Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever see the Wallabies lifting the Bledisloe Cup or winning a match against the All Blacks at Eden Park.
Today's match was totally disappointing for the Wallabies, there's not much to say about it, the guys in black could play their game plan however they wanted. Period.
I'm starting to think that most of the guys in the line-up today can't really make a difference at this level, and McKenzie is stepping back in time to the Deans' era, when most of the backs were shifted at different positions they had been playing at in their super rugby teams, so that they are less confident and have less continuity/skills in that position.
So, imho:
- White, with his highs and lows, isn't as reliable as Phipps.
- Beale at flyhalf has never impressed me. This year he's played at 12 or wing mostly and there's apparently no reason to have the super rugby topscorer Foley (who is also the first choice as flyhalf in Beale's team) on the bench.
- McCabe, we all know how committed he is, but if we wrote down a list of the best Australian wingers, he would honestly struggle to be in the first six.
- Horne, more or less, too.
Now it's unfair to blame the backs alone, but if McKenzie can't put a competitive line-up together and goes on the Deans' way, then the Wallabies are going nowhere.