Kia Tasman conquers Beer O'clock Hill
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Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Wallabies know exactly what's coming in South Africa. But can they stop it?
The Springboks are world class at the kick chase, which logically shouldn't be the case given the size of their wingers. Edwill van der Merwe, a carbon copy of Cheslin Kolbe, played against Georgia and was brilliant at either winning back Williams' kicks cleanly, or at least contesting well enough for a teammate to pick up the scraps. The Springboks also use second-rower Eben Etzebeth as a chaser, or have another giant such as blindside flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit close at hand. And, if and when they win it back, they compound the pain for the visitors by spreading the ball into midfield and kicking deep again. Within 20 seconds of taking a restart, teams can find themselves scrambling back inside their own 22 to secure the ball and hack it into touch – which in turn sets up the Springboks maul. It becomes a cycle of misery that can be impossible to get out of. Accordingly, the most important Wallabies at Ellis Park will be the wingers, or whoever is the designated catcher in the backfield. A fallacy has developed since the South Africans departed Super Rugby, one that says that Australian and New Zealand forwards have suffered as a result. It contains only an element of truth. Trans-Tasman players have lost something without the regular exposure to the South Africans, but it's the wingers and fullbacks who have paid the heaviest price. Without this relentless aerial examination, you could argue that their readiness for Test rugby has been degraded a touch. Similarly, we reserve most of our praise for halfbacks who can run and offload, and only those in Canberra have a fuller appreciation of what a Ryan Lonergan-type player can bring to a team. And even if the Springboks don't regain the ball cleanly from a high kick, they might get the next best thing – an opposition knock on. The Springboks smashed the much-vaunted Georgia scrum at Mbombela Stadium, and their starting tight five for the first Wallabies Test looks stronger than that line-up. But, again, the origin for that pressure was the box kick, and the Wallabies can also expect No.10 Manie Libbok to go to the air if the Springboks aren't getting quick ball at the ruck. Loading With this dominance, a 22-10 half-time lead was a relatively poor return for the Springboks – but they still do not look entirely comfortable when they try to play All Blacks rugby. But where they do excel is building pressure with aerial contests, and when they get into the right areas of the field they are relentless at sending waves of big runners around the corner – and they have the ball carriers to get over the gain line four or five times in a row. There is a way to stop this, and it's at the source. The Test will be won or lost by how the Wallabies handle the high ball.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
The Wallabies know exactly what's coming in South Africa. But can they stop it?
The Springboks are world class at the kick chase, which logically shouldn't be the case given the size of their wingers. Edwill van der Merwe, a carbon copy of Cheslin Kolbe, played against Georgia and was brilliant at either winning back Williams' kicks cleanly, or at least contesting well enough for a teammate to pick up the scraps. The Springboks also use second-rower Eben Etzebeth as a chaser, or have another giant such as blindside flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit close at hand. And, if and when they win it back, they compound the pain for the visitors by spreading the ball into midfield and kicking deep again. Within 20 seconds of taking a restart, teams can find themselves scrambling back inside their own 22 to secure the ball and hack it into touch – which in turn sets up the Springboks maul. It becomes a cycle of misery that can be impossible to get out of. Accordingly, the most important Wallabies at Ellis Park will be the wingers, or whoever is the designated catcher in the backfield. A fallacy has developed since the South Africans departed Super Rugby, one that says that Australian and New Zealand forwards have suffered as a result. It contains only an element of truth. Trans-Tasman players have lost something without the regular exposure to the South Africans, but it's the wingers and fullbacks who have paid the heaviest price. Without this relentless aerial examination, you could argue that their readiness for Test rugby has been degraded a touch. Similarly, we reserve most of our praise for halfbacks who can run and offload, and only those in Canberra have a fuller appreciation of what a Ryan Lonergan-type player can bring to a team. And even if the Springboks don't regain the ball cleanly from a high kick, they might get the next best thing – an opposition knock on. The Springboks smashed the much-vaunted Georgia scrum at Mbombela Stadium, and their starting tight five for the first Wallabies Test looks stronger than that line-up. But, again, the origin for that pressure was the box kick, and the Wallabies can also expect No.10 Manie Libbok to go to the air if the Springboks aren't getting quick ball at the ruck. Loading With this dominance, a 22-10 half-time lead was a relatively poor return for the Springboks – but they still do not look entirely comfortable when they try to play All Blacks rugby. But where they do excel is building pressure with aerial contests, and when they get into the right areas of the field they are relentless at sending waves of big runners around the corner – and they have the ball carriers to get over the gain line four or five times in a row. There is a way to stop this, and it's at the source. The Test will be won or lost by how the Wallabies handle the high ball.
Sky News AU
7 days ago
- Sky News AU
Electric vehicle road user charge 'almost inevitable', Infrastructure Partnerships Australia CEO Adrian Dwyer declares
A road-user charge that will force electric vehicle drivers to 'pay their fair share' is now 'almost inevitable', an industry leader has declared as the government mulls changes to how drivers are taxed. According to The Australian, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is considering "accelerating work on a modest road-user charge for electric vehicle drivers" as part of major tax reforms. This could mean EV drivers would contribute to road and construction repair. Funds currently mostly come from the fuel excise which accounts for 51.6 cents per litre of petrol or diesel sold in Australia - costing the average household more than $1200 per year. A discussion of the charge was organised by think tank Infrastructure Partnerships Australia where leaders across public policy and industry gathered ahead of next week's productivity roundtable. Infrastructure Partnership Australia's chief executive Adrian Dwyer spoke with Business Now on Monday where he warned a 'terminal decline' in fuel excise meant the government had to widen its scope on vehicle levies. 'It's a good thing that those electric vehicles are coming in for emissions reduction, but they still use roads,' Mr Dwyer said on Business Now. 'Roads have to be paid for and everybody should pay their fair share for making sure that they're built and maintained.' He stressed a road-user charge was an 'update' to the tax system which was 'outdated' and should not be considered a 'new tax'. It comes as New Zealand has already unveiled plans to scrap the fuel excise and instead have all light vehicles, including petrol, diesel, electric and hybrid, pay a levy based on distance travelled and the weight of the vehicle after it implement a trial of the policy. Mr Dwyer pointed to Australia's trans-Tasman neighbours as an example of how a charge could be implemented. 'The sky didn't fall in,' he said. '(The New Zealand government) announced earlier this week that they're extending their program and putting a more user-friendly approach in. 'Many US states are trialling this. This is not novel or unique anymore, it's actually almost inevitable now that this has to be the way we go to update our road system and it can be a way of accelerating uptake of electric vehicles as well.' A road user charge would force wealthy Australians with deep pockets to contribute towards the quality of the nation's roads. Some of the cheapest new Tesla models cost shoppers almost $60,000, while Audi EVs start from about $100,000 and cheap BMWs are about $80,000. The cheapest new EVs in Australia are about $32,000, however, most vehicles start from at least $60,000. Mr Chalmers said in June that the Albanese government was looking to work with various state and territories 'on the future of road user charging'. 'Now all of this represents a big agenda on the supply side of our economy. And none of these reforms are simple,' Mr Chalmers told the National Press Club at the time. 'All of them require sustained collective effort and they'll take time to show up in the data.' The Productivity Commission's report issued last week also called for a national road user charge that would force EV drivers to contribute to road maintenance.
