1. Scoreline flatters Wallabies as selections backfire
Wallabies coach Les Kiss must put the Jeremy Williams-at-No.6 experiment in the bin and take Declan Meredith out of the firing line after an unacceptable 45-22 loss to England at Twickenham.
asserted
Kiss → flatter → Twickenham
The Wallabies barely fired a shot in London and were extremely fortunate to only trail 19-10 at the halftime break.
asserted
Wallabies → fire → break
Only a Max Jorgensen intercept try and some pedantic refereeing from Frenchman Pierre Brousset prevented England from turning their complete domination into a cricket score.
asserted
try → prevent → score
The Wallabies lacked physical bite without Rob Valetini at No.6, and although Williams was serviceable, big lock Lukhan Salakia-Loto had a poor Test.
asserted
Loto → lack → Test
Meredith struggled against England’s rush defence, although he hasn’t been helped by Ryan Lonergan’s form slump, and the Brumbies halfback was one of several Wallabies who struggled to cope with Maro Itoje’s defensive pressure.
asserted
who → struggle → pressure
There were few rays of sunshine for the Wallabies, although Ben Donaldson added a bit of spark to the attack when he was injected in the second half.
asserted
he → be → half
Showboat Pollock shows up Wallabies
asserted
Pollock → show → Wallabies
Angus Bell became the first player to be shown a yellow card for a hip-drop tackle, and England will be fuming if the injury to electric winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso turns out to be serious.
asserted
injury → become → Waboso
Feyi-Waboso was replaced at halftime by England’s hybrid flanker Henry Pollock, but all that substitution did was expose the Wallabies’ soft defence in the wide channels.
asserted
substitution → replace → channels
With his first touch, Pollock beat three Wallabies and made 25 easy metres, even though he had originally overrun his support line.
asserted
he → beat → line
Pollock then picked up two tries in the second half, rubbing the salt in the Wallabies’ wounds with his trademark try celebrations.
asserted
Pollock → pick → celebrations
The Wallabies have been poor defensively out wide in the past three channels, but still can’t find any room for a noted hard hitter such as Dylan Pietsch.
asserted
Wallabies → find → Pietsch
All Blacks’ win gives Wallabies a Scotland blueprint
Scotland No.10 Finn Russell endured an error-strewn Test against the All Blacks, but the Kiwis’ 43-21 win in Edinburgh was more evidence of their continued improvement under Dave Rennie.
asserted
win → give → Rennie
The All Blacks weren’t at their best following the sudden death of their head of security at an Edinburgh hotel earlier in the week, but they turned on their scrum power to shut down any hopes of a Scotland upset.
asserted
they → follow → upset
After the All Blacks’ attacking fireworks against the Wallabies in Sydney, this was a pivot to the sort of pragmatic rugby that wins Tests in the northern hemisphere – the type of performance that looked beyond the All Blacks under Scott Robertson last year.
asserted
that → attack → Robertson
Scotland’s scrum woes should also interest the Wallabies, who face Scotland at Murrayfield next weekend.
asserted
who → interest → Murrayfield
It was one-way traffic at the set-piece, and the All Blacks even managed to win one scrum penalty with two of their loose forwards in the sin bin.
asserted
Blacks → manage → bin
Scotland’s attacking prowess was evident at times, but the Wallabies scrum has been effective this year and there is a chance to attack an apparent Scottish vulnerability.
asserted
scrum → be → vulnerability
The Wallabies’ scrum held its own against England in one of the rare bright spots at Twickenham.
asserted
scrum → hold → Twickenham
Jake-ball might limit Fiji appeal to Nawaqanitawase
uncertain
ball → limit → Nawaqanitawase
Fiji were always going to be up against it against France, but they were still dreadfully uninspiring during their 54-17 loss in Lyon.
asserted
they → go → Lyon
They kicked more than France and lacked dynamism, and if this is what they are going to serve up under new coach Jake White then Mark Nawaqanitawase would be well advised to consider a possible change of allegiance very carefully.
asserted
Nawaqanitawase → kick → allegiance
Of course, there is an emotional aspect to his decision, but he’ll also want to play for the team that gives him the best chance of progress at the Rugby World Cup.
asserted
that → be → Cup
Fiji’s decision to take three points when they were trailing 12-0 in the 24th minute was decidedly un-Fijian, and that lack of ambition was evident throughout the Test.
asserted
lack → take → Test
White’s appointment was a curious one and Fiji didn’t ever look like breaking the shackles on attack and taking the Test to an injury-hit French side.
asserted
Fiji → look → side
They looked like a shadow of the Fiji side that really should have beaten the Wallabies in 2025 prior to the British and Lions tour, and it makes you wonder why on earth they removed Australian coach Mick Byrne in the first place.
asserted
they → look → place
Ireland are the big improvers from July
It has been a tough year for Argentina so far – just one win from seven Tests after they were beaten 42-12 by Ireland in Dublin.
asserted
they → beat → Dublin
But while Los Pumas appear to be stuck in a rut, the Irish showed enormous improvement from their July series.
asserted
Irish → appear → series
Although Ireland beat the Wallabies in Sydney, they were very scratchy in their victory against Japan in Newcastle and well beaten by the All Blacks at Eden Park.
asserted
they → beat → Park
However, they looked noticeably fitter as they scored six tries against Argentina, with No.10 Sam Prendergast showing genuine speed to score a fine individual try.
asserted
Prendergast → look → try
They were also all over the Argentinian lineout like a rash in a performance that had a real energy to it.
asserted
that → have → it
France are still favourites to finish top of the Northern Hemisphere table after beating an uninspiring, kick-heavy Fiji side, but they lost No.10 Romain Ntamack to a dislocated shoulder and their hopes of beating South Africa next weekend look slim.
asserted
hopes → finish → Africa
The Aporia
