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Jordan Petaia

Rugby

Ireland vs. Australia Rugby analysis as hosts win tightly-fought game over Wallabies.

by Admin

• Match: Ireland v Australia
• Series: Autumn International/Autumn Nations Series
• Venue​​: Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland
• Time ​: Sunday, 20th Nov. 2022 (7 AM Australian Eastern Daylight time)/Saturday, 19th Nov. 2022 (8 PM local time)

Points Summary

IrelandAustralia
Bundee Aki 66′TriesJordan Petaia 70′
Jack Crowley 67′ConversionsBernard Foley 71′
Jack Crowley 9′
Ross Byrne 75′		Penalty GoalsBernard Foley 55′
Yellow CardsFolau Faingaa’ 36′

• The Aviva Stadium in Dublin bore witness to a test match between Ireland and Australia that would best be described as a ‘slog’. With just 23 points scored in the entire game, the two sides played out a gripping, but not particularly pretty encounter, which was won late on from the boot of Ross Byrne, who was drafted in to the Ireland squad just minutes ahead of kick-off.

• Going for a third victory out of three against the Southern Hemisphere’s traditional rugby playing powers, Ireland were dealt a blow before a ball had been kicked, with their captain and World Rugby player of the year nominee Johnny Sexton ruled out, having picked up a calf injury in the warm-up. 22-year-old Jack Crowley came into the XV to make his first start, and kicked a 10th minute penalty to get Ireland on the board.

• Australia thought they had opened the scoring even earlier though, after Nic White darted from dummy half to ground the ball after just four minutes. However, play was brought back for an Irish penalty, after the TMO spotted an illegal neck roll by Australia in the preceding ruck. That was to begin a half of missed opportunities for Australia, who spent plenty of time entrenched in Ireland’s 22, but finished the first 40 minutes scoreless, and trailing 3-0.

• The try-scoring action finally began in the last quarter of an hour, after replacement centre Bundee Aki crashed over from close range following a sustained spell of pressure on the Australian line. Ireland thought that might seal the game, but the Wallabies hit straight back as their back-line clicked into gear, allowing Jordan Petaia to scythe through the cover defence and skid into score in the corner. With both of these tries converted, the game was again level heading into the final moments.

• Those two five-pointers were as good as it got on the try-scoring front though, with the game soon returning to a slow-moving battle of inches as the two sets of players fought for control. Ireland gained a late penalty, and Ross Byrne, drafted in at the 11th hour to cover for Crowley on the bench, notched a sideline penalty to re-take a three-point lead for Ireland, and the hosts saw out the remaining four minutes to seal a momentous victory in Dublin.

Match Preview

• The Australian team showed a good aggressive style of play in the both half of the game. But no matter how hard Australia tried, they couldn’t score much points. Tried several times to score tries, but they managed to score only one try.

• In the first half, the Irish team was leading by 3:0. In the 2nd Half Australia started to pile on the points but with Bundee Aki’s try and couple of penalty goals won the match for Ireland.

Wounded Wallabies must find way to win

• Australia have now lost three of the four games they’ve played in the Northern Hemisphere this autumn, and this is the first one that has been settled by more than a single point

• Australia have one more chance to win a match in 2022, as they head to Wales next weekend, but with France 2023 nearing ever closer, the Wallabies must find a way to see off a game that hangs in the balance, particularly when the chips are down and the stakes are high.

Dour victory won’t hamper Irish spirit

• The best teams know how to win, be it with flashy moves to score bucket-loads of points, or by grinding out every possible point to suffocate their opposition into submission.

• Winning ugly is certainly one way to prepare for the latter stages of a World Cup, and with their 2022 campaign done and dusted, Ireland will now set their sights on the 2023 edition in France.

