MCXD, I too would have also liked for Beale to have toured but , not at 10KG over weight as he was. It was a big lesson for him to learn. lets hope it is the last time he pigs out during rehab!!!

We are going to see some more Props at the tahs with the injuries to Dunning and Kepu. a blessing in disguise. the question is where will they come from??? Sydney Grade. look out for Paddy Ryan, former Aust school boy. mobile, but also a loosehead!!

I would love to see a back line movement, with surprise and precision.

my predication that after the s14 there will be a few new faces..hopefully beale can stay fit and uninjured ( i would have loved seeing him on this tour) and maybe even Georges bro Tyrone, he had a great S14 for the brumbies, maybe next year to take the step up and i think he’ll go brilliantly at 12. i think Rocky will be back by then too ?

a year of s14 for the younger faces in the current wallbies will do a world of wonder.

Agree entirely. Looking ahead for the next few years (assuming Baxter is close to retirement – voluntary or not):

Loose-head: Robinson, Alexander, Kepu, Holmes
Hooker: Moore, Frier, Polota-Nau
Tight-head: Dunning (proven not up to it), Shepherdson (proven not up to it), Blake (may learn how to prop in France, or not) and …

I have to agree there is still an element of rose tinted glasses. I like the way Deans is heading but it is still early days, the changes are only incremental and the test will be whether we can keep improving

It isn’t the fact we lost that is problematic. Three of the losses were winnable (Brisbane, Hong Kong, Wales) with a bit more luck/application/mental toughness. What worries me is that the All Blacks and Springboks handed us two absolute hidings where the Wallabies were never in the game after the first few minutes. The problem is not the five losses it is the two utter failures and what that says about the team.

Still, better than the Eddie “the Walking Whinge” Jones era. At least when we lose it isn’t the fault of the referee/touch judges/opposition cheating/unfair alignment of planets etc.

Yes, Demons are temporary in both existence and removal.

rickety, it is a time to be positive and realistic. I also agree that JON is the best to have at the helm. I hope that the Deans and JON influence will permeate the S14 organisations in both management and coaching departments. thanks Rickety.

And it is time to feel positive. When I check how I feel, rather than how I think, then I feel optimistic, pleased with the coach, pleased with the newbies and my perception of their potential. I feel that the Rugby in Australia is secure with JON at helm and I feel the Deans and the Wallabies will give the next RWC a real shake. I contrast this to the despair I felt after being shunted out in the Q/F of the last RWC by England.

Well done Leftie – again a good article and I agree with the spirit of what you are saying.

As an AB supporter I’ve learnt NEVER to write the Ozzies off & the ‘demons’ are a temporary state, in fact most of your ‘weaknesses’ e.g. scrum, breakdown, young player, support, defence, have in fact been your strengths in the past.

Bennalong – the only time NZ is really up in arms is when we lose a winnable game in the WC – AGAIN. Otherwise when we lose to the Boks or Wallabies it’s normally because we were outplayed. The amount of ref bashing I see when the Wallabies lose is hilarious !

Craig, played 14, won 9, lost 5, of which three were by 3, (wales, NZ in HK and NZ in Brisbane) by 5 or less. Apologies for the error.

I would go further, the big losses in auckland and Jburg shows that the job is not yet finished. OJ, it was not to ignore these large losses, and the jburg result in particular was so large as to either be a once off random or, if followed by similar results, a dire sign of worse things to come. my opinioon is that it was a once off.

As regards the other points, WB, the inconsistency is in my view, different to them winning ugly and different to them not producing cohesive and truly breathtaking rugby. In my view, winning, no matter what, is satisfactory in the first analysis, particularly with such a young team. The bar then rises as time goes on. Unlike the AB’s, who produce and play a more attractive game more consistently, the Wallabies can only aspire to gaining this X-factor ofer time, like all great teams have to.

Depth was well analysed by Growden in the Herald. the depth is not as simple as naming three in each position as most, excluding Tuqiri and the props, are able to play in at least one of not more positions. (4,5,6,7,8) and 10, 12, 15 and 11, 14 and 15.

Overall, the wallabies are not the finished article, but they are in a good place for this point in the four year cycle.

Howi, I agree. But, because we are in the middle of the cycle, an assessment of the depth requires some projections. there is a reasonable possibility that Beale will step up to Test level, given the way he has stepped up to s14 from school boys, all at the age of 19. but, he has to actually do it!!!

