Lynagh savages woeful Wallabies

World Cup-winning five-eighth Michael Lynagh has lashed the Wallabies' woeful skill levels as 'schoolboy level' following another Bledisloe Cup bloodbath.

A dejected Wallabies side.

The Wallabies trailed New Zealand by 48 points after as many minutes in the Bledisloe Cup opener. (AAP)

Australian rugby legend Michael Lynagh has savaged the Wallabies' "schoolboy" skills and revealed how his offers to help have fallen on deaf ears.

Commentating on Saturday night's Bledisloe Cup opener for Sky Sports in Britain, Lynagh pulled no punches after the Wallabies slumped to a humiliating 54-34 loss at Sydney's ANZ Stadium.

"I can't overestimate how angry I am at seeing an Australian team who have skills that are non-existent," said Australia's 1991 World Cup-winning five-eighth.

"Passing and catching and making tackles and trusting the bloke beside you are pretty basic even at schoolboy level.

"Australia had a month together to try and create stuff ... and they come up with that in the first half. Very, very disappointing."

Lynagh was later asked on Twitter why, as such a key player during one of the golden eras of Australian rugby, he hadn't been used as a talent scout.

"Have offered. But never asked to do so," he replied.

The Wallabies trailed by 48 points after 48 minutes before winning the last half-hour 28-0 at ANZ Stadium.

But, in an ominous warning for the Wallabies ahead of next Saturday's return bout in Dunedin, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said: "We got seduced by the scoreboard" and "buttoned off mentally in second half".

The late rally merely masked the deficiencies after the Wallabies' haphazard first-half attack included a forward pass from playmaker Bernard Foley as well as an intercept that led to a try after he tried to transfer a bad ball.

Coach Michael Cheika, though, stunningly said he had no problem with his side's attack after four tries from Curtis Rona, Israel Folau, Tevita Kuridrani and Kurtley Beale saved the Wallabies from their biggest-ever loss to the All Blacks.

"Like, with the team we've got, the points should be coming," Cheika said.

"We've got an attacking-type team, so we should be scoring points.

"But you've got to have both sides of the game.

"I'm not going to respond about not being up to standard defensively."


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world