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Rugby

All Blacks too good tonight in Game 2 of the 2022 Bledisloe Cup that extends another year of the Wallabies’ losing hoodoo for the 36th straight time at Eden Park

by Admin

By Daniel Cullinane

Twitter: @dcullinane02

It was a feisty build-up to this second test between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park. All the talk had been about the controversial decision for time-wasting that ended the Wallabies chances of winning the Bledisloe cup in the first test. The reckless action of lock Darcy Swain, and the claims that the Wallabies had disrespected the haka. The potential for a heated contest was high.

Australia got the game under way and quickly put pressure on New Zealand with a break by Jed Holloway, who charged into the All Blacks 22. He quickly undid his good work by dumping Dalton Papali’i at the ruck. He was yellow-carded, and so began the rollercoaster of indiscipline that appears to be blighting the Australian game.

New Zealand on the other hand, were lifting their game and showing early dominance. A strong scrum saw All Black number 8 Ardie Savea break. The ball went wide to Beauden Barrett, who turned on the after burners and then chipped, to pile the pressure on the Wallabies. The All Blacks were awarded a 5 metre scrum but Savea was unable to control the ball at the base. Australia cleared their lines.

Then a moment of magic from Wallaby wing, Marika Koroibete. A break down the midfield followed by a chip, catch, and grubber to put huge pressure on the New Zealanders in their own 22. Again, the Wallabies infringed, leading to a kickable penalty for Richie Mo’unga. 3-0 to the All Blacks. Wing; Will Jordan soon built on the score with a fine break and subsequent try. Mo’unga made it 10-0.

Australia was creaking badly and the pressure was clearly affecting their thinking. Tom Wright confirmed this by taking a quick tap penalty from an eminently kickable position and an almost guaranteed 3 points. Another penalty by Wallaby skipper James Slipper led to a New Zealand lineout in the Aussie 22. Afterwards, a powerful maul forced a penalty try and yet another yellow card for Australia. David Porecki left the field for 10 minutes. Half time arrived and the score was 17-0; New Zealand were flying.

In the second half, the All Blacks carried on where they had left off. Within 2 minutes, they scored through captain Sam Whitelock. Mo’unga converted to make the score 24-0. The All Blacks had by now recognised that the Wallabies couldn’t live with them in the set piece. Again, they went to the lineout. Again they formed a driving maul and powered over the Aussie line. This time it was Codie Taylor on the scoresheet. The conversion was missed. 32-0 to the All Blacks.

At last the Australians fired a shot when Nick Frost charged down a New Zealand kick in their 22. Pete Samu collected the ball and surged forwards. Support came from replacement hooker Folau Fainga’a, who charged over the line. Bernard Foley kicked the conversion; Points on the boards. 32-7.

The All Blacks responded almost immediately with another pushover try from the lineout. Samisoni Taukei’aho the scorer.

In the 76th minute, Richie Mo’unga had another shot at goal to make it 40-7. The Aussies would have the final word in a very one-sided game when a determined Jordan Petaia forced his way over. The try was converted. The final score 40-14 to New Zealand. It was a dominant display from the men in black. Probably their best performance in the tournament.

The All Blacks were sharp, their set piece was outstanding, and they were clinical when they needed to be. Australia has some big issues to deal with. Their discipline has been woeful since their test series defeat to England back in July. They have spent large parts of the Rugby Championship playing with less than fifteen men on the field. Going forward, the lack of leadership is clearly a problem they must address if they are to be successful.

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Rugby

Rugby News, Top 3 players from the Queensland Reds v ACT Brumbies Game in RD7 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

Jordan Petaia tops the Top 3 players list tonight when he was outstanding at full-back for the Queensland Reds. He’s tall, young, and talented at age 22, who can fit anywhere in the backline. However, his best position is full-back in the No.15 shirt, having just extended his contract for another two years. He can protect his Reds team defensively when reading & marking one of the Brums stars, so Petaia can hold them accountable with the tackling. He’s also good at clearing out with the kick in difficult situations before he can exploit his attacking skill sets further through the pitch; as long as he has the support players around him, that benefitted the best out of his game.

