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Drew Mitchell considers Wallabies’ chances of upset win over All Blacks
By Finn Morton
Former Test winger Drew Mitchell has tipped the Wallabies to “maybe even beat the All Blacks” when the two neighbouring nations meet on the field of rugby battle at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in just over one week.
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Australia hasn’t held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002 but the playing group will have adrenaline, motivation and anticipation coursing through their veins on September 21 as they desperately seek a bounce-back performance.
Last time out, the Wallabies took on Los Pumas in Santa Fe and they appeared to be on track for what would’ve been their second win from as many starts in Argentina. Carlo Tizzano and Andrew Kellaway scored first-half tries as the visitors raced out to a 20-3 lead.
But that’s as good as it got for the Aussies. As we now know, Los Pumas’ fightback late in the first term was just the start – with Mateo Carreras and Julian Montoya both scoring to help reduce the Wallabies’ lead to just 20-17 at the half.
Argentina took control of the match with a commanding 41-20 lead with 16 minutes left to play after piling on 24 unanswered points. They ended up handing the men in gold a staggering 67-27 loss, which was the most points the Wallabies have ever conceded in a Test match.
“It started so well for us, maybe it started a little bit too well and we just thought it was going to continue in that vein,” Mitchell said on SENZ’s Scotty & Izzy.
“Argentina is just a real confidence type of team and once they get it, and they get the momentum, everything seems to stick.
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“They just ran away from it. It was pretty disappointing – I guess the damage we received in such a short period of time, we conceded 50 points in the second half, four tries in the last nine minutes. That’s probably the most troubling thing for us.”
That was also the first time the Wallabies have conceded 50 points in one half of international footy. The records tumbled for all the wrong reasons as the hosts ran in four quick tries inside the final 10 minutes of the Test.
As you can imagine, the Wallabies themselves looked dejected after the record defeat. That loss had come as a major wakeup call for a side who had shown signs of promise during their six Tests earlier in the year.
Australia started their new era under coach Joe Schmidt with back-to-back wins over Wales in Sydney and Melbourne. They then returned to Sydney’s Allianz Stadium for a 40-29 win over Georgia, who showed once again that they’re not an easy team to beat.
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The Wallabies were beaten in two Tests against the world champion Springboks, and while the clash at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium was one to forget, there were some signs of promise a week later in Perth. Following those Tests, the Wallabies beat Los Pumas in Argentina.
So, as Mitchell explained, “I don’t know if it’s panic stations” just yet.
“Obviously, new coaching staff have come in, largely new squad – there’s 16 debutants already under Joe Schmidt. There’s a fair bit of teething problems that we’re going through,” Mitchell discussed.
“Prior to this last performance, there’s been some steady improvements, albeit small steps but in the right direction, but on the weekend I feel like we probably took a number of steps backwards.
“At the moment, it all depends on how they respond in a couple of weeks’ time against your guy, the All Blacks, here in Sydney.
“It’s one thing to lose momentum in a game but it’s really about limiting the damage when you don’t have momentum and that’s just what we weren’t good at. You’re not always going to have momentum throughout the course of a game… there’s going to be times where the opposition has it… we weren’t able to manage it.
“We’ll get a couple of guys back from injury, I don’t know if there’s been wholesale changes, there’ll be a few through the guys coming back like Fraser McReight I would imagine would come back in. I think Lukhan Salakaia-Loto is probably going to be another one.”
It’s a long flight back from Argentina. The Wallabies players and coaching staff would’ve had plenty of time to reflect and review that heavy loss in Santa Fe, so they’ll be hungry to return to winning ways against their great sporting foe.
Australia versus New Zealand – it’s a classic contest in any sport. Big brother versus little brother. The All Blacks are seeking redemption of their own after consecutive losses to the Springboks in South Africa.
These defeats set the stage for an intriguing Bledisloe Cup clash. Australia haven’t beaten New Zealand in more than a few years now, but Mitchell believes that streak could potentially come to an end later this month.
“Obviously, the weekend was tough. Going into work on Monday and having to field a few questions about the rugby was a tough one,” he added.
“It all depends on how they bounce back, right? And we won’t know that until they play the All Blacks in a couple of Saturday’s time.
“The funny thing is there’s every chance that this Wallaby team could go out there and really compete, maybe even beat the All Blacks, but then go back to Wellington and not have such a good performance.
“That’s kind of where we’re at.”
Over the decades a strong, functioning Aussie team are a much better watch than many of the so-called top teams. The majority of tournament winning teams currently are one dimensional - eg The Blues in Super Rugby this year.
Exactly what promise was shown in Perth? With normal scrums the Wallabies would likely have leaked 50 points.
I don't fault Drew Mitchell for being optimistic but beating the ABs is wishful thinking at its best.
Sorry drew. Wishful thinking.
That last line really sums up the Wallabies. But it could just as well have been written about the ABs, who have yet to string two consecutive adequate performances together. Also they are at their worst when complacent, which given the hiding the Wallabies just took, is quite probable.