6 things we learned from the weekend’s rugby

1. Always admit when you are wrong

This is exactly what Eddie Jones did and look how it worked.

England’s defensive shape was all at sea in Brisbane on Saturday for 25 minutes, and also the attacking threat out wide was being nullified with the greatest of ease by the Wallabies. In short, Eddie Jones’ idea of combating two big centres with one of his own clearly hadn’t worked.

The decision was made and unfortunately for Luther Burrell he was the sacrificial lamb for the evening and was given the shepherd’s crook after half an hour.

The decision turned out to be correct as a rejuvenated George Ford slotted inside Owen Farrell seamlessly to add new dimensions in attack and shore up the leaky defence.

They say big games are decided by big decisions but very rarely is that from the coaches box. Jones made a mistake, admitted it and promptly rectified it.

2. Focus on what you have and not what you have lost

Joe Schmidt must have had his head in his hands after the Pro12 season as one experienced international after another declared themselves unfit for the tour to South Africa but as it turns out, the guys who have been waiting patiently in the wings maybe need to take centre stage more often.

It was certainly backs to wall stuff for large parts of the game following CJ Stander’s much debated red card but what was refreshing to see from Ireland was how they varied their game and played with such attacking intent when they had the chance.

Paddy Jackson taking the reins from Jonny Sexton is the perfect example. Fewer high balls, fewer set moves and more heads up rugby from Jackson allowed exciting and imaginative players like Jared Payne and Luke Marshall to play off-the-cuff. Payne’s try personified this.

Irish fans will be waiting expectantly this weekend for a repeat performance.

3. Wales need to stick to Plan B

Many a rugby fan has been left frustrated in the past season or two by the lack of imagination in Wales’ attacking mind-set. The main frustration has been that they know there is a glut of very talented ball handlers and runners that could be let loose – we have witnessed it in so many games – but often too late in the day to make an impact on the result.

Saturday that all changed for 40 breathtaking minutes. Instead of ploughing Jamie Roberts through the middle to draw people in, Wales used players like Liam Williams to make Ryan Crotty and Malakai Fekitoa look distinctly vulnerable against pace.

Hallam Amos and George North were involved everywhere, the latter causing problems every time he was on the ball.

In short, Wales went out there to try and beat the All Blacks and not just to not lose. They are good enough to believe that they can as well. It was the fitness levels that let them slip away eventually but they should take this attacking ethos into the next chapter of this tour.

4. Coetzee’s Springbok is badly wounded

Allister Coetzee must be wondering what he has got himself into. The Baby Boks lose in the U20 Championship to Argentina and his ‘A’ team then lose to the Saxons as well – so surely his most senior of players will stand up to be counted for him?

This was most certainly not the case as they failed to control the game let alone even think about dominating it against 14 men as his most senior players failed to step up and take charge.

You could reel off a who’s who of players that let him down on the leadership front but Adriaan Strauss was certainly met with a baptism of fire as captain, and usually unflappable Francois Louw was substituted very early in the second half as he toiled against the Irish back row.

The word ‘transition’ is now likely to become stock in the vocabulary of the South African Rugby Union but it looks to be a deeper lying issue than that.

5. Smith and Nonu the biggest loss

The post McCaw and Carter era needs to be renamed to reflect the hole left, both metaphorically and literally, by the international retirements of Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu.

New Zealand are notoriously a bit rusty in the first test of a series, but it was quite clear that there was more than a bit of rustiness in their midfield at the weekend.

Individually, Ryan Crotty and Malakai Fekitoa are having good Super Rugby seasons, but the gaping chasms that the Welsh back line waltzed through on Saturday will have had Steve Hansen calling for some repair work.

The biggest issue was the lack of a distinct leader in defence. Smith used to run the defensive line with Nonu being guided around the field to smash people when the leash was loosened, but neither Crotty nor Fekitoa looked to be in charge at any stage.

Wales will look to exploit this wound, whilst New Zealand will spend the week trying to stitch it back up.

6. Silence is golden

The way that the Northern Hemisphere teams have reacted to their success at the weekend has irked the locals more in the South greater than any victory parade could possibly have.

It was level headed, there was no fanfare and the underlying message was that we respect the opposition and there is still a big job to do.

Wales ultimately came up short after talking the game to the World Champions, but England and Ireland’s wins, in the past, would maybe have been blown out of proportion.

It is a sign that the Northern Hemisphere teams don’t believe that the gulf in class with their Southern counterparts is as big as the media like to hype it up to be, but also that they won’t be drawn into constant goading, especially from Down Under, of past glories being rubbed into their faces.

Wales know that the All Blacks will get better and England will also not be naïve to the fact that Australia are historically close to perfect in second tests of a series. Ireland will do well to remember Ian McGeechan’s famous speech of 1997 and be wary of the wounded Springbok as well.

‘Carry on as normal’ will be the message, and let the SANZAR nations continue to argue between themselves.

By Andy Daniel
Follow Andy on Twitter (@scrum5ive)