The Wallabies have rejected suggestions they have a “losing mentality” after skipper Harry Wilson’s decision to kick the ball dead, rather than chase a late try, drew stinging criticism from former British and Irish Lions coach Clive Woodward.
Australia have quickly switched their focus to levelling the series at 1-1 after they were beaten 27-19 by the Lions in Brisbane, the third straight occasion they have lost the opening Test to the tourists.
That scoreline flattered the Wallabies, however, with second-half tries from Carlo Tizzano and Tate McDermott bringing them back within eight points after the hosts had earlier trailed 24-5.
But it was skipper Wilson’s decision to hoof the ball dead after the final siren, rather than chase a length-of-the-field try, that drew criticism from Woodward, despite the fact that the seven points they could have earned from some sort of miracle hail mary-type play or attacking sequence not being enough to win the game.
“What summed up the game for me was with the clock in the red and with the Lions winning 27-19, the Australian captain Harry Wilson kicked the ball out to end the game,” Woodward wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“Talk about a losing mentality. For me, it is the last play of the game so why not have a mentality to try and score as this could be the situation in seven days’ time, only closer? Why not rehearse this scenario?
“Why would any player, especially the captain, want to end the game? That in so many ways reflects the current state of Australian rugby which is clearly not in a great position.”
Woodward neglected to mention Nick Frost’s lineout steal, which denied the Lions a final chance to grow their margin of victory, so too the fact that Australia could take some solace in the fact they had already edged the second-half 14-10.
Asked about Woodward’s comments on Monday in Melbourne, Wallabies veteran James Slipper rejected claims his skipper had thrown in the towel.
“I didn’t see that,” the Wallabies’ most capped player said.
“The game, from memory, was over. We were eight points behind. It’s a long way to go to potentially turn over the ball and concede another try.
“I wouldn’t say it was a losing mentality, it just made a full stop on that game and crack on with game two.”
The comments were also picked up by Stan Sport commentator and Wallabies great Matt Burke, who said conceding another Lions try would have far outweighed any positivity that might have come with a long-range Wallabies attack.
“Do not let them score,” Burke said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.
“Don’t let them get a driving maul or whatever and try and just rub salt into the wound. 34-19 at the end sounds incredibly bad.
“Get the ball, kick it out, start again, walk off and say ‘you didn’t breach our line at the end there.’
“We won that second half in tough circumstances after coming back… as a captain, that’s what I’d have done every day of the week. Turn it up.”
Wallabies back-rower Rob Valetini meanwhile agreed it was the right call for him to target this weekend’s second Test, despite confidence he was always going to be ready for the Brisbane opener.
The Wallabies made the decision to omit both Valetini and lock Will Skelton from the first Test team after they suffered calf injuries in the build-up to Australia’s clash with Fiji earlier in the month, only for the duo to then train at full capacity on Saturday morning.
Valetini is a guarantee to come straight back in the starting side for the second Test at the MCG, while Skelton may join him or be brought off the bench.
“I thought I would have been a shoo-in for the first Test, but it was a smart idea to have a week off and get through some more training, a bit more loading through the calf,” Valetini said.
“I did a session Saturday morning and did a pretty tough session, so it feels good to go.
“I’m Melbourne born and bred, I’ve got all my family here so I would love to run out there and play in front of them, that would be awesome.”
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