Wallabies prize defence above all else
4 Oct 2011
Rocky Elsom and Adam Ashley-Cooper believe that defence will hold sway on Sunday as it has for much of the 2011 World Cup.
The Wallabies possess some of the most exciting attacking players in world rugby. Will Genia and Quade Cooper are widely acknowledged as the most potent halfback pairing in the game, while winger Digby Ioane provides the backline with both physicality and pace.
Add to that the individual stepping brilliance and vision of Kurtley Beale and James O’Connor, and it’s fair to say the Wallabies are the most dangerous side from an attacking perspective.
In a tournament like the World Cup, however, a great attacking game isn’t sufficient. History will show that the strongest defensive teams have often gone on to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. On Tuesday, Wallabies flanker Rocky Elsom said that 2011 wouldn’t be too different from past competitions.
‘You can’t win a game by relying solely on attack or defence, but if you’ve watched the games at this tournament you will notice that the obvious difference between these matches and others [non-World Cup games] is that there’s a bigger emphasis on defence,’ Elsom said.
‘The Tri-Nations is a different setting and you need to play a different game, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t adapt to the way the game is played [in the World Cup] or that South Africa [the Wallabies' quarter-final opponents] can’t adapt either.’
The Boks have struggled in this department in recent years, conceding as many as 22 tries in the 2010 Tri-Nations. Their first-string side delivered a better showing in the last two games of the 2011 tournament, and the Boks maintained these standards in their World Cup pool matches as far as tries conceded were concerned, leaking just two in four games.
Bok assistant coach Gary Gold believes the team has made massive defensive strides since 2010, although he maintains that not a whole lot has changed with regards to their structure.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Wallabies centre Adam Ashley-Cooper also felt the current Bok systems are indeed similar to those of 2010.
‘I don’t think there have been any changes to their defence over the last few years,’ Ashley-Cooper said. ‘It was more about our great shape and execution [when Australia scored a host of tries against the Boks in Pretoria and Bloemfontein].
‘They have a great D line and we will have to show the same focus and accuracy [that we did in 2010]. We have to ensure we run square and get over the advantage line.’
The Boks believe they have improved with every pool match, but Elsom argued that momentum and form are irrelevant when a tournament of this nature reaches the play-offs.
‘You don’t really talk about momentum at the business end of a tournament like this. It’s more like you need three big games. Win, lose or draw, you will have to start afresh next week, because you will either be going home or preparing for a semi-final. That semi will be an entirely new game.
‘We will have a clearer view of where world rugby sits after this game.’
By Jon Cardinelli, in Wellington
13 Comments
4 Oct 2011, 01:49 am
As long as we don’t kick the ball down their throat the whole time we actually have a chance.
4 Oct 2011, 02:40 am
Boks drop off dozens of first-time tackles in every game. Luckily for them every one hasn’t led to a try or their log record would look like Namibia’s. Top teams will punish dropped tackles far more severely than a minnow would.
4 Oct 2011, 03:55 am
Big Samoans running through the Bok 10 channel showed the weakness in Morne’s game (defense). Also, the wrap around play the Samoans pulled off in the centres that led to the try dragged the Bok centre pairing out of line. Watch for the Wallaby backs to repeat the dose. Also, as the Reds showed in the Super Series, and the Wallabies in previous games, Habana isn’t the quickest at turning to retrieve kicks. Ball’s over and behind Habana will also feature. Your man Brussow will need to control the breakdown (beating Pocock) to win this and prevent your backs going backwards. That accomplished and your big guys will run all day, control the field and game over.
4 Oct 2011, 04:02 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-2:
Not sure if Russia is better than Samoa but the Aussies let in 3 tries and you are worried about the boks missing first up tackles when they only conceded three tries in the whole pool
However I’m definitely sure that the boks attack is better than Russia’s
4 Oct 2011, 07:33 am
Not every dropped tackle ends in a try, but almost every try comes from a dropped tackle. Ergo, the more tackles you drop, the greater the risk of conceding tries. So first-time tackles must be made — especially when you’re up against a skilful team capable of extracting maximum advantage of your stuff-ups.
Weaker teams are an altogether more forgiving proposition than top-tier ones and they may lull tackle-droppers into believing that missing their odd tackle or ten doesn’t end up as a five-point catastrophe. A rude wake-up awaits.
4 Oct 2011, 09:37 am
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-3:
IF they get the ball from first phase. IF.
4 Oct 2011, 09:40 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-5:
Tackler. And when the Boks win? Will you be here with your tolling?
That is the one thing that is guaranteed when the Boks win.
You will not be here.
And when they beat the kiwis in the semis …. you will not be back for 6 months.
You are like Cooper. A coward.
4 Oct 2011, 11:54 am
Defence?? Russia put 3 tries past Aussies….LOL!!!
4 Oct 2011, 15:06 pm
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-3: Morne Steyn’s stats against Samoa: Tackles made: 15; Tackles missed: 2. Second highest tackle count in the team. Amazing that some people expect you to just accept their utterances as truth when they are merely expressions of opinion devoid of any truth or basis whatsoever.
4 Oct 2011, 15:50 pm
Teebs you use statistics the same way a drunk uses a lampost – more for support than illumination. I watched that game closely and he was out of play (and position) a number of times. :”Tackles made” includes with assistance while “tackles missed” does not tell you how many times he was just found out of position. But what the hell – you got the “numbers” – he must be a wall!
4 Oct 2011, 16:16 pm
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-10: And you use cliches like they’re going out of fashion. Have you an insider’s knowledge of the game-plan as you claim to know where he was “supposed” to be when he was caught “out of position”? I guess you also think Du Preez is out of position when he fields line kicks rather than sitting behind each and every ruck, eh?
4 Oct 2011, 16:18 pm
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-10: Oh, and you’re the only one who watched that game closely, right? But what the hell – you’re an Aussie – you must be right!
5 Oct 2011, 02:27 am
Teebs – geneics and labels the mark of a man (there’s another cliche for you petals). As for Bok tactics – they never change so they’re not that hard to read which is why the Wallabies have such a good record against you boys (want to get into that stat). Oh I know, second string sides, lost at the last moment, ref got you and all that. Bullshit. You guys hand out excuses for every single loss and then have the balls to call us whingers! I have a lot of SA friends and even they say to me there is a general chip on the back of most Jappies about Australians. “They’re arrogant, boorish, plain and just ******* annoying.” While all this may apply (to both countries mind you) the single difference is we don’t take ourselves as seriously as you guys do. Learn to take a little niggle in the spirit it was intended, and stop being such a plank.
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