- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t watch the Wallabies to fill a void. My self esteem does not rest on a nationalistic desire for Australian teams to be victorious at all times.
Indeed, I don’t consider that Australians have a god given right to win at sport.
I love rugby because I love the game and I support the Wallabies because I am Australian. Deep down I don’t care if they win or lose so long as I am entertained by compelling rugby from both sides.
Australians don’t all breach from our mothers wombs and immediately cover tackle the awaiting delivery nurse. We have no special gifts and the Wallabies are therefore one of many teams that could have a successful 2015.
But I am convinced that 2015 is going to be the year of the Wallaby.
Now, the Wallabies may have lost their last three Tests in a row but that should not stop fans from being positive about 2015. No one will remember or care about November 2014 if the following year is a good one.
I have seen enough from these past few Tests to believe that when we factor in the potential of the Wallabies we have an advantage over every side. I am convinced we have what it takes to usurp everyone, including the All Blacks, and win next year’s World Cup in 2015.
I have five reasons why the Wallabies and their fans should be excited for next year.
1. Personnel Improvement
I can’t see any of the other major sides getting much better next year. The Wallabies had a decent squad on the Spring Tour but it was far from their best. The narrow losses and victory reflected that.
When we get the big boys back on the selection table, the likes of David Pocock, Wycliff Palu, Scott Fardy, Scott Higginbotham, Scott Sio, Stephen Moore and Tatafu Polota-Nau, combined with a couple of extra attacking weapons such as James O’Connor and possibly Karmichael Hunt, we are going to have a very strong squad.
I would think that all things being even, provided we do not have an absolute injury crisis, we will have arguably the best 30-man squad at 2015 Rugby World Cup in terms of depth. We may not have the best starting XV, but unlike the previous few World Cup campaigns we may well have great depth to cover for injuries. This may be all we need to make a final with a great shot of causing an upset.
2. The coach and his systems
We all know that Michael Cheika has an aura about him. He knows how to get success out of underperforming rugby entities and has proven that in Europe and in Super Rugby.
In saying that he is not a miracle worker and when he has been successful it has taken time for things to click. What we can be excited about is that Cheika’s proven successful systems are starting to take affect for the Wallabies.
In terms of defence, the system in place, where we close down play with ‘shooters’ to pressure ball receivers, has begun to really take shape. It’s not perfect, nothing in rugby is, but this system saw the Waratahs have the best defence in Super Rugby. On the Spring Tour opposition sides struggled to make metres against us. That is a statistical fact. We should be excited about this.
Unfortunately in the first few Tests under Cheika we have simply been a little inconsistent. Against Wales we conceded too many tries yet had a very good 90 per cent tackle completion rate. Against France there were a few too many missed tackles but we only conceded two tries in the end.
Now, it seems to have come together. Apart from their intercept try and a few kick and chases that came off, Ireland failed to breach our line once. England scored one decent try against us but other than that they really failed to make metres. In total they made 277 metres with ball in hand. In comparison the Wallabies made 731 metres.
Our attack is indeed looking very promising. There has been some criticism of the attack structure on tour but I assure you it is the right way to go. It is all about ball in hand and that is good for two reasons – the Australian public kind of demands it, and deep down the Australian public demands it.
When critiquing the attack it is important to note that in all the matches on tour, not just the last one, we have far exceeded the opposition in run metres. Many may cherry pick the phases where we’ve struggled to get over the advantage line but that will happen with this style of rugby against good defence. Ball in hand rugby is a double-edged sword, it will occasionally cost you, otherwise everybody would be doing it.
Regardless, the attacking performance against Ireland and England was good. In these two Tests we made a very healthy 13 line-breaks and continually looked dangerous with ball in hand. In the same time we conceded two line breaks, five if you count the two kick and chases and the intercept conceded in the Ireland game.
With such a strong attacking performance why did we lose? Unfortunately, good teams are not just going to fall over and let us score at will and that is what happened against Ireland and England. We lacked the killer blow. Let’s have faith that in 2015 we can improve that.
As a Waratah supporter this was the same experience I noticed in 2013 under Cheika. The intention was there but we kept coming up short. Of course by 2014 the attack and defence clicked and it was second to none. This leads me to my next point.
3. Super Rugby success
Our saving grace in 2014 is that we had the best side in Super Rugby.
I am hopeful of Waratah back-to-back titles in 2015 and if not close to it. I’m hopeful that both the Brumbies and the Reds will be hard to beat. And so I think we can get back some momentum and confidence from Super Rugby in 2015.
4. The shortened Rugby Championship
With a shortened Rugby Championship we have a much better chance of taking some silverware prior to the World Cup and gaining some extra confidence.
In the Rugby Championship we play both South Africa and New Zealand on home soil and our only other match, against Argentina, is our only away fixture of the tournament. I fancy our chances with that favourable draw.
It is also worth noting that we don’t play the All Blacks until the last match and so we’ll have had a couple of matches to get things right by the time we play them. This is unlike the past two years where we’ve played them twice in the first two rounds and been unsuccessful, which has virtually demoralised us.
What I am also excited about is that we won’t have to play the All Blacks at Eden Park to win the Rugby Championship. We will, however, have to beat them there in an extra match before the Rugby World Cup, if we are to win the Bledisloe Cup. That may be a bridge too far but a loss leading into the World Cup may be a blessing in disguise.
One thing is certain, we won’t have to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park to win the World Cup and that brings me to the pool of death.
5. The ‘pool of death’ or the ‘dream run in’?
People are calling the Wallabies pool at next year’s World Cup the ‘pool of death’. I’m calling it the ‘dream run in’. If we can beat both Wales and England, which I believe we can for the reasons already mentioned, as well as Fiji and Uruguay of course, we will have a dream run to the final.
At this stage I firmly believe we will win our pool and meet the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final. If it all goes to script this would most likely be via a quarter-final against Scotland and a semi-final against Ireland. They will not be easy beats but this would be the easiest run into the final that we could hope for.
Let’s also not forget that we will have the luxury of playing all these sides bar England on neutral venues. We should be positive about our pool and not negative as too many seem to be.
As for playing New Zealand in a final, I desperately want that to eventuate. Playing them on a neutral venue may be all we need to get the better of them.
All in all, despite what a few journalists are writing, we are heading in the right direction and that is all that matters.
Clearly our scrum needs to improve and with that being as clear as day, it is highly probable that it will. It will help when a few of our injured front rowers return from injury.
The one thing I’ve taken from the last month is that if we fix our scrum, the only side that could match our potential and our ball in hand rugby is the All Blacks.
2015 looms and it is looking more promising every day.
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.