Rugby just one rule from perfection, says Wallabies coach

SYDNEY - Rugby is just one rule tweak away from being a perfect game, says out-going Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen.

Macqueen finished his four-year tenure with the Wallabies after the series-clinching victory in Sydney, in a game in which each side conceded 13 penalties - most of which came at the breakdown, the modern word for what used to be a ruck or maul but is now a quasi-melee of scrambling, squabbling and argument.

"I think rugby at the moment is a terrific game and it's getting better and better, but there's one area of the game - the breakdown - that we have to address," Macqueen said.

"Maybe we have to think a bit laterally about that.

"In the days the laws were made you had rucks and mauls and you had eight forwards from each side running to that area. To expect the referee to make a decision on a ruck and maul in a split second with everything that's going on is impossible.

"It's hard for the referees, it's hard for the players, and it's hard for the spectators. When we get that sorted out it will be a perfect game, the greatest game in the world."

The laws governing what can happen at the breakdown have been fluid since rugby went professional, with the Super 12 and Tri-Nations competitions leading in subtle changes made on a year-by-year basis as officials try to fine-tune a game which has evolved from a sometimes stodgy mess into the free-flowing style of the professional era.

It was evident on Saturday night that the Lions and Wallabies were playing two different styles at the breakdown.

Often the Lions resorted to the illegal tactic of using their hands in the ruck because it was the only way they could adapt to the supreme foraging of a player such as George Smith.

Lions captain Martin Johnson said it was the single biggest difference between Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams, mainly because the Southern Hemisphere nations always seemed to be at the cutting edge of law changes.

"A few years ago the Northern Hemisphere players were being slated for competing for the ball on the floor at ruck and maul time," Johnson said.

"Now it's come full circle - the way we play at home you can't go near a ruck or maul and play the ball on the floor, but then you come here and you run into George Smith, who is an excellent player at turning over the ball there - we're just not used to it.

"It always seems that the Southern Hemisphere is one step ahead and it's always us trying to adapt."

The score seesawed through the match and was finally locked at 23-all with 14 minutes left when a lineout infringement set up Matt Burke's fourth penalty and a nerve-jangling final stanza.

With the momentum back in their favour, the Australians piled on the pressure. After another penalty for hands in the ruck, with four minutes to go, Burke sealed the match 29-23. The Tom Richards Cup now joins the World Cup, Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations trophy in the Wallabies' trophy chest.

The pressure continued until the end.

With two minutes to go, test debutant Justin Harrison saved the match when he stole a Lions' lineout throw five metres from the Australian line.

The Wallabies withstood the final minutes camped in their quarter to cap a remarkable comeback after being thrashed in the first test in Brisbane.

It was their first series win against the Lions since the rivalry began in Sydney in 1899.

The first of two tries by Daniel Herbert gave Australia a 16-10 lead just before halftime, but a penalty goal to Lions first five-eighths Jonny Wilkinson after the bell cut the gap to three points.

Two minutes into the second half, Wilkinson put the Lions 20-16 ahead with a converted try.

After a series of rolling mauls created an overlap out wide, Wilkinson took the ball one off the ruck, feigned to the right and stepped in through two Wallaby defenders to skip over from close range.

Eight minutes later, Herbert finished off leadup work by Nathan Grey and Toutai Kefu as the Lions defence was splitting at the seams. After Kefu's charge, halfback George Gregan gave the ball to hooker Michael Foley who could have fallen across the line two metres out, but gave Herbert an easy passage out wide. Burke's conversion made it 23-20.

Herbert turned villain two minutes later when he was sent to the sinbin for a high tackle on Lions centre Brian O'Driscoll.But the Wallabies held on and conceded only three points while Herbert was off.

The Lions failed to score in the final 20 minutes of the match for the third time in the series.

The Wallabies had the early initiative through three Burke penalties, but Lions winger Jason Robinson scored his 10th try on tour and put the tourists in front from a well-worked move.

Herbert then figured twice in a clever movement, sparked by Gregan, to give Australia their 16-10 lead as halftime approached.

- AGENCIES