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The looks on the faces of those Wallaby fans said it all when Willie Le Roux jumped for joy after scoring his side’s fourth try upon the previously taboo turf of Laing Park.
As referee George Clancy blew the final whistle the delight on the faces of Heyneke Meyer (his reactions so brilliantly captured on camera during the game was a real highlight) and his players were there to see, as they had broken a long hoodoo.
The look on the Australians’ faces (notably Ewen McKenzie) was despondent, though James O’Connor joking about with Springbok players was ill advised and did not impress Wallaby legend and TV pundit Michael Lynagh at all.
Halfway into the Rugby Championship and Australia lie bottom of the table. 0 wins. 0 points. 0 losing bonus points: zilch.
It is certainly a far cry from nearly eight weeks ago where a sense of optimism rushed through Australian rugby with the appointment of “Link” after Robbie Deans was unceremoniously sacked after their dismantling at the hands of the British and Irish Lions in Sydney.
Many were optimistic at McKenzie’s first squad for the Rugby Championship with players such as fly half Matt Toomua and full back Jesse Mogg being recognised for their outstanding Super Rugby season with the Brumbies.
Optimism seemed to be the watchword in Australia that maybe they could contest New Zealand for the Bledisoe Cup and give a good showing in their first Rugby Championship’s game against New Zealand in Sydney.
But three games in and all the optimism within Australian rugby union seem to have dissipated.
Outplayed in Sydney, out-thought in Wellington and outdone by the Springboks in Brisbane.
Handling errors, needless penalties conceded in the ruck, lack of composure when entering the Springbok 22 and evaporating confidence within the Wallabies led to the horror show at the hands of South Africa.
It is never a good sign when a coach says he might need to dumb down, which would seem to indicate his players aren’t good enough to implement the tactics and vision he has. The sad thing is the writing had been on the wall since last year’s autumn internationals.
They were ripped to pieces by the French, were able to defeat the English partly because of bad decision making by England’s captain Chris Robshaw when it came to penalties, were very lucky to beat Italy in Florence and squeaked home against an out of sorts Wales who were awful during the autumn internationals.
The problem is that Australian rugby is in the doldrums: a far cry from the golden age of the 1990s and early 2000s when the Wallabies were at the forefront of world rugby.
Since the 2003 Rugby World Cup the scrum, which has been Australia’s Achilles heel, has been exposed brutally: notably in the 2007 World Cup quarter final against England in Marseille.
With the new scrum laws put into action it has helped teams with a strong pack. When it came to scrum time Australia was under the cosh against South Africa and New Zealand falling foul of the referee on several occasions.
Next for the Australians are the Argentineans and says a lot about how far Australian rugby has declined when the Pumas are actually regarded as favourites.
Despite the Pumas being thumped by the Springboks at Soccer City 63-13, the Argentineans have acquitted themselves well these last two games.
Ill-discipline led them to throw the game away against South Africa at Mendoza and once again being stubborn against the All Blacks before being overcome leads to a Pumas team with potential.
One problem the Australians have is their new young players McKenzie has entrusted into the squad don’t seem to be good enough.
Jessie Mogg was dropped after the first two Rugby Championship games seemingly finding out Test rugby is different from provincial rugby while Toomua hasn’t been able to enforce himself onto the game and dictate the play.
Another problem plaguing Australia is their lack of depth, which is a worrying sign and fingers definitely have to be pointed at the ARU.
In Australia there is no real adequate second tier grass root competition allowing players to make the step up to Super Rugby and possibly stake a claim for a Test call up for players making a real name for themselves in the second tier competition.
It is worrying when you see their southern hemisphere rivals have invested in grassroots rugby allowing for the new generation of rugby players to be brought in and have adequate game time in grassroots trophies.
The New Zealanders have the ITM Cup, which allowed exciting young All Black winger Julian Savea and flanker Steven Luatua to shine.
South Africa has the Currie Cup where young lock Eben Etzebeth and Jan Serfontein was able to hone their skills before making the step up in Super Rugby.
Even the Argentineans play in South Africa’s third tier competition the Vodacom Cup (Jan Serfontein played there as well) where players such as winger Juan Imhoff and fly half Nicholas Sanchez played for their Argentinean team the Pampas XV when they were young before moving to the riches of the Top 14 in France.
Coupled with the Vodacom Cup and Argentina’s amateur league it has produced two exciting young Argentinean players: 19 year old full back Santiago Cordero and 18 year old fly half Patricio Fernandez.
The fly half is the leading points scorer in the 2013 Junior World Championship (82 points: 3 tries, 11 conversions, 15 penalties), whose running abilities and accurate goal-kicking reminds me of a young Dan Carter.
Even in the youth set up, Australia’s deficiencies in their depth have been exposed.
In the 2012 Junior World Championship the Australians finished eighth (out of 12 teams) and were shocked by the Argentineans in the pool stages as well.
Contrast that to the South Africans who won the 2012 edition by beating the All Blacks and the Argentineans who punched above their weight to finish fourth.
In this year’s edition the Australians finished seventh: once again beaten by the Argentineans and finished behind New Zealand and Australia.
The ARU needs to take a long hard look at their squad, as the depth within it is threadbare.
Granted, the Wallabies have been scythed with injuries, but it says a lot when the only leading light in Australia’s inept performance against South Africa last week was ex-AFL/rugby league player Israel Folau.
If you look at the four teams within the Rugby Championship you wouldn’t begrudge Argentina being the third best team at the moment.
But, this weekend is a good chance for Australia to find some renewed confidence, as they are playing in Perth.
However, find themselves bottom at the end of the competition by losing in Rosario in October, then the ARU is in big trouble.
What makes things hard is in Australia there are so many sports competing: AFL, NRL, cricket, football and rugby union all trying to get to the top of the pile.
Fans won’t want to pay to watch the Wallabies regularly lose games especially as heavily as the loss in Brisbane.
Alas, it comes down to the last three games of this season’s Rugby Championship, home to the Pumas in Perth, away to South Africa at Newlands before finishing at Rosario to play the Pumas again.
The Wallabies’ best chance to salvage something out of this dreadful start is to beat the Pumas twice so not to finish bottom.
It won’t be easy but it is either win or bust for the Wallabies. One thing is for sure: Ewen McKenzie is finding out quickly that international rugby is not a walk in the park.
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.