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A Wallabies win is not on the cards yet, but it is coming

Roar Guru
14th August, 2014
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The All Blacks - the dominant force in world rugby. (Photo: Destination NSW)
Roar Guru
14th August, 2014
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On Tuesday Wallabies great Matt Burke wrote a piece regarding why Australia can (and will) beat the All Blacks. It was audacious, and at times illogical stuff – it was, however, indicative of something bigger.

A pragmatic and reasoned voice would argue that while the Wallabies have won seven in a row – a significant achievement – the All Blacks have won 17. If this is the metric used to measure future success, the New Zealanders are two and a half times in front of their trans-Tasman counterparts.

Advantageously, the Wallabies will play two games in Australia this series, but travelling doesn’t seem to bother a side that has only lost on the road once in two years. Moreover, the Wallabies are without five key players that make most of their senior leadership team whilst the All Blacks are dropping players of calibre – Israel Dagg and Charles Piatau come to mind, and resting others – Liam Messam.

I do not believe that this game is a foregone conclusion, no side featuring Israel Folau, Kurtley Beale and Adam Ashley-Cooper should be ruled out of a home Test. The All Blacks though, should go in deserved favourites.

Matt Burke may be able to get away with a few logical fallacies, namely owing to the fact that he is arguably one of the greatest fullbacks of all time – and a good person. But the rest of us cannot.

A full-strength Wallabies team of 2014 would represent a serious problem for the All Blacks – and whilst they may not play together this year, for the World Cup they will be a contender – and rightly so.

But not at the moment.

While every test for the All Blacks is do or die, this is currently not the case for the Wallabies (let me stress ‘currently not the case’) – and there are a couple of reasons for this and it is not necessarily a bad thing.

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Firstly, the All Blacks are number one. This means that they are constantly under pressure to preform and maintain their premier world ranking. Simply, there is only one direction for the All Blacks in terms of rankings – and it’s down. This is not the case for the Wallabies, they can still improve.

Secondly, as long as the Wallabies continue to improve they will remain a world force – particularly with a weakened team. A close All Blacks victory (say five points or less) will speak volumes of a team missing five starters, including a captain and a vice-captain. Simply, and despite the hype, this game is not representative of a true Wallabies team as it is the All Blacks.

Ultimately, the seminal point to come out of this first Bledilsoe Cup Test is this: was the game beneficial to Australian rugby? Has the ARU done enough to promote the Wallabies and attract a larger fan base that can grow the game nation-wide but most importantly in New South Wales?

Australia’s rugby community tends to wear its heart on its sleeve but this is not the Test to do so. The Wallabies are fielding an inexperienced and injury stricken side that is far from its best. The All Blacks on the other hand, are looking to set a world record for most tests won consecutively, with their top team.

Undoubtedly, the Wallabies are on the rise – but a rise takes time.

On Saturday the All Blacks will, unless there is a major error, walk out of ANZ Stadium with the task of reclaiming the Bledisloe in Eden Park the following week. The Wallabies will know the challenge for the coming weeks and months.

The Test though should be fast, exciting and full of passion – this generation of players is capable of playing a brand of rugby that can restore its popularity in Australia.

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While there is a new breed of Wallabies coming through, this is not yet their time to shine.

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