onto the field, they conceded almost 30 points in the last 20 minutes; there’s just something wrong.”
He called the All Blacks’ first-half display in Sydney “a captain’s run on a Friday afternoon”, although praised the Wallabies’ lineout and the scrum as “not too bad”.
“In that first half, whenever the All Blacks had momentum, they just didn’t have the stopping power,” Matfield added. “They couldn’t slow down the ball and it was really just too easy.
“They still have a lot to work on. Their scrum is not too bad; there’s just something missing.
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“It feels like everything is just almost there for them, but they don’t have something where they can dominate you.
“Against South Africa, they were really good with the aerial battle, but in the last two games against New Zealand, they lost the aerial battle.
“They can upset any team, but I can’t see them winning a World Cup or getting to a semi-final next year.”
Kirwan believes the Wallabies are hard to read after the second Bledisloe Cup defeat.
“I just can’t get a gauge on Australia as a team at the moment,” said the former All Blacks wing. “I don’t know if they’re good or bad.
“They beat South Africa, obviously, who changed 10 players, but they play well in patches. It’s just not the Aussies that we know.”
Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
The post ‘There’s something wrong with Wallabies’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Victor Matfield and John Kirwan agree that Australian rugby is missing something that would put the Wallabies back among the world’s top five teams.
The post ‘There’s something wrong with Wallabies’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
