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After a 26-point defeat to a team four places lower, Wallaroos fans won’t be convinced that their fortunes will change any time soon. But statistics tell the story. Australia’s performance against Ireland at a windy Kingspan Stadium was their best performance to date under Jo Yapp. But despite the improvement, a few major flaws have prevented them from winning away from home. So what’s the missing piece to this Wallaroos puzzle?
The first half saw Wallaroos running into the wind, exposing their historical weakness of kicking from the hands. First-choice fly-half Faitala Moleka was impressive with the ball in her hands, using her pace and effective long passes to move Wallaroos around the park, but her clearing and tactical kicking were far from satisfactory. Full-back Rory Kramer also failed to find much success with his long-range kicks. As a result, Australia struggled to ease the pressure on the home side, with just three of Ireland’s 22 players playing in the first half.
Arabella McKenzie’s kicking was slightly better when she came on in the second half, but she had the advantage of being able to kick into the wind. McKenzie has struggled to maintain his form on the international stage this year despite being a club player for Harlequins and the Waratahs. An improvement in form late on could see him return to the starting lineup with Moleka moving to full-back.
Australia’s biggest area of improvement was their defence, as Ireland continued to press aggressively throughout the first half.
Cecilia Smith and Siokapsi Palu were Wallaroos’ best defenders in midfield, with Georgina Friedrichs and the two wingers out wide. But the floodgates opened after 60 minutes when Ireland brought on a couple of their Sevens stars from the bench.
The Wallaroos attack was noticeably sharper than in previous Tests this year. Quick passing allowed Australia to get the ball past the Irish blitz defence, with wingers Maya Stewart and Desiree Miller in space and gaining valuable metres. This was particularly helpful in alleviating the aforementioned kicking issues.
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But despite Wallaroos’ effective ruck work, scrum-half Natalie Wright often struggled to keep up with their pace of play, with the Irish defence having to reset after every ruck.
If the Wallaroos had served faster from the bottom of the ruck, ball-runners like Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Leilani Nathan and Eva Karpani might have created more line breaks and offloads for the Australian speedsters. In fact, Australia blew through the Irish defence, finishing with just two clean breaks and seven offloads to Ireland’s 12.
(Photo courtesy of Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Layne Morgan fit right in with: McKenzie, and when the Wallaroos did have some rare possession in the second half, their attack took on more form. Jo Yapp, a former international scrum-half, will have noticed the improvement in Australia with Morgan’s injection. Expect to see her wearing the No.9 jersey in the next Test.
Another disappointing aspect for Walleroosh was the second half lineouts. Trailing by just 12 points and having the advantage of the wind, Walleroosh were subjected to several attacking lineouts in Ireland’s half.
They lost possession on every throw, a combination of poor throwing and subpar jumping, despite their lineout functioning relatively well in the opening 40 minutes. Jo Yapp will be desperate to address this before the next Test against Wales.
With the Wallaroos only having one win during Yapp’s tenure, it will be hard for fans to be optimistic about the short-term future. But like the men’s team, the Wallaroos are in a rebuilding phase.
The match at least gave some indication of the Yap Wallaroos’ game plan and with four Test matches remaining this year against similar opponents, there is a chance to hone their execution.
Then imagine they finish the year strong against Wales, South Africa and Scotland, then have the likes of Piper Duck and Caris Darlinger back next season, and a couple of Sevens stars in action at the Rugby World Cup in England.
With all this in mind, I’d say there’s plenty for Walleroo fans to be optimistic about.
