Michael Hooper arrived just in time to see the sticker-licker pin the parking ticket under his wiper. It was the captain’s run on the eve of the Test against Argentina but Australia’s co-captain hadn’t run at all. Days before, in the Wallabies’ 43-12 walloping by South Africa in Pretoria, the 125-Test legend had tweaked a calf. It meant on the final lap of his storied career, Hooper would miss a home game farewell. With a rueful smile at the ticket, he copped it sweet – again. When your luck is out, your luck is out.
What is sure to hurt Hooper more is the 34-31 loss to Los Pumas he watched from the sidelines on Saturday night. It is Australia’s second straight defeat under new coach Eddie Jones, the first time they’ve been beaten back-to-back by Argentina and their fifth successive defeat in the Rugby Championship, where they sit dead last in 2023. It drops the Wallabies to eighth in the world rankings 54 days out from the World Cup and keeps the much-ballyhooed Jones’s jumpstart of Australian rugby on blocks.
“It seems like we’re miles away from we need to be,” a philosophical Jones said post-match, refusing to blame bad luck or the referee’s failure to go to the TMO to confirm Argentina’s controversial last-gasp try. “There’s probably no-one more despondent than me right now… but all this is going to make us harder and more hungry to get it right. We’re not where we should be, but we’re on the right track. We’ll get there.”
Jones is right. In a high-quality game against a formidable opposition, the Wallabies were harder and hungrier. They got a lot of things right and they are getting there. But will it be enough to fulfil the Jones mission: a smash and grab on the William Webb Ellis trophy come September? And can they make up those miles before they face off against the All Blacks on 29 July in Melbourne and 5 August in Dunedin?
There were signs on Saturday night that it’s possible. Last week, Australia were a rabble and the Springboks turned them to boerewors inside an hour. Against Argentina they were brave in defence and audacious in attack but dumb errors and poor composure hobbled them. But with 32% possession, it was a miracle they got as close to winning as they did.
Still, Wallabies fans have grounds for optimism. Winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, the Waratahs wonderboy of Fijian and Italian parentage, had a blinder with his speed on the edges, enterprise in the middle and skill in the air. His late 90-metre intercept almost stole it. “Every time he got the ball, he lit the stadium up,” Jones said. “Kids are jumping off the edge of their seats. He’s that sort of player. Fantastic!”
Carter Gordon is also one of those players. Introduced early when Len Ikitau left with a broken shoulder, the Rebels flyhalf played inside-centre all night and made things happen every time he went near the ball, with a dervish display of try-saving tackles, sharp inside passes, goal-line intercepts and a 60-metre scoop and scamper that went within metres of delivering a match-winning touchdown.
Yet Gordon will continue to play super-sub while Quade Cooper shows such sorcery. Calm in the clinches and defiant in defence, the veteran flyhalf’s sublime hands and super boots were the key to Australia’s improved attack. Cooper also slotted all five attempts at goal, set up two tries with cut-outs and support play and regularly dug his team out of trouble with huge reefing kicks into touch. If Jones wants “attack that’s unpredictable to the opposition” then Cooper, even at 35, is the man to orchestrate it.
Australia’s forwards also found new gears. Will Skelton played his best running Test yet, Rory Arnold was dominant at the line out and Rob Valetini was an 80-minute wrecking ball. Into that improved set-piece, super troops are returning: Angus Bell made a welcome return as frontrow finisher, while his prop partner in crime, Taniela Tupou, is also primed to pack down against the All Blacks. Hooper too will be back, with Fraser McReight bottling his energy and menace from the bench.
After a five-day turnaround (and a 1,336-metre drop in altitude) between his first two games, Jones has a fortnight to juggle his side for the twin Tests against the All Blacks. Ikitau is sidelined for eight weeks so Jordan Petaia must get his shot at inside-centre while Tom Wright’s fullback jersey may be under threat from Andrew Kellaway. Sure, Saturday was a loss but it was a good one, gifting Jones more answers than questions.
This Wallabies side, Jones reckons, is like his first car, a Datsun 1200. “You’d fix the handbrake, next day the windscreen wipers would break.” Jones has found some full-throttle stars. Now he must fix on a final 15 and panel-beat it into a purring gold speed wagon because the All Blacks don’t issue parking tickets. They just run right over you.
