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It promised so much and rather awkwardly, delivered even more. The homecoming of Eddie Jones has been an overwhelming, if unfortunate success.
Sadly, it all comes to an end this weekend. No more Eddie media jibes until the Wallabies next head north. No more talk of orchestrated campaigns. The media conspiracy – which I obviously can neither confirm nor deny – will be no more.
And for all our hospitality, he wants to leave our shores with a 3-0 scoreline. That’s the thanks we get!
For the last weekend of international rugby for the time being, here are the talking points.
Strength of stability versus the continued search for… well, something
After seeing yet another chopped and changed Wallabies side, it was like ‘our Eddie’ sensed one last chance to toy with Australian – and particularly Australian coaches’ – minds.
“You have to work extremely hard to earn an England cap so there was no temptation to make changes for the sake of change,” Jones said on Thursday, after he announced New Zealand-born backrower Teimana Harrison as the only change to the 23 which secured the Cook Cup series in Melbourne last week.
James Haskell was ruled out of the Sydney Test with a foot injury that Jones said, “hasn’t quite recovered from Saturday”. There was plenty of suggestion that winger Jack Nowell might also be ruled out with concussion symptoms, but even he’s remained on deck to earn another England cap.
Ben Te’o, in the end, got an RFU-funded trip home to catch up with family and supply early-tour headlines.
For the Wallabies, of course, it was another week of changes, after another week of searching for answers on the training track.
So it’s another lock pairing, another midfield pairing, more puzzling omissions, the recall of players previously cut, even fewer lineout options, and still no ball thief.
What can possibly go wrong?
Risk versus reward
If Michael Cheika gambled with Sean McMahon at No.8 last week, then it was an even bigger gamble to keep him there this week.
But with Haskell being ruled out, the risk of keeping McMahon at No.8 might be eased. Everything I’ve read about Teimana Harrison tells me that he’s a very talented young player, but it also tells me he’s played almost all of his rugby at Northampton at No.8.
Jones sees so much promise in him as opensider, however, that he’s left Australian-born Harlequins flanker Jack Clifford – who as far back as January was earmarked as the player to take Chris Robshaw’s then openside berth – on the bench again for the Third Test.
If Australia’s attacking ruck can keep enough of an eye on Robshaw, then the prospect of the Wallabies having a better time of it at the breakdown is definitely there.
Out wide, Cheika is banking on the Brumbies combination of Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani paying off for him as it often did in 2015. In truth, Toomua’s selection probably saved Kuridrani’s bacon, and certainly, Samu Kerevi can think himself very unlucky. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking he’d done enough to hold a place.
It will be interesting to see what Toomua’s presence does for Bernard Foley in attack. The further this series has gone on in the face of the white English defensive wall, the deeper Foley has attacked from. But if Toomua is there to straighten the attack and use his own passing game to supply the inside and outside runners, then Foley will need to play a whole lot flatter. The reward will be the Wallabies attack finding some spark.
But the risk there is that Toomua hasn’t played since the first weekend in May. And he’d been struggling with the knee injury that forced him out for several weeks before then. Let’s hope he’s good to go.
Get the Lions on the line
South African coach Alister Coetzee borrowed from the late Tony Greig’s famous advertising catchphrase last weekend at Ellis Park, and it’s worked so well that he’s put more Lions in the starting line this weekend in Port Elizabeth.
The injection of Warren Whiteley, Jaco Mostert and especially Ruan Combrinck turned the Test on its head last week, and with a chance to win the series, Coetzee has promoted Whiteley and Combrinck to the starting side alongside Lions teammates Faf de Klerk, Elton Jantjies, and Lionel Mapoe.
But he didn’t stop there, finally naming burgeoning cult hero and genuinely one of my favourite players, runaway Lions flanker Jaco Kriel on the bench. Did you know that when Jaco’s parents were scared at night, they used to climb into bed with him? And that he once took a lie detector test and the machine confessed everything?
That’s the kind of power the man yields, and what Coetzee is about to unleash on the Irish. Pray for them.
Was Newlands Ireland’s high point?
The way the Boks ran away with the second Test, and the way the Irish found themselves completely incapable of arresting the turnaround of momentum has me worried about them this weekend in Port Elizabeth.
Now they face the same sort of challenges they faced at Newlands in the first Test, but with confidence fairly dented and their opposition with the tail well and truly up.
It’s a real shame they couldn’t hold out for even just ten more minutes last weekend; that may well have been enough to snuff all hopes of a South African comeback. And as a result, suddenly the first ever series win in the Republic seems as far away as ever.
Jared Payne is a big loss, and Joe Schmidt has rung the changes in the hope of replicating the form that is his side out to early leads in both Tests. Will it be enough? I’m not so sure.
Eleven different cogs, but the All Blacks machine still chugs away
Hands up who saw Steve Hansen making 11 changes to his side for Dunedin? Liars.
Let’s try that again. Exactly, no-one.
Some changes are forced, sure. Aaron Cruden and Malakai Fekitoa were both forced out with injuries, but elsewhere it’s changes a-plenty.
I’m really pleased to see Highlanders backrowers Elliot Dixon and Liam Squire picked. Dixon, as well as being one of the form players in Super Rugby over the last two seasons, has the best head-tape arrangement in the game, while Squire now boasts the best haircut in world rugby.
George Moala gets a shot, Waisake Naholo gets a rocket, and Tawera Kerr-Barlow gets another game of rugby after a long layoff.
And the scary thing? Even with so many changes, the All Blacks won’t miss a beat. With dry track under the roof, this one for Wales could really escalate quickly. Could really get out of hand fast.
Enjoy your last weekend of Test rugby. For a little bit…