Right, I've watched it. TBH it wasn't a complete disaster, but wasn't up to Tier 1 standard.
Rugby, like a lot of sport, is a game of inches. Mostly for us it is the top 2 inches that goes missing.
We had a chance to draw level with 10 to go and fluffed our lines. So many times through the match we made good ground and then didn't secure our ball. Wales will have watched that with interest.
A proper Tier 1 team would have finished that game off. Sliding doors but I'd have backed Rennie's Wallabies to win that game. There, I said it.
Our maul defence was rubbish. Our maul attack not much better. When you're no good at the breakdown, you're no good. The stupidity of some of the penalties was mind-boggling.
White needs to go. The increase in speed was noticeable when IFL came on. Lonergan from the Brumbies should be parachuted in. I don't really rate McDermott's passing either, and if you want to play quick rugby on the fringes you need quick passing.
Petaia does nothing, and in fact is a negative. Partly for his stupid kicking just outside Fiji's 22, but also witness him hanging out on the wing in one of our last attacking plays instead of being close in to support or take a short ball.
I'm fucking sick of over-hyped kids who come out of school or club rugby, having torn it up, only to get all their shit destroyed against grown men. This is why we need a third tier - to sort out this bullshit schoolboy rugby once and for all. But that is a rant for another thread. Put Uelese in that column. Marky Mark not much better but at least offers something on attack.
The inability of the back three to take the high ball cost us a lot. Gordon, Marika, and Marky Mark to take blame there.
But enough about the clods...
Frost was the shining light of the forward pack. Good in contact, great in the air. Poor bastard has one of his ears half-separated from his head and still going for 80 minutes. Champion.
Porecki also good in hitting all his targets.
Valetini was pretty good as well but zero support.
In general we looked flat.
Referee - jeez if we'd had a TMO like that Aussie dickhead the other night there might have been some cards both ways. Brace is someone I have trouble watching, but have no issue with his decision-making in general. Lot of shit missed both ways.
TBH we weren't far away but 1 point behind was too far at this stage of the campaign.
Fiji were pretty good. Dropped a lot of ball. Great scrum but had an advantage with Slipper there, and went even harder when Philip came into the second row and got the reward at the end.
They've always been good athletes. Weld a bit of set piece and discipline onto them and they'll go far.
Hope Tonga were watching.