The next Reds player right after Petaia is Fraser McReight on the openside back row at No.7, as he’s so mobile alongside the physical grunt to grasp against opposition sides in all areas. He can also be an excellent contributor to his Reds team, thanks to his few years of experience with the Reds that reflected his hard work tonight. The biggest highlight of McReight on the field has to come from the 2nd half, where not only did he spot the Brums weaknesses through their messy discipline and attack. However, his big score past the TRY line at the same time has given the Reds some much-needed confidence. Thanks to McReight, the Reds’ extended winning margin threw them in the box seat towards winning before he came off the bench with an early mark; plus a week-long bye for next week.

And Cam Clark made an immediate impact as the best Brumbies player tonight down at replacement full-back when starter Jesse Mogg had to leave the field over a knee sprain. His TRY in the first half saw them overtake the Reds ahead of half-time, who has so much pace to unpack within the Brums backline, thanks to his Rugby 7s days & improved 15s experience. But a messy discipline & misfiring attack ruined the Brums momentum that ultimately robbed them of the game, especially when he was on the radar at one point with the yellow card.

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Rugby

Rugby News, Queensland Reds hold off the Fijian Drua’s late comeback fight with a 33-28 win at Suncorp Stadium

by Sports Benches

Wow!! What a game that is to reflect a fantastic Saturday night of Super Rugby Pacific between the Queensland Reds & Fijian Drua, that went down through the wire at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Reds opened the account with a big score from full-back Jordan Petaia before Harry Wilson scored the 2nd TRY, as the home team are 12-6 at half-time before they continued to stay ahead going into the 2nd half. Meanwhile, the Drua came back from two three-point goals earlier on into three big scores late in the 2nd half, where the new start Super Rugby team almost captured an upset in front of the Reds. However, it’s Seru Uru on the blindside back row who saved the Reds’ night, thanks to a game-winning TRY that secured their unbeaten start of the 2022 campaign by five points, 33-28.

The Reds have plenty to fix in the next coming days when a messy attacking shape and ill-discipline almost put them on the brink of a shock loss v Drua. It’s not a good look when their starting frontline of Harry Hoopert & Josh Nasser were sent to the naughty chair for 10 minutes during the 1st half, as they better be careful the next time Queensland faces the Brumbies, or else they will be punished big time. However, the Reds have done enough that put themselves past the safe line first. The build-up momentum is good where they were able to stay ahead, while extending that winning share. And they managed to bounce back following the Drua’s quickfire spell late in the 2nd half when Seru Uru came in to save the day. But as said earlier, they will need to watch their discipline and get their attacking shape organized, if the Reds are to beat the Brumbies on Friday night.

Meanwhile, so unlucky from the Drua who were almost so close towards pulling that shock upset v Reds. We love how they spotted the Reds’ ill-discipline and disjointed attack, where the Drua were able to stop them from scoring at times. We also look at the example of how inside center Kalaveti Ravouvou intercepted the ball off the back end of the Reds’ messy attacking mistakes during the first few mins of play, having ran off over halfway and almost scored, when he couldn’t find any numbers around him. It gave a preview of the Drua’s plan to haunt the Reds’ later on & again almost succeeded with three quickfire tries in five minutes late in the 2nd half. The only weakness Drua needs to work on is their first 40, when some ill-discipline and a lack of finishing organization held them back before they left it too late.

The Reds will now travel to Canberra on Friday night v ACT Brumbies at GIO Stadium, while Drua will have their home game next Saturday in Sydney v Western Force at Leichardt Oval.

It will be interesting to see whether the Brumbies will stay 1st or see the Reds knock them down to 2nd in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific standings after Round 5.

