The sky is not falling on Australian rugby

Let’s be clear about it, on Saturday night the All Blacks dismantled the Wallabies and put them back together broken. Still, there’s no cause for alarm, despite what most pundits in the press will be saying this week.

Here are five reasons why.

1. This was the performance the All Blacks have been waiting for
For the past two seasons the All Blacks have been a Ferrari running on ethanol.

Indeed the fact they’ve won 35-odd games during this time is a tad scary, however the point being there’s no team in the world that could have come out of that game without looking like a tier two nation.

There was no disgrace in this loss. Perhaps the harsher Australian critics need to examine the basis for expecting a level pegging with this team. It’s one of the best teams in history, period, and you can’t expect by some rite of passage to be near them when they play like they did on Saturday.

2. There are selection errors in the Australian team, which is an easy fix
The Wallabies have been playing with their team upside down. The bench should be swapped with their opposites on the starting team.

If Ewen McKenzie chose to play his best players from the first minute, rather than the 65th when the outcome has already been decided, then the Wallabies might actually have a crack at these guys in the black guernseys.

Scott Higginbotham, Will Skelton, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps. These players are the best in their positions yet they’re warming seats in the dugout. This was highlighted on Saturday when they made an immediate impact, although far too late in the game to get their team back into contention.

They’re x-factor players and if you change the cattle you’ll get a different outcome on the field.

3. Australia has some of the best attacking players going around
Israel Folau can, by all rights, be considered the most exciting player in the world, and Kurtley Beale has had a renaissance this year. His carving runs, deft inside passes and solid game management is a pleasure to watch game after game – no matter who he’s up against he’s turning up.

Even with a backtracking forward back, or a backward pack, these two players put on a beautiful display on Saturday. They made stuff out of nothing – scintillating in combination and turned the All Blacks on their heels time and again.

Give them clean ball and a forward pack living up to their job description and the final result may prove very different.

4. Michael Hooper
The true test of a captain’s mettle is what he does with a team that’s going backwards.

Richie McCaw showed us true leadership over the past decade, and university lecturers could do worse than apply a case study on the man.

However Hooper’s display last night was equally inspiring; he dragged his men forward, leading by example and never giving up despite the trouncing. This culminated in the 14 points scored in the second half, including his standout try late in the game.

This proved the bloke has the mettle to lead his team to greatness. He’ll be Australian captain for the next decade, barring injury, and all the better for it. David Pocock is going to have to learn how to play number eight or blindside.

5. Ewen McKenzie can be replaced
Australians are renowned as being the shrewdest players in the game, although in the second Bledisloe they were totally outsmarted by a creative and progressive New Zealand outfit.

For example, the New Zealanders had an inventive set piece move where a couple of backs joined the lineout, only to peel away to the left when the ball was thrown in. This created a distraction while Richie McCaw and his men marched to the right and over the try line.

It worked so well they did it again six minutes later, McCaw getting a carbon-copy try.

It’s true the All Blacks were having a bit of fun at that point, but still, the Aussies need to try the kitchen sink and get some creativity into their play. Why not try Beale at halfback?

Why not bring on your best players in the first minute rather than the 60th? Why not sub off players after 15 minutes if they’re not giving you what you need? Where were the forwards putting their hand up to beat the advantage line?

Nothing could express this shift of rugby IQ better than the 10 minutes where each team had a man in the bin. New Zealand calmly played for penalties and territory, putting on 3-0 with McCaw in the bin, while Australia panicked and conceded 14 points with Rob Simmons off the field.

Whatever the case, Michael Cheika is around, he’s in Australia, and he’ll probably be Wallabies coach in a year or so, in whatever timeframe the ARU decides is face-saving enough to replace McKenzie.

There’s a lot of good in this team, and a couple of distinct yet simple changes will create a big shift in their fortunes against the world’s best.

The rest of the world? They’re already in hand.