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Since professionalism was ushered into rugby in 1996 the game has undoubtedly seen enormous change. From the way the game is played to the way the game is administered the game is vastly different to the one we knew before the advent of professionalism.
Through changing times one thing has remained fundamentally constant. The domination of the Southern Hemisphere ‘superpowers’ as the Northern Hemisphere likes to label them, the former Tri Nations triumvirate of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Sure there have been moments that have upset the applecart such as England’s stranglehold on power in 2002 and 2003, but these have proved mere blips in an otherwise constant landscape of domination. In fact, that same England side remain the only non SANZAR nation to win a rugby world cup. That’s right the world cup ledger reads SANZAR 7 versus 1 to the rest, which is comprehensive to say the least.
And strangely despite the continued domination of the south over the north at last year’s world cup where the semi-finals were entirely made up of Rugby Championship participants, it seems there may be cause to consider that we may finally be witnessing a turning of the tide for the long-suffering north.
One only needs to look at the English series whitewash of Australia and the Irish Test victory over South Africa earlier this year as pointers to a possible pendulum swing. Of course the All Blacks need to be left out of the argument, so far ahead of the rest of the pack are they that for the purposes of this article we need to look at the international game as being made up of the All Blacks and the rest.
One has to ask the question of this All Black dominance though, how much of it is down to the outright excellence of the current All Black squad and how much of it is down to the outright weakness of their traditional rivals? There is no doubt about it, this All Black side is truly outstanding and has a strong claim to being the greatest side in Test history. However, so poor have the Wallabies and Springboks been this year that could their current dominance be aided by the complete weakness and the diabolical state of their traditional rivals at present?
Two games in particular stand out as showing just how far backwards the All Blacks traditional foes – constantly the world’s number two and three ranked sides I must add – have gone. The first game dates back to the opening Bledisloe Cup fixture of the year and watching the Wallabies perform with a complete lack of confidence, street smartness and ability.
It was hard to believe that this was a rematch of the previous years world cup final such was the difference in class between the two sides. Body language in sport often says it all and the Wallabies that day displayed all the signs of a team with no clue and absolutely no self-confidence.
The second game occurred just weeks ago as the All Blacks gave a shellacking to the Sprinkboks in Durban. As an All Black fan it was a performance for the ages, destroying their nemesis by nine tries to nil, certainly something not to be taken lightly. Through the joyous celebration however one couldn’t help but wonder what on earth had happened to South African rugby.
This wasn’t the Springboks that we had grown up fearing and admiring, certainly not one you associated with such limp and pathetic performances as the one we saw that day.
There is no doubt that both sides are at or close to rock bottom in terms of where they are. The calibre of players is obviously a big issue. We are used to looking at the team sheets for both sides and seeing names of world class performers which certainly doesn’t seem to be the case so often any more.
The fact that Rob Simmons, perhaps the worst international second row in the game, has notched up close to 70 Test caps says it all about the current state of Australian rugby.
And so on to the European tours they go. The Wallabies are talking about a Grand Slam but frankly the chances of that are about the same as the aforementioned Rob Simmons one day being inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
The Springboks too face an arduous time with England, Italy and Wales, hardly a fixture list to send shivers up the spines of Springbok sides of old, but this team is not the Springboks as we know them.
Is this the end of the Southern Hemisphere stranglehold? The next four weeks will be very revealing.
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.