With the Spring Tour just around the corner, and a 0-3 performance when on the road during the Rugby Championship, the Wallabies are going to have to learn to play on the road.
The squad move to a new European country each week for five weeks, the tour bookended with match at Twickenham – the Barbarians first up and England at the end.
Last year the Spring Tour went well for the Wallabies, defeating Italy in Turin (50-20), Ireland in Dublin (32-15), Scotland at Murrayfield (21-15) and Wales in Cardiff (30-26).
The current tour does not look as friendly, as they are coming off a highly criticised performance in the Rugby Championship and have not won a game on the road since that tour last year. They also only just managed to scrape in two wins at home against the Springbok and the Pumas, and were expected to win by much more in both games.
They have just not looked like the well-oiled machine they once were. They struggle to get plays going, struggle even more on defence, and are unable to close-out games.
It has been argued by many that the entire squad is not fit enough, but I put this down to a lack of production from the bench.
Ewen McKenzie has always been big on the bench being the ones who close-out the game, but this year they haven’t been the group to do so.
Kurtley Beale’s on-field production (all off field matters aside) has been below par, and players such as Matt Hodgson and Benn Robinson have been producing good results, but have not had enough time to show their full potential. It has also been argued that Will Skelton’s fitness had dropped considerably since going into Wallabies camp.
It’s going to be harder to stay fit over five weeks and play consistently while travelling through Europe.
They have five more weeks together for the rest of the year, and next year have very few games to prepare for the World Cup. There is a very small chance of them winning the Bledisloe Cup, as New Zealand only have to win one out of two matches in the shortened series.
To be a competitive team in the World Cup, there will also need to be some serious line-up adjustments. This may include changes in the second row, a possible change at blindside flanker, and something will have to be done about the sub-par performance of the backline.
It isn’t all bad news however; Stephen Moore will be back, and able to captain the side. Gone will be the days of playing the fourth-string hooker in first-class games.
Sam Carter will also have developed into a much better lock, and I expect to see Michael Hooper as one of the better flankers in the game.
Until then, they will have to put their off-field issues behind them and make sure the Beale issue or the luggage incident doesn’t overshadow their play.
Fixtures for the 2014 Spring Tour
Saturday, 1 November: Barbarians v Wallabies, Twickenham, London
Saturday, 8 November: Wales v Wallabies, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Saturday, 15 November: France v Wallabies, Stade de France, Paris
Saturday, 22 November: Ireland v Wallabies, Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Saturday, 29 November: England v Wallabies, Twickenham, London
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