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When Ewen McKenzie took over as head coach in July last year, the Wallabies were a basket case. That wasn’t his predecessor Robbie Deans’ fault.
It was a combination of ARU administration and not enough positive coaching expertise at Super level.
Too many decision-makers were territorial in their thinking, with not enough efforts being channeled towards the big picture – the national interest.
Deans had a positive attacking coach in McKenzie at the Reds, but the Brumbies had so much internal strife they were a basket case as well. Michael Foley was a disaster at the Waratahs, Damien Hill wasn’t much chop at the Rebels, and Richard Graham had the right ideas at the Force, but not the cattle.
So among the five franchises there was no common bond for Deans to draw on, which made his job so much harder.
It’s a vastly different ball-game now, with all five Australian Super franchises on the same page – Richard Graham at the Reds, Michael Cheika at the Waratahs, Tony McGahan at the Rebels, Steve Larkham at the Brumbies, and a rejuvenated Foley, who has seen the light at the Force to such an extent they have won four on the trot for the first time.
So when McKenzie rolls up for duty against France in three June internationals, he will have a squad even deeper than before, but more importantly, all of them playing attractive, entertaining rugby with their home clubs. In short, all five playing the forgotten Wallaby rugby that McKenzie has reintroduced in his 12 games at the helm.
It took a while for the McKenzie penny to drop among the players, but winning the last four games of the spring tour against Italy, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and the way they performed, heralded a welcome return to the golden era of Rod Macqueen.
The depth has grown to such an extent there could well be many often-picked Wallabies missing against France. And while beating France would be an ideal way to kick off the international campaign for 2014, beating the All Blacks and regaining the Bledisloe is the ultimate litmus test, with winning the Rugby Championship very much the secondary target.
History supports that. The Wallabies haven’t won the Bledisloe since 2002 – the end of an Australian dominance that kicked off in 1998 under Macqueen. In that period, there were 11 internationals between the arch rivals, the Wallabies winning eight.
Since then there have been 31 Tests against the All Blacks, who have won 25, with an 18-all draw in 2012. The last time the Wallabies won was 25-20 to capture the Tri-Nations at Suncorp in 2011.
One-way traffic.
So there’s where the 2014 campaign will be judged, and while it’s important to win every international, beating the All Blacks is a whole lot more meaningful, and of greater importance.
Bring it on.