'Incredibly disappointing': Dave Rennie blasts Kellaway reporting
The scoreline 57-22. The headline, “Kia Aura”.
The baseline for Australian rugby? Back to square one.
Dave Rennie’s Wallabies headed straight for Perth on Sunday after their Bledisloe Cup humiliation in Auckland on Saturday night.
A year after their record 36-0 whitewash in Sydney, Ian Foster had set another benchmark: the All Blacks‘ biggest score against Australia in 118 years.
More than just winning the match, New Zealand won the mental war.
Whether trash talk or just careless chat, the barbs from the Wallabies in the lead-up to Bledisloe II were certainly noticed by the All Blacks.
Andrew Kellaway’s throwaway suggestion the New Zealanders had lost their aura, and Jordan Uelese’s cack-handed call the pressure was on the All Blacks were bold given Australia’s record at Eden Park.
“They probably believed that after last week, and I can see why,” Foster said after Saturday’s big win.
“We opened the door a little bit for them (in Bledisloe I) so it was important we made a statement tonight.”
Kellaway at least walked the walk after talking the talk; scoring a double to make it three tries in two tests.
It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Wallabies in their defeat at the hands of the All Blacks. #Wallabies #NZLvAUShttps://t.co/dXH8oUFqy6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 14, 2021
Rennie fumed at how the statements made their way into the All Blacks dressing room via Australian media, calling it “disappointing reporting”.
“You’ve got a young player who’s played about three tests who gets asked about playing the All Blacks at Eden Park and over a five-minute interview they pluck out three or four words to make a headline,” he said.
“What Kels is saying is last week he was heading into the unknown. The All Blacks at Eden Park, how tough is that? But now we get to play them at the same venue.
“Incredibly disappointing for a Sydney reporter to make a massive headline out of from a young player who’s just finding his way.
“Clearly we’re not going to try and entice the All Blacks to fire up anymore they normally do.”
Foster, in his second season as coach after a long stint as Steve Hansen’s assistant, chuckled at the media game-within-a-game.
“You guys love that. You play the game. You give us what they say and you want us to respond. It’s fun,” he said.
“In reality, it doesn’t change a lot of our preparation. All it does is probably reflect on where they’re at and what they’re thinking. It does give us a little bit of an insight.”
Asked whether Saturday night’s demolition of the Wallabies was his finest moment in the job, Foster deferred.
“I haven’t thought of that. Sydney last year was pretty good,” he deadpanned.
Perhaps wisely, the Wallabies flew directly to Western Australia early on Sunday morning.
They left with their tail between their legs: without giving interviews beyond their post-match requirements.
Game three, a Bledisloe dead rubber but a live Rugby Championship fixture, is set for Optus Stadium on August 28.
– Ben McKay
Comments on RugbyPass
The Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
1 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
3 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
3 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
2 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
16 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
16 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to commentsLove it when we overlap! Promise it was not forethought.
19 Go to commentsjfc can this guy plz stay out of the news for one week
2 Go to commentsIf stormers aren’t available. Based on form and likely availability at the time of the wales Test, you’d think Masuku would be a no-brainer to start. But starting Jordan also makes sense having Masuku come off the bench to close out the game.
2 Go to commentsGlad Tom Curry not playing needs time to recover such a great player also his brother Ben how well is he playing now .
1 Go to commentsLet’s examine what might be irking the brainless E: Up until 20 years before this coming Julys tests: 16 games: 14 wins for SA; 1 win for Ire; 1 draw From 20 years until July’ tests Ireland V SA: 13 matches Ireland won 8; SA won 4; 1 draw Points scored Ireland 261; SA 189 Ave Winning Margin: Ireland 11 points; SA 4 points (away 3, home 6) Away win record: Ireland 33.33%; SA 25% Neutral matches 1: Ireland win RWC France 2023. Last SA win June 2016 (8 years ago) They boast 3 World cups in that period (they do boast). The above record is not good, probably not much better than theirs against NZ for same period. That’s why the dopey E is starting fights in his head. He will probably ship a yellow when things don’t go their way in the first test.
127 Go to commentsGoode is like a wet fart on The Rugby Pod and should be shoved aside. Jim knows what he is on about and can get on better without Goode’s nasty little cheap shots.
127 Go to comments