I live in London, so you can imagine the amount of in-your-facing I copped while wearing my Wallabies jersey on Saturday after the Lions beat us.
Although I am gutted we lost – and especially by the way we lost it in the second half after fighting back to 19-16 – I am more confident than ever that we will win the next World Cup.
Why? Well, firstly, I think this loss marks the end of Robbie Deans’ tenure as coach.
When we snagged him, I was ecstatic, as a lot of us were: the greatest provincial coach in the Southern hemisphere, if not the world.
And the Wallabies started well under him.
But his habit of selecting players out of position and losing to inferior teams (Scotland, Samoa and the Lions) because of a lack of preparation really annoys me.
He’s had a fair crack at it and has taken us to second in the world, and I wish him well for the future, but number two to be as far as we can go under him.
Is it too much to expect us to be number one in the world?
Perhaps I was spoiled by growing up in an era of two World Cup wins, of players like David Campese, John Eales, Tim Horan, Jason Little, Nick Farr-Jones, Phil Kearns, Ewen McKenzie, Steve Larkham, Michael Lynagh and Joe Roff – I could go on, but with homegrown talent like that, why should we not expect to be the best?
Secondly, the loss gives Ewen McKenzie two years to solidify the team through consistent selections, fixing the scrums and hiring a kicking coach.
Don’t get me started on place kicking. I know ‘kickers win you games, not lose them’, but in the first Lions Test, we left 14 points on the park. Unacceptable. And I say this as a place kicker who has cost him team matches.
We should have wrapped up the series by the second Test.
Thirdly and finally, we have the players and depth for the first time in at least a decade.
You could say this is thanks to Deans blooding new players, but I also think the state coaches have done a good job. We could be entering another golden era.
Provided we have a stable scrum that doesn’t concede penalty after penalty – which should be easier with the new engagement rules from August – and we have more than one kicker in the team, I think the following squad will win us the World Cup:
Loosehead prop: Robinson / Alexander / Sio
Tighthead prop: Kepu / Slipper / Palmer
Hooker: Moore / Tatafu Polota-Nau
Second row: Horwill / Douglas / Pyle / Simmons
Blindside flanker: Mowen / Kimlin / McMeniman
Number 8: Higgers / Palu
Openside flanker: Hooper / Gill
Halfback: Genia / White / Burgess
Flyhalf: Toomua / Cooper
Inside centre: Lealiifano / O’Connor / Godwin
Outside centre: Adam Ashley-Cooper / Kuridrani / Inman
Wing: Folau / Speight / Cummins / Tomane / JOC
Fullback: Mogg / Folau / Beale
Let’s start the future this week. Appoint the new coach(es). And plan how we will win the 2015 World Cup. After Saturday’s performance, those are long odds. But I’m heading off now to place my bet.
zak
Guest
not sure how this equates to beating the mighy juggernaut.know as the all blacks unlike you guys they know how to put teams to the sword.s.b.w to return u got no chance.
WEST
Roar Guru
I would of waited till the ozzes start thrashing the Boks and the All Blacks before predicting the next RWC. One thing Australia isn't good at is winning multiple times. And the WC is a real B### lose one in play offs your done. Enjoy your enthusiasm but don't get ahead of yourself just yet. Besides injury seems to dictate the state of the Wallabies who lose 1-2 key players and they start to struggle.
Dean Vincent
Guest
Well, I think generally there's decent depth in most positions and the team is generally young but tight-head is very weak. Nine and ten are both pretty poor too though.
Give me the Aussie please!
Guest
Australia won't make it out of the group. I'm going to put a stack of cash on it. They will get physically smashed up by an Oceanic team then on to England v Aus backed up by Australia v Wales seven days later. Both probably on nice wet and chilly London October days. 80,000 inside Twickers nicely reminding them of the Lions 3rd test as the Welsh turn out a sea of red. We all know how well the Wallabies deal with inclement weather and NH intent. No doubt they will prepare for the UK in Spain in a similar vein to their Gold Coast NZ RWC preparation *shakes head* In the professional era when the chips are down you can almost always bet on the Wallabies to fold.
Gavin Melville
Roar Pro
The Nightmare Scenario is that, under pressure to sell more tickets, the RWC Committee move the Wales game to the Millennium. Roof on. full noise, scary.
Tom Callaghan
Guest
No mate. Nobody is less welcome than the Wallabies. they just don't give the home team a game .The Wallabies just lie down.. There isn't much fun beating them,
Stalker
Guest
+3
Tom Callaghan
Guest
Australia will not qualify from the pool. you know that they won't
Stalker
Guest
Replaced by who? This is the problem.
