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Eddie Jones faces World Cup injury crisis amid Wallabies' MCG walloping
By Ian Cameron
The Wallabies' Bledisloe loss to the All Blacks in Melbourne turned into a nightmare as Eddie Jones' side now face a potential injury crisis at tighthead just weeks out from the Rugby World Cup.
The All Blacks recorded a resounding 38-7 victory over a troubled Australian side in front of over 84,000 people at the MCG, handing Jones his third loss in a row as new head coach of the national team.
The match took a sour turn in for the home side in the first half when Wallabies captain, Allan Ala'alatoa, was carted off the field with what looked like a significant knee injury.
As the second half commenced, the Wallabies' hopes of a comeback were dealt a further blow. Taniela Tupou, who had stepped in as Ala'alatoa's replacement, collapsed in pain with an unspecified injury. He carried on gamely for several minutes, even though it was clear that he was struggling badly, the camera capturing the burly prop wincing in pain.
Jones appeared to kept the tighthead on despite it be clear that he was in not fit to continue, possibly fearing that Wallabies would be forced to play with 14 men if they couldn't come up with a solution for the right-hand side of the scrum.
To add to their misery, the replacement prop was given a yellow card for a no-wrap challenge right after leaving the field. Referee Wayne Barnes then sent the incident to the TMO Bunker for review. The timing of the card left the Wallabies in disbelief, as Tupou had just been subbed off for Angus Bell, who had originally started the game at loosehead.
Bell was then forced to sit in the sin-bin in lieu of Tupou, for a dangerous tackle he had no part in.
As the match continued, the Wallabies' resistance began to crumble, with the All Blacks piling on the tries against 14-men, scoring two tries in quick succession with Bell in the bin.
With both Alaalatoa and Tupou potentially facing long stints on the sideline, the winless Jones is left with a major problem at tighthead. Both his first and second choice No.3s could now be unavailable, leaving a gaping hole in the team's front row with the Rugby World Cup just around the corner.
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Latest Comments
Agreed. Borthwick will have to write a new excuse book soon .
I have looked at the two world cup final teams from 2003 and 2020.
2003 team scored 187 tries between them in 389 caps
2020 team scored 113 tries between them in 473 caps. As you can see a huge disparity in scoring rate. Only Johnny May with 36 tries in 78 caps scored a higher amount of tries. Elliot Daly comes close but the rest are frankly very poor.
Farrell and Ford scored a pathetic 20 tries between them in a combined 210 caps.
There again , the 2003 team did have Wilko and Greenwood etc whereas 2020 team had Ford and Farrell .
So much people saying that Fords strength is of bringing others into the game .
Really. The figures totally disprove that notion .
It has been mentioned elsewhere that we have accepted mediocrity far too often and the figures would indicate that players are or have been picked far too often without performing .
Go to commentsNot disputing that NZ are ahead of Eng. Also not saying Eng are unlucky (though clearly the tone of the article is not that the ABs were unlucky but that they 'should have' won). Your team are looking great and are on the up. I just felt that Pundits have argued Eng 'should have' won the first test against the ABs, when it's more nuanced than that, and very fine margins determine results that Eng didn't get right. Same applies, therefore, to NZ and other nations. Ben Smith though doesn't seem to see it that way. To be clear: I'm not saying I agree with the 'should haves', but more that I take issue with the phrasing.
Good to see your respect for other nations is so strong! Proper rugby fan you are!!!
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