It was a settling of accounts, with a generous tip added for the men of the valleys: don’t ever piss us off again.
The Wallabies were unrecognisable from the team that were done like two dinners by Wales 40-6 at the World Cup in Lyon last year, meaning they have now registered a stunning, nigh-on, 70-point turnaround in just twelve months. At last given their own chance at bat, our blokes didn’t miss in an eight-try to two drubbing of the Welsh boyos.
Samu Kerevi and Rob Valetini of Australia pose with the James Bevan Trophy.Credit: Getty Images
It is a credit to the new coach Joe Schmidt who, beyond just coaching them to victory week by week, is clearly putting his jigsaw pieces into place for the visit of British and Irish Lions next year and the World Cup the year after that.
Can he form up a masterpiece? We’ll see, but it is already obvious that we can now hope so, rather than just hoping against hope, as previously!
Former Wallaby coach Bob Dwyer used to say that to win a World Cup you need five players who are the best in their position on the planet and though the Wallabies are not remotely there yet, several players are now revealing themselves to be genuinely world-class, among them Angus Bell in the front-row, Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini in the back-row, Len Ikitau in the centres, Andrew Kellaway on the wing, and Tom Wright at fullback.
It is a happy circumstance when there are too many Wallaby tries to describe in detail, but several things stand out in those tries. The fact that both a forward, in hooker Matt Faessler; and a back in the fullback man of the match Tom Wright nailed hat-tricks was emblematic of what the Wallabies delivered – thunder in the forwards, lightning in the backs.
They also showed a great capacity to adapt to the game situation, never moreso than when, while holding down a 19-13 lead early in the second half, they lost outside centre Samu Kerevi, sent off after a head-high contact.
Defending that lead and with a man down in the backs, it was time to keep the ball tight in the forwards and they did so superbly with a series of rolling mauls which saw Faessler rolling out and spinning over for two of his tries.
Meantime, as to you, Tom Wright, great match!
We of the armchair army, however, have one thing we’d like to ask of you. Is there any chance that after you score your runaway tries, you could run them around a little closer to the posts? Look, far be it for us to criticise, because when WE scored any of our oh-so-rare tries back in the day, we were just so thrilled at getting it over the line, anywhere, we, too, had nary a thought for proximity to the wood.
But that is not you. Mate, with three tries in a single match, you have the chance to refine your craft – to not just score tries, but score ever more valuable ones – and as the Wallabies build to the climax of this mighty attempt on the grand slam, making sure your five-point contributions are always seven points would be great.
Len Ikitau dives in to score his team’s seventh try.Credit: Getty Images
Have that assignment on my desk, in triplicate, at Murrayfield, please.
Will Skelton? Wonderful effort. Last year’s Australian captain had his first dig this year and demonstrated once again the virtues of having such a huge engine in our engine room.
Off the bench, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii came on with 20 minutes to go, and was solid without being spectacular – apart from one time when he was able to unleash his signature move, leaping high above defenders to tap back a ball for the Goodies.
Out on the wing, Max Jorgensen looks the goods. Coming off the bench last week against England we saw his blinding speed to score the winning try. This week he twice displayed no-look, back-of-hand, flick passes that put his team-mates into gaps, one of them resulting in a fabulous 50-metre run by second-rower Nick Frost for a try that should be his first waking thought for the next 70-odd years. Say what they will about you, Nick, they will never say that you didn’t chime into a Wallaby backline move, split the Welsh asunder, and score in Cardiff!
All up, the first two weeks of this tour have provided the most extraordinary thing we Wallaby supporters had nearly forgotten: joy, instead of quiet desperation; the thrill of victory, instead of the dull thud of inevitable defeat; pride, instead of palpitations.
After having scored a total of just under a 100 points in successive Tests against front-line rugby nations, the most wonderful thing is the way they are playing, with a growing confidence, flair, and a desire to push the envelope so they can send a message to the entire rugby world: WE’RE BACK YOU BASTARDS, AND COMING FOR YOU!
First, we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.
London and Cardiff are ours.
Onwards to Edinburgh and Dublin.
Twitter/X: @Peter_Fitz
