The Wallabies have bounced back from a bad loss in Argentina to achieve an excellent win against the world champion Springboks in Adelaide, emphatically demonstrating what a formidable, exciting team that they are when Dave Rennie’s vision comes together.
That they won without star playmaker Quade Cooper and blockbusting centre Samu Kerevi, the duo that many attributed their two wins against the South Africans in 2021 to, as well as stalwart captain Michael Hooper amongst others makes it clear that Rennie, his coaching staff and the Super Rugby franchises are successfully building the depth to be taken seriously at the 2023 World Cup in France.
In the dozen or so Test matches between now and when the Wallabies kick off their World Cup campaign, Wallabies supporters should expect this side to have their share of ups and downs. These games are called Tests for a reason: they are the pinnacle of rugby union where national teams compete to test themselves and their tactics against one another, which is why international rugby is such an engaging game.
These tier-one teams the Wallabies are facing are all really, really good and the Wallabies have been given a few lessons through losses this year. First Eddie Jones’s England found their measure, using staunch and clever defence to nudge past the Wallabies and win the mid-year series in Australia.
Then, after the Wallabies carved them up the week before, Michael Cheika’s Pumas responded with a high kicking game that taught the Wallabies another harsh lesson that they have immediately responded to with better work under the high ball against the Springboks.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
This week it was South Africa’s turn to learn the lesson, perhaps being that when they face a team that practices attacking rugby, that they find it hard to keep up with their traditional forward-dominated game.
In particular the Boks didn’t seem to have an answer to fast flanker Fraser McReight. It begs the question whether their own player of that type, Quagga Smith, should be sitting on the bench while McReight is running rampant between breakdowns and in support of attacking backs.
Will the Wallabies keep their noses ahead of the Springboks next week, or will the world champs adapt and dish out a lesson or two of their own? Who knows, it could go either way, but what Australian supporters can be confident in is that we have a team that have the attitude, ability and the coaching smarts to give them a great chance of making it 2-0 against the Boks in 2022.
It is also clear that while there will undoubtedly be ups and downs over the next year, that the Wallabies are headed in the right direction, with supporters and the press being able to afford to enjoy the ride.
Australians typically have a lot to say about what their sporting representatives should or shouldn’t be doing, rugby supporters probably more so than most, which is a great part of the fun. However, we can tend to get a bit histrionic over a loss, especially if it is a bad one like against the Pumas, a collective character trait that we can perhaps afford to moderate over the next year and a bit.
Pointed questions are justified when a coach is failing week-in, week-out to learn lessons, failing to maintain standards and adapt methods that aren’t working, but rather making excuses for failure.
However, what we have seen from Dave Rennie this year is that he is not that coach. Rennie is completely professional in taking responsibility for analysing and correcting problems and is prepared to make the tough decisions about inclusions and exclusions in the squad.
Furthermore, his players and coaches by and large seem equally committed.
So, perhaps those of us who like throw in our two bobs worth should be trying extra hard to maintain a tone that promotes enjoyment and understanding of the game for all, rather than making too much of a fuss if the Wallabies hit a rough patch.
These men wouldn’t be elite rugby coaches and players if they didn’t want to win even more than we want them to and they have shown that they have the capacity to beat the best and they certainly should not be spending time second guessing what will keep fans happy.
Rennie and his men have reasonably earned our trust and support while they enjoy their journey towards France 2023, which we will enjoy with them.
numpty
Roar Rookie
Agree with all this Rhys. My one quibble is that I don't think they've used their kicking game enough. They did it great against SA on the weekend, but need to see that week in week out.
numpty
Roar Rookie
Rennie is a good coach and I can see his plans and tactics and think they're clear and appropriate. He has built a team around strong ball carriers and physicality. I can see tweaks to tactics each week that often unlock a teams defence. Eg England game 3 they went wide early and that led to 3 try scoring opportunities in the first half. The team didn't execute, but they got the ball to where the gaps were. Equally against SA they had a plan to kick deep down midfield and force goal line drop outs rather than lineouts. That led to their third try and potentially the first half penalty. I also like that he is a straight shooter, he said the team was not good enough against Argentina. No excuses.
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
I'm not confused at all, it is quite clear to me what he wants to achieve, I.e. -He wants to create the conditions for speed and power based attacking rugby. -He selects and develops players for their athlete ability and then trains their skills and decision making. -He is prepared to vary that if a less athletic player demonstrates value, e g Kellaway.. -He delegates responsibility and holds team members accountable for results, e g. O'Connor and perhaps the defence coach. -He is big on players taking responsibility for the detail that comes with their position, but helps them improve, e.g. Harry Wilson was sent ti Ju Jitsu to improve his work in contact. -He likes a well rounded game plan, where kicking is used to spread the opponents out to set up the attack. I don't know what is confusing about that.
