Australian rugby has plenty of reasons for optimism

Let’s rewind back to the 55th minute of the third Test. George Smith makes a half break around the fringes of the ruck, bringing the Wallabies into the red zone.

At only six points down and 25 minutes left, Australia had put themselves into a great position in the context of the Test series. This half break gave them momentum, moving them over the advantage line against a vulnerable Lions defence.

But what could have been the pivotal moment for Australia turned into one for the Lions by Toby Faletau, who made a clean ball steal – a rarity in modern rugby.

Ben Mowen had a fantastic opportunity to make a quick fire re-steal, but was overwhelmed by the Lions front row in tandem.

From here Jonny Sexton, the Lions pivot, went against the percentage play and kicked a high chip from his own 22, which George North gathered after the bounce eluded James O’Connor.

North then offloaded to Jonathan Davies, who was eventually bustled into touch just outside the Wallaby 22, but managed to release the ball.

It seemed to go forward but this was missed by Chris Pollock, the assistant referee, who deemed it to have been taken into touch by Jesse Mogg.

So in the space of 35 seconds, we go from George Smith with the ball and a small gap in front of him on the Lions’ 22, to the Lions with lineout ball just outside the Australian 22.

Nine phases and under two minutes later, Jonny Sexton went underneath the posts to stretch the lead to 13 points and the Lions didn’t look back from there.

It was indeed a fine performance from the Lions, but in the aftermath, understandably so, exaggeration of each sides’ performance in the final Test has been the course of the day. It was a tight Test series and Australia were very much in it until that final 20 minutes, where the Lions were clinical in their red zone attack.

Okay, so first I have dug deep into one of the pivotal moments of the Sydney Test, but let’s look at the wider context.

The Lions are indeed a scratch side made up of four nations, yet in that final Test, there were 10 players from the Six Nations champions for the past two years. The Lions also had six games together before the beginning of the Test series, no one had worn Wallaby Gold in anger since December 1st, 2012.

James O’Connor was playing at first five for his first extended period of time in the Wallaby jumper and the merits have been debated widely about this, with the overwhelming evidence of the Test series suggesting that experiment finished with the reign of Robbie Deans.

George Smith was playing his first Test in four years, playing his first game in over a month and playing most of the game most likely concussed. Israel Folau, their most potent outside attacking option and the one whom the Lions defence was most heavily focussed on, limped off midway through the first half.

This might seem like a litany of excuses, but I am an Irish and Lions fan, so I am just laying out the events as they occurred.

Even though they lost, three full stadiums watched three tense and enjoyable Tests, while all nine games in Australia had a combined attendance of over 370,000. That is a fantastic advertisement for the game in Australia and to follow that up is an exciting future if nurtured and cultivated properly by the incoming Ewen McKenzie, in consultation with the Super Rugby coaches.

The scrum struggled in the final Test, which has meant many people have forgotten how it held up in the first two. Benn Robinson actually caused Adam Jones trouble, but it was Ben Alexander who was always struggling to hold on, which is no surprise when his side of choose is on the loosehead, where he plies his trade with the Brumbies.

But behind him at the Brumbies is an exciting prospect in Scott Sio. Still very young for a prop at 21, he has shown real promise in the capital and looks like a potential anchor for the national side.

The other side is more of an issue. For the moment, Sekope Kepu offers a better option than Alexander, but it is the other man at the Waratahs that could be the key – Paddy Ryan.

Again, relatively young for a prop, still 24, he has one cap for Australia, but his ability in the scrum should see him provide the right side of the scrum anchor. It’s a shame Dan Palmer committed to French club Grenoble.

Saturday 15th June was not Will Skelton’s debut, but it was the night he announced himself to the wider rugby world.

His giant frame and work ethic around the pitch gave Australian rugby fans hope for their engine room for the next decade, a giant of a man to contest against the giant locks of Championship rivals New Zealand and South Africa. He certainly has kinks to work out in his game, but in the current Waratahs environment, he is in the right place.

George Smith has officially retired from Test football again, but Australia is blessed in open side depth more than any other nation, with David Pocock, Michael Hooper and Liam Gill fighting it out for the 7 jersey for the next decade. And Ben Mowen was finally promoted to the national XV and showed he belonged there.

Will Genia is the premier halfback in world rugby and if Australia had won at the weekend, you would have expected him to win player of the series. He is moving into a new level at the moment and is a delight to watch play. Hopefully McKenzie looks to the Brumbies’ Nic White as back up, with Nick Phipps and Luke Burgess supplying satisfactory cover in the event of injury to the other two.

Five-eighth has been a contentious area, but hopefully McKenzie can reign in Cooper and help him to consistently produce his magic in the Test arena, releasing the exciting outside backs he has at his disposal. I would like to focus more on the men to back up the Reds pivot, Bernard Foley and Matt Toomua.

Firstly, Toomua has brought real stability to the Brumbies side. He isn’t a flash composer like his compatriot in Brisbane but a game manager who allows the rest of his backline to shine. I don’t think he will ever be the incumbent but offers decent depth.

Foley is the wildcard. I thought at the beginning of the year he was a stop gap solution for the ‘Tahs, but he has shown real growth under Michael Cheika this season and in the Lions game he gave a peak of what he and the Waratahs are building towards.

His range of passing surprised me, with good accuracy off both hands, short medium and long, taking good decisions and keeping a good Lions defence guessing. He also provides the dual threat of a gainline and open play running game from his development time in sevens and his stint at fullback.

The centres are going to be more of a conduit for the exciting back three options of the next few years, so Australia will be looking at low mistake players in these positions and also using possibly the second five as the goal kicking option in Lealiifano or Mike Harris.

The potential darkhorse though to make this point of the Australian midfield a real attacking option is Chris Feauai-Sautia, who won’t turn 19 until midway through the spring tour.

The back three though is where there is real depth and excitement for the coaching staff and public. The first name is obviously Israel Folau and Bill Pulver will be hoping he extends his contract in union.

I think he will end up on the wing because, as we will see, there are some very good options at fullback, but he could change that if his form shows he is just too good to be selected anywhere else. If he does indeed stay out on the wing, the coaches and Cooper need to find ways of creating favourable match-ups and ways of getting the ball into his hands as often as possible.

The other options for the wing are Nick Cummins, who has shown himself to be Test standard, Joe Tomane, who deserves more chances but most excitingly Henry Speight, the Fijian, who will soon be eligible for Australia and will provide a real try scoring threat on the flanks for the Wallabies.

The other option is James O’Connor and this is his best position in Test rugby. He has the pace to cause issues on the flank, but it is his ability to change the point and style of attack when coming into first receiver from the wing where he poses the most danger.

First though, James needs a huge dollop of humility before he should be able to come back into the Test set up. No one doubts the merits and skills of Kurtley Beale and hopefully the Melbourne scene will be better for him now O’Connor has moved on.

The one other man challenging for that 15 jersey is one of the bright spots from the final Test, Jesse Mogg. His left boot offers another kicking option in game, but it is his ability to attack the line at speed and counter attack that make him an exciting prospect for Australia.

I am aware there are still issues for Australia, such as Tatafu Palota-Nau’s tackling death wish, some depth issues at 6 and 8 and real quality at centre, along with confidence issues following the reign of Deans, but with the right management and also strong competition but also development at Super Rugby level, there is a very bright future for Australia.