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Rugby

Rugby News, Top 3 players from the Queensland Reds v Fijian Drua game in Round 4 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

Hats off to Seru Uru, who just became the home team’s saviour tonight for the Queensland Reds, He was hard at work for the whole time on the blindside back row when Uru protected his side’s defense, as well as being involved going forward with the attack. And he kept the Reds on their toes where Uru not only helped them score a couple of tries, but he also took down the winning try himself with two minutes to spare. Competition is good for Uru, having started the last two matches v Western Force & Drua, as he hopes to stay at No.6 on Friday and test himself against a tougher opposition like the Brumbies.

Next up is Jordan Petaia where he started at full-back this time within the Reds XV v Drua tonight. He possesses so much pace and power in the Reds backline engine room, where Petaia was able to make good use of his natural game both in attack and defense. Not only how Petaia was able to protect the Reds via Try saving tackles, but he also benefited from these support numbers around him when switching to attack, including his opening TRY that launched the Reds’ scoring account. He may have been knocked down a few times with some bruises, but Petaia never gave up to help the Reds stay ahead, as he’s one hell of a hard-working backline player to watch. It will be interesting to see who will be the best of the 15s in Australia, when Petaia will go up against the Brumbies’ full-back in Tom Banks during Round 5 on Friday night.

And Kalaveti Ravouvou stood out for the Fijian Drua on the inside midfield at the No.12 shirt. He gave the Reds a huge warning that there’s trouble looming ahead, especially when he noticed the Reds’ messy attack at times earlier on, intercepted the ball along the way, and almost scored a TRY. His attacking influence in the Drua squad has led to more threats fired back to the Reds, where they were almost closer to securing an upset within 10-15 mins left. Although Drua was unlucky to lose with a brilliant 2nd half show tonight, but Ravouvou was the one who created this Drua attacking input that almost sent the Reds shockwaves.

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Rugby News, NSW Waratahs v Queensland Reds RD2 match-up of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific at Leichardt Oval

by Sports Benches

Great to see the long-running New South Wales v Queensland rivalry return for another year last night, even with the wet conditions that went extra competitive while playing through the rain. Both teams were level at the break (10-10) after a close first 40 with one TRY and penalty goal apiece, but it’s the Reds who ran away in the end with another win by a narrow four-point buffer (16-20) at Leichardt Oval.

The Reds fired off very well with the early head start thanks to Jordan Petaia with the TRY & James O’Connor for the kicking and assist to Petaia, having shown patience when they had the ball in hand. Although they were tested with the scrum at times that led to lost points over to the Tahs’, the away team though managed to come out unscathed. We love how they took care of the ball with excellent planning and communication thanks to the Tahs’ mistakes in the 2nd half, which eventually gave sub-back rower Ryan Smith a way to get past the Tahs’ through the gate down low. Excellent teamwork by the Reds’ players and their use of substitutions that got the best out of ways to win games by their head coach, Brad Thorn.

Meanwhile, the Tahs’ responded well to the Reds’ early start when exposing the opposition’s weaknesses in defense, which has helped them level at half-time, 10-10. The scrum looks spot on with or without the ball feed, where Will Harris successfully converted into a TRY during the first-half at No.8 alongside some winning penalties. However, they were just unlucky not to hold them off until the end, not to blame Ben Donaldson’s brilliant kicking into the goal posts at fly-half. A few mistakes made in the 2nd half with a poor line-out, isolated executions, and defense eventually cost them by a narrow four-point margin.

The Reds will now travel to HBF Park in Perth next Friday at 7 pm local time/10 pm AEDT where they will face the Western Force, while the Waratahs will have their first away game of 2022 next Saturday night v ACT Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

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Rugby

Australian Rugby News, Wallabies continue their winning hoodoo at six consecutive games following their win v Japan in Oita

by Sports Benches

Great day out for the Wallabies in Japan with a brilliant fire off in the first half (14-17) via successful big scores off Tom Wright & Jordan Petaia, now their attacking line wasn’t perfect especially when they lacked numbers & long passes at times which is why Japan was still in the hunt until the very end.

However, they held off Japan to the finish line first where Taniela Tupou & Rob Leota scored their respective tries after half-time before Connal McInerney scored a consolation TRY on debut off the bench with two mins left towards full-time which sealed their win (23-32).

