The night the Wallabies discovered an ability to overcome adversity
The moments after Marika Koroibete forced a knock on from France captain Anthony Jelonch had a familiar feel.
After Wallabies fans initially celebrated what appeared to be a momentum changing, well executed tackle just 30 seconds after France opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the fourth minute, dread set in.
Jelonch realised the opportunity in front of him. The French captain grabbed his face, fell to the ground and stayed down. That was the television match officialâs cue.
The replays started. At first glance, Koroibete appeared to make initial contact with Jelonchâs shoulder. The force from the hit jolted Jelonchâs head back. Most other angles showed this, too.
But if the vision was slowed down just enough, the TMO could make a case there was initial contact to the chin.
Even if that was the case, Jelonchâs body height dropped in preparation for the collision. It was the definition of a mitigating circumstance. At worst, a reasonable minded, neutral viewer could argue Koroibete should have been shown a yellow card.
But the more replays rolled on, the further the feeling of dread seeped into the pit of Wallabies fans stomachs.
Itâs a feeling rugby fans have come to know far too well in the last five years.
The cameras then focused on the three Kiwi match officials - referee Ben OâKeeffe and assistant referees Brendon Pickerill and Mike Fraser.
Somehow, the trio deemed there were no mitigating circumstances and that the contact was made directly to the head.
Moments later, Koroibete was left speechless as OâKeeffe pulled the red card from his pocket.
All Blacks legend Andrew Mehrtens didnât mince his words.
âFrom an objective view point, even though Iâm living in Australia, thatâs an absolute travesty,â Mehrtens said.
âAnd we need to hear more about this. They painted themselves into a corner by saying it was foul play and by saying there was no mitigation and I think theyâre wrong on both counts.â
One of those situations popped up just a few minutes later, when France turned their one man advantage into a 10-point lead.
When French halfback Baptiste Couilloud ran over the top of Tate McDermott and scored, he appeared to do so with a raised forearm which made contact with his opposite numberâs head and neck region.
It was similar to the incident which saw Samu Kerevi shown a yellow card while carrying the ball in a 2019 World Cup pool game against Wales.
But McDermott didnât stay down. He picked himself up and played a superb hand in his first start at halfback for his country.
Therein lies the problem with World Rugbyâs current approach to foul play. The box ticking nature of the officiating leaves referees reacting to incidents which happen several times in each match. But only when a player is either genuinely injured by âfoul playâ or stays down.
Noah Lolesio was one of the Wallabiesâ best.Credit:Getty
If McDermott stayed down after Couilloud scored, OâKeeffe and his crew would have undoubtedly found enough evidence to overturn the try. The match may even have been played with 14 men on either side for 10 minutes.
But he didnât. And so the game moved on.
Perhaps what happened over the next 73 minutes was some sort of karma for McDermott not stooping to Jelonchâs level, as the Wallabies almost never overcome the sort of adversity they faced on Saturday night and emerge with a win.
The Wallabies spent the four days after the two-point loss to France in Melbourne talking about their inaccuracy at the breakdown. On Saturday, they cleaned that area of their game up.
Their set piece faltered at AAMI Park. On Saturday, the scrum was dominant and just one lineout was lost. Darcy Swain also applied significant pressure on Franceâs lineout and the visitors won just nine of their 12 throws.
Tactically, their kicking game set up a 67 per cent share of the territory battle, allowing the majority of attacks to be launched in better positions than they were on Tuesday.
Injuries to Nic White and James OâConnor for the entirety of the series have been one of Rennieâs greatest blessings.
The find of the series has been Noah Lolesio. Australian Super Rugby fans knew he could play. But it takes even the most talented players at least a few games to transfer Super Rugby form to the Test arena.
Lolesio has successfully completed the transfer. He threw a perfect cutout pass which created the Michael Hooper linebreak in the led up to McDermottâs try, showed astute awareness to pinch an intercept and score and in general play, appeared to have a complete handle on the way the Wallabies wanted to attack.
He may relinquish the No. 10 jersey to James OâConnor if the Queensland star can overcome his latest groin injury in time for the first Bledisloe but thatâs now a selection headache.
Michael Hooper and referee Ben OâKeeffe.Credit:Getty
The same can be said about McDermottâs battle with White. The Queensland product has surely eclipsed Jake Gordon in the pecking order at No. 9 after a stellar showing in his first Test start.
Up front, Swain was a workhorse from the first minute until the last, when he searched through Franceâs final maul and brought the ball carrier to ground.
Taniela Tupouâs impact off the bench was immeasurable. He is now in the world XV conversation.
Hunter Paisami showed he can provide as much impact at No. 12 as he can at outside centre.
Brandon Paenga-Amosa made the No. 2 jersey his own. He played his best Test of the year.
And if there was a man of the series, it would have been Michael Hooper. He has returned from sabbatical with an even greater on-field work ethic, which seemed impossible 12 months ago.
The All Blacks couldnât have possibly been concerned about facing the Wallabies after the first two Tests of the series.
Four days later, they know Rennieâs Wallabies can overcome adversity with more aplomb than any side of the Michael Cheika era.
That has to be some cause for concern. And itâs far from a familiar feeling for the Wallabiesâ greatest foe.
Sam is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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