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
A coach can only do so much I agree. But at least in the past the coaches were rational and their strategy logical. You could tell what their plan was. (Early days Cheika) Rennie appears to have everyone including himself confused. Add injuries and departures from the camp this feels like a book waiting to be written.
numpty
Roar Rookie
Look at it another way. 3 coaches have now been unable to turn the wallabies into the #1 team over a decade. Maybe the coach can only do so much?
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
"kind, necessary and true" is a great way of putting it that I may borrow in the future, if you don't mind KPOL.
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Yeah well... I don't agree but I guess that's opinions for you.
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
If you look more closely at the injuries, many are explained by reasons other than over training. I.e. -Cooper is old. -Kerevi was playing 7s -Petaia and Paisami had head knocks. -Rodda and Swinton were injured in Super Rugby. -Banks broke his arm in a game. I am not sure that Perese, Kellaway and Bell's injuries are enough to indicate a training problem, there may be others that I have forgotten but I think it comes down to bad luck.
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
His record is impacted by three draws that people insist on incorrectly treated like losses, take that out and he is in the ball park with every other Wallabies coach in the last 20 years. Considering that he had inherited an established team that had only won two from eight tier one matches in 2019 and considering the injuries he has had this year, he is doing ok.
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
Gets a reprieve from what? Even if the Wallabies did get beaten in he next three games, Rennie is taking the Wallabies to the World Cup for lack of a credible alternative. What the punters say might make no difference at all, but anything is going to it will be giving the Wallabies good support that does it, rather than bleating from the cheap seats.
Doctordbx
Roar Rookie
Geez those of us who are left never stopped beings fans and never probably will but Rennie still has a long way to go to earn any faith. So far his win record is still quite woeful and we need a few consistent wins on the trot before I'll let myself fall into thinking we might have turned some kind of corner.
ethan
Guest
I don't understand how it continues to be so bad for years now. We probably have the best attacking moves of any international team off line out - it should be top priority to turn it into a weapon - but somehow we keep fluffing it.
Deano
Guest
Yep, the lineout was a disaster. I don't remember Wallabies winning a single lineout on their throw, other than when they resorted to the quick throw at the front and got corralled into touch. Can't believe such a poor performance in a crucial area has been so widely ignored. It certainly won't be ignored by future opponents. Hopefully Nick Bishop will explore further in his analysis.
Scott O
Guest
You are jumping the gun mate the Wallabies could easily be walloped in the next 3 games.They are not renowned for backing up a good performance the following week , Hold your water till after the next 3 tests, i`m still not convinced they are a well rounded team because that lineout was diabolical and wont help you win many World cup finals games.You cant lose 5 throws on your own throw and say that was great. Rennie has had a reprieve,lets see how his team goes this weekend.
scrum
Roar Rookie
Ah to be a Wallaby supporter- on a high one week and a downer the following week. Been part of a Wallaby supporters life for many a year. Who expected we would get out of the “ Pool of Death” in 2015 RWC let alone make the final. I have faith in Rennie, he is building depth, not every call will be correct but that is to be expected. My only doubt is the number of injuries the Wallabies have encountered, are some from training too hard and overuse injuries?
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
It was bad Carlos, but not in an upper case type way. But worse things have happened in rugby, and in life, this year.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Yes JN. Now the Boks need to find a way to confuse the French and Irish fans. :silly:
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
“ perhaps those of us who like throw in our two bobs worth should be trying extra hard to maintain a tone that promotes enjoyment and understanding of the game for all” Rhys, over the last 2 weeks, I have not had much ‘2 bob’ to throw in, such was the measure of the defeat in Sam Juan. It wasn’t just losing badly. It was the questions that the Pumas asked that we had no answer for. My inner dialogue heard those criticising the coaching team, and doubt crept in. Though not enough for me to publicly question Rennie’s capability. I was still able to utter late last week – “In Dave I trust (just)”. I agree with you. The ‘kind, necessary and true’ criteria would lift fan dialogue to the cause.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Good article Rhys :thumbup: I remain a rusted on WB fan and accept the reality of supporting an inconsistent team. For many years now WBs have become the French of world rugby - you never know what they'll serve up on game day. Varies from error ridden rubbish to great for no apparent reason and they're mostly poor away from home. I'm a Rennie fan as a coach and I like his no frills style. IF wallabies can somehow develop consistentancy in lead up to 2023 RWC they are a chance of making a final imo.
Dicky
Roar Rookie
Gees it’s aged well though! Argies beating NZ in NZ a week later, wallabies suddenly don’t look as bad. Los Pumas playing some very good rugby.