Personally, I count this season as being successful, even if only for the wins against the Saffers. The losses to the Scots and Welsh were acceptable, given the circumstances.
I'm less sanguine. I'm OK with the season but I'm not at all happy and increasingly less full of joy running up to a Wallaby match.
I do like what Rennie and the rest of the coaching team are doing. The rediscovery of Cooper and Kerevi is crazy and especially with Cooper somehow was a successful. I like his pushing the kicking game though we still need to learn how that strategy must change when closing down games.
The maul D is powerful, who woulda thunk that with the WBs. The scrum is international standard if not an international leader. I don't agree with confidence here in the line out, but in a world when many line outs go uncontested we get away with it and probably will keep on doing so.
I'm not happy with the game play from our locks, but we chopped and changed somewhat, it's not a popular thought but I hope the experiment with Skelton is over. Not because he doesn't have strengths but because he will always lack cohesion and in that situation we can do better.
The team is building and I think it can be strong.
But we finished outside the top 5, and I don't see that as a pass. We need to do better. A couple of close games would have changed that result. Make it so, Rennie.