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What a difference a week makes!
The Rugby Championship has finished for another year and the Wallabies are on a break until their Northern Hemisphere grand slam tour, but those in the know forget there will be plenty of action between now and then.
Those who stayed up after Saturday night’s disappointing loss in Wellington would have been rewarded with the ultimate tonic to that bitter taste – the best performance of the Wallaroos so far under Jo Yapp’s tenure.
Their season has not been too flash with only one win from seven games prior to last weekend. Sport is hard, often the results do not reflect all the work and effort.
However, those who have been watching the Wallaroos can see that, with improvement in discipline and rugby game management, good things loom on the horizon. On Saturday, we got another taste of that, with a solid 37-5 win over Wales.
Perfect? No. But it’s a good step forward.
Like Joe Schmidt and the Wallabies, Jo Yapp seems to know most of her preferred team – as nearly the entire squad has been rolled out the last three games, except for an injury or two.
However, while their losses in Belfast and Newport raised many red flags, Yapp made it no secret that her goal to round out the year is to win WXV 2 – and they could not have started much better.
It is far from calm waters ahead, however, with South Africa being the big improvers in 2024 following a dominant first-ever win over the Barbarians – and the chance to play at home is also likely to work in their favour.
However, their 31-24 victory over a plucky Japan did expose many weaknesses – almost to the point that they were lucky to get away with it. Then there is Scotland – arguably the biggest challenger Australia will face for the title – who brushed aside Italy 19-0 to complete the weekend.
While the Wales scoreline suggests a one-sided affair, for most of the match it was anything but for the Wallaroos.
The start of the game was, to put it politely, very average. A mix up between Ash Marsters and Caitlyn Halse right on kick-off led to a knock-on, and the subsequent scrum collapsed, leading to a penalty to Wales. Wales kicks for the corner and for next 10 minutes attacked the Wallaroos line.
However, unlike previous weeks, the Australian defence was rock solid and kept Wales out. That really set the game up for the women in gold.
The truth is that the key thing that got the Wallaroos on the front foot was a vastly improved set piece performance, with the Wallaroos winning 13 of their 16 lineouts and seven of their eight scrums. Most notably, they significantly disrupted the Welsh scrum, almost to a crucial degree as the game went on.
However, even here, improvements are still needed. Like their male counterparts, the Wallaroos also have a problem with rolling maul defence.
Should Arabella McKenzie return? (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)
In Newport, it was their undoing. The Welsh play was to generally kick and set up rolling mauls. Fortunately, the Wallaroos in the second half did not give the Welsh too many opportunities – with the rest of their set piece humming nicely.
The Wallaroos led 10-5 at half time with a classic Eva Karpani barnstorming run and try right on half time, however in a match where they held so much ball and territory, they would have been disappointed with only a five-point lead.
While the Wallaroos ran up 27 unanswered points in the second half, it is worth noting that the four tries did not come until the last 20 minutes. They left a few points out there. Twice they were held up over the line and made a number of breaks, but did not have the support to finish off the play.
Can these be fixed though? Absolutely. The reality is that a win, especially in this way, will do the side a load of good. Even more notable was the growing confidence as the game went on from specific players.
Georgina Friedrichs plays at a high level, week in, week out, but rarely gets a shout-out when they probably should.
Faitala Moleka had her best game starting at flyhalf after Arabella McKenzie had to withdraw due to a head knock at training, and her confidence is growing. She is not big, but is more than happy to run to the line and take a tackle or two.
A personal favourite is number eight Tabua Tuinakauvadra, a line bending battering ram of a player, with a passing game that has been significantly developed. She provides options, and a valuable link in the backline.
Veteran prop Bridie O’Gorman racked up 70 minutes following an extraordinary 80 minutes last week, and has become a real workhorse for Yapp. It will be no short claim to make that her performance, especially after Brianna Hoy went down with an ACL, will be crucial to whether Australia comes home with the title.
While history favours the Wallaroos against South Africa until this point, the development of women’s rugby is turning that on its head. South Africa has many quality weapons – and offers many challenges and conundrums for Jo Yapp’s side.
Wallaroos’ Maya Stewart and Siokapesi Palu celebrate victory in their opening WXV 2 match against Wales (Source: Getty Images)
First up, no surprise, they are going to bring a big power game. There are some big forwards, and the backline is directed by rugby sevens star Nadine Roos, with fellow sevens product Libbie Janse van Rensburg adding a valuable set of skills at fullback.
The key challenge of the set piece battle is where this game will be won and lost, and while the set piece did perform against Wales, should they lose momentum, Jo Yapp’s side could very easily by challenged in the scrum and the backline, judging by the quality sevens products available at the Boks’ disposal.
What Jo Yapp has though, and it’s a good thing to have, is consistency in the team – three weeks with the same squad have yielded encouraging results.
After such a comprehensive win, do they retain Moleka at flyhalf or bring in McKenzie as was the plan last weekend?
Would the experience of Lori Cramer work better in the starting side to counteract van Rensburg? Natalie Wright is also likely out, appearing to sustain a bad ankle injury.
However, if the Wallaroos can subdue the Boks and pull off a second win on the trot, and path to a potential title decider against Scotland looms ahead.
The Wallaroos will play South Africa on Sunday October 6th at 1.00am AEST on Stan.
