The Australian rugby year in review

This is one of those articles that pops up from time to time, one that you know has to be written, but one that isn’t going to be much fun to write, or read for that matter. And we all know the reasons why.

There’s no two ways about it, 2016 wasn’t a great year for Australian rugby.

Coming off the back of a ridiculously good Rugby World Cup – in hindsight – there was much excitement for the Australian rugby fan as 2016 ticked over.

“For precisely the reason I think 2016 represents the Wallabies’ best chance in yonks to break the Bledisloe drought, this season also represents a big opportunity to add to Australia’s Super Rugby title tally,” I wrote confidently in mid-February. Maybe a month later, it was apparent we were in for a long year.

Super Rugby
Oh, it started so well, too. After the first three rounds, the Brumbies sat in top spot, the Rebels were in the eight, and the Waratahs and Force were just outside and ready to pounce.

New Zealand and South Africa both had three teams in the top eight, but that was obviously two bubbles begging to be burst. Clearly, the new conference system was inflating the real standings in South Africa, and this was going to be the year the New Zealand teams battled, remember?

The Jaguares already had their first win, the Kings were already as bad as people expected, and the Sunwolves – those bloody wonderful little Moondogs – were already everyone’s second team.

A month later, reality was sinking in. The Brumbies’ African tour provided some ups and downs (and the s**t was hitting the fan back home in the boardroom), the Rebels were still on the fringe and ready to pounce, and all five teams were now losing at home – and losing big, in a couple of cases.

By the end of May, it was really getting ugly. It was apparent only one Australian side would make the playoffs – whichever of the Brumbies or Waratahs didn’t implode first. The Rebels were on the edge of the fringe and kind of whispering about being ready to pounce if results went their way, while the Reds and Force were just terrible. One coach was gone, and the other’s days were seriously numbered.

June Internationals
The best part about England arriving on our shores was that we could start venting pent-up frustration toward Eddie Jones. And that the Australian Super Rugby sides wouldn’t lose games. Unfortunately, Eddie tended to have an answer for everything and was right more often than not.

Anyways, that pent-up frustration was quickly being re-directed toward the Wallabies anyway, after Dylan Hartley become the most successful England Captain to tour Australia since Captain Cook (or probably, Alastair Cook). The Wallabies lost a three-Test series on home soil for the first time ever, playing uninspiring, predictable, one-trick-pony rugby.

“We lost, but we scored more tries than they did,” become one of the more annoying pieces of rugby self-analysis by year’s end. The Wallabies seriously believed they’d played well.

Super Rugby playoffs
The last three weeks of the competition saw the Brumbies and Waratahs continue to their battle for the Australian conference with some handy wins, but both teams also dropped games that would prove costly.

For the ‘Tahs, it meant they missed the playoffs, while the Brumbies had long played their best rugby of 2016 by the time they fell into the Finals.

Come the quarters, wet weather helped the Brumbies keep the Highlanders within reach for 78 minutes, before ultimately botching a last-ditch raid. No-one was surprised.

The following weekend, two absolutely stonking semi-finals set up a Hurricanes-Lions Final in Wellington, with the ‘Canes finally going one better than in 2015, and the Lions maybe even enhancing their reputation despite the loss. I said it only last week – if the Lions can keep their squad together, they will genuinely better for their 2016 run.

Rugby Sevens at the Olympics
A mixed bag for the Aussies, with the men’s side beaten in the quarter final by Bronze medallists South Africa, and the women’s team creating history and going all the way to Gold, baby, Gold!

The clear highlight in an otherwise underwhelming year of Australian rugby, and could be a genuine shot in the arm for the game nationally if capitalised on correctly. It’s great to see how a star like Charlotte Caslick has quickly become as recognisable as plenty of Wallabies.

Bledisloe Cup
No joy for Australia for a 14th year. Let’s just move on.

