Before the RWC, we have the highly-anticipated Foster vs Jones showdown to look forward to

This is really the heart of what makes rugby such an awesome game. Even when one team has an historical dominance, it really is anybody's game on the day and with everything that has happened in world rugby over the last 10-15 years, it's fantastic that the contest has returned to the top flight of world rugby, not just reserved for the minnows. Everyone has to fight for their place in the standings and it's really enjoyable to see. And although people seem to have exceptionally short memories about things which skews their perspective, I think from the recent Spring Tour and the current 6 Nations we are seeing all kinds of results with expected outcomes achieved in unexpected ways or upsets occurring from seemingly nowhere that really should have been visible from a mile off. The unpredictability of the game that is rugby union is finally being reflected in the performances and results and whilst that isn't much comfort or satisfaction to some, it really is what truly makes rugby a sport above all others. And I'm loving every minute of it, even though as much as any other fan I would love to always see my team win. I don't like to play blame games especially with team sports because the failings of a program can never be laid entirely at the feet of one person even though they always are. Part of why Dave Rennie failed as a head coach is the same reason that a lot of first-time national coaches fail: they cannot effectively communicate their intentions and control the public narrative of the outcome of their decisions and strategies. I think he was given a very tough assignment from the get-go and he had little choice but to experiment and he lacked the acumen and the necessary support to negotiate the immense challenges he was left with by Cheika's sudden departure and build the success that he was expected to deliver. Jones 2.0 largely gets the same benefit that Ewan McKenzie got when he took over from Deans; he gets to take over a functional program with structures already in place and simply add his own touch to the mix rather than needing to rebuild from the ground up. I don't know why anyone has the opinion that Eddie will be starting from scratch since he doesn't need to unlike when he took over at Twickenham. For all the doubts and fears that you kiwis might have about your head coach, I would say the same that applies to DR applies to Foster. None of us are privy to the discussions in the coaching box nor between the coaching staff privately so we can't possibly know what any of them think of each other or exactly how they factor into the decisions that are made and strategies that are adopted on the field even if we can ascribe certain qualities in a performance to a specific coach's "style". Also, the result depends as much if not entirely on the players themselves and if they fail to deliver on the day, what are we as fans supposed to conclude was the root cause? Did the game plan simply fail? If it wasn't a bad game plan, was it poorly implemented? Were the players just unable to execute or was there some structural weakness that made it otherwise impossible for them to do so? These are the sorts of critical questions that people should ask themselves before they start trying to apportion blame. Yes, I think there are some objectively poor decisions that have been made in terms of selection but since we only get to see the result, and the formative process that produces the results largely remains hidden from our prying, how can we really say anything? I know that many of my past comments haven't been entirely glowing of the Wallabies nor of the coaching staff, but I have never once blamed any one individual for the lack of results. Institutionalised programs like the Super franchises and the Wallabies have a lot of inertia and friction that needs to be overcome in order to facilitate change and the adoption of a new coaching staff is not a silver bullet. It will take some time for their full impact to be felt. The All Blacks in the post-Henry-Hansen era are going through a similar kind of transition that the Wallabies went through post-McQueen-Jones and the almost unbroken success enjoyed for over a decade has come to an abrupt end leading to an identity crisis for a team and nation accustomed to winning. Performance in the black jersey is synonymous with victory so it was inevitable that when the winning stopped, fear, doubt and discontent would set in. Having said that, the All Blacks are as formidable as any other top flight team and if you don't bring your A game on the day, they will still demolish you. There is still plenty of quality across the park and even players who might be out of position can still deliver sufficient performances to outplay most opposition on any given day. The only real difference is that you now have to watch the game for the full 80 instead of switching off after like 20 minutes when you're 40 points up. I know a lot of people especially in more recent times want to convince us all that the contest between the Wallabies and All Blacks, between the oldest of colonial rivals, Australia and New Zealand, is of diminished value next to other contests. But if this really were true, why does the Bledisloe exist in the first place, why does it continue to play such a huge role in trans-Tasman relations and why does New Zealand put much more effort into retaining it even over winning the world cup? This will be a fascinating season with all the abrupt changes that have taken place so far together with I'm sure many more controversies and unexpected decisions in the lead up to the world cup and with many preliminary results still to be played out, it has never been a more engaging time to follow rugby.

More than torment Madman. I coughed up some hard earned on successive tests out of honour (having cleaned up my NZ mates back in the good old days)!

I’m expecting more than a tussle Madman. WBs were close enough last year with quite a few missing players. I expect a red hot go this year. Nothing less than good wins. Even without a couple like TT and QC. We have the players and depth in most positions to put on a sharp edge. 10 is our weak spot but there are good young players shaping for an arm wrestle. 1999 all over again!

I’ll bet Eddie already has a narrative for the Otago game, claiming NZR have downgraded the Wallabies to play ABs in a regional town instead of Eden Park!

Shame it’s not a 3 game series this year. But I agree Tim, will be a cracker bled! I would say I think Oz needs to be fully fit and full strength. That means Cooper, Kerevi, O’Connor, Kellaway, et al. back fit and healthy playing rugby. I hope there’s enough time to get them all back.

The decision has been made and the there is nothing that we can do but get on board with the Wallabies, but Dave Rennie, considering his tenure, has done remarkably well and , I trust, that we will look back and realise the groundwork that he's done !

Joe Schmidt - Good mention !

Surely Eddie’s experience across the world would suggest he is effective at adapting to cultural and generational expectations? You only had to see the way he interacted with Australian players after the Engand tests to know that they will be excited by the prospect of being coached by him. The reaction of the English players to his sacking was also telling – it was clear he hadn’t lost the playing group.

Good read thanks Tim, EJ doesn’t have a lot of prep time for RWC, the lead up games will be pivotal and of course the Bledisloe brings an extra edge. Eddie was the last Wallas coach to win it.

"who understands the Australian psyche" But does Eddie really understand the current Australian psyche? He's a 62 year old whose own psyche is firmly rooted in a 70s - 80s Australia that doesn't exist anymore. He's lived most of the last 15 years overseas, and as anyone who knows returning expats could tell you, their perceptions of Australia become frozen in time and amusingly dated. And there has been a huge change in the cultural backgrounds of the Australian players in the last 10 years or so, with a large number of them now coming from Pasifika family environments (even though they were born and raised in Australia). Scott Robertson has said one of his biggest challenges, and keys to his success, at the Crusaders was adapting to the cultural differences of many of his Pasifika players. Somehow I think Eddie's exhortations to channel the "Aussie fighting spirit" of Dennis Lillee or Shane Gould may fall flat.

Good article , I reckon Eddie will be brilliant for a couple of years then he’ll get bored and start to do strange things , you know , Eddie the MadAussie.

Oh no you don't. I've been a Reds and Wallabies fan for a long time. Hope is the feeling that you might, belief that you will. I've never had belief with the Wallabies, and only with the Reds in 2011.

This is all very "eddie is the messaih" stuff but what if the reverse happens and he loses to SA, loses to NZ and god forbid loses to Cheika's Argentina. That Arg press conference would be a sellout if they sold tickets lol.