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It’s been a depressing week for Australian rugby. A once in 12 year opportunity to showcase our sport has been dealt a huge blow with the selection of a squad that appears set to play a brand of rugby that won’t attract new fans to the game.
In fact, it will probably cost us the series in the process.
Equally, if not more depressing, is the divide this has created within the rugby community.
The spite between fans on either side of the Deans and/or Cooper fence is unprecedented.
Posts filled with vitriol are at an all-time high on the Roar – if nothing else, Deans has certainly managed to bring out the worst in many rugby fans on this site.
After moping around for days, it finally occurred to me that there is a bright side – Gatland.
Many Roarers, myself included, have moaned endlessly about the omission of Quade Cooper in Deans’ squad.
To me it doesn’t make sense to leave out a guy who has 38 caps, a better international winning record than the coach himself, now playing significantly better than he did in those 38 games, and has a 100% record at international level, even against the All Blacks at the first Test venue.
Replacing him with a guy who’s played fly half in only one game at international level two years ago is bordering on insane.
Same could be argued about the omission of Johnny Wilkinson in Gatland’s squad.
I can’t say I’ve seen much European rugby this year, but given Wilkinson was just named Europe’s best rugby player, I think it’s safe to conclude he’s in some great form right now, and must have been consistent throughout the season to earn this accolade.
Despite the bleeding obvious, Gatland failed to pick him in the Lions squad, let alone the match-day 22.
I dare say that Wilkinson would do more damage to Australia than Cooper would do to the Lions, so on the whole, we’re one up on them already!
The 2015 Wales development squad (aka the Lions) is bound to be filled with bias selections that are no different, and possibly worse, than the selection errors made by Dingo.
Similarly, given Gatland has a worse record against Australia than Deans has against New Zealand, it can be deduced that he is at least equally incompetent on the tactical/game plan front.
So on the whole, things aren’t so bad. We should all put our bickering aside and get behind the Wallabies – bring on the spy versus spy contest between the two coaches and let’s see who out-dumbs the other!
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.