Rugby Bledisloe Cup: Australian media stunned by All Blacks rookie Caleb Clarke

It was an all too familiar sight: the Wallabies imploding in a test at Eden Park, but this time at the hands of an unknown chief tormentor.

That was the opinion of the Australian media in the immediate aftermath of the All Blacks’ landslide 27-7 victory in the second round of the Bledisloe Cup in Auckland, a week after Dave Rennie’s charges reached the width of a post. a historic victory in Wellington.

But while Australian rugby scribes were divided on their reasons for the defeat of the Wallabies, which kept the All Blacks clinging to the Bledisloe Cup for nearly two decades, they were unanimous in their praise of rookie winger Caleb Clarke, who he was almost flawless in his career – in debut.

Writing for him Sydney morning heraldTom Decent said that comparisons to the late great Jonah Lomu weren’t far from the truth.

“The Dave Rennie era began with great optimism after last week’s draw in Wellington, but Sunday’s 27-7 loss has shown how difficult it is to kill the All Blacks in a place they haven’t tried. defeat since 1994, “Decent wrote.

“If anyone thought Caleb Clarke’s 11-minute cameo last week was a fluke, the All Blacks winger’s performance on Sunday was three times better. His 123 yards on eight carries doesn’t paint the whole picture when he hit. to Wallabies defenders as a 16-year-old who plays in the under-10s.

“The inevitable comparisons to Jonah Lomu are absolutely valid after two sensational performances.”

Clarke’s performance resembled that of Dad Eroni in his heyday, according to Wayne Smith of The Australian.

“Fullback Beauden Barrett, back on the ground where he scored four attempts against the Wallabies two years ago, beat tackle after tackle, but the alarm bells were ringing on the Aussie side every time Caleb Clarke was in possession.

“Like his father, former All Black Eroni Clarke, who watched proudly from the stands, Caleb just refused to be tackled and even Australia’s best first-half defender Michael Hooper was struggling to hold him down.”

Titled “Wallabies 34-Year Torture Continues,” news.com.au lamented a horror game passage for the Wallabies, with Clarke at the helm.

“Eden Park remains an impenetrable fortress for New Zealand, with the All Blacks securing another victory in Auckland,” wrote Nic Savage.

After a promising start to Sunday afternoon’s Bledisloe contest, the Wallabies collapsed in the second half to lose 27-7 in front of 46,049 spectators. In a horrible game passage for the Wallabies, the New Zealand winger Caleb Clarke claimed a bomb and quickly ran through several failed tackles, doing about 40 yards in the process.

Julian Linden of the Daily Telegraph called the loss a “depressingly familiar pattern for Australian rugby.”

“Once again, the Wallabies came up short against the All Blacks at Eden Park. And they had their chances, but they left the field in the second half after missing too many tackles and wasting every opportunity that came their way.

“The Wallabies were their own worst enemies. Their handling was poor, they were repeatedly hit in the breakout and they were under pressure on defense from kickoff, with Caleb Clarke and Ardie Savea having a field day for the All Blacks.”

The victory would have silenced many of Ian Foster’s critics after the stalemate at Sky Stadium, according to The Guardian.

“The Wallabies put the All Blacks under enormous pressure early on before the locals picked up the pace of the game and started breaking tackles, with fullback Beauden Barrett and winger Caleb Clarke making several strong runs.

“Clarke was then the catalyst for the attempts within three minutes of the second half for Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea with two powerful runs, the second where he bounced off several tackles, to give the home team a 20-7 lead.” .