Wallaby win to end Matfield's career
The Wallabies brought the curtain down on the career of legendary Springbok Victor Matfield by walloping his Barbarians team 60-11 at Twickenham on Saturday.
Australia outscored a very poor Barbarians team by eight tries to one, with one of the few highlights for the BaaBaas the never-say-die attitude of their 110-Test capped captain, Matfield.
He even attempted a touchline conversion in the dying seconds, but he had very little support from his teammates against a quality Wallabies outfit.
It means he retired from all forms of the game on a losing note.
Matfield, as he has done throughout his career, put his body on the line and played with pride – one of the few BaaBaas who emerged from the game with his reputation intact.
It was not a match – not in the sense of two well-matches sides. The score does not tell the full extent of Australian dominance.
The first half was reasonable, but after the Barbarians’ management made seven changes at half-time, emptying their bench, the match was over and in 40 minutes the Wallabies scored 42 points and there could have been more.
It was even worse that the 47-19 hiding New Zealand gave the Barbarians at Twickenham a few years ago.
Try to find something worthwhile in the Barbarians’ performance and you are left empty-handed.
There was nothing in their game than epitomised the Barbarian spirit of joie de vivre mixed with skill and courage. There was nothing at all of that. Oh, Victor Matfield, Stirling Mortlock and Bryan Habana gave the impression of trying really hard but none of the others did.
Look for skill and you look in vain – not with that drunken passing. Look for a spirit of adventure and you find none. When the flyhalf is as careless as Danny Cipriani’s was, there is little hope of constructive rugby and with a scrumhalf like Neeamia Kenatale and a hefty centre like Seru Rabeni the hope of defending is gone.
All the joie de vivre was on the Wallaby side. They had fun.
The Wallabies scored first when Keven Mealamu was offside and James O’Connor, booed for doing so in such a game, goaled. 3-0 inside two minutes.
Matfield had a break and Lachie Turner had a break and then Robbie Fruean intercepted and Adam Ashley-Cooper was penalised and yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on. Cipriani goaled. 3-3 after 14 minutes.
More and more the Wallabies got on top and O’Connor goaled a wobbly old drop – to boos. 6-3 after 20 minutes.
That’s all reasonable. It was still reasonable when from a line-out the Wallabies went right and in came Digby Ioane from the left wing. He went inside Fruean and past Cipriani to score a thrilling try. 13-3. after 25 minutes.
Habana broke on the outside and was away but his pass to Sam Tomkins was ruled to be forward.
Australia collected their second yellow card when James Slipper barged late and armless into Cipriani.
Ben Alexander burst and O’Connor fed off it but his pass was forward. Scott Higginbotham charged free but his pass was forward.
The Barbarians took a quick throw-in from touch and Mealamu kicked the ball downfield for some reason. Ashley-Cooper countered at speed and Turner was over in the right corner. 18-3. When O’Connor was preparing to take the conversion – going through a well rehearesed routine that involves rocking forward and backwards – Peter Stringer darted up and took the ball away – and he was allowed to.
The Barbarains scored first when Cipriani fell over but managed to goal a penalty. However, this did not herald a new dawn for the team cobbled together from 10 countries.
At line-out, Stephen Moore threw to Slipper at the front, came round and got the ball and charged and there was James Horwill charging over for his first try. 25-6 after 51 minutes.
Now the floodgates opened as the Wallabies attacked from the kick off with a run by Alexander and a charge by Horwill and a try set up by Cipriani. Moore overthrew a line-out. Cipriani got the ball and gave it to Horne who simply scored. 32-6 after 53 minutes.
From the kick-off Ashley-Cooper had a long run. Turner and then Ashley-Cooper carried it on till Slipper lost it at the line.
Australia went on pick-‘n-drive and Horwill burst past Marco Bortolami, Kenatale got out of the way and Horwill scored. 39-6 after 60 minutes.
The Wallabies tapped a penalty and went wide to the left where Ashley-Cooper played inside to Turner who scored. 46-6 after 64 minutes.
From the kick-off Higginbotham had a 40-metre run. Then Ben Tapuai broke and failed to pass and then from a line-out O’Connor made good headway and Ioane scored through a litany of feeble tackles. 53-6 with 10 minutes to play.
From the kick-off, Ioane raced down the left, Horwill burst and Ashley-Cooper was over but Matfield held him up. That gave the Wallabies a five-metre scrum. Radike Samo picked up from the back and, carrying the ball in one hand, had no difficulty in scoring. 60-6 with four minutes to play.
The Barbarians had their best bit of attack as the game fizzled out. They bashed and then went wide and Sam Tomkins scored in the right corner.
Matfield took the conversion and kicked the ball along the ground. Somehow it was sadly fitting – the end of a tragicomedy unworthy of a great man’s great career.
Man of the Match: There are Wallaby candidates and our choice is James O’Connor, playing flyhalf and making something happened every time he touched the ball.
Moment of the Match: Digby Ioane’s first try.
Villain of the Match: All those Barbarian players who who failed to do justice to the occasion.
The scorers:
For the Barbarians:
Try: Tomkins
Pens: Cipriani 2
For Australia:
Tries: Ioane 2, Turner 2, Horwill 2, Horne, Samo
Cons: O’Connor 7
Pen: O’Connor
DG: O’Connor
Yellow cards: Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia, 14 – professional foul, deliberate slap down), James Slipper (Australia, 29 – foul play, late shoulder charge), Salvatore Perugini (BaaBaas, 52 – professional foul, playing the ball on the ground)
The teams:
Barbarians: 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Sam Tomkins, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Eusebio Guinazu.
Replacements: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Jason White, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Richard Kahui, 22 Seru Rabeni.
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Dave Dennis, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 James Horwill, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Ben Tapuai.
Referee: Romain Poite
Assistant referees: Andrew Small, Stuart Terheege
TMO: Graham Hughes
