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Fixing the malfunctioning lineout key to Wallabies going back-to-back

Eben Etzebeth of the Springboks and Darcy Swain of the Wallabies compete for the ball in the lineout during The Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and the South African Springboks at Adelaide Oval on August 27, 2022 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Fixing a barely functioning lineout looks the key to the Wallabies backing up their hard-fought win against South Africa with another victory this Saturday night.

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Heading to Sydney’s new Allianz Stadium, the hosts will need to prove individual brilliance didn’t paper over the cracks in their 25-17 win against the Springboks, with a set-piece lift needed after winning just seven of their 13 lineouts in the Adelaide Test.

Discipline could also be a factor in Saturday’s rematch, the Wallabies conceding 16 penalties compared to the Springboks’ nine as they had to dig deep at times to hold their opponents out.

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Flanker Jed Holloway said a game review had highlighted plenty of plays from Adelaide that could be exploited if they don’t tidy up.

“We’re hugely disappointed in the way our lineout functioned, but we’ve been working hard on that … we reviewed quite hard and we will be better for that,” he told reporters.

“(And) our work ethic … working harder off the ball, there’s opportunities we didn’t capitalise on out there.

“Our preparation has been around building consistency because it’s something we haven’t done yet, put together back-to-back performances.

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“It’s purely being better and being ready for them to also be better as well.”

They’ll also need to address their woeful record of inconsistency, with just one multiple-game win streak since coach Dave Rennie took over in 2019.

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That will certainly be vital if they’re to pinch the Championship title for the first time since 2015, with Rennie’s men level on nine points with Argentina halfway through the tournament.

But they’ve got every reason to start dreaming of making some history, with Holloway pointing to emerging squad depth as driving the side to high standards.

A star-studded bench at the weekend featured guns including impact props Taniela Tupou and Scott Sio, hulking lock Darcy Swain and flyer Andrew Kellaway, Holloway praising their collective attitude as influential.

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“Everyone in this squad wants to represent their country and wear that gold jersey on the weekend,” he said.

“The competition within the squad is really driving us to be better.

“The best thing about it … guys are disappointed when the team is announced, but they all park that, it’s all about focusing on making that 23 better on gameday.

“There aren’t egos here, once that decision is made everyone’s focusing on getting better … definitely the competition and the return of guys is really driving that amongst our group.”

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Tom 4 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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