Who can mix it with All Blacks?
Answer: South Africa, England and occasionally France. Those three sides have in the past few months gone toe-to-toe with the All Blacks, and England had the temerity to come back from 17-3 down to lead at Twickenham. They couldn’t see out the game, however, as even with limited ball, New Zealand proved again that they are so clinical, so ruthless, and never know when they are beaten.
Full-backs to the fore
We saw plenty of outstanding play this weekend, but full-backs stood out for me. Israel Folau’s command of the high ball left even Leigh Halfpenny and Rob Kearney in the shade, Willie le Roux produced an inspirational all-round performance against Scotland and Mike Brown earned plenty of plaudits for his play against New Zealand.
Little to cheer for Ireland, Scotland
It was a grim weekend for Ireland and Scotland fans. Ireland were dreadful in defence and cut apart too easily by Australia. Their set-piece was poor and they hammered away at Australia’s line without ever looking like crossing it. I didn’t think it was possible, but Scotland were worse. Their line-out was completely taken to pieces, passes went astray and when they attacked South Africa’s line, they offered up possession and were punished. South Africa’s in-out defence seemed to completely flummox them and they were lucky not to have conceded more points.
What a difference quick ball makes
Even on the rare occasions it happened, Ireland and Scotland looked vaguely threatening when they were able to secure quick ball. Wales had it almost throughout their game against Argentina and reaped the rewards. Oh, and Quade Cooper looks a different player when presented with quick ball, time and space.
Argentina have a star in Cordero
Argentina have had a dreadful year, both on and off the field but in winger Santiago Cordero, they have a star of the future. His quick feet constantly evaded Welsh defenders and he was perhaps the only positive from their 40-6 defeat. However, he will need to improve his defensive work as Wales made inroads on his wing and a couple of missed tackles in the build-ups to Welsh scores highlighted this.