The pain will finally end this weekend as Australia brings a close to its most unsuccessful Super Rugby regular season in the country’s history.
Never before have Australian teams combined for such few wins since expanding to five franchises.
With one round to go, the Rebels, Force, Reds, Waratahs, and Brumbies have combined for just 20 wins.
If results go to form this weekend, Australian teams will finish with just 21 wins – giving them a win-loss record of 21-49.
The previous lowest win total under Australia’s five-franchise format was last season (30 wins).
The best way to illustrate how horrible this campaign has been is to look back at the years when Australia fielded just four franchises.
From 2006-2010 – when the seasons consisted of just 13 rounds and the Rebels didn’t exist – Australian teams combined for an average of 24.6 wins each year – significantly better than what has been achieved this season.
The sole season where the tally dipped lower than 22 was in 2007, when only the Brumbies recorded a positive win-loss record in a campaign that yielded just 20 wins for Australian franchises.
Of course, the pain won’t completely end for Australia after this weekend – the Brumbies still have a finals campaign to contest.
Assuming the Brumbies lose to the Chiefs in Waikato on Saturday, the Canberra-based outfit will finish ninth on the overall table with a 6-9 win-loss record.
But because they topped the Australian conference, they’ll be among the eight teams in the playoffs – and even get to host a quarter-final.
Despite ‘earning’ hosting rights, the Brumbies have been rated an $81 chance to win the title – highlighting just how far off the pace Australian teams have been this season.
The Reds (21 points), Force (21), and Waratahs (19) are in a three-way battle for second spot in the Australian conference.
The Force will farewell favourite son Matt Hodgson in Saturday night’s clash with the Waratahs in Perth, while retiring lock Dean Mumm will be playing his last game for NSW.
No Australian side has been able to beat a NZ franchise this season.
The Reds face an uphill battle to end that losing run when they travel to Dunedin to take on the Highlanders on Friday night.
The Rebels sit just one point above the wooden spoon zone after posting one win from 14 games.
They are also in the midst of a bitter fight for survival because of the ARU’s plans to axe either the Force or the Rebels.
It means Friday night’s home clash with the Jaguares could be the Rebels’ final ever match.
Looking elsewhere, the Crusaders will end the regular season with a perfect 15-0 record if they beat the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.
The Lions (13-1) loom as one of their main challengers for the title.
stagman
Guest
The ARU throw money at there own back yard - NSW, ACT and QLD - and they are worst performing teams in Aus SR yet have the biggest budgets!!! The rugby they play is rubbish and there coaches are sht!!! Yes, the Rebels are last in Aus SR, but at least they try to play good rugby while having the axe swing over there heads - not easy. They are more of a team than the other east coast SR squads. The Force have shown what the word TEAM really means, how to play good rugby, how to develop local talent and grow the code. The FORCE are the std the other Aus SR teams and ARU need to work towards. Pulver, Clyne and co are an embarrassment. You guys do not deserve to be in charge of the great game in Aus. You are only in it for the money and the free tickets. Do everyone a favour ........and FK off!!!!!!!!!!
Schuey
Guest
To me the centralised NZ model is the way forward from this mess. That means the state unions giving up power. Will they put the game first?. I doubt it.
Gewurtz
Guest
I disagree. Larkham deserves NO further chance. He has failed. Repeatedly.
Boomeranga
Guest
I see this administration as one that inherited a basket case and then implemented changes that rugby fans, like us on the Roar, were screaming for. I think that while staving off bankruptcy, we now have the gold cup, NRC and u20s championship. They haven't solved the problem of beating off overseas unions or the NRL but frankly I don't think anyone will manage that. Before you demand these people are actually sacked - who is replacing them? Like an election, I want to know who is going in if someone is going out. No point changing just to be stuck with worse.
Cam
Guest
Been a bad year. Its been a bad 15 years. Lost the 2003 RWC final. Havent won a Bledisloe Cup since 2002 Lost the 2013 Lions tour. The best Super Rugby side is from the smallest market. Expansion clubs have seen no success. One will be gone. No sustained success from Tahs or Reds. No TV deals. But somehow with all the bad press, the game still has a great pulling power. The pubs I saw were full in Australia to watch NZ vs Lions. Rugby 7s is growing. Still getting good crowds to Wallabies game around the country. There is hope, just gotta work hard. The game of union is growing around the world, the same can happen here.