The Rugby Championship
Despite another Bledisloe disaster, the Wallabies managed to find some form during TRC with wins over the Springboks and Argentina, and finishing second overall.

At last there was a semblance of game-plan from the Wallabies, with Bernard Foley getting back to his preferred No.10, the European contingent returning to varying degrees of success but definitely aiding the execution of the side, and the Mick Byrne influence starting to show through.

But it was the emergence of promising names that perhaps gave Wallabies fans the most satisfaction. Adam Coleman went from bench player to starter to among the first picked within a few Tests, we finally got to see what Lopeti Timani could do at international level, and blow me down if a couple of aggressive forwards capable of bending the gain line didn’t make a difference to the Wallabies’ attack.

Dane Haylett-Petty debuted during the England series, but by the end of The Rugby Championship was seen by plenty as the best fullback option in Australia, as Israel Folau’s toughest season in rugby lingered.

With the Wallabies heading to Europe for a possible Grand Slam tilt that was hardly ever mentioned, there was signs that setting the alarm was going to be worthwhile.

National Rugby Championship
The best of the three NRC seasons to date, the decision earlier in the year to cut a Sydney team was quickly justified by the almost immediately improved showing of the NSW-based teams, with the playing talent now less spread out.

Though the number of tries scored increased again in season three, the skill levels, pace, and general quality of the rugby played was also noticeably better this season.

Two cracking semi-finals – which I highlighted a few weeks ago of their place in Australian rugby this year – saw NSW Country and Perth face off in the decider in Tamworth on the night of the third Bledisloe Test.

Though the Eagles were the form team of the 2016 NRC, Perth proved the old adage that defence wins the big games, turning in an incredible defensive and breakdown effort to secure their first NRC title, winning 20-16.

With all that’s going on in Australian rugby, and with the future of the game at the top level under threat in Western Australia, the Spirit’s NRC win couldn’t have been timed better. Nationally, rugby can only benefit if the game continues to grow in the west.

The Spring Tour of Europe
Did you realise the Wallabies had a shot at a Grand Slam in 2016? I’m surprised this wasn’t referred to more…

The Wallabies’ best win of 2016 kicked off the Tour when they put Wales to the sword in Cardiff, winning 32-8. The win was highlighted by crisp execution, dominant go-forward, and aggressive defence that just never let the Welsh into the game. It was a joy to watch, genuinely; exactly the sort of performance Wallabies fans have been demanding for twelve months.

But like all good Wallabies seasons, it wasn’t followed up. Subsequent wins over Scotland and France were less convincing than the previous, as the predictable, no-plan-B approach returned. The win over the Scots was just another opportunity for the ‘Scotland were robbed’ Rugby World Cup commentary to return, too, which is always fun.

By the time they arrived in Dublin, the Wallabies faced an Irish side still buzzing from beating New Zealand in Chicago a fortnight earlier. I’ve written before that this was the Wallabies’ Test I enjoyed the most in 2016, and it really was a cracking game. Ireland were brilliant in the first half hour, but the Wallabies did well to claw back before half-time, and find a narrow lead on the hour.

Ireland found the winning try that has eluded them in so many big games in recent years, and that could be a sign of them being ready to take the next step. Hopefully, the Wallabies can be 2017’s Ireland – that’d be great, thanks.

Then the Wallabies finished 2016 like they started, losing uncomfortably to England. Despite starting very well, the nature of the eventual loss just brought all the June nightmares flooding back. The Wallabies lost their direction, lost their attacking shape, and by the end of it, just had no answers at all. Everything learned previously had been forgotten, and that stung.

And that was 2016 in a 1500-word nutshell. The highlights were few and far between, and the state of rugby in Australia remains as dangerously poised as ever. There’s no doubt there’s plenty to be done just to improve the on-field situation – never mind the various off-field debacles and carry-on.

But 2017 is a new year. And hope has always been in the kit bag of the Australian rugby fan.

Happy New Year, gang.