WILL GENIA: Wallabies should have beaten England, and can win TRC, but Dave Rennie must start getting better results

The Wallabies are still on course to achieve their goals at the World Cup, despite the series loss to England, but we need to start seeing more positive results during The Rugby Championship.

If you set the ultimate goal as winning the World Cup you’ve got to build towards that and there are some good signs there.

Under Dave Rennie, the Wallabies have boosted the physicality in their forward pack and they can match it with any pack in the world. That will take you a long way in Test rugby. If you have a physical forward pack that’s fit and mobile, and you can play off the back of good scrums, line outs and mauls, you can play on front foot ball.

Where we must improve is being more clinical. That might sound like a bit of a wanky term, but there is no doubt we have to be more patient when we create opportunities – to play the extra two or three phases it might take to score.

Maybe that comes down to the playmakers or maybe the leaders. But if we can develop that side of the game, I think we’re in a good position to get much better.

From my experience, having played Test footy for a long time, having a dominant forward pack makes a big difference in Test rugby.

Rennie has had misfortune with injuries – the Samu Kerevi ACL and the concussion to Dave Porecki adding to his issues this week – but Australia really should have won the England series.

Former Argentina centre Marcelo Bosch is the special guest with Roar experts Brett McKay and Harry Jones as they preview the Wallabies’ TRC campaign. Listen here or find us on your podcast app of choice.

In The Rugby Championship the results will dictate the level of pressure on Dave. We need to start building that momentum and and also generating some good buzz around the game.

He’s in a high-pressure, high-performance environment where you’ve got to perform.

One of the keys to Australia’s prospects will be Taniela Tupou’s form.

He didn’t play a lot leading into the English series but we saw when he’s got some match fitness under his belt he’s sharp and changes the game. His ability to scrum, his ability to carry, and his ability to be physical in defence as well are all critical to the Wallabies’ chances of success.

(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Overall, I think we are in a better position just purely because all these players now have another year of experience, and it gives them another year of comfort in that environment. We’ve got a good number of Test caps within all these players so they should be performing consistently week in and week out.

Are the players still behind Dave? It just depends on if they buy into the vision. There are a lot of things that we won’t be privy to, what their goals are short and long-term.

From the outside, it looks like it’s a good group of men that are all on the same page as far as what they want to achieve, how they want to play the game and the respect that they have for one another. They’re all positive signs. Winning helps but maintaining that unity within the team is important too.

If they get it right, there’s no reason why we couldn’t win it. Maybe I’m just being overly optimistic. But we beat South Africa twice last year. And then, the ultimate dream would be to win the Bledisloe.

The amazing, disappointing truth of the England series

The loss of Quade Cooper right before the England series was really significant. The Wallabies missed that direction and leadership and you saw last season how much control he has over how they play the game.

He understands it so well, in his ability to manipulate defences by making sure teammates are in the right position, and holding people accountable to do their jobs. And taking the right options himself.

Yet even though he wasn’t there we played well enough to win. And that to me is the amazing, most disappointing, part of last month.

The ACL injury that rules Samu Kerevi out for the season is also a massive one for Rennie, even though he was scheduled to miss the two games in Argentina.

Quade was instrumental in turning the fortunes around of the team last year but even more than him, Samu was the biggest reason for that for a number of reasons.

First of all, his game-breaking ability – the fact that he’s so strong and confident and gets them going over the advantage line, allowing them to play on the front foot. Then his ability to stand in the tackle and create offload opportunities and second phase play off the back of that.

He played five games last year and yet was nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year.

Then there is his presence. Because he’s that big of a threat all the time, right throughout the 80 minutes, you’ve got to make sure you’re watching him, which then creates space for guys in and around him.

But aside from those factors, they’ll also miss his leadership. He’s quite a jovial sort of a character and usually overly positive or overly optimistic. When things might be looking a little bit dire or down in the dumps on the field, he’s someone who brings composure and a sense of positivity to the group.

Samu Kerevi. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

I was exchanging texts with him after the extent of his injury was revealed.

He’s the type of guy that always looks on the bright side of things. It’s just generally his personality. But from the chat that I had with him yesterday, he was gutted.

It was obviously a great opportunity for him to back up his season last year with another big performance in this year’s Rugby Championship. He was saying he wants to spend some time with family and then look to attack his rehab so that positivity will certainly put him in a good place to get through it.

Thankfully the six to nine-month timeframe means he should be back and have played some good rugby before the World Cup. They need him, he’s world-class.

Samu is a walk up start in the No.12. jersey whenever he’s fit. Whoever gets that jersey against Argentina knew he would walk back in and take it off them but now they’ll feel that if they play well, they can set themselves up long term, to build some combinations and rhythm and put their mark on the jersey.

I expect they will go like for like and put Hunter Paisami in the No.12. They’re both big physical ball carriers who can also ball play a bit. Hunter’s probably got the edge over Samu defensively and he’s obviously really physical in that space.

From a team perspective, the fullback is obviously a concern after Banksy and Andrew Kellaway got injured and Jordie got concussed. Tom Wright was excellent when he played there and Jock Campbell is in the squad at the moment so it will be interesting to see if he gets given an opportunity.

I’m a big fan of Jock’s. I like his game and he’s not a winger forced into fullback, he’s a genuine fullback. 

He’s good under the high ball, he’s got a good kicking game. He’s got a good understanding of positioning and how to inject himself within the game. He’s quick, and he’s got an uncanny ability to beat the first defender.

Because he’s a little bit older, he’s actually had a lot of time in Super Rugby to learn his game. He knows his strengths and he knows his weaknesses. I’d like to see him given a chance.

Nic White has emerged as the undisputed number one No.9. He’s been excellent the last two or three years.

His core skills are first-rate –  his pass, kick and decision-making are all excellent. His control in and around the games, his ability to make the right decisions – when to slow the game down and when to speed the game up – has also been excellent.

I think the selectors will decide between Tate McDermott and Jake Gordon depending on the opposition. If they want maybe a bit more control in the last 20 or 30 minutes they might go with Jake. But if they want someone who’s going to come out and make a difference, and really look to spark something, they’ll pick Tate.

Tate has improved over the past 12 months.  Being given the captaincy of the Reds he took a bit more control in and around the running of the game. It suits his playing style being captain because he goes to another level as far as asserting himself on the game.

Jake was excellent for the Waratahs this season. He’s one of the main reasons why they did so well.  

Genia Part 2: Dog tags and F-bombs – The real story behind Michael Cheika’s craziest meltdown