Connolly’s comment was wrong. He had nothing to lose and eveything to gain. he chose the conservative road and went with old has beens with poor technique and poorly coached.

mark, Im not rewriting it just recording it. We all know that history is dependent on the person who writes it.

tight games, a long time ago but they won them because they were a great team or on the way to being a great team. The current wallabies have to climb the same mountain.

Bennalong, exactly right.

Hey we’ve beaten them a couple of times recently !

My bet is we’ll have them crapping themselves again soon. I know you knockers are nothing compared with NZers when the AB’s lose to us !

LAS makes some good points and I don’t think he’s comparing the current crop with Wallabies of old. He’s saying look how far we’ve come !

Are we agreed : the scrum is way better ?
the forewards are way smarter ?
the fitness level is way higher?
the confidence level is way higher ?
the likelihood of winning away is way higher ?
a good number of newbies have made the most of their game time ?
our backline has done well considering the loss of Barnes as a foil for Giteau ?
Robbie Deans is doing a bloody good job ?……….. ……….. and the best is yet to come!
Now I know the answer from some of you guys will be further argument but I would contend you’re simply happiest having a whinge. You guys or you uncles were complaining even when we were winning.

scrum demon – OK this is a recent one, fair enough but this was only a temporary glitch in the Wallaby history.

tight games – rubbish, I’ve lost hair watching Wallabies in the past win the tight ones in the last few minutes. Kefu’s try & Eales penalty spring to mind.

Gregan Demon that young players can’t be trusted and take time to acclimatise to international rugby. – What are you on ?? Some of the great Wallabies from teh past have been teh young guysd that other countries suddenly go “uh-oh” the fisrt time they see them. Even Gregan was anewbie once & how many caps did he have when he made “that” tackle on Wilson ?

60 minute game Demon – well this one’s news to me, as a kiwi I’ve learnt to never rest until the final whistle blows.

In fact, one thing I’ve always admired about the Wallabies is their ability to not just put an opponent on teh ropes, but to then step up a gear & finish them off. You’ve had a couple of rough years but give Deans a season of sorting out the S14 options & you should be firing on all cylinders next insternational season

“Eddie was a great coach in many respects”.

Please explain – in which respects? I wasn’t happy with Australia searching for a non-Australian coach – but, where Eddy’s concerned, I’d hire an Eskimo and an Inca to do the job.

Deans has certainly got the team pointed in the right direction and is assembling all his pieces nicely. I long for the day when the Wallabies will be truly respected and feared such as they were in 2000 at the end of the MacQueen era. Although it is hard to tell, I gather that MacQueen and Deans share an ability to develop rapport and trust with the players. They are rock solid and add stability to the team. Eddie was a great coach in many respects but he fired from the hip a little and was a little eccentric and that doesn’t add stability. Connolly admitted to being there for a short time regardless of whether it was a good time. Deans and MacQueen also appear to have the long term goal in mind and know that the hard yards now are a means to that. Maybe Dwyer was also in this category? Alan Jones – don’t think so. What if he’d got the job? Where would we be now?

‘The Wallabies now have depth in all positions’.
Do you really belive this? We saw how the Wallabies were shaken when Mortlock left the field against the Welsh. That is not a sign of depth.

As you say there’s been good solid progress but there’s still much to be done yet before the Wallabies can make their fans happy with consistently good performances from kick off to final whistle.

Have to agree that ‘ball in hand’ is an obvious one to fix. We’re just so much more effective with the ball than with the boot. Sure mix it but at present we’re too predictable (kicking as our first option) and not very good at it anyways.

Rickety Knees – Do you think the Oz S14 coaches should be working more with Robbie to develop their own team structures in a way that will gel when the Wallabies play? Or perhaps it’s just more a case of working on fitness, skills & trying to win the S14 without any thought of the National team? I feel we’re in a good time to try a few coordinated smart things, what with 3 new S14 coaches (& Mitchell open to suggestions), Robbie as the new Wallabies coach & John O back at the helm. Just seems that the stars are aligned for once.

It will be interesting to see the Australian coaching and playing styles in the next S14.

One further aspect I’m hoping Deans emphasises – ball in hand. We have a large mobile forward pack that is quick to the breakdown, especially with Smith and Waugh going in like missiles. This should give the backs confidence to run the ball more, knowing they will be supported if they hit the deck.

I simply abhor watching our guys simply kick away valuable possession they worked so hard to win.