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The current crop of Wallabies have been labelled the worst squad in 30 years. By 11:30 am on Sunday morning, we will be able to judge for ourselves regardless of the result.
Win, and this judgement may be halted for at least a couple of weeks.
Lose, and the reality that Australia may well finish at the bottom of The Rugby Championship will do nothing but confirm the state of rugby in this country.
There hasn’t really been that much scrutiny of Ewen McKenzie’s coaching up to this point, and understandably so.
He has only been in charge for two months, and to say it was a baptism of fire, debuting against the All Blacks in back-to-back Tests, is an understatement.
If it weren’t for the downfall of Australian rugby, however, I would be quite amused with the way Ewen McKenzie has landed himself in the current situation.
Just think back to the day he boldly announced he was quitting the Reds and putting himself up as a candidate for the Wallabies job.
Let’s not forget the posturing that Jim Carmichael, Quade Cooper and Will Genia were putting out in the media.
McKenzie was supposed to be the knight in shining armour, the messiah who would save Australian rugby from the “toxic” and lamentable Kiwi Robbie Deans.
Deans, the bloke who Greg Martin referred to as a double agent, who plotted the downfall of rugby in this country by not selecting a certain Queensland prodigal son.
I found it quite comical that after months of pumping up the prodigal son, claiming Quade was the first player picked in his squads, McKenzie hid Quade on the reserve bench to save him from the Kiwis – like when Phil Hughes was hidden from facing the Proteas, and was brought back to play against Sri Lanka.
On the topic of this Sunday’s match in Argentina, the Waratahs toured there in August and played two matches against them.
The first match, in which the Waratahs fielded their more experienced players, saw them dominate the majority of the game but eventually go down 29-27 following a 79th minute penalty goal.
What I find interesting is that only one current Wallaby in Sekope Kepu (I didn’t include Bernard Foley or Peter Betham) was playing in that match.
What is more telling is that Argentina has named 17 of the same players that the Waratahs came within a whisker of defeating to face the Wallabies on Sunday.
Seventeen players from the Argentinean squad that lost to Australia by one point in Perth are also playing this Sunday.
What does this tell us? It can tell us a lot of things, or nothing at all.
Is McKenzie right when he tells us this is the best bunch of blokes to pick from? I think so, barring a few injured Wallabies.
So why, if we are basically using the same ‘’best bunch of blokes”, are we getting humiliated by teams which under the coaching of Robbie Deans we were at least somewhat competitive against?
If Michael Cheika can take a second string Waratahs outfit minus their star Wallaby contingent and come so close to beating an international Argentinian side, then Link might want to give his old Randwick teammate Chek a call for some advice.
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.