Then we look at the Brave Blossoms who started off slowly but found their ground via the penalty goal followed by a big score where Lomano Lomeki caught well up high from a wonder cross-kick on the wide right before he touched down as they were a few points away (14-17) from the Wallabies at half-time.

Although Japan did their best to stay in contention especially with that lovely intercept TRY from Ryoto Nakamura even though they were 14 men at the time, but they just couldn’t find the time to strike an upset towards the end (23-32) as wholesale changes off the bench didn’t help much either.

Final Score: Japan 23-32 Wallabies

The Wallabies now jet to Europe ahead of their three-week UK tour starting next month beginning with Scotland before they head to England & cap it off in Wales, while Japan will also be in the continent at the same time but will face Ireland, Portgual & Scotland.

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Australian Rugby News, 2021 Super Rugby AU Week 8: Top 3 players from the Reds v Brumbies Game

by Sports Benches

Jordan Petaia played an outstanding run tonight for the Reds. Especially during the 2nd 40. In which benefitted this comeback that haunted the Brumbies in the end. He is a valuable pacey player. Whether it is on the wing, midfield or even at full-back.

He can make up the defensive contributions. When the Brumbies had one player running through. It allowed Petaia to read their lack of support runners. And drag them out into touch with the tackle. It really gave the Reds to settle defensively in the first 40. While the attack were not speeding up earlier on.

Then in the last 20 minutes Petaia tried something different. Thanks to the inspiration from skipper James O’Connor via the cross kick. So he went with the 50/22 strategy that granted his side a throw-in. Before the Reds were able to stay patient. Where O’Connor assisted the same thing that helped Petaia cap off really special. This is really good communication. Which is a relief to go from behind & dismantle the Brumbies.

James O’Connor

Another player who was behind the Reds comeback is James O’Connor. He is the skipper who plays at No.10 role. The start may not go against his way. Where the Reds were disjointed on occasions. But he was blessed with the defensive setup. In which helped JOC grab the safe route via a series of penalty goals. The Reds were nine points (6-15) behind at the break.

Then he finally found a trick to help the Reds grab their first big score. When he crossed kick towards the wide left. Saw Josh Flook pick up the pieces from the midfield. And easily made his way to the touch zone. Before he brought up Jordan Petaia with his creative brains. Such as the 50/22 kick into touch. Then followed up with the same attacking finish via the cross kick. And that saw Petaia execute this brilliant masterclass with the TRY.

In which is sensational to close out tonight on a high. Where JOC capped off another few successful kicks into the goal. Thanks to the Reds defensive setup who looked after it well all game. Saw them dissect the Brumbies poor areas in defense that lost them penalties. As it gave the Reds plenty of time to catch up towards the final siren. He is a very important player with lots of creativity. Reds need him badly not just to help them win Super Rugby AU. But also give them an extended run against the New Zealand sides too.

Folau Faingaa

He played well in the starting hooker role for ACT Brumbies. Fired off well with their attacking setup. Which exposed the Reds slow start. Such as the winning penalties on hand. And it allowed him to take control of the ball. It led to his side move ahead early. Especially when Faingaa used the maul to touch one down himself.

That allowed his backline to pay back what he built on. They dissected the Reds impatient finishing & foul play. With Faingaa in there alongside his forwards to build some blocks. Before Brumbies pushed each meter into the opposition territory. As seen with the maximum of points gained ahead of half-time at 6-15.

Although the Brumbies tried to fend off Queensland. But it is the ill-discipline that let Faingaa down. Their 2nd 40 run was not the same as the 1st half. They did not attack a lot. Instead the momentum turned around against their way. And it is something the Brumbies need to shave off ASAP. Especially when they are most penalised team so far this season. They have the Rebels next Sunday. And maybe again in the Qualifying Final. So they better give Faingaa more attacking chances. Before it is too late in the Final.

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