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What a difference a couple of months makes. It wasn’t so long ago that Australian rugby was riding high.
The Waratahs had secured victory in Super Rugby, the Wallabies a three-Test whitewash over France and a drawn match with the unbeatable All Blacks in the first Bledisloe Cup Test.
Forget the All Blacks’ winning streak, the Wallabies were on an eight-match unbeaten run of their own, something not seen since the heady days of 2000 when the all conquering Wallabies were in the midst of one of the greatest era’s seen in Australian rugby. It all looked so rosy for the green and gold brigade.
Fast forward a few months and wow how the mood has changed. A hiding by the All Blacks at Eden Park, a lucky win over the Springboks in Perth, a heavy defeat in Cape Town and then that loss to the Pumas.
Now with the Kurtley Beale controversy and all sorts of rumours coming out of camp Wallaby – some of the juicer bits involving talk of internal rifts and the coach losing the locker room – the Wallabies are making news for all the wrong reasons. With Ewen McKenzie arriving on an agenda that his “results would do the talking”, all of a sudden the saviour of Australian rugby, finds himself in an extremely perilous and fragile position.
And unfortunately what is being forgotten among all the scandal is that there remains one more Test to play in the Southern Hemisphere domestic season, with the All Blacks and Wallabies squaring off in Bledisloe three at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
And as if it couldn’t get any worse for McKenzie and the Wallabies, this weekend they will face an All Black team wounded by the defeat to the Springboks at Ellis Park and looking to rub further salt into the wounds of their opposition. If the Wallabies are a basket case at present, there is a good chance they will be in the fully fledged asylum once the All Blacks are done with them on Saturday night.
There is now a heavy weight of chatter in rugby circles regarding Mckenzie’s role being seriously at risk. It is hard to believe, with only twelve months until the next global showpiece, that there will be any change at the top. And who would want to take over the shambolic state of the side at present anyway? No one quite knows the truth behind all these rumours however as the old adage goes, where there is smoke there is usually fire and if McKenzie has lost the respect of his players then he is in big trouble.
Back to this weekend but staying on the McKenzie theme. The Wallaby coach came into his current role boasting of his ability to beat New Zealand opposition. Well so far, his record against the All Blacks makes for rather uncomfortable reading: four losses and a draw. On further inspection of the losses to the All Blacks, the numbers don’t look good with the margin of victory to the All Blacks (in chronological order) 18, 11, 8 and 31. McKenzie can hardly bang the drum that the gap is closing.
With the Bledisloe Cup locked up again in the New Zealand Rugby Union trophy cabinet, there has been plenty of murmurings that the third Test is a bit of a dead rubber with both sides having little to play for. Although you could hardly say that the All Blacks played badly in Johannesburg, beaten in a pulsating clash by a great Bok side, a loss is a loss and the All Blacks generally bounce back from losses in an emphatic manner.
I must say that it’s hard to recall ever seeing a more apathetic reaction from New Zealand fans, media and the side itself following a loss by the All Blacks. It seems the collective view has been that its better to have a loss now then at a certain tournament in 12 months’ time.
A second consecutive loss however would be greeted in a rather different manner altogether and the All Blacks will be determined to put in a very good performance before they head away on their end of season tour. They will also sense the vunerable state of the Wallaby camp and no doubt will go for the jugular. One senses that if things click for the men in black, it could be shades of Eden Park all over again.
Hansen may be tempted to tweak his side slightly, not that this will make any difference with competition for places building within the All Black camp and the depth developing to something that hasn’t quite been seen since 2006-07 when the All Blacks had two very nearly interchangeable fifteens.
So all of a sudden this Brisbane Test has a hell of a lot riding on it. The All Blacks looking to get back on the horse after the Ellis Park defeat and wanting to remind their foes of why they are still the team to beat. For the Wallabies on the other hand, at this critical juncture, it seems its more a case of survival and trying to avoid another step on the way to total implosion.
From Brisbane it gets no easier for McKenzie and his troops as they embark on a tour that will take in England, Wales, Ireland and France. All four of these sides will be targeting a win against the Wallabies and especially for England and Wales, who share Group A in the Rugby World Cup next year, looking to strike a decisive psychological blow on Australia.
It’s a tough life at the top.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.