mens
international
Les Kiss was not surprised to see Declan Meredith put in an impressive performance in just his fourth Test start, with the No.10 standing out despite the Wallabies slumping to a 43-21 defeat by All black people in Sydney.
Meredith enjoyed the breakthrough Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the ACT Brumbies, which saw the 26-year-old leap into the Wallabies squad. The playmaker made his debut against Six Nations side France during the Nations Championship, and also against Italy.
The Wallabies began their new era under coach Kiss with Meredith in a starting role, playing the full 80 against the Brave Blossoms in Japan. Meredith later featured against the All Blacks at Eden Park and featured in the First XV in the second Bledisloe Cup Test.
Beauden Barrett kicked two tries as the All Blacks scored 36 points during a clinical first-half performance. But Meredith was still able to stand out, helping put teammates into space and taking the line herself.
Meredith finished with more than 100 running meters and came incredibly close to a try in the second half, but for a defensive tackle by Cam Roigard. In the absence of the injured Ben Donaldson, Meredith steered the ship during the All Blacks storm.
“I’m not surprised. He’s hard on himself… I thought he had a really great game. He took the line, got us into that second half with a good foot. Even in the first half, he was probably the most dangerous player in terms of putting us in space,” Kiss said.
“Maybe some better decision-making would have been nicer for us. We played a long pass instead of the hands that Declan created inside. The forwards, I thought, played a really nice leg for us to be able to go north and give us a chance to sit on the defenders and get into that space.
“I think Decky really had a pretty good game. He’s only four Tests old and that’s one of the things that’s always going to be on us now. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got players who can step in.”
“It’s a really good positive to come out of the game, to see Decky do what he did.”
Meredith helped put Max Jorgrnsen into space and the winger made three line breaks in the first 15 minutes. The fly-half also had the Wallabies in strong field position early on, but the All Blacks did well to hold off the hosts.
Instead, it was the All Blacks who scored first, with Josh Moorby running into the box just after 10 minutes. Barrett, Peter Lakai and Rieko Ioane also got on the scoresheet as the visitors raced into a 22-0 lead after 25 minutes.
“22 points that we just gave up in a little time. It was no different than last week, in the second half. It was expensive, no doubt,” Kiss told reporters.
“I’m trying to put my finger on it now, I’m not really sure. They obviously hit some seams in midfield, cut us in and when they went through, they were very, very clinical. Fair play to them in that sense.”
Jeremy Williams hit back for the Wallabies but was sent off two minutes later after being booked. The All Blacks made the most of their one-man advantage at half-time, with Wallace Sititi and Barrett hitting for five each.
It was a 29-point ball game at the break, but the Wallabies produced a better performance in the second term, outscoring the All Blacks 14-7. Tom Wright and Filipo Daugunu crossed the try line and the Australians had just 70 per cent possession in the final 10.
“We certainly tackled it a little more positively at halftime and got a little bit of a comeback in the second half, not only on that side of the ball but on our side of the ball as well,” added the coach.
“We just backed up our game a little bit more instead of throwing it out and just working more for the shapes we want to be able to put some things out there and I thought we did that better in the second half.
“That’s how you get started, it’s hard to pull back.”