Matt Smith
Guest
Just remember, Australia were at 14-1 odds back in 1997 to win the RWC '99; after letting in 60 points against the Bokke and having their 4 consecutive losses to the All Blacks under the reign of Greg Smith. Stranger things can happen.
Tom Callaghan
Guest
Ipredict that Australia wil fail to get of the qualifying group. They may come third after England and Wales
Gavin Melville
Roar Pro
I'll take your bet, Andre. I'll give you better odds than you'll get at The Bookies, too. Above, there's a lot I agree with: "Roarer" - "mistakes = losses at test level". Australia make too many of them Felix - "You need a powerhouse tight 5 to win anything,nevermind a WC,Props,Flankers & your locks lack brutal aggreession" Not necessarily. If the ball gets out of the scrum quickly, SH-style, then you might get away with it. Kinda like the Wallabies got away with it in the first 2 test v BIL. SH-refs like a fast scrum - ball in (to the second-row); a wee wheel, ball-out. NH teams like a contest at the scrum (as long as it looks like they're going to win it). Push, shove, dominate - easy. Australia can't afford to get caught in a power game, as they'll lose. They're no mugs, but over a tournament, someone will find them out. And there's 2 group games, quarter, semi and final to win for a RWC. And I lot I don't: mania - "too much worrying about not losing instead of getting out there to win"; setting up defence is an integral part of winning. I agree that all rugby should be Super XV Rugby - fast, running excitement - but it isn't. Unless they change the RWC to a League, 4-try bonuses etc, then that won't be happening.Even the Super XV play-offs are so different from the regular season, because it's knock-out. Andre - " the calibre of players we had,". Australia have very few class acts. Pocock certainly, Genia certainly. Who else? Horwill is really good. Some of the other back-row boys have their day. Folau looks great, but he's green in RU and was kept pretty quiet in Lions Test #2. Many people, here and elsewhere - The Lions were not poor. Not a lot of clean line breaks, true, but they were a class act. Gatland's problem was in pussyfooting about, trying to find "the blend". Power, aggression and brutality in the forwards won through. Backed up by quick opportunistic backs and game management. And if you think that's easy to come by, go on then, do it.
Andre
Roar Rookie
Thanks, Geoff. Strategy for the future - that's a whole new article! In the Lions series, I think Deans went for a halfway house between the Brumbies and Reds: field position (Brumbies), width (Reds) and a bit of agro at the breakdown (both). But he only did a bit of each so the overall implementation was poor. If you look at the stats from the last game (on GAGR), the Wallabies carried more metres than the Lions (425 to 330) and both teams made and missed the same number of tackles (around 120 and 18). The big differences were - Wallabies' lack of conversion of superior amount of time spent in 22 (8 min v 3 min) - conceding 11 penalties in kicking range to the Lions' 4 - and only winning 3/6 scrums to the Lions' 10/10 The scrums were the major difference, together with ill discipline (or not listening to what Poite was telling them) and lack of penetration in the 22. So, the strategy for the future should be: solidifying the scrum so we have parity, trying to create more from first phase possession in the red zone (like the ABs), and field position and discipline (getting out of penalty goal range). I think we have the players to improve conversion in the 22 - we just didn't have a fly half. (I can only imagine what sort of scores the ABs would have put on this Lions team...). For field position, I think Toomua is excellent, but McKenzie might go with Cooper. In that case, we will rely on Mogg's massive punt to get us downfield (and he showed a couple of times on the weekend that he kicks to the space, not the player - unlike Barnes and JOC). The scrum is a tough one. We have improved a little over the past couple of years, but very visibly not enough. But Link was a good scrummager, so hopefully he can sort it out! I also suspect McKenzie will throw in a bit of counterattacking flair and unpredictability. He might not, as it's test rugby, but he's probably been told by the ARU that that's what the nation wants to see.
Andre
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I got 13 on Aus - ranked 6th. Kiwis first at just under 2.
A bunch of Welsh supports on another Forum. They reckon they have enough depth in every position bar the halfback pairing. I am but a mere observer.
Dean Vincent
Guest
Eh? Who said that? Think a decent tighthead prop is more urgent myself....its Jones first, daylight second at the moment.
Well the Welsh supporters now beleive they just need a decent nine and ten and they will win the RWC in 2015, it is going to make out job so mucho harder. ;)
2089
Guest
Who knows? The Lions probably wouldn't have maintained ther confidence levels and the game would have been very different.
Lord Bledisloe
Guest
I remember this website being filled with articles about 'we will win this and that' leading upto the Lion series, that didnt eventuate. what about how australian super rugby teams lead the super rugby ladder for half of the season because they had a game or 2 in hand and all the excitement....then anti climax with them being overtaken. Really cant see the wallabies winning any silverware anytime soon, statement has alot more subtance than this article.
richard
Guest
+2