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By all measures, Australian rugby has had a rather disappointing year. This has been book-ended by a series whitewash at the start and twin losses at the end.
In the minds of all serious fans there is a large and very unwelcome symmetry to these games. Indeed deja vu is possibly too mild a word to describe my personal feelings.
When I turn to the newspapers and columnists to get further insight, the match results have been almost a casual afterthought, with the main event belonging to the Michael Cheika post game interview. Forget form, forget defence – it’s all about the character, the passion, the future vision and the refs.
The best articles I’ve read all year have been courtesy of Irish and English sites, where structures and plays have broken apart to educate the reader. Here in Australia, the media has settled for sound bites and motherhood statements.
Not once have I seen a respectable (non-Roar) commentator discuss selection in detail. Everywhere we see that we are building to 2019, but Dean Mumm at 32 years old keeps getting fielded. No one has seriously looked at our attacking structure, or weighed the contributions of the five-eights.
No, Cheika has brilliantly set and anchored the conversation around two remarkable turns of phrase: ‘The Australian Way’ and ‘the Iceman’.
Both of these phrases come with deep symbolic meaning attached. You want a different attacking structure? Maybe you want to kick the ball more strategically? What are you? Un-Australian?
Is there someone else you would like running the game? Really? The Iceman is who you want, he will get you the result.
It’s brilliant and it’s working. The players have been protected from the media blow-torch all year, as has Cheika.
To return to the start, four times now I have watched the same game, England versus Australia. The last game occurred after the Wallabies had 20 weeks cohesive build-up, against an England team missing a number of front line players due to club duties. And not one hard question was asked.
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.