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November 16, 2008

Posted on 11/16/2008

Praise rings out for Wallabies

Writing in the Observer, Jon Henderson sang the praises of the scrappy Wallabies after their much maligned forward pack delivered a collective black-eye to England.

""Once again Australia and England showed they are two nations deeply divided by a shared passion for getting stuck in to each other on the rugby field. Their collisions - this one scrappy but still fierce - are becoming an autumnal ritual of fists and mellow brutalness, but, given the result, we should on this occasion salute resilience in the face of shuddering intimidation."

Mick Cleary took aim at the lack of discipline from England in The Sunday Telegraph after Martin Johnson's young-guns went missing for much of Saturday's Test.

"Like a preacher from the pulpit, Martin Johnson will urge his players to keep the faith, to believe in the system and in their ability to make it happen. Too many players ditched the game plan in the heat of battle; too many fell by the wayside. Johnson wants believers, not flaky adherents.
"Johnson's frustrated tone made clear that he felt that if his players had obeyed instructions, they would have given themselves a great chance of landing a notable victory. Johnson dismissed the notion, though, that England had already run into their first spot of adversity, or that his side lacked leadership. He was certainly in no mood to lump the blame on captain, Steve Borthwick."

Ian Stafford speculated in The Mail on Sunday about the desire of Martin Johnson to be on the field again as the Wallabies delivered a reality check to his side.

"Reality has arrived in English rugby, served up in huge dollops by an Australian team who exposed Martin Johnson's side for what they are - a talented, young outfit with bags of potential, but with a pack failing to deliver yet again, and a new manager who must have been sorely tempted to rip off his suit, put on his boots and run out into the fray."

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