This was published 6 years ago
After a year to forget, rugby gives fans a night to remember with victory over New Zealand
By Phil Lutton
Given the way rugby has managed to find itself being dragged through the mud this year, it was somewhat fitting that the final Bledisloe was played in a city that had been drenched by rain all week.
Of course, the days when football was played on a quagmire are long gone, although the scrums were starting to dislodge fair chunks of the turf by the time the second half arrived. Neither the All Blacks or the Wallabies were worried about dirtying their jumpers, although the A-League tenants may not be so impressed in coming weeks.
Willing: Kurtley Beale was always looking for more work.Credit: AAP
Rugby has been declared dead so many times this year you start to wonder whether it's all part of some sort of elaborate insurance scam. Teams have folded, players have departed, chief executives have resigned and powerbrokers have somehow found themselves in front of a Senate Inquiry, trying to explain how and why it all went so badly wrong.
It's a shame Malcolm Roberts has been required to defend his citizenship status in the High Court instead of demand Cameron Clyne concede the current problems of the code have been caused by Muslim refugees and a lack of coal-fired power stations in the game's heartlands. We could do with a laugh.
True believers: Wallabies fans get a rare taste of joy over the All Blacks.Credit: AAP
Before all of that, the Super Rugby season dished up little but disappointment. The competition has become so disjointed that even diehard fans were switching off, or trying to work out when to switch on. When they did, they saw Australian teams lose to New Zealand opponents 26 times from as many attempts. In terms of extended misery, it was perfection.
In spite of it all, there's something about a Bledisloe that brings the Wallaby jumpers out from the back of the cupboard. It's what the Ashes are to cricket fans who don't bother to tune in to anything but England.
A tick over 45,000 filed into Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night and the embers of the game in Australia were starting to glow, even as the rain persisted. The crowd, so tentative at the start, slowly became a player in the great Cauldron.
They rose and roared with every hit - and there were some absolute bone-rattlers. Both of Australia's little men, Will Genia and Bernard Foley, were buried by very large humans at stages of the game and both rose to their feet without missing a beat. They like toughness, the punters. And they loved it when the Wallabies rolled the dice.
Special night: Israel Folau played a leading hand for the Wallabies.Credit: AAP
Foley passed up the penalty kick near enough in front and they scored through Marika Koroibete in the opposite corner. And when Reece Hodge smashed it 53m to seal the win, the game seemed alive once again.
Winning cures all manner of ills and even though the Bledisloe has been run and won by New Zealand once more, beating the All Blacks in any forum requires a special performance. Even in the wet, their skills were so crisp that it seemed they were poised to explode into life at any moment.
Instead, the Wallabies fired out of the line in defence, cut off their options and out-hustled them in the important contests. When a bit of niggle entered the fray, nobody was backing down. You can respect the All Blacks but once you fear them, you're pretty much done.
Israel Folau was sensational and justified his hefty price tag for the code. Jack Dempsey and Sean McMahon did the grunt work with pleasure and Kurtley Beale, even on an off night with his hands, looked as if he couldn't get enough time in the middle.
Much of the lead-up was about his indigenous heritage and the jerseys looked awe-inspiring. They should be on regular rotation through the Wallaby kit room and nobody can fault the team's record when them on their backs.
Victory was sweet. But the way the Wallabies played to get it was surely the most satisfying aspect for Michael Cheika. This was a night to savour when the code needed it most.