Bakkies
Guest
O'Gara did it when he had Shane Horgan on the wing as a mismatch on a shorter opponent. The last Aussie 10 to use cross kicks regularly was Larkham. Mark Gerrard and Tuqiri were regular targets.
piru
Roar Rookie
They're playing the Waratahs and Rebels off against each other?
mantra
Guest
Naysayers. The ARU are playing a clever game by playing the 2 worst franchises off against each other to see who survives while waiting for State govt input to save the one or the other and then bolster the winner by the players from the folded franchise. The Storm model except 3 clubs folded to get a strong Storm team who won in their second year and to a lesser extent the Western Sydney Wanderer model.
Kelefua
Guest
DJW I had no idea but if what you say is true then yes its a sad state of affairs when really good talent is ignored because the player is not from the right place or doesn't know the right people.
Dwards
Roar Rookie
He was 3m from the closest defender. Chest mark was the right call. Demonstrates just how precise the kick was.
Isupport2teamstheAB'sandanyoneplayingAustralia
Guest
Cherry picking much? Eddie also coached the Wobblies (2003 when they were still a tier one nation) All Blacks put 50 on them in Sydney ...
In Brief
Guest
I've seen the same kick many times in super rugby, mainly by NZ teams. The flat cross kick, AFL style, is a rugby invention. Go back and watch highlanders, hurricanes epic from last year. Rugby players do have the skills to do this, just not in Australia. The other point is the rugby league players are under very little pressure, with 10 metres between the teams. Very static compared to the typical pressure the rugby union fly half is under in similar circumstances. When I watch league it's like everything is slow motion. So I don't buy the league is great just cause Australian rugby is bad argument.
wyn
Guest
Thought we had hit bottom in 2016, but sadly not. Unless Reds or Brumbies pull off a trans tasman miracle this weekend it will be 25 - zip on that front. On the trans indian front its won 5 lost 8 drew 1, with one loss to come this weekend. So it could still get worse. On the international front some commentators reckon Wallabies will come second in Rugby Championship having discarded the Springbok performance against the French. Clearly they looked at the scores and not at the games - the Boks are going to hammer the Wallabies twice this year having changed their assistant coaches their defense is vastly improved and their attack is not too shabby either. I would not have been too surprised if they rolled the All Blacks at home, but since the game is at Newlands and not Ellis Park, its not likely.
DJW
Guest
Yes but did you see the Aussie schoolboy team selected. 2 players from the undefeated winners ACT. The team is full of NSW players. Its that nepotism that will see a lot of the talent lost. The rest of Australia has had a gutful of Australian rugby being NSW centric and NSW destoying the game.
LifestyleSpecialist
Roar Rookie
It's great skill but ulitmately one dimensional compared to Union and I can't get past that. Watch a league game after watching a quality Union game and it's so repetitive it does my head in.
Kelefua
Guest
I've seen some awesome talent in Aussie schoolboy rugby & club as well. Why ARU are unable to nurture this talent & feed it through to super & national level is anyones guess. The ordinary results this year in Oz may be a blessing if enough noise is made to look at grassroots more. On the Force/Rebels thing one can only hope the delay is due to ongoing discussion to try & keep both teams in super. But yea still pretty dumb to make that movement announcement as early as they did without a plan in place.
Bib
Guest
Cooper does that. But hes 'flakey'
Ouch
Guest
Was still better than any rugby player could pull off. I'm not a big league fan but credit where it is due.
Alex James
Roar Rookie
Not sure comparisons to past tournaments count. This year, No Australian teams play the sun wolves? That may have helped. But they have played all the NZ teams. That can't have helped. But then the Lions are second overall. They haven't played a Kiwi team. That probably helped them. The whole thing is farcical. The bottom 3 teams in Africa 1 have won 7 games between them. Why couldn't we have been drawn against them? IT IS NUTS!!!!!
Waz
Guest
Just as worrying as the results are the performances. As bad as I can recall ?