A few things stood out.
1. The AB attitude and defence was impressive. In one way this match reminded me of a state of origin. The AB's were up in the Wallabies faces & smashing them, while in defence the Aussies waited for the kiwis to come to them. The difference in the two sides could be seen right there, right from the start. The counter to this was the inside ball close to the ruck. There was space there when the Wallabies used this play.
2. Aussies yet again cannot kick goals to save themselves. 9 points went begging early & the game was as good as lost there.
3. Aussie scrum was surprisingly competitive & held it's own. The one scrum penalty that conceded points was a Joubert c**k-up. How much of the AB scrum performance will be blamed on Crockett? Aussie front-row went well & the general forwards performance improved when Vickerman & Higginbottom came on.
4. Joubert's refereeing was terrible again. The first penalty against Pocock was wrong & cost 3 points. The ruling at the end of the first half for not releasing was probably right - but as Carter had come in from the side it was a moot point. Penalty should have gone the other way. Penalty at the end of the match against Pocock for diving through when McCaw tackled O'Connor again was after the Kiwi lock had done the same thing and played the ball on the ground. These are just three examples. The gate does not exist for much of the match with Joubert, and then at crucial stages he decides to enforce the rule. At the ruck the idea of last feet is just plain ignored - as long as players enter from behind the ball he deems it OK. This also allowed the AB's to be closer than they should be in defence.
5. The AB's are much, much better at adapting to poor refereeing and exploiting these weaknesses. McCaw is a genius in this regard - which is why he looks genuinely perplexed when after 60 minutes Joubert pings him for an illegal ruck entry.
6. Are the Aussie forwards fit enough? AB's were faster, able to hit harder, and turn up in numbers.
