Australia had a spring in their step in Sydney but walked away with one of the more woeful implosions of recent yearsThe Wallabies’ trajectory this year has been, like their namesake, steadfastly up and down. Every ascent – the courageous 14-man win in Perth against England, the pounding of the Pumas in Mendoza, the demolition of South Africa in Adelaide – has been followed by a thud, as they come back to earth the following Test with a crushing defeat after a glorious victory.The inconsistency is infuriating for fans who crave momentum and want to see progress heading to next year’s World Cup on 8 September – now 12 Tests and 12 months away. But the Wallabies have not won...
Beat the world champions again this week and the Bledisloe Cup is looking good against an out-of-sorts All Blacks outfitOut-muscled by England last month and out-coached by Argentina a fortnight ago, the Wallabies restored pride in the old gold jersey at the weekend, rebounding from their recent 48-17 shellacking in San Juan to whip the world champion Springboks 25-17 in Adelaide. With Los Pumas upsetting the All Blacks 25-18 in Christchurch, Australia’s window to the Rugby Championship and a first Bledisloe Cup in two decades remains tantalisingly ajar.Hope can be a dangerous thing for Wallabies fans. But Saturday’s performance instilled it. After losing the first 25 minutes of their last five starts, Australia began well for a change, racing to...
Dave Rennie’s Australia have big issues to address as they reset for Rugby Championship clashes with South Africa and the All BlacksAfter a golden week atop the Rugby Championship ladder, the Wallabies are back in the doldrums after their 48-17 walloping by Michael Cheika’s Pumas on Sunday. On the strength of their courageous comeback win in the opening round, Australian rugby fans had dared dream the men in gold might repeat the dose in San Juan before marching over South Africa (as they did in 2021), then vanquishing a sickly All Blacks.But the fumbling nature of their game in San Juan and the brutality of the scoreline has snuffed that hope and now, yet again, there is only tunnel at...
Half a dozen sides will fancy their chances in 2023 as England show grit in Australia while New Zealand face stark realitiesRugby union is not renowned as a perfect science but the symmetry of this month’s north v south contests has been striking. Four tours by Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, four narrow 2-1 outcomes, six Test wins apiece for each hemisphere and a collective points aggregate of 280 v 282. The margins across global rugby have never been tighter.Any one of half a dozen teams, as things stand, could win next year’s World Cup in France and the world’s No 1 ranked team is currently not South Africa, New Zealand or even France. Step forward Ireland, now officially first...
Australia had everything in their favour to kickstart a bright new future but are now left questioning their own identityThe Wallabies are not in crisis, but they are at a crossroads. Despite enjoying 60% possession and dominating the running statistics, they failed to extinguish Eddie Jones’s England, losing a gripping decider 21-17 in front of 43,274 fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground.The inaugural Ella-Mobbs Trophy now takes up residence in the northern hemisphere with Australia left to rue ill discipline, blown chances and a style of play they are yet to earn. Too often the men in gold opted for cute sleight of hand and expansive backline movements when they should have ground it out, settled and